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Neill Cameron is a cartoonist and writer, creator of the award-winning Mega Robo Bros and How to Make Awesome Comics. Since 2011 his work has appeared in the weekly children's comic The Phoenix, where he produces - amongst other things - the robotic soap opera comedy Mega Robo Bros, and (with artist Kate Brown) the Cornish-set fantasy drama Tamsin and the Deep.
Neill is also currently artist in residence at The Story Museum in Oxford, where he has contributed several large-scale comic strip installations and is involved in comics-based education and activities.
Find out more about Neill Cameron, his books and his passion for comics on our Guest Editor channel here.
Freddy's life is . . . mixed. He's a superpowered robot (YAY!) . . . Who also has to go to school (BOO!). But when Freddy and his pals gets involved in the school science fair, his robot abilities mean he's suddenly the centre of attention! Which Freddy 100% loves. Will Freddy let this brush with fame go to his head? Of course he will! But that might not go down so well with his friends . . .
March 2022 Book of the Month | In case you haven’t come across them in the Phoenix Comic (in which case you’re seriously missing out) Alex and Freddy are robot brothers – super strong and sentient – being brought up by their inventor ‘mum’ and dad as close to ordinary kids as possible. They go to school, they argue (a lot) but they’re also agents for secret agency R.A.I.D. which, in Freddy’s words, means they have to ‘fight evil robots and stuff’. This new adventure once brings them up against the evillest robot of them all, Wolfram, who has a personal vendetta against our heroes. There’s as much explosive, kapow action as you could hope for, but also lots of ordinary home life/school stuff which is just as enjoyable and just as gripping. Neill Cameron is a brilliant illustrator and a first-rate writer too, don’t miss this series.
August 2021 Graphic Novel of the Month | Alex and Freddy are brothers – constantly bickering, often fighting, but thick as thieves. Perfectly normal except for one thing: adopted by a normal family, Alex and Freddy are robots, the most powerful robots on earth in fact, at least when their mum and dad let them. You might have come across them in the Phoenix comic, this book presents one complete adventure – and what an adventure it is! Robot attacks are taking place and Alex is recruited to join the RAID task force (that’s Robotics Analysis, Intelligence and Defence). Freddy is furious that he’s not allowed to join too, but as the younger brother he’s deemed too immature. It all finishes with a terrific showdown against the brothers’ arch-enemy robot, when Freddy finally gets to play his part. Really exciting, really funny, really well drawn, this is mega-good reading.
September 2021 Graphic Novel of the Month | A smart, satisfying re-formatting and expansion of Mega Robo Rumble, Mega Robo Bros Double Threat will have comic fans on the edge of their seats while nodding with knowing grins on their faces. Award-winning Neill Cameron has an undeniable abundance of talent for creating rambunctious, reader-centred super hero adventures that grip, engage and entertain reluctant readers as much as committed fans of standard form novels and committed comic book lovers. Take two brothers, Alex and Freddy - superhero robot brothers, no less, who work as secret agents for a government operation that seeks to protect the world from attacks at the hands of alien robots. As Alex experiences something of an identity crisis (“Everyone always just sort of assumed I was a boy, but am I? Can Robots have babies? And if so, how?”), London is besieged by a new threat in the form of a massive drill-bot. Alongside reeling with high-stakes adventure, Double Threat is also fabulously inclusive, with messages of empathy, fabulous female characters, and incisive, witty deconstructions of gender stereotypes. If that’s not enough, it also boasts a whole lot of hilarious one-liners (“I can see your butt”) and relatable homelife scenarios - even superhero Mega Robo Bros have trouble finding their shoes from time to time.
This is the second illustrated novel about Phoenix Comic robot star Freddy and is every bit as funny as the first. There’s a new girl at school and she’s super-competitive. Before you know it, Freddy and Aoife are in a competition to determine who’s best, humans or robots. After near disaster in the swimming pool – not the best place to use his rocket boosters – Freddy is determined to win, whatever it takes. His big brother, robot Alex, advises him that no-one wins in an Us vs Them contest but it takes Freddy a bit longer to understand exactly why. Freddy is a terrific character, full of human frailties for all his robot awesomeness, and this is so much fun to read while also delivering an important message about difference, bias and how to counter it. Great stuff, Freddy rules!
January 2021 Debut of the Month | Some readers will already be familiar with robot Freddy, who stars in Neill Cameron’s Mega Robo Bros cartoon strip, but everyone will find masses to enjoy in this new series. Freddy’s robot superpowers include the ability to fly, use lasers and super-strength but none of these talents are appreciated by the teachers at the primary school he attends and indeed, after he accidentally flies through the staffroom window, the head introduces a robotic code of conduct which forbids all of the above, with a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ penalty clause too. Freddy tries, he really does, but it’s not easy being the only robot in his class. Plus, his friend Fernando has lots of ideas for games that lead to trouble, and then when the two fall out, Freddy finds himself partnered with someone who instigates even more bad behaviour. The inevitable third strike comes at the school’s Project Outcome Evening but Freddy gets one amazing last chance to put his Awesome Robotic Abilities to the use for which they were intended. This action-packed story is wildly funny and school life brilliantly well observed (I love Freddy’s long-suffering human parents too). Through it all, Freddy is learning about himself and his friends, and readers will be too. With cartoon illustrations by Cameron on every page even the most reluctant reader will race through this. Superb! David Almond’s latest book Brand New Boy also uses a robot story to explore ideas of understanding, acceptance and human nature.
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