Gary Northfield
Gary was born in Romford, Essex in June 1969. He moved to Norfolk when he was two, where he then spent most of his childhood and the bug for writing and drawing funny stories evolved. Gary graduated from college with a degree in illustration. After graduation he worked in an art shop for a few years during which time he discovered the hidden world of small press (home-made) comics. Finally Gary took the plunge with his own comics in 1999. He acquired the position of ‘in-house illustrator’ at Eaglemoss Publications in 2002, working on magazines such as Horrible Histories and The Magical World of Roald Dahl. Gary has been writing and drawing Derek the Sheep for DC Thomson’s The Beano since late 2003.
Books
Derek the Sheep
Author: Gary Northfield
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 6+
Reading age: 7+
A collection of hilarious Derek the Sheep adventures, each having featured as a comic strip in The Beano since 2003.
Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans
Author: Gary Northfield
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 8-12
Reading age: 8
Set in ancient Rome, this is the hilarious tale of Julius, a zebra who is seized from his African watering hole and shipped hundreds of miles away to face the gladiators in combat at the Colosseum.
Leif the Unlucky Viking: Saga of the Shooting Star
Author: Gary Northfield
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 8+
Leif, a hapless Viking wolf pup, embarks on a secret mission to locate a missing shard from Thor’s hammer. This hilarious Viking adventure has oodles of laughs on every page.