John Chapman’s Jonnie Rocket adventures capture his own dreams and adventures as a boy, but also reflect his part in movie history
John Chapman made it to the stars. As a young man, he fancied doing some acting so he went to Pinewood to see if he could get a job. They told him he really needed an agent, so he went to London, found an extras agency, did a few acting exercises and a week later he was on the cast of a production happening over at Elstree called Star Wars. “We were all told it was going to be a TV series,” he says.
Of course, it was to be much more than that, and he counts himself privileged to have been part of film history as the X-Wing pilot Red 12 Drifter in a movie franchise that is lodged deep in the imaginations of three generations now.
While he’s proud to have been part of that moment, looking to the stars was something John Chapman also did a lot as a boy. He had what was identified (years later) as dyslexia. “I did feel a bit of a dunce,” he says. “The only thing that got me through my school days was fashion and music, so I could keep some sort of credibility.
“The other thing that I did, especially when I was very young, was that my bike was a complete fantasy for me – escapism. Lying in the garden in my parents’ house and staring at the stars I would think ‘there’s got to be something better out there than what I’m trying to deal with at the moment’.”
Jonnie Rocket came to life as part of that childhood memory. First dreamed up by John Chapman in the late 1990s during conversations with his family, the four books in the series centre on a boy whose bike has magic powers and takes him far into the universe. Bringing the books to life was a labour of love. Chapman wanted them to be imaginative and with educational value – but also fun and accessible, even to reluctant or struggling readers.
“The font is cursive form which teachers and educationalists like for dyslexia,” he says. “And I’ve made the speech bubbles a creamy yellowy background in the Sagas that follow on from the first book. From my perspective if I read on a yellow background the words stay where they are and don’t jump around.” Just as important, the books are big and bold, packed with colour and vivid illustrations to fire imagination.
Bringing this young superhero to life was critical. “I had a vision of what I wanted Jonnie to look like, and it was quite a retro look – an iconic look,” he says. He sat down with the comic artist Anthony Williams (now well known for his work with Marvel) who got the look just right.
In the first book, Jonnie decides to head off on his bike for the day, with his mother’s reminder about his grandma’s birthday forgotten when the bike lifts off and takes him far into outer space. There, he encounters villains, but also friendly aliens who help him pick some very weird flowers. When he gets home, the exotic bouquet delights his grandma, and he realises that in earth time he’s only been away for ten minutes. The three books (Sagas) that follow see even more ambitious adventures on far off planets as Jonnie tests his superhero powers on his trusty bike.
“My bike was a complete fantasy for me – escapism. Lying in the garden and staring at the stars I would think ‘there’s got to be something better out there'”
Now Jonnie Rocket has taken to the airwaves with a new podcast available on GoKidGo. This features Jonnie and introduces some fun new characters and, with 15 in the series, there’s another way for children to access the adventures. As with the books, John Chapman hopes to inspire children with positive and educational messages – and help them make a transition from listening to stories to becoming readers.
As a dyslexic himself, he’s well aware of the barriers to reading, but comic books and podcasts have the benefit of letting children use their imagination and build stories beyond what they hear and see. And, despite the barriers of his own childhood, John Chapman’s dyslexia didn’t stop him. After Star Wars, he went on to build a successful family business – occasionally dipping his toe in the water of the vibrant Star Wars fan scene by attending conventions in Japan, the US and across Europe. “The people are wonderful who turn up there. There’s so much camaraderie. They are taking their grandchildren along now.”
He’s grateful for the youthful chutzpah that got him a role on Star Wars, and for the whole experience of finding his way into a galaxy far, far away. “It feels like it was yesterday,” he says. “I thought that if I could do some acting I could be someone that I’m not in real life – I could be that cowboy and ride off into the desert!” And in Jonnie Rocket, he’s returned to that idea of being a superhero, hoping to inspire a new generation to dream of wild adventures in a wide-open universe.
Jonnie Rocket books are available at jonnierocket.com and the podcasts are on gokidgo.com
Further reading: Clare Pollard’s epic adventure
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