Black Boar Goes Gothic

By John Freeman on September 14, 2008

Dave Hitchcock, the man behind Black Boar Press and highly acclaimed indie comics such as Whitechapel Freak and Springheeled Jack, is about to self publish another newspaper/comic called Gothic.

“It will include some of my short stories from way back,” Dave told downthetubes, “which I produced as limited edition mini comics. Numbering between 50 and 100 these normally sold fairly quickly at shows, I felt that many folk did not get the chance to see them. “

“Fans have asked over the years if I’m ever going to get some of them together in a collection,” he says of the new title, “so along with a new Springheeled Jack story and a witch-hunting tale (with was originally done for Gary Spencer Millidge’s Strangehaven) I decided the time was right.

“It’s the most extensive collection I’ve ever done,” he reveals, “so, if you like skeleton pirates, vampires, zombies, Victorian aliens, sea monsters, and more, then Gothic is for you.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Gothic also includes two great tales written by Leah Moore and John Reppion, courtesy of AccentUK.

All of the short stories are printed standard US comic size — two pages per one newsprint page (the beauty of large format) and there’s also a gallery of mainstream stuff and unpublished work at the end of the paper too.

Black Boar Press first began publishing in the mid-1990s. “I had an interest in genres that were very much out of the spotlight in mainstream comics,” Dave explains. “My first graphic novel was Spirit of the Highwayman, a tale of brigandry and black magic. This was followed by the newspaper-styled Whitechapel Freak, my own spin on the Jack the Ripper killings.

“I found that I preferred the Victorian era as it’s a lot more visually interesting, ” he reveals. “My next foray into making comics was Springheeled Jack, another little-known Victorian myth. After reading the ‘eye-witness’ reports dotted about the internet, I decided to embark on what has become my longest project to date, and possibly the most popular, as it won a much coveted Eagle award in 2006, something I never expected due to the sporadic nature of my work: it’s really just a great hobby which I do as and when time permits.

“Springheeled Jack also garnered great quotes from Alan Moore, David Hine, Moore and Reppion, Dave Gibbons and even possible movie interest from maverick producer Don Murphy.”

• The 48 page Gothic will be launched at Birmingham International Comic Show, price £3, and Dave will be selling some of the original art pages off at £30 each (anyone who buys art will receive Gothic free). Visit Dave’s blog for the latest news at davehitchcock.blogspot.com
• Copies of Springheeled Jack are available from Full Circle Publications

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.