A GREENOCK comic creator and author aims to rival the Horrible Histories series with the publication of two new books about the Romans in Scotland.
Paul Bristow, of Greenock Magic Torch Comics, was commissioned by a council to work with school pupils to produce The Antonine Wall and Over the Wall.
The wall, the northernmost point the Romans reached, stretched from Old Kilpatrick on the west coast to near Bo’ness in the east, and was around 40 miles long.
Paul worked with five primary schools that have a piece of the wall in their area on the first publication then teamed up with Drumchapel Secondary School to produce the second.
He said: “It’s a really good way to make history more accessible to kids, to make them more engaged.
“It was a brilliant project.
“An archaeological team brought in objects near their school and we had one where the wall ran through their playground.”
Paul says because the wall – a world heritage site – was mostly made of wooden trenches very little of it remains, but people can follow its route by walking along the military way alongside it.
He hopes the new books will remind people of the history they have on their doorstep.
Paul said: “We created Beano-style books that can be downloaded for free so that all schools can use it as a resource.
“Horrible Histories is really good shorthand for showcasing local history.
“It’s funny but you still learn all the facts.
“We are trying to engage young people to get them interested in history.”
Magic Torch Comics was formed in 2017 and has done a lot of work in Greenock but its talents are now in demand in schools and libraries all over Scotland.
Future projects are lined up in the Western Isles and Aberdeen but Paul admits that he especially likes to work on his doorstep.
He said: “We like doing stuff in Inverclyde.”
*To download the new books for free see https://issuu.com/magictorchcomics/docs/antonine_digital_
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