Synopsis
Painstakingly illustrated in a photo-realistic style, the first Strangehaven trade paperback, Arcadia, collects issues 1 through 6 of the critically acclaimed and award winning comic book series. ... Alex Hunter awakes from a car crash only to find himself trapped in a deceptively idyllic village, deep in the English countryside. He soon encounters some of the village's bizarre inhabitants including an Amazonian shaman, a man who claims to be from the planet Nimoi, a woman with talking pets, and the mysterious clandestine brotherhood The Knights of the Golden Light. But who is the woman in the fish tank? Includes an introduction by Cerebus creator Dave Sim. The second Strangehaven trade paperback, Brotherhoood, collects issues 7 through 12 of the critically acclaimed and award winning series. Alex Hunter tries to make sense of being trapped in England's weirdest village, the ghost of the beautiful woman who haunts his dreams, and why the villagers celebrate Christmas in mid-summer. The A
mazonian Shaman Megaron reveals his tribe's deadly cycle of vengeance, and the village's resident extraterrestrial, Adam, explains away the UFO phenomenon, while behind the scenes a clandestine brotherhood pulls the strings. Beautifully illustrated with pencil, pen and ink, painted watercolor and manipulated photographs. With an introduction by Heart of Empire creator Bryan Talbot. ... Strangehaven won the 1997 National Comic Award for Best Independent Comic and has also been nominated for an Eagle Award, two Eisner Awards, two Ignatz Awards and two CCG Awards over the past four years. Strangehaven has also recently been optioned for TV and film by Hollywood production house Laninco.
Publishers Weekly
Millidge's work may be the most intricate self-published mystery available today. Strangehaven is a classic small town in the English countryside that takes after its name. It isn't on maps, is impossible to leave and has plenty of eerie secrets, including a clandestine society and an unknown man who keeps the body of a woman in a large fish tank. Alex Hunter stumbles upon Strangehaven while traveling. Newly divorced and on sabbatical, Hunter is taken by the town's charm and Janey Jones, a local girl who shows him around. He meets many of the town's inhabitants: Adam, who claims he's an alien with x-ray vision; Mrs. McCreadie, who owns Strangehaven's B&B and habitually wanders her grounds with a flashlight at night; Suzie, Janey's best friend and a character who seems to get all the shallow B-movie dialogue; and Megaron, who once lived in the Amazon. There are many more characters like this, which, ultimately, hurts the story, as does Millidge's eye for quirkiness and attention to detail. Too many question-raising images appear; readers will have to look for answers in the next volume. Millidge uses precise black ink lines capturing the details of every joint and knuckle, inserts photos and uses watercolor. His facial expressions are somewhat inconsistent, but he keeps confusion at bay through clear writing and immediate character association. Commonly compared to the television series Twin Peaks, Millidge's mystery lacks David Lynch's twists and morbid tweaks, but offers a serious jolt of unsettling elements that give readers an unswerving and looming sense of uneasiness. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.