The Phoenix
A British weekly comic magazine for children aged approximately seven to fourteen, combining serialised adventures, humour strips, text fiction, puzzles and nonfiction.
Last updated October 22, 2026
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Overview
The Phoenix is a British weekly story-comic magazine aimed primarily at children between roughly seven and fourteen years old. It is published by David Fickling Comics Ltd and was launched with a preview issue in late 2011 before its first regular issue appeared on 7 January 2012. The magazine emerged from the creative and publishing network associated with The DFC, a short-lived British comic project whose contributors and production personnel supplied much of The Phoenix's early creative identity. Rather than positioning itself solely as a humour title, The Phoenix combines comedy with continuing adventure narratives, fantasy, science fiction, puzzle features, prose extracts and educational or historical material. Its editorial model distinguishes it from the more exclusively gag-oriented presentation associated with some modern British children's comics. The magazine has carried serialised stories such as The Lost Boy, Pirates of Pangaea and The Island With No Name alongside recurring humour strips including Bunny vs Monkey, Looshkin, Star Cat, Donut Squad and Evil Emperor Penguin. This mixture recalls the broader editorial range historically found in British comics, where adventure, humour, illustrated fiction and puzzles shared the same publication. The Phoenix's identity is strongly creator-led. Its pages have featured work by writers and artists including Jamie Smart, Neill Cameron, Laura Ellen Anderson, Adam Murphy, Gary Northfield, James Turner, Joe List, Robert Deas and the Etherington Brothers. Some features have ended, while others have become recurring or have generated separate books and adaptations. Corpse Talk, Adam Murphy's comic interview format in which historical figures are presented through a fictional talk-show framework, became one of the publication's notable nonfiction features and was adapted into an online series produced by Tiger Aspect in 2022. The magazine also encourages direct participation. Its annual Star in a Comic feature invites readers to submit ideas for characters or strips; a selected concept is developed into a short run by a Phoenix creator, while shortlisted entries may also be featured. Related competitions and creative activities connect the magazine with book releases, individual strips and fan communities. The publisher has additionally organised Phoenix Fest, digital drawing workshops and appearances or workshops involving Phoenix contributors at events such as Thought Bubble. The Phoenix uses an internal fictional newsroom and editorial world, led by the feline editor-in-chief Tabitha Inkspot and populated by animal reporters including Bruno Barker, Ellie Waggins, Scoop Yapski and Iris Hasselblad. This device gives the magazine a recurring house style while allowing editorial news, fictional reports and comic features to coexist. Its readership proposition is therefore broader than that of a conventional single-format comic: it offers serial storytelling, visual humour, puzzles, reading practice, historical material and opportunities for children to engage with creators. The publication remains associated with David Fickling's independent comics publishing operation. Publicly available reference material does not establish a separate corporate headquarters, current executive roster, ownership changes or financial performance for the magazine. The brand's principal identifiable activity is the continuing publication and development of children's comics and related books, digital content, workshops and fan events.
History
The Phoenix developed within the British independent-comics tradition associated with publisher and editor David Fickling. Its closest immediate predecessor was The DFC, an earlier children's comic project involving many of the writers, artists and publishing figures later connected with The Phoenix. Although The DFC did not continue as a long-running weekly title, its creative approach helped establish a basis for a new publication that would give original British creators a recurring venue for work aimed at children. A preview issue of The Phoenix appeared in late 2011, followed by the first regular issue on 7 January 2012. From the outset, the magazine was designed for readers approximately seven to fourteen years old and was published weekly by David Fickling Comics Ltd. Its editorial formula deliberately extended beyond short jokes. Alongside humour strips, it included continuing adventure stories, fantasy and science-fiction narratives, prose extracts, puzzles and nonfiction. This range placed the title closer to the mixed-format tradition of older British comics than to a modern children's magazine built almost entirely around standalone gags. The publication's early and continuing identity has been shaped by a large group of creators and by the ability of its strips to change over time. Some series, including Tamsin and the Days, Troy Trailblazer, Gary's Garden, Mega Robo Bros, Squid Squad, The Dangerous Adventures of Von Doogan, Izzy Newton and several others, concluded or were discontinued. Other features became recurring parts of the magazine or developed substantial followings. Jamie Smart's Bunny vs Monkey and Looshkin are prominent examples of character-driven comedy, while Star Cat, Evil Emperor Penguin, Donut Squad and other strips contribute science-fiction, fantasy and absurdist elements. The magazine also created a recognizable fictional editorial environment. Tabitha Inkspot serves as the imagined editor-in-chief, supported by animal reporters who present comic news and other information. This framing device turns the publication itself into part of the fictional world and helps connect otherwise varied strips. Features such as Corpse Talk broaden the magazine's scope further by presenting historical and educational subjects through parody and visual storytelling. The feature's later online adaptation in 2022 demonstrated how Phoenix material could move beyond print. Reader participation has been a recurring part of the brand. Star in a Comic encourages children to propose a comic idea, with a selected entry developed for a short run by a Phoenix author and illustrator. Other competitions have been linked to books or established strips. The magazine's community activity has included Phoenix Fest, online and in-person drawing workshops, and appearances or workshops connected with conventions such as Thought Bubble. These activities reinforce the title's positioning as a creative community as well as a periodical. The Phoenix has also used continuing comic events to build internal seriality and reader engagement. The rivalry between Donut Squad and Bagel Battalion developed across multiple issues into a recurring competition involving battles, challenges, comic-space disruptions and eventual peace. Such storylines illustrate the publication's willingness to treat its strips as evolving shared features rather than isolated one-off jokes. Public sources identify David Fickling Comics Ltd as the publisher but do not provide a detailed public chronology of corporate restructuring, financial performance, executive appointments or ownership transactions. The available record instead documents a continuing children's-comics brand whose principal evolution has occurred through its creator roster, recurring characters, collected books, digital adaptations, contests and events.
- 2022
Corpse Talk receives an online adaptation
[1]Tiger Aspect produces an online web series based on the Phoenix historical nonfiction feature Corpse Talk.
- 2012
Regular publication begins
[1]The first regular issue of the British children's comic is published on 7 January.
- 2011
Preview issue released
[1]A preview edition of The Phoenix is released before the start of regular weekly publication.
Products and positioning
An independent, creator-led British children's comic that combines humour with adventure, fantasy, science fiction, puzzles, prose and nonfiction. The brand emphasises variety, sustained storytelling, original character worlds and participation by young readers.
Children's periodical · 2012
The Phoenix weekly comic
The core product is a weekly British comic magazine for children. It combines short humour strips with serialised adventure, fantasy and science-fiction stories, text fiction, puzzles and nonfiction. Its mixed editorial structure is intended to offer both immediate jokes and continuing narratives, encouraging regular reading and familiarity with recurring characters and creators.
Comic books and graphic novels
Collected Phoenix books
Individual Phoenix strips have been collected or extended into book formats. These publications allow popular characters and story worlds to reach readers outside the weekly magazine and provide longer-form editions of selected comic material. Donut Squad is specifically associated with a two-book series in the available reference material.
Nonfiction comic and digital series
Corpse Talk
Adam Murphy's Corpse Talk presents historical figures through a fictional interview or talk-show format. The feature uses comic framing and humour to introduce readers to influential people and historical subjects. It later expanded into an online series produced by Tiger Aspect in 2022.
Humour comic strip
Bunny vs Monkey
Created by Jamie Smart, Bunny vs Monkey follows a group of anthropomorphic woodland animals, especially the put-upon Bunny and disruptive Monkey. The strip is built around fast-moving comic conflict, eccentric supporting characters and an increasingly chaotic natural environment. It is one of the best-known recurring humour features associated with The Phoenix.
Humour comic strip
Looshkin
Looshkin, created by Jamie Smart, centres on a chaotic blue cat described within the feature as the maddest cat in the world. The strip uses surreal situations and escalating visual comedy. A related spin-off, King Looshkin, was created in 2022, extending the character's presence within the Phoenix publishing universe.
Humour comic strip
Donut Squad
Donut Squad is a recurring comic feature involving anthropomorphic doughnut characters. Its rivalry with Bagel Battalion developed into a continuing meta-comic storyline involving contests, battles and disruptions to other strips. The Donut Squad material has also been collected into two books according to the available reference material.
Controversies
2020
The Phoenix apologizes over unpaid internship advertisement
The Phoenix apologized after attention was drawn to an unpaid internship advertisement that required five years of experience. In its apology, the publication stated that the advertisement contained incorrect specifications, that it had been removed, and that it had caused unintended offence. The apology followed Eva Short drawing attention to the advertisement.
Marketing campaigns
- Star in a Comic
United Kingdom · Online
An annual reader-participation competition invites children to submit ideas for comic strips, heroes or villains. A winning concept is developed into a short comic run by a Phoenix writer and artist, while other selected entries may also appear in the magazine.
Outcome. The initiative gives readers a direct creative role and turns selected audience ideas into published Phoenix material.
- Phoenix Fest
United Kingdom · Online
A recurring fan and creator event associated with The Phoenix, offering opportunities to meet artists and take part in drawing and comics activities.
Outcome. The event supports community engagement around the magazine and its creators.
- Phoenix Digital Workshops
Online
Online workshops connect readers with Phoenix artists through drawing sessions, creative exercises and opportunities to suggest ideas.
Outcome. The workshops extend the brand's participatory approach beyond the printed magazine.
Recent events
- 2022
Corpse Talk is adapted into an online series[1]
Other · Product launch
The Phoenix nonfiction feature Corpse Talk receives an online adaptation produced by Tiger Aspect.
- 2012
The Phoenix launches after a preview issue[1]
Other · Product launch
The British weekly children's comic begins regular publication on 7 January 2012 following a preview issue released in late 2011.
Sources5 sources
- 1The Phoenix (comics)en.wikipedia.org
- 2The Phoenix official websitethephoenixcomic.co.uk
- 3Reviews of The Phoenixtoppsta.com
- 4The Phoenix apologizes over unpaid internship advertisementrte.ie
- 5Seebo Announces $24M Funding Round As More Leading Manufacturers Adopt Its AI Solution To Predict & Prevent Production Lossesprnewswire.com
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