Nobody's here    (11.03.10)
  

   That's Mr. Nobody to you. He's one of Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Men,
   and he's in the news because he's back in print, after quite some
   time away.

   Mr. Nobody first appeared in a limited edition book from 1985,
   but then spent twenty years lost - or should that be "invisible"? -
   in the archives until he was rediscovered by Adam Hargreaves.
   All this see-through chap wants to do is to become someone,
   somehow, someday. Which he does, is, has, now. Well, you
   get where we're coming from.

   The last really-honestly-new Mr. Man to join the throng of 
   Mr. Men & Little Misses was Mr. Good, who arrived in 2004.
   But Mr. Nobody now becomes, officially, the 47th Mr. Man
   character. That's a whole lot of Mr. Men. One for every facet
   of the human condition, just about. It must be getting harder
   and harder to come up with new ones.

   The Hound can still recall the very first arrivals, like it was
   yesterday. Back in 1971 we had Mr. Tickle, Mr. Greedy,
   Mr. Happy, Mr.Nosey, Mr. Sneeze, Mr. Bump and Mr. Snow.
   Seven fab characters in seven fab books that this young pup
   simply had to collect. I got three for my birthday, whilst
   caravanning in Devon, and spent a chunk of the day giving
   my brothers suitablly silly "Mr." names. And that's a game that
   must have been played in so many young households of the
   years. Referencing the characters is now part of everyday
   conversation, isn't it?

   But here's a thing. Mr. Snow is very much the odd man out here.
   After all, he has nothing to do with any human trait or emotion.
   I thought it odd, all those years ago, and it still niggles me now.
   Maybe he embodies the internal joy you experience, during
   the festive period. You know, that fuzzy feeling you get?
   He's a unique and magic Mr. Man for a unique and
   magic time...

   Erm. Or something like that. But whilst you're musing on this,
   let's remind you that Mr. Nobody features new artwork by Adam
   Hargreaves and it was published by Egmont Books on
   March 1st, 2010...

                                                                  More: The Mr Men

 
 
    headlines »    news archive »