← All spreads

1997 · not illustrated yet

The Humpback Bridge Jump

Illustration in the queue. New spreads are drawn every week — join the list and you’ll see this one the day it’s inked.

“Neil said the car would take it. The car took it. My stomach did not.”

Neil's dad's car is a beauty, but can it fly? There's only one way to find out: the old humpback bridge on the Bramblewick road. We hit the ramp at speed, the wheels leave the tarmac and for a glorious second we're airborne! Then comes the landing, and a noise like a dragon gargling spoons.

And for a second... we were flying.

From the back cover

Every kid knows the legend of the humpback bridge. They say if you hit it fast enough, your car will actually take off. Neil is about to find out if it's true.

He floors the accelerator. The bridge gets closer. The car lifts. And for a moment, it's magic. Then comes the crash back to earth. The grown-ups can't figure out the funny noise for weeks.

Where
The humpback bridge, Bramblewick road
When
Late evening, summer
Who
Neil, Me, Barry
Props
Neil's car, An exhaust, A man walking a dog
The oblivious grown-up
Nobody wrote the plate down
Got away with
The exhaust was rehung with a coat hanger