Comic Book Guy: A Royal Kerching

Mugs, ashtrays, tea towels, lighters, cottage cream fudge, pens, pencils, scrapbooks, t-shirts, banners, books, DVDs, dress up dolls, cup cake toppers, lifesize cardboard cut-outs, coasters, knifes, forks, spoons, flags, masks, thimbles, plates, trinket boxes and playing cards. The question remains: just what doesn’t have Will & Kate’s face plastered on it at the moment? A comic book? Wrong.

Kate And William – A Very Public Love Story is a two part comic book containing Kate Middleton – A Very Private Princess and William Windsor – A Very Public Prince. Written by English graphic novelist Rich Johnston, it is described as follows:

The front half of the book, drawn by the Welsh artist Mike Collins, tells Kate's story in the manner of a 1970s girl’s comic book, with some very modern touches. Each event is given added depth and resonance by the use of a fictional diary. The back half, drawn by the Scottish artist Gary Erskine is more bombastic, following William from the rugby pitches of Eton to army officer training at Sandhurst before his army and RAF exploits, all the time narrated by newspaper headlines and mission briefings in a style more familiar to the army and sports comics for boys.

What more can you say? This is not going to slide into just any comic book collector’s back catalogue alongside Batman: Year One or the Watchmen. It’s hard not to be cynical about this mildly shameful cash-in as it will probably sell only to tourists and the foreign Royal obsessives and, as it enters its second printing, will sell rather well. Here’s to Kate & Will, thanks for this, thanks a lot.

Kate And William – A Very Public Love Story is available through Amazon.