Spinning a yarn

Writer Stephanie Bryant, a keen crafter, started working on the project two and a half years ago, after a visit to her local knitting group. She told us: "We were talking about how much fun it was to knit superhero things - Wonder Woman bracelets, superhero head bands, and quirky stuff like that. We were saying 'wouldn't it be cool to have a club where every month you'd get the pattern and yarn to make something a bit different'? And then I was thinking 'you could have a story, with these characters and this story arc' and then I realised I had pretty much begun the process of writing a comic book."

American Stephanie, a technical writer by trade, teamed up with British comic artist Marc Olivent and pattern designer Erssie Major to create Handknit Heroes. The action centres on twins Ana and Alex Miller and Ana's best friend Sue. By day they're all mild mannered teenagers, but it soon becomes clear there's more to them than the usual high school angst. Ana can lift cars and, following a slight snafu at Bring Your Daughter to Work Day which saw Sue use her mobile phone in a science lab where she shouldn't, she now seems to have teleportation abilities which would make Nightcrawler proud. Make no mistake, this isn't a cobbled together tale to hang some knitwear on - the characters are fun and the artwork striking enough that there's plenty for non-knitters to enjoy.

"Our priority is to write a good story," Stephanie reveals. "Before I started this I hadn't bought a comic for about ten years, so most of my comic book influences date back to the golden age of mid-eighties Marvel - and you see that in my style and pacing, we're big fans of the cliffhanger."

The first issue comes with a pattern to make Ana's favourite pocketed scarf, while issue two is the Net of Justice bag - much more useful an accessory than Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth. And if knitting isn't your thing, then you can buy a pattern to crochet Ana, Alex or Sue instead. As Stephanie explains: "Why buy an action figure when you can make your own?"

All comic book creators yearn to launch their latest work at the geek Mecca that is San Diego, but the Heroes is a little different. It was launched in San Diego, but not at the world famous Comic Con, rather at US' biggest knitting and craft fair which also has its home in the city - but what do you expect for a comic focused on superhero knitters?

The first two issues have gone down a storm with knitters looking for something a little different and Stephanie hopes the quirky premise will also prove of interest with comic book geeks. Wandering the aisles of BICS with some geeky friends the response seemed split between people thinking this was a brilliantly quirky idea (including me, preparing to dust off my knitting needles as we speak) and some of the geekboys of my acquaintance, who it would appear just don't get how popular crafting is with people of all ages nowadays.

And let's face it, with winter coming there are a fair few superheroes out there whose outfits are so skimpy they could do with a big jumper. Maybe the Handknit Heroes (and their bulletproof wool) are just what they need. Plus, I quite fancy a new scarf.

For more information on Handknit Heroes and to order comics or kits go to http://www.comicknits.com .