Bristol comic book store Travelling Man launched a new 100-page graphic biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel on 5 April 2006.
The comic is aimed at readers aged 11 and over, and tells the story of Brunel and the world in which he worked as well as demonstrating clearly and simply the engineering techniques and scientific principles underlying his creations.
Over 135,000 copies have been printed by Brunel 200, which have been given away free through schools, colleges, exhibition sites and libraries in Bristol and the rest of the South West.
Described as 'A STEAM POWERED FEAST of ENTERTAINMENT brought to you through the MIRACLE of modern precision-engineered CARTOONS', the comic has been designed and illustrated by local artist Simon Gurr, with text by writer and journalist Eugene Byrne.
Simon said that Brunel's 'amazing drive and energy, his enduring popularity and most importantly for me as an artist, his incredibly distinctive appearance, made him an ideal subject for a comic.' He continued: 'A comic about a great man's very interesting life story which also delivered some useful facts about science and history seemed like a winner to me!'
Eugene Byrne said of the comic's hero: 'The thing that really comes across when you spend any time studying Brunel is the man's sheer ruthlessness. None of this makes Brunel a bad person as such. He was simply a driven individual who was himself one of the casualties of his ambition, dying at a young age partly as a result of overwork.'
He went on:
'It's important, I think, to realise that there was much, much more to his talents than engineering. If his gift had merely been for building bridges and railways he would now be an obscure footnote in history books. What he also had going for him was a huge charisma and superb powers of persuasion. He was not some dull dusty guy with a slide-rule, he was a great showman.'
Andrew Kelly, director of Brunel 200, said:
'This wonderful comic will prove a great success, we are sure, with younger readers. It's got romance, danger, riots, explosions, drama - as well as cigars and tall hats - and should really capture their imagination.'
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The comic is aimed at readers aged 11 and over, and tells the story of Brunel and the world in which he worked as well as demonstrating clearly and simply the engineering techniques and scientific principles underlying his creations.
Over 135,000 copies have been printed by Brunel 200, which have been given away free through schools, colleges, exhibition sites and libraries in Bristol and the rest of the South West.
Described as 'A STEAM POWERED FEAST of ENTERTAINMENT brought to you through the MIRACLE of modern precision-engineered CARTOONS', the comic has been designed and illustrated by local artist Simon Gurr, with text by writer and journalist Eugene Byrne.
Simon said that Brunel's 'amazing drive and energy, his enduring popularity and most importantly for me as an artist, his incredibly distinctive appearance, made him an ideal subject for a comic.' He continued: 'A comic about a great man's very interesting life story which also delivered some useful facts about science and history seemed like a winner to me!'
Eugene Byrne said of the comic's hero: 'The thing that really comes across when you spend any time studying Brunel is the man's sheer ruthlessness. None of this makes Brunel a bad person as such. He was simply a driven individual who was himself one of the casualties of his ambition, dying at a young age partly as a result of overwork.'
He went on:
'It's important, I think, to realise that there was much, much more to his talents than engineering. If his gift had merely been for building bridges and railways he would now be an obscure footnote in history books. What he also had going for him was a huge charisma and superb powers of persuasion. He was not some dull dusty guy with a slide-rule, he was a great showman.'
Andrew Kelly, director of Brunel 200, said:
'This wonderful comic will prove a great success, we are sure, with younger readers. It's got romance, danger, riots, explosions, drama - as well as cigars and tall hats - and should really capture their imagination.'
<< Back to the 'Education and Learning' home page.
