Publisher's synopsis
Set in the 1940s when the pearling town of Broome is recovering from World War II, The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon is an epic tale that follows the heroics of Ubby, a street-wise Aboriginal girl and the leader of a rag-tag gang known as the ‘Underdogs’. When Ubby recruits Sai Fong, a Chinese girl off the boat from Shanghai, they are thrown into a series of bizarre adventures full of myths and legends, and secrets never before exposed. McKenna’s first volume of the Ubby’s Underdogs trilogy leaves you gasping for air and hungry for more.
Brenton McKenna is a respected Yawuru artist based out of Broome, WA, who is the first ever published Indigenous graphic novel author in Australia. In 2011 Magabala Books published Brenton’s first work – Ubby’s Underdogs: The Legend of the Phoenix Dragon. The Ubby’s brand has gone on to become an iconic three-part series and affirmed Brenton’s place as an exciting voice in the Australian literary scene. Additional published works to date include notable Penguin and Allen & Unwin titles. Brenton also has a weekly comic strip in The West Australian called Old Champ.
When he’s not drawing, Brenton dedicates his time to educating young people through creative storytelling workshops. Using his “you can be anything you want” mantra, he takes learning into a fantastical, exciting and visual space through his innovative and imaginative teachings.
Bio and photo: Magabala Books
