A Missed Gem: The Legend of Tom Hickathrift

By John Freeman on August 30, 2013

I’ve been very remiss in not giving this gorgeous children’s story, The Legend of Tom Hickathrift, a plug before – so hopefully I can make up for it now.

Released in May by Mogzilla Books, it’s written with his usual aplomb and verve by Jason Cobley (also the writer of the weird western tale Frontier and Amnesia Agents, as well as graphic novel adaptations of Frankenstein, Dracula and An Inspector Calls) and drawn by the fabulous Paul Harrison-Davies, creator of the online comic Astro Dog and one of the people behind a new one-off kids horror comic, Boo!, due for release soon.

Based on characters from East Anglian folklore, The Legend of Tom Hickathrift is set hundreds of years ago, in the East of England in an area called The Smeeth. Shrouded in mist, it was a landscape of farming, fens… and fear. Strange demons haunted the fields and villages of this marshy hinterland.

Into this West-Norfolk wilderness strode an unlikely champion: a bluff young boy called Tom Hickathrift.

It’s a lovingly told gruesome tale for kids, deserving of a wider audience. Here’s some preview pages.

Mogzilla and Caboodle books are two independent publishing companies that share a commitment to creating brilliant books for young readers. They’ve teamed up to create Mogboodle, an exciting new imprint for authors and poets.

• As well as via the usual bookshops, Waterstones and Amazon, you can buy this fearsome folk tale from Mogzilla direct.

• You can download the first chapter from The Legend of Tom Hickathrift at Mogzilla’s Downloads page

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.