You wait for ages for a book with a big blue cartoon guardian angel in and then two come along at once. However IDW’s Memorial: Imaginary Friends  by Chris Roberson and Rich Ellis could not be more different from Grant Morrison’s Happy, even though its main characters share a similar hue!

Imaginary Friends is the follow up to IDW’s charming Memorial series from last year and has a very classic fairy tale feel to it. Reminiscent of 80s classics like a Neverending Story or Labyrinth with a hint of the Narnia books and a generous dose of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman for good measure, this new instalment introduces Jonathan who is struggling to look after his senile mother and trying to figure out why she is drawing pictures of his childhood imaginary best friend, – an 8 foot blue dinosaur called Nox. When his daughter is kidnapped, Jonathan discovers Nox has entered the real world and they must set off to rescue  her with the help of Em, Peter and Schodinger the cat, who are alerted to this improbable arrival and offer to help rescue his daughter from the sinister world of Maybe

Although it doesn’t offer the reader anything particularly new and original, Memorial’s charming artwork and sweet, simple  story makes it a really fun read. Released fortnightly as digital exclusives these 10 page mini issues are a bargain  at 69p and really make the most of it’s simple adventure based plot which  will definitely keep you coming back for more as we learn yet more about Em and the world of Maybe.

Memorial: Imaginary Friends is available via the ComiXology app or via the IDW publishing app and the first Memorial story is available here.