BILLY THOMPSON, STAR OF BILLY THE BRAVE - THE COMIC

​On Monday 4 March, Beano comic writer Ned Hartley (Bananaman) put out a plea on social media for comic artist friends to draw something to help brighten the remaining days of a young reader with a terminal brain tumour.  Fellow Beano writer Nigel Auchterlounie (Dennis the Menace) and I (merely a life-long fan of The Beano) answered the call.

In November 2023, 4-year-old Billy Thompson of Great Bookham, Surrey, was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), an incurable brain tumour that primarily affects children.  Despite such devastating news, Billy’s parents Jamie and Ellie managed to quickly raise an incredible £225,000, which enabled them to take time off work to care for him full-time.  It also afforded Billy’s family time to make special memories with him during his last months.

Fundraising efforts were given a huge boost when Queen rock star Sir Brian May saw footage on social media of Billy playing air guitar on his way to radiotherapy treatment and recorded a personal video response to say how impressed he was.  Reported on by the national press, Billy subsequently received special messages from acting legend Dame Judy Dench, and former rugby player Jonny Wilkinson.

Through correspondence with a family friend, I learned that as well as reading The Beano, Billy also enjoyed dressing up as Marvel and DC superheroes.  With this in mind, I decided to surprise him with his very own superhero comic, in which he would star.

​In my spare time, I created an eight-page full colour comic for Billy to enjoy.  Titled Billy the Brave, it comprised of a four-page comic adventure, four pages of jokes and puzzles, one Billy the Brave poster, and a selection of “free gifts”.  Ten copies were produced so that Billy could share his special story adventure with family and friends.

Sadly, Billy Thompson died on Easter Sunday 31 March.  Unsure as to whether the comics got to him in time, I received a touching message from Billy’s mum Ellie, on Monday 29 April, which revealed Billy had received and read his personalised comic on the day he died.  It was the last thing he read, and it made him laugh; the true measure of my career.

Several commemorations for Billy took place in July, including the unveiling of a bench at the school he attended (featuring Nigel Auchterlounie’s contribution; coincidentally, a superhero drawing of Billy).

A sponsored walk took place, with Billy’s school friends and their parents dressing up as superheroes for the occasion.  Delighted with the comic I had produced, Billy’s parents got in touch with me prior to the walk to request 30 more copies - but with one notable difference: a collage of photos on the reverse of the poster, showing Billy in good health, enjoying happy occasions.  These were distributed to the children on the walk, for them to enjoy and keep as a memento of their heroic school friend, Billy the Brave.