Gordon Rennie and PJ Holden’s fantastic ‘Dept of Monsterology’ out in October

By John Freeman on August 12, 2013

Dept of Monsterology by Gordon Rennie and PJ Holden

Line art for the wrap around cover to Dept of Monsterology #1 by PJ Holden

Gordon Rennie and PJ Holden‘s long-in-gestation project, Dept of Monsterology, is on its way at last from Renegade Entertainment – and having seen pages, read the original pitch and knowing the quality of the work of both creators, I have no hesitation in urging you to get out and pre-order it now from your local comic shop. The strip looks absolutely fantastic and has a terrfic plot.

At once, do you hear me?

Ofﬁcially, it’s the Department of Cryptozoology, Mythological Studies, Parapsychology and Fortean Phenomena. But to the rest of the students and staff at the Dunsany College, bafﬂed by the cloak of secrecy that surrounds the Department and its affairs, it has another, more dismissive, name: The Department of Monsterology. Funded by the mysterious Hampton Foundation, the Dept. operates several ﬁeld teams that roam the globe on extended research expeditions.

Their brief: to investigate the dark and unexplored corners of our world – the places we’ve forgotten, lost or believe to be mythical. And to study those things that may still be lurking there.

The ﬁrst story arc – Issue 1 is on sale from 16th October 2013 – introduces readers to ancient monsters from the depths of the ocean, crystaline creatures from the caves of Eastern Europe, undead armies from the sands of Egypt, and the Department’s deadliest rivals of all.

“It’s a book Gordon Rennie and I have been talking about for a few years (and its genesis comes from the first face to face conversation Gordon and I ever had, over a decade ago, when we met in Edinburgh and chatted about all sorts of things),” says artist PJ Holden.

“Fans of BPRD will find themselves right at home with the Dept of Monsterology,” enthuses Diamond’s Jay Spence, “featuring stories from a duo of 2000AD/Judge Dredd alumni, Gordon Rennie and P.J. Holden.

Unusually for any US-format comic, the entire creative team – Rennie, Holden, colourist Steve Denton and letterer Jim Campbell – get a cover credit. “As far as I’m aware it’s the first book I’ve worked on where the letterer got a credit (it may even be the first book out there where a letterer has gotten a cover credit),” notes Holden.

“Who’s not credited is Alex Finbow, whose company Renegade Arts have invested heavily in the book – he’s taken a massive risk and I hope we can get the numbers to make it pay off.”

This is a terrific project that deserves success – the team have sweated blood to bring the story and I hope it gets the sales it should. So get to your local comic shop and order Issue One now – the more ordered, the better chance Gordon and PJ have of getting more than four issues of the book done.

Dept of Monsterology will also be available digitally.

• Pre-order Dept of Monsterology #1, on sale 16th October 2013 from your local comic shop using Diamond’s order number ‘AUG131432 now. For more information check out PJ Holden’s blog or Renegade Entertainment’s Dept of Monsterology page

Dept of Monsterology © 2013 Gordon Rennie & PJ Holden

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.