Oxford's very own Phoenix is leading the comic revival with stories and fun, writes Alison Boulton

I grew up in a house without comics. They were banned – well, except for Look and Learn. Whoever read that? I was too idle...

Books were the thing. My father was a librarian, after all. I had to think of something. A way around the ban.

Luckily, John, the boy across the street lived in a different universe. He got a bunch of comics delivered each week. A cornucopia of fun. After he’d tasted the forbidden fruit – I got to read them next. On comic day, I rang the doorbell straight after school. “Come on – you must have read some already?” I chirruped.

What could I trade? Aha!

John was a baked bean expert. He could tell a brand at one chew. We implored my mother to seek out the most obscure tin ever. It was a family quest. The bean which John could not speak its name. We’d invite him to tea. He’d saunter over, nonchalantly – perhaps with a comic hidden in his satchel. We’d wait – like curtain-up on Saturday morning cinema – as he twirled his fork, impaled a bean, and popped it into his mouth. We waited. He chewed. Then he spoke: Budgens. The right answer!

Then came the moment I’d been waiting for. Sitting cross legged on my bedroom floor, I pulled opened the brown paper bag. Beano, Dandy, Beezer, Whizzer and Chips – I loved them. Especially the practical jokes. We were all in awe of John’s father, a university academic. He was fierce, with lowering brows. He didn’t seem to care much for children. But he was a good sport. One Christmas, he opened John’s door – and a pail of water fell on his head Fabulous! It wasn’t just pictures, then.

Oxford has led a current comic revivial, with the publication two years ago of the Phoenix comic. It’s full of adventure stories, jokes, puzzles, and non-fiction topics. Local publisher David Fickling has led this initiative with huge enthusiasm, enlisting the support of giants of childrens’ literature: Phillip Pullman, Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson.

This weekend at the Story Museum, the Second Phoenix Children’s Comic Festival has brought together some of the UK’s top writers and illustrators of comics for a day of creative fun.

“Children love comics. They enthrall even the most reluctant reader. We’ve been thrilled with the Phoenix’s success. It’s bringing the excitement and pleasure of comics to a new generation of children, and can help develop a life-long love of reading,” Caro Fickling, Phoenix’s managing director said.

So come along and join in. Wizard!