Eugene Byrne and Simon Gurr's The Bristol Story is a strange thing. It was chosen for the Bristol Great Reading Adventure 2008 and you can definitely see why. It's a solid piece of work - drawing notably from the style of Horrible History books somewhat to create an entertaining yet very informative book. There's a few things that could have been improved but if you've any interest in Bristol or English history in general, you'll definitely find something to like about this.

The writing by Eugene is brilliant. It's never demeaning but still packs a tonne of information in the back story, both historical and mythological, of Bristol. It covers everything about Bristol even up to the current day and doesn't seem to miss anything (I imagine there are some smaller things it leaves out, but its 192 page count ensures most things you'll ever want to know are given time). The language is suitable for children, early teens and adults.

The early pages read like a comic - set-out panels and speech bubbles with some narrating characters. However, quickly soon it becomes an illustrated book. There's lots of dense text in a font that's a bit smaller than it could have been to be more comfortable. It keeps the same tone and still reads well, but just doesn't seem as fun and as effective as the early pages were. By no means does this completely detract from the overall product but it's something that could be suggested for any books of this kind.

The artwork by Simon Gurr is superb. One of the best praises I can give it is that while the book is black and white throughout, you never miss the colour. The style is energetic and cartoony to the right degree, while also keeping detailed expressions that make the art work. The grey colouring is perfect, as I say, it's done so well you don't even realise you're missing any colour throughout. There's a couple of anatomical areas that could have done with some work but nothing you'll really notice as you're reading through it. The only downside with the art is that it wasn't used to a better degree. As I said with the writing, I think the book would have been even more effective if it had stayed as more of a comic throughout. There are moments few and far in between, but really the majority of Simon's work is as an illustrator drawing for the text, rather than as a proper comic.

This is a comic/book that has been well funded, and you can tell. The paper is superb quality, it's a huge book and it's got a nice "FREE!" image on the front. If you're a fan of the Horrible History series you'll find this fits right in with them while still being unique. It's a clever piece of work on both Eugene and Simon's part, and it'd be great to see some actual full comic work from either or both of these guys. In my opinion it's a must read for fans of English history or those looking to be taught a few things in a good old fashioned entertaining way.