It's shaping up to be a red-letter day for fans of free quality comics: As if that digital edition of Warren Ellis and Jason Howard's Trees #1 weren't proof enough, this morning also saw the debut of Moose Kid Comics, an impressive children's anthology featuring the work of more than 40 creators.

Created and edited by Jamie Smart, the 36-page digital comic boasts such talents as Roger Langridge, Tom Plant, Neill Cameron and Abby Ryder, Mark Stafford, Aaron Alexovich, Sarah McIntyre, James Downing, and Samantha Davies. And did we mention the "Young Tank Girl" strip by Alan Martin and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell?

"Here in the U.K, mainstream children’s comics have been dying out, especially ones featuring original content," reads the comic's mission statement. "The Phoenix and The Beano are the only commercially available weekly titles still producing entirely original characters, but they are competing against big-name licensed titles based on TV shows or merchandising. We want to help change things. We want to be creating the next generation of loveable characters for the world to embrace, all created by artists who retain their copyrights and put all their heart into their creations. We want to remind both children and adults alike how fantastical and imaginative comics can be, and to help bring children’s comics back into the public consciousness."

Whether there will be a second issue remains to be seen. According to the website, the creators involved hope to take Moose Kid Comics to their publishing, television and merchandising contacts in hopes of getting the issue printed for widespread distribution, to find a home in other media for some of the characters.