Bec & Kawl is a 2000 AD comic

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 story, created by Simon Spurrier

Simon Spurrier

Simon Spurrier is a British comics writer, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller and an art director for the BBC.Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write his own series for 2000 AD, like Lobster Random, Bec & Kawl, The Simping Detective and Harry...

 and Steve Roberts who also cover all the writing and art duties (respectively). The stories combine elements of horror and the supernatural (with the occasional alien) with a large dose of humour which has received a mixed reaction from readers.

Characters

• Becky Miller (Bec) - student and part-time witch
• Jarrod Kawl (Kawl) - a usually stoned hanger on who either accidentally gets the pair into trouble or accidentally gets them out of it (or both)
• Pierre Romanov - the greatest Pest Control Expert that ever lived (in Pest Control)

Plot

Bec and Kawl are art students who dabble in the occult and this leads them into a whole range of adventures from meeting the tooth fairies (Toothache) and defending the Earth from alien traffic cones (Attack of the Cones).

The stories are often parody-based, taking the form of humorous versions of staple themes of fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and horror. The heavy use of parody also extends to dialogue and characters.

Influences

The strip is most obviously influenced by popular culture, in particular movies and comic books. Indeed, many of the minor characters are directly based upon already-existing fictional creations such as Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

, Hellblazer

Hellblazer

Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...

 and the Sandman.

The idea of two young people living a pop-culture heavy existence in a shared flat bears a strong resemblance to the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 sitcom Spaced

Spaced

Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...

.

Collected editions

All the stories have been collected in one trade paperback

Trade paperback (comics)

In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

:

• Bec and Kawl: Bloody Students (Rebellion, 2007, 176 pages, ISBN 1-904265-66-9)

External links

• Bec & Kawl at Barney