For most primary-aged Australian children, a typical weekend is spent playing sport, watching cartoons or hanging out with their friends and family. For brothers Marlow, 10 and Carter, 9, from Cairns, a lifelong obsession with comic books meant that they spent all their free time creating their own stories on the page.
The young creators are the writers behind the Poo-Heads series: graphic novels aimed at “reluctant readers” aged 6-12 — doused with toilet humour, of course. The first book, “Electric Cactus Eggs” was published by Wilkinson Publishing last year, with the release of the second book “The Tale of the Stink-Eye Butt Dragon” following soon after.
The pair are quick to explain where their inspiration comes from. “Books from the library,” they told Women’s Agenda. “Animals and superpowers from Marvel and DC characters. And sometimes our friends.”
The brothers are enthusiastic readers, and are currently working their way through One Piece manga, reading each night independently before settling in for a bedtime story with their mother, entrepreneur Maddi Wright. Their bookshelves are also packed with favourites such as Dog Man, Gravity Falls and InvestiGators.
Their comic book heroes reflect their love of humour, adventure and action-packed storytelling. Their favourite authors include Dave Pilkey, Anh Do and Eiichiro Oda.
The brothers’ creative partnership is at the heart of the Poo-Heads phenomenon. Working together has its advantages, particularly when ideas start flowing.
“I can ask him any question because he is always there and we have the same ideas,” Carter said.
The challenges, however, are equally familiar to anyone who has siblings.
“Annoying,” the pair said in unison when asked about the hardest part of collaborating.
Despite the occasional disagreement, their creative process has attracted a devoted audience. Across the country, schools and community groups are voraciously inhaling the series.
Their biggest supporters are their friends at school and the children who have joined their online creative club.
“They are the biggest Poo-Heads fans,” the boys said.
Before any new idea makes it into a book, it passes through a trusted group of testers, including their friends, and their parents. For their mother, Maddi, watching her sons become published authors has been both surprising and rewarding.
“When the boys first asked if they could make a book, I had this internal mum moment of, do I roll my eyes and fob them off, or dig deep and find the energy for this?” she recalled.
Instead of dismissing the idea, she sat them down for an honest conversation about the commitment involved.
“I started with an honest conversation about the hard, consistent work it would actually take. I think part of me expected that to put them off. Instead, they called my bluff and wanted to do it for real.”
The family’s original goal was modest: create a book to sell at the local school fete. What followed exceeded everyone’s expectations.
The boys worked before and after school, on weekends and during spare moments, developing stories alongside award-winning comic illustrator Stu Thornton, who eventually became like a member of the family.
“Finding an illustrator who genuinely understood what two kids were trying to make felt like luck, but it was really just the right fit,” said Maddi. “Stu took the boys’ ideas seriously and grew their wild storyboards into these fantastic graphic novels.”
One of the most striking lessons she has learned is how differently children approach creativity.
“Kids have WAY better ideas than adults ever can,” she said. “Their minds aren’t bound by reality or memory or logic.”
The boys build their stories page by page, physically placing completed pages along the family hallway as the narrative develops. Friends often become unofficial editors, offering immediate feedback.
“You can tell if a page is working by the giggles in the hallway,” Maddi said.
The publishing journey has also given her an insider’s perspective on an industry she describes as surprisingly traditional.
The family has occasionally encountered criticism that Poo-Heads is little more than potty humour. Yet the response from educators and child development professionals has told a different story.
“School libraries have ordered it from all over the country. Speech pathologists have ordered it for their offices. School counsellors are using it as a tool because it connects with children on a level a lot of books don’t.”
Maddi believes the secret is simple: the stories are written by children, for children.
“Other kids see themselves in the authors. It is written in their humour, not an adult’s idea of what kids find funny.”
For Maddi, perhaps the most rewarding part of the experience has been witnessing what happens when children are given genuine support for their ideas.
“I don’t think my sons are any different to any other kid,” she said. “Every child has wild, brilliant ideas constantly.”
What matters, she argues, is having adults willing to help carry those ideas from imagination to reality.
“When an adult actually backs a child’s idea, they stand a little taller. They start thinking of themselves as someone who finishes things, not just someone who dreams them up.”
That lesson forms the foundation of her advice to other parents.
“The idea is the easy part. Every kid has wonderful ideas all day long. The hard and valuable thing is helping them carry one all the way to the end.”
“When your child comes to you with something they want to make, resist the urge to just say ‘that’s lovely’ and move on. Pick one idea, set a small and real goal with it, and then stay in it with them. It will take real time and energy from you. There is no way around that. But watching a child realise they can actually finish something they dreamed up is worth every weekend it costs you.”
For Marlow and Carter, that journey has already taken them from hallway storyboards and school-fete ambitions to published books and a growing fan base. And judging by the endless supply of animals, superheroes and outrageous adventures still bubbling away in their imaginations, the next Poo-Heads explorations is no doubt already racing towards the printing press.