Boss of the Underworld: Shirley vs the Huge Beast

Tor Freeman was born and grew up in London and California. She is an author and illustrator, published in the UK and worldwide, and had two ongoing strips in the weekly comic The Phoenix. Her books include Ten Fat Sausages by Michelle Robinson and The Book that No One Wanted to Read by Richard Ayoade. She has been awarded the Sendak Fellowship, and won the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize. While finding her feet as an illustrator Tor had other jobs, including being a medical secretary for five years, teaching art in a primary and secondary school and guest lecturing on the Southampton Illustration BA. Tor lives and works in London. She has many hobbies including sewing, ceramics, making comics and trying to read all of Stephen King's books, and spends a lot of her spare time walking her dog Rusty.

Tor Freeman's punky drawing style feels like a mash-up between the 1990s MTV series Beavis and Butthead and the goggle-eyed characters of Axel Scheffler. It's sweet, surreal and delightfully deadpan. Freeman has great comic timing. There's a wonderful rhythm to the panels, with plenty of slapstick humour as well as big, cinematic set pieces.