Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
The Anders graphic novels are the work of Melbourne based Gregory Mackay who has been making comics since his school days. Anders and the Mountain is the fourth in this series. His books have received much acclaim especially overseas.
Anders and his friends are all animals. They put on a benefit concert to raise funds for the research station upgrade before they go on their holidays. The friends are very creative. They love to play adventure games and sometimes create their own board games. On a trip to the lolly factory the beetles, who love lollies, eat as many as they can. The next morning, they are gone. Anders and his friends learn, from the news bulletin, that during the night a loud noise was heard, and this was followed by a mass exodus of beetles of all kinds.
Why did the beetles fly away? And why did they head for the forbidding peak of Mt Rumple?
It looks like the friends planned holiday is now going to be a rescue mission.
The story in this book is told in coloured cartoon units with up to fifteen on some pages. As well as the basic storyline this book also displays appropriate social behaviours, provides information on technology and highlights the importance of friendship. There are no mobile phones or computer games. The story is revealed in twelve chapters.
The creator and author of this series, Gregory Mackay, enjoys drawing and working with watercolours. He particularly likes drawing aeroplanes and machines, which can be found in this story. He also likes building models and painting pictures. Anders and the Comet, the debut book in this series was his first book for children and was published over ten years ago. Since then, there have been Anders and the Castle and Anders and the Volcano. Gregory is also known for his Francis Bear comic series and his satirical work for VICE.com.
Research tells me that his work is regularly featured in tthology Turkey Comics, published by The Hoochie Coochie. His feature-length comic Francis Bear was published in France by The Hoochie Coochie in 2010. It was also launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival. Gregory Mackay has become well known in his field and was part of the Caravan of Comics Australian cartoonists’ tour of North America in 2013.
This is an interesting book for readers 6-9 years old.
Anders and the Mountain
(2026)
by Gregory Mackay
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:9 781761 06623 8
$17.99; 128pp