Kingdom: An authentic look at British holidays

Art by Jon McNaught

Admittedly, Jon McNaught's Kingdom isn't the sort of comic I usually read. Not a single superhero can be found across its 128 thick pages, except in the form of a Spider-Man beach towel or a Batman key-ring. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed each and every panel, and have found a new love for quirky indie comic books.

Kingdom struck a chord with me because of its subject matter: British holidays. I grew up as far as you can get from the coast, so trips to the seaside have always been magical to me. In this book, McNaught dissects that magic into its constituent parts to take the reader back to those sunny days.

...Perhaps not always sunny

The most striking thing about Kindgom is the sheer number of panels, which McNaught uses to highlight the mundane and paint an incredibly accurate picture of a British holiday. In the caravan, for example, we zoom in on the lights, the kitchen sink, and the shells and pebbles accumulated on the coffee table. The level of detail makes it easy for your mind to fill in the blanks, conjuring up your own memories of past holidays.

At the same time, McNaught's simple art style and minimal use of colour also make it easy to reminisce. Rather than imposing his own memories on the reader, he provides a framework that your own stories can form around. Its almost as if Kingdom is a photo album of all the things you never actually took pictures of - the hardback tome certainly feels like it could be.

The Kingdom hardcover from Nobrow Press

In this sense, Kingdom is more of an experience than a story. There are no twists and turns, and the book has very little dialogue throughout. However, McNaught still uses text to convey a message - when playing a game in the car to pass the time, Andy tells his sister "You can't hide somewhere that doesn't exist anymore!", a thought-provoking sentiment as the reader gets lost in their memories of years gone by.

Anyone who's ever visited the British coast will undoubtedly find something to love in this book, but its hard to discern the extent to which somebody from outside of the UK would appreciate Kingdom. McNaught's beautiful artwork could do an excellent job of showing readers from overseas what a quintessentially British holiday is like, but the absence of a plot might fail to hold their interest.

McNaught draws a beautiful sunset

In my opinion, however, everybody should give consider giving Kingdom a read. Like an iridescent pebble protruding from beneath the sand, it's a work of art that many will overlook, but deserves to be enjoyed.

Rating: 7.5/10

I found Kingdom as part of Page 45's Comicbook of the Month Club, available to members at a discounted price. You can also get it from Amazon, but unlike most comics I review, you won't find it on Comixology.