It’s always a gift when favourite characters come back to life and for Joe Lillington, the time-travelling duo Lilas and Tiago return with two more thrilling episodes in The Wonderful Attic series. Joe was invited by Editions Milan to bring Georges Méliès, Magician of Cinema and Josephine Baker, The Resistance Fighter to dazzling visual life. From Parisian film sets to wartime adventures, Joe’s illustrations bring history, courage, and inventive storytelling vividly to life for young readers.
If you missed the earlier books in the series, here’s the setup: Lilas and Tiago discover a portal hidden in an old attic, whisking them into key moments of history. Along the way, they meet remarkable figures whose stories shaped the world. The series is both playful and educational and a beautifully balanced blend of narrative and historical insight.
Book 6: The Wonderful Attic - Georges Méliès, Magician of Cinema
In this instalment, Lilas and Tiago land in 1896 Paris, encountering none other than Georges Méliès, a visionary who blurred the lines between magic and early cinema. Joe’s illustrations conjure the sparkle of Méliès’s theatrical flair, his inventive spirit, and the growing wonder of film tricks.
Joe captures the eccentric energy of Méliès’s world - the flicker of the projector, his imaginative costumes, and the whimsical machinery behind tricks. The result is visually immersive and readers will feel like they’ve stepped onto a stage, camera rolling.
Book 7: The Wonderful Attic - Josephine Baker, The Resistance Fighter
In Josephine Baker, The Resistance Fighter, the attic portal deposits our heroes in Marseille, January 1941, in the thick of wartime tension. There, they meet the extraordinary Josephine Baker, not just as a dazzling performer but as a daring freedom fighter. With her entourage of over twenty suitcases, a dog, monkeys, and mice, Baker’s escape to Algeria is woven with intrigue, secrets, and courage.
Joe’s visuals balance Baker’s stage charisma with the grit and peril of wartime France. Through expressive scenes and subtle details, he highlights her dual life - entertainer, spy, icon.
Joe works entirely in Procreate, and for this series he designed a custom brush for the linework that ties the books together with a consistent visual identity.
Revisiting Lilas and Tiago across multiple stories means Joe can deepen their world, experiment with visual motifs, and let their personalities evolve with each historical setting.
One of the strongest things about The Wonderful Attic is its mission: it’s not just about time travel, it’s about discovering inspiring figures whose lives had ripple effects. For young readers (and grown-ups), these books are invitations to look deeper at history, question narratives, and see the extraordinary in those who dared to dream differently.
You can explore Joe’s full portfolios (with interior spreads!) here - Georges Méliès, Magician of Cinema and Josephine Baker, The Resistance Fighter.
You can find Joe on Instagram and if you’re curious to commission him, drop us an email - we’d love to help make more magic. Keep updated with our latest artists' projects by signing up for our weekly newsletter.
