Review by Ian Keogh

Frigiel and Fluffy are characters met when exploring the world of Minecraft, a keen adventurer and apprentice sorcerer and his faithful dog. Here, he and his mates Abel and Alice are spotlighted in two stories.

They’re all keen to help out when something goes wrong, so when a second watermelon shipment goes missing they involve themselves. Not only do they have to rush for safety at night to avoid zombies, but the further from the city they go, the more likely they are to run into bandits. In the second story the pals learn of a competition for heroes, and decide to enter.

Jean-Christoph Derrien has a long track record in French graphic novels, which is where these stories originally appeared, although as two separate books. He doesn’t seem to have an ego either, as he’s willing to share the writing credit with Frigiel himself. The potential for exploration in the Minecraft game is aimed at youngsters, and Derrien pitches his stories at that level. There are threats, but nothing likely to give kids troubled sleep, and sometimes they turn out not to be as threatening as their reputation. He strings out the tension and Frigiel, Fluffy and their friends remain resolute and cheerful under any circumstances, and the message is that being friendly to everyone pays off.

The art is only credited to Studio Minte, a collective based in India who undertake commissions for animation as well as comics. They base their art on the blocky designs of Minercraft, with both people and objects illustrated as cubes, with the only curved lines seen for giving mouths expressions. It makes for strange looking watermelons for a start. They reflect the generally upbeat nature of the stories, and are surprisingly good at making such awkward looking characters seem to move.

Any kid who enjoys exploring the worlds of Minecraft will thrill to these adventures.