Volume 5, Page 9

(Click to enlarge) This page of cartoons was created yesterday. It closes Volume 5 with a round of simple, standard-length strips. "Lunchtime" features the new character from Volume 4, Wellington's butler Cecil. In "Staring Contest", Hornblower and Larry are fighting again, this time in the form of a staring contest. Hornblower loses, but later angrily discovers that squids are incapable of blinking. "Arch Rivals", the closing comic for the volume, revisits the age-old Napoleon/Wellington rivalry.

Volume 5, Page 8

(Click to enlarge) Page 8 is the "Saga" for Volume 5, entitled "Wellie Vs. Nelly". In the cartoon, Wellington provokes a war with Nelson by painting a huge nose on a portrait of the latter. Both sides prepare for the ensuing battle. However, when the armies finally clash, a TV ad stops them in their tracks, leading to a hilarious and unexpected ending.

Volume 5, Page 7

(Click to enlarge) "Yarrrr!" is about Nelson's sailors becoming pirates. However, something stops them - something that, to quote Nelson, "starts with a 'G'... ends with a 'rog'!" Marshal Poulet stars in "Twooting His Own Horn," a cartoon that makes fun of the social networking system Twitter. As always, the Marshal is blissful but completely clueless.

Volume 5, Page 6

(Click to enlarge) After a two-month hiatus (page 5 was dated April 2009), I resumed work on Volume 5 in June. Page 6 starts out with an excellent Wellie comic, "Frieneral". The title is of course a pun on the words "friend" and "general", and is reflective of the cartoon's plot - General Wellington tries (and, naturally, fails) to make friends with his troopies. In "Bloody Beauty", Volume 5's Doctors cartoon, the pair see a gory horror movie. The Doctor's reaction to the film is not what you might expect.

Volume 5, Page 5

(Click to enlarge) I owe my grandmother (who is an artist) thanks for helping me develop the arrogant young interviewee in "The Wunderkind". She helped me keep his appearance confident and beyond his years, without making him seem like an adult. "There Are Some Things Money Can't Buy..." is a spoof of a Mastercard ad. While I try to keep spoofs in my comics to a minimum (they are too contemporary, and are only funny if you know the source of the spoof) sometimes I just can't resist.

Volume 5, Page 4

(Click to enlarge) Page 4 is the second and final set of "Quotes" for Volume 5. "Nappy Quote #10" shows how helpful cell phones can be in discovering extra-marital affairs. In "Wellie Quote #10", the world turns upside down - Napoleon is finally pranked by Wellington! Finally, in "Nelly Quote #10", Nelson discovers to his great dismay that he has no control over the weather.

Volume 5, Page 3

(Click to enlarge) Page 3 was where the "Quotes" for Volume 5 started like normal. Here we have three fairly standard "Quotes", although I think that "Nappy Quote #9" is the funniest of the bunch. However, it is important when you read that comic that you understand what the words "slander" and "flatter" mean - I have showed it to people who've read it said, "What? I don't get it."

Volume 5, Page 2

(Click to enlarge) "Martin-clique Vacation" was History Clique's 100th comic strip of all time. To celebrate the occasion, I made it my first ever cartoon to take up an entire page. The comic is about the members of the Clique taking a vacation to Martinique. Unfortunately, the vacation ends in disaster after a squabble over fruit juice. Everything I love about this cartoon is summed up in Wellington's shocked and outraged cry: "GUAVA?!"

Volume 5, Page 1

(Click to enlarge) Volume 5 was the first ever History Clique volume not to start with a "Nappy Quote". There was a method to my madness; I wanted to set up for the History Clique 100th Comic. Knowing that the 100th comic had to be on Page 2, I couldn't place the standard two consecutive pages of Quotes on the first 2 pages like usual. Instead, Page 1 has three typical, normal-length, run-of-the-mill cartoons. My favorite on this page is probably "History Retold". But I do also like the sneaky Beatles reference in "Sub Par" (Wellington has a yellow submarine).