Bryan Talbot Signing at Gosh, London today

By John Freeman on November 8, 2025 • ( 0 )

The Badger is back… wait, no… the hawk debuts? Comics legend Bryan Talbot (Tale of One Bad Rat, Batman, 2000AD) adds to his Grandville universe with this prequel – The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor (on sale now in all good book and comic shops).

To celebrate, Gosh London will be hosting a signing with Bryan today, Saturday 8th November 2025, between 1.00 and 2.00pm.

With top-hat and cane in hand, Scotland Yard’s DI Stamford Hawksmoor shadows the murky backstreets of London on the hunt for a sadistic serial killer.

In the dying days of the French occupation of Britain, through gaslit, cobbled streets and squalid alleyways, stalks the great eagle Detective Stamford Hawksmoor in search of the homicidal manic whose killing spree claims dozens of seemingly unconnected victims, from random murders to targeted political assassinations.

The deeper he delves, the more he puts himself in mortal danger, pitting himself against unknown antagonists whilst under the scrutiny of the feared anti-terrorist squad, and the more he is forced to resort to working outside the law.

A prequel to Bryan’s pioneering Grandville series, The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor is also an intriguing, labyrinthine stand-alone mystery graphic novel set in a world of hansom cabs and pea-souper fogs, where explosive violence can erupt at any second – and does!

The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor is, to put it bluntly, blooming marvellous; a terrific read, more reflective than the Grandville saga, perhaps, in keeping with the story; and having read it, of course, I had to pull my copy of Grandville Integrale off the shelf to re-read that, to re-immerse myself in the whole incredible universe. Another fine outing, from Bryan that I have no hesitation in recommending.

• Bryan Talbot Signing at Gosh, London 1.00 and 2.00pm, Saturday 8th November 2025, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR

You can pre-order a signed copy of The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor, published by Jonathan Cape Graphic Novels , from the Gosh website

• Read Graham Baines review of The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor by Bryan Talbot here

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.