FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE? Candlewick Press announces a new middle-grade series that cleverly mixes history with hilarity. wr PUMB ROMAN Sy by GARY NORTHFIELD What happens when you combine the jadiatorial combat of ancient Rome with a fast-talking creature who is definitely not a stripey horse? From a smelly water hole on the African savanna, h Milus the scarted lion and Comelius the clueless warthog. Julius Zebra is captured along wi Transported to the ferocious clamor of the Colosseum, Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends must gear up to be . .. gladiators! The only way they will gain their freedom is if they win the love of the Roman crowds. But can they succeed in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive? Follow the madcap adventures of Julius Zebra and his pals in a book that features short chapters with funny, irreverent text and zany cartoon-style illustrations, as well as an illustrated guide to Roman numerals and a handy glossary at the end, About the Author .own for his Derek the Sh Gary Northfield, best k has been writing and drawing comics since 2002. He lives in England, ON SALE APRIL 12, 2016 S) + ISBN: 978. 7536-7853-1 CANDLEWICK PRESS wn candlewickcomWhen did you first develop a love for comic: ve had a love of comies since I was at least three or four years old; I zemember enjoying a Pink Panther annual well before I was able to properly read, figuring out the story just by looking at the pictures. lapped up any comic I \d — The Beano, Marvel, and Disney—and my own comics and wrote many stories about funny animals or monsters. My mum was particularly supportive, encouraging me to write stories on rainy. days during the summer holidays could w How did you get your professional start in the industry? When left school, I studied illustration, learning printmaking among other things. However, it was tough, to find any wor in an art shop and my dad's furniture factory for a few Twas never despondent, and in my spare time Iwould then photocopy and sell to comic shops in London and at comic fairs aroun nded cartoonists who also created homemade comics, and such a crowded market, so worked country. Itwas at these fairs that I met like-n through that talented network became connected with, many magazines where I worked for several years: Was it difficult making the transition from writing comic strips to the long-form narrative of books? y stories in comics until now had been short stories, so the narrative structure had to be an entirely different approach, Thad to make sure there were definite story points along the way, holding everything in place, and around those I could then have my usual fun, Keeping all the different story threads heading in the right direction was a little bit like herding eats, but iy brilliant editor was on top of it all and ade sure I kept on the straight and narrow. actual writing was great fun! I hadn't written ¢ Iwas at school, but hing of great creative writing used to be one of my favorite subjects side ar score, [have a philosophy of keeping things simple and clear, in my art and my dialogue, and this fed neatly my writing style alos so [didn’t have too much fear on that Why did you decide to base this story in ancient Rome? write nd draw a regular comic for National Geographic Kids UK, and in one particular strip, [wrote about the history of the Colosseum in Rome. In one panel I talked about the various weird and wonderful animals from, around the empire that the Romans used to show ol citizens in the arena, Then they would kill them all showing off their prowess as hunters. In my panel back, which I thought was great fun, and this directly inspired Julius Zebra. [really wanted an unusual underdog to be at the animals fightin center of the story, as opposed to a lion of tiger, and I thought a lowly zebra would be the perfect choice!What is your favorite thing about writing the title character, Julius Zebra? He's very f and naive, and I enjoy exploring ch journeys of self-discovery and figuring out their place in the crazy world they live in, Life isn't black and white and there isn’t always an obvious right or wrong way of doing things, so I enjoy steering him down those rough. paths we all have to navigate in our lives. le, yet still quite bullheaded. He's young acters who go on. What has been your favorite response to the book so far from a young reader? The response from young readers has been phenomenal! Lots of reviews say how they've read it in one sitting because i's so exciting, One young reader even said, abit like Diary of a Wimpy Zebral,® which made What books did you read when you were a child? Comics, such as Asterix, Peanuts, and Marvel. ! also enjoyed plenty of nonfiction fzor the library, especially dinosaur encyclopedias or books about mysteries like UROs or ghosts. Ifyou could be a storybook character, who would you be? Tove the idea of time travel, so Td like to be the time traveler in H.G. Wells's The Time Machine. Ud go backward in time, though, and check out eighteenth- century London and stalk my ancestors What is the best thing about reading? Being lost in a new world and being excited by the unknown, Wondering where the n: take you and how the author is going to resolve story, threads. ative is going to How do you know when a particular joke (visual or text) is a keeper? fit makes me laugh when I'm w od indication that I'm ing it, that's normally a winner. The stupider absurd the better, [always say! What is your all-time favorite book? Tolkien's The Hobbit, beautifully realized wo: by a master of the English language. is a great example of a , perfectly and simply narrated“This book is a very funny, page-turning adventure. ... Simply pop it in your bag and take it anywhere... you won’t want to put it down.” —The Guardian (U.K.) “Have you ever imagined what the story of Spartacus would have been like if retold with a cast of talking animals? .. . Told in a mixture of prose and cartoon, the book has a very Horrible Histories sense of humor and grounds its silliness with facts about gladiatorial combat.” — Financial Times (U.K.) “Cartoonist Gary Northfield gives a fresh take on all things Roman in this riotous romp. Witty, ridiculous, and just plain good fun!” —Lovereadingakids.co.uk “J loved it because I am doing the Romans at school at the moment, ... [liked all the funny bits, especially when the zebra was being chased by a lion.” —Emily Lonsdale, age 9 This book is about a zebra called Julius, who gets caught by some Romans. Talso liked the illustrations and the way you have to read the speech bubbles to read the story.” —Alex Hall, age 9 “J like how the comic-style illustrations carry on the story rather than just being a ‘picture on a page.’.. . Itisa bit like Diary of a Wimpy Zebra —Bethany, age 8 ‘Ten out of ten for Julius and his friends This is the best book I have been sent so far! ... This book was so full of excitement and suspense I could not put it down.” canpuswick Piss —Isaac East, age 8