(Words and art by Gary Spencer Millidge, Published by Abniogenesis Press)
Someone recently recommended this one to me, so I decided to check it out. After having a bit of trouble finding any issues anywhere, I finally picked up a copy of #6, which I was pretty pleased about - until I discovered it was 2 years old! However, I managed to track down reprints of the first three issues at Forbidden Planet in London, and I'm very glad I did. This is intriguing stuff.
Imagine a small village in Devon, where the people are friendly enough with strangers, although they all seem a bit strange themselves. You find yourself inexplicably drawn there and discover it's impossible to leave because you have no good reason to. You get yourself a job and a house and a girlfriend and try to put the misery of your past life behind you. And yet, all the while there's something mysterious occurring and your life feels like a dream...
So goes Alex Hunter's life in the first three issues. In them he meets all manner of strange people, from the eccentric old Scottish lady who runs the B&B, to the man who from Dusseldorf who claims he's an alien and the Amazonian shaman in the cottage up the hill. But us readers also get introduced to other people, who appear to have an evil venture in mind.
Illustrated in naturalistic black-and-white that doesn't quite grab the eye, you could be forgiven for passing over this title, although it would be a shame to miss out on writing as good as this. The simple artwork may sometimes appear a little juvenile and amateur, but it is fresh rather than clumsy, and manages to perfectly convey the emotions and mystery of the story. If you're a fan of The Prisoner, Twin Peaks, mysticism, witchcraft and even The Darling Buds of May, you're bound to be as intrigued as I am by the people of Strangehaven.
Reprints and current issues are available from Abniogenesis Press. Check here for details: http://home.clara.net/tycho/retina/index.htm#contact
[Load time rating: lots of graphics and not much content at the moment, so **]
Anna Jellinek
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