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José/Juan Ariza

Country of Origin: Spain

Artist

Catch Me If You Can...
Jilly takes short cut and meets Vicky who teases her, gets home OK but cannot see her at school so goes back to wood, discovers Vicky is a ghost and ends with Vicky chasing her (‘Sobbing and stumbling, Jilly fled as if her life depended on it… as perhaps it did…’ (final panel of Vicky looming, Jilly crying).

Catch The Moon If You Can
Mary given a magic coin by dying grandmother and told she must pass it on within a year, it fills drawer with money every full moon (great panel combining all the luxuries she and her family buy with it) and at end of year she decides not to pass it on ‘But why should I? Who’s to know what Grandmother’s instructions were? I’ll keep the coin myself and it will carry on its magic for us…’ that night she sees coin hovering in air and follows it, nearly falls into sea but warned by her gran reappearing one last time.

Cathy And The Nature Spirits
Cathy’s dad sells land down by the stream she warns the nature spirits there but it goes ahead, when the first tree is cut she appears there injured, after he calls it off she returns to her bed and is OK.

Finder's Creepers
Wicked Amanda sent by judge to country to live with Aunt, finds necklace and grows butterfly wings and creates more trouble, won’t give it back and is punished by being turned into a caterpillar ‘Heeeee...eeeeelp me, someone!’ beautiful pictures of wings.

Full Circle
Lazy Gail (‘…who wants to work when you can have a nice easy life doing nothing?’) answers an advert to look after plants and ends up taking place of owner to look after them forever (‘I was very much like you … arrogant and selfish! But the plants taught me a lesson I will never forget!’)

Girl Who Knew The Fairies
Lana believes in fairies and tells Carol who comes along to watch the fairy ball with her that night, but is amazed when it proves to be true and she is led off by them ‘Those who see us may not return to tell of it!’ realises they are a tiny race of people living under the earth – next day in school Lana tells everyone where Carol has gone but nobody believes her.

How Does Your Garden Grow?
Londoners Sharon and Lina have robbed shopkeeper (instant immersion in story, this told through dialogue) and stop at old lady’s cottage, intend to rob her but end up drugged and fed to her roses (‘Old Rosie always gives her roses what they like…a nice helping of blood and bones.’) revealed she has been dead and gone for many years but new roses found by side of road.

Jorum Is Coming
Heather finds an space-egg and plants it in wood while in a trance, becomes increasingly detached and sure that ‘Jorum is coming’, egg tells her to kill her parents, she gets axe but then hears them say they love her and smashes egg instead.

Just Another Day
Julia and friends arrive at school to find it has vanished, as does part of the street and then the rest of the world, finally revealed it is all being dreamed by an alien.

Let Not Evil Flourish
Carol and bellringing group go to play in candlelit church, discover strange sign with musical notation, play it widdershins and it summons a demon – then Carol wakes up to find her friends have just realised this but she is in time to stop them [like The Dummy]

Looking For Something Special...
Narrated by girl who just wants to be loved, found on beach and taken home by old couple, but they insist on calling dr and she returns to just a pile of sand (‘Unloved, unwanted now… / … just sand once again. / Think of us, beneath your feet. Tiny, separate grains. Liked so briefly and then deserted… / And yet we so nearly found it – love!’

Present From Singapore
June receives a weird screaming doll from her penpal in the post, hates it and locks it away but goes off (explained by cat) dad agrees to get rid of it but then it screams again and alerts them to him in danger while fixing car, he reveals he took its electrics out so shouldn’t have been able to scream, June says ‘I don’t know, mum… but it’ll always be my favourite doll from now on!’

Samantha's Dream
Opens with Samantha’s dream of seeing ghosts which she has had every night on holiday, the family decide to go home the next day but train crashes and Sam finds herself in her dream, but then realises she is the only one who has died.

Shadow Of A Doubt...
Mary hears whispers coming from their barn including her dad's voice, plotting to kill everyone in the town, turns out it is people's shadows

The Dryad Girl
Shala tree dryad gives up immortality to become mortal (‘That boy by the river they call Brian is so handsome… if it was of his kind, we could be together always…’) (‘I’d rather be happy for a little while than live forever yearning for something I can never have’), but turns out she is hideous (fairy style art p32 colour used well here)

The Forest
Lorna ignores her dad and accidentally sets a forest fire which she doesn’t own up to, becomes cursed and every plant she passes dies, people say she’s a witch and animals hate her – wakes up and it is all a dream and she realises she must appreciate it.

The Girl Who Stole The Stars
Finds meteor fragment that grants wishes, asks for good stuff for herself and family, but each wish she makes puts out a star, realises sun is a star and undoes her wishing in time.

The Monkey's Claw
Ginny gives last penny to organ grinder, goes to live with kind aunt but one day discover her dead with door locked from inside, poisoned by deadly venom, Ginny becomes more nervous and sad, and sees the organ grinder’s monkey in her room one night, realises the scratch has come from his paws and screams, grinder shakes monkey paw for job well done and gets poisoned himself as Ginny had been wearing gloves in bed due to sore hands

Vengeance Is Green...
Nina is bullied at school by Marion and friends, saves some ivy and plants it, Marion tries to cut it but it attacks her and Nina is forced to kill it to save her

Watch Your Step!
Spoilt Della goes to stay with cousins in the country and criticises it, ignores Old Ben who tells her stories of fairies, and then is scared into shock as she takes a shortcut through the wood and sees Ben covered in fairies (revealed after to be fireflies), taken home by her parents.

When The Lights Go Out!
Anne has to go to boring kids party at her mum’s workplace (department store) but vows to get something out of it for herself, sneaks into fashion floor and steals clothes, shakes dummy’s hand and it speaks to her, and then reveals she is a ghost using dummy’s body, just like others on this floor, and Anne realises she has been turned into one too.

Who Killed Teacher?
Mandy complains for always being kept behind in school and starts trying to scare her teacher as revenge. Teacher runs in front of car and is hit, Mandy tells friend Grace what she has done and Grace reveals Mrs Prendergast was a witch and had been teaching her – she swaps their bodies ‘at the exact moment of death’ saving Mrs Prendergast and killing Mandy.

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