There are quite a few Arsenal history books. There are general histories of the club, biographies of players and managers, and specific histories of particular eras or individual seasons. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal's invincible 2003-2004 season has merited such specific treatment, with two much-celebrated volumes that appeared around the tenth anniversary: 'Together: The Story of Arsenal's Unbeaten Season' by Arseblog's Andrew Allen and Andrew Mangan and Amy Lawrence's 'Invincible: Inside Arsenal's Unbeaten 2003-2004 Season'.
These prior contributions are acknowledged by author Dave Seager in his foreword to the soon-to-be-published 'Double Double to Invincibubble'. However, he forewarns that this addition to the genre takes a non-standard approach:
So I tip my hat to Arseblog and marvel at the talent of Amy / But my telling of the 03/04 Premier League triumph will not be very samey...
Non-standard is an understatement. This book tells the story of Arsenal's Invincibles by blending rhyming couplets in poetic stanzas with Charlie-Brown-style likenesses of our players and their adversaries. Not quite Brian Glanville, is it?
Well, no, but this incongruous approach to football history produces in a novel document of a momentous season that is full of life, joy and beauty... and the bulging eyes of a couple of Manchester United players are absolutely hilarious.
RELEASE DATE: September 2023
This book is, of course, a sequel to 2018's genre-busting 'Arsène's Double Double: A Cool Cat in His Magic Hat' by the same pair. The book's style was strikingly signaled on the cover, which placed our Arsène under a Zeussian red-and-white striped hat: the cat in the hat had become the COOL cat in his MAGIC hat.
This first installment in this series was released in November 2018
'Arsène's Double Double' took us through the highlights of the era in which Wenger brought Arsenal back to the top table and, by doing so, established his reputation in English football. The 1997-1998 and 2001-2002 Double-winning seasons were depicted with at least a couplet or two for each match. The pace rather raced along, as only the biggest matches and most telling moments got a deep dive.
By contrast, in this second iteration of Dave and Poorly's historico-comedic vision - 'Double Double to Invincibubble' - the story unfolds at a more careful speed. Given the need to cover only the league matches from one season - the 2003-2004 undefeated campaign - there's ample space for each game to get a proper airing.
This not only provides opportunities to explore some illuminating details (such as small but vital contributions from more- and less-celebrated players and the game-by-game to and fro of the title race), but also reflects the fundamental nature of the accomplishment at the heart of the book. After all, an undefeated league season is not achieved by a few, big, six-point matches going your way. It's achieved by avoiding defeat in every single match. Every match in that season carried the full burden of history. Any of those 38 matches - indeed, any moment in any of those matches - could have left this historic achievement unmade. This book rightly takes us every step of the way.
For me, the rhyming style is well-matched to Poorly Drawn Arsenal's illustrations. After all, as the poetry spans more than 100 pages, this telling of the story connects to ancient oral traditions of epic poems about legendary heroes (Beowulf, anyone?). Down the generations, those stories were told and re-told by countless storytellers. Through this collective creativity, each story became part of the cultural fabric that bound those communities together, as the meaning and value of the story were made and re-made through the storytelling. For me, Poorly's drawings re-make these figures from Arsenal history in a similar way. His seemingly naive yet compelling likenesses become characters in a story that we can tell and re-tell to each other, over and over, in rhyming couplets. Our story... to share.
It is, however, worth noting that Seager's rhymes may be contagious. Among the testimonials for the book, including fulsome praise from luminaries such as Amy Lawrence and Andrew Mangan, there is this from a hitherto unpublished poet:
This book is a certainly is a compelling read / The writer has as much talent as Thierry had speed / Once picked up you won’t put it down / Please share it with every Gooner in town
David Dein, Former Vice Chairman of Arsenal and the FA
It's sound advice.
'Double Double to Invincibubble' is joyously creative. It brings history to raucous life through a sometimes surreal concoction of poetry and visual art. Somehow, amidst the rhythmic verse and the cartoon styling, it is beautifully evocative of a great team and a uniquely magnificent season in the life our club.
'Double Double to Invincibubble: The Continued Adventures of a Cool Cat in His Magic Hat' will be published by Legends Publishing in September 2023 and is available for pre-order here.
PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION
Five years after the excellent ‘Arsene’s Double Double – A Cool Cat In His Magic Hat’ – the sequel is about to be published, which retells the story of the unprecedented unbeaten Premier League season of 2003/4.
The 2018 book finished by covering Wenger’s belief that it was possible for his team to go through a campaign without losing, the new 120-page hard-back book picks up where the last left us, with the footballing world doubting, if not ridiculing, Arsene’s contention.
Of course, now is the perfect time to celebrate ‘The Invincibles’ to coincide with the 20th anniversary, therefore, it is with great pleasure we announce ‘From Double Double to Invincible – The Continued adventures of the Cool Cat in his Magic Hat, which will be published in September. This time Seager covers the legend of the Invincibles (again in a unique rhyming style). Each month August, to May is its own chapter, focusing on the 38 Premier League matches.
Once again, the enigmatic Poorly Drawn Arsenal (who has done work for the club and the leading Arsenal site, Arseblog) has provided the fantastic illustrations, which wonderfully match the writing style.
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