Check It Out

 Ah, the Tyne & Wear Metro! Light rail service of dreams! Iconic! And those unheralded heroes of the service, the 'checkies'! (etymology: Customer Service Advisors who check tickets) 

Finally, their stories are told in comic form!

Some People Call Us Checkies is a comic by Michael Duckett, with colouring/lettering/compiling/editing/wrangling by Britt Coxon. It blends stories from the staff in their own words with illustrations of the Metro service - the stations, the trains, the passengers and staff, along with the local geography and landmarks that the Metro services passes near. It's a lovely publication that mixes authentic personal reflection on an oft-underappreciated public role and some lovely, characterful art. More info here.

It features a few guest illustrations from various excellent local artists, plus a daft puzzle, based on station name anagrams, by Alexi (with colouring/lettering/layout by Britt). The brief was to provide something fun for kids, and while Alexi feels the illustrations and tone are suitable, the puzzle itself is a TOUGH CHALLENGE, only for the truest Metro enthusiast.

There's no specific way to get the comic from Nexus - they're distributing it internally and with school visits and suchlike, but you should be able to get a copy from Mike or Alexi if you're interested (drop Alexi a line by all means and he'll get one to you).