book cover

Corpse Talk: Ground-Breaking Women

by Adam Murphy and Lisa Murphy

Interest age: 8 to 11
Reading age: 8+

Published by David Fickling Books, 2018

  • Around the world
  • Comic books
  • Funny
  • Graphic novels
  • Historical
  • Non-fiction

About this book

Chat-show host Adam Murphy interviews 18 amazing women from history in this witty, informative comic book. Freshly dug up from the grave, the dead famous women sport a skeletal, decayed look, and are not afraid to reveal the gory details of their lives. There are big names, such as the saintly Joan of Arc and teenage diarist Anne Frank, as well as lesser-known figures, including 17th century swashbuckler Julie d'Aubigny and Princess Caraboo, a con-artist from the 1800s.

Discover how English monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, power-dressed to impress, wearing gossamer "fairy wings" to add to her magical, otherworldly image, and stuffing her shrunken cheeks with rags after losing all her teeth. She even painted her face white to cover smallpox scars, although the poisonous lead paint may well have contributed to her death.

Learn about Khutulun, a 13th-century Mongolian wrestling princess, fearsome warrior and great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan. She agreed to wed any man who could beat her at wrestling, but though countless tried, none succeeded, so she was free to marry for love.

With a casual, chatty style and colourful comic-strip illustrations, this unique, accessible and slightly macabre series is packed full of humour and fascinating facts.

About the author

Adam has been writing and drawing comics for The Phoenix Comic since it started in 2012. He is the creator of Corpse Talk, in which he digs up famous people from history and interviews their reanimated zombie corpses. He also writes and draws Lost Tales, in which he re-interprets unusual folktales from around the world. His first book Corpse Talk: Season 1 was published by David Fickling Books in 2014.

About the author

Lisa's background is in Fine Arts and Education. She's incredibly passionate about colours and believes that they can help to tell a story. Lisa and Adam have been working together as a married comics duo for five years. Lisa is a Canadian living in Glasgow with Adam and their little pickle (their nickname for their little baby).

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