Burke and Hare first editions on sale from creators

By John Freeman on August 25, 2010 • ( 1 )

With the news that Insomnia Publications, the company behind graphic novel Burke & Hare, has ceased trading, its creators Martin Conaghan and Will Pickering can now offer out copies for sale of the first edition of the book.

“Will and I are in the process of negotiating a deal with a new publisher,” says Martin, “which will necessitate a new cover and some amendments/additions to the book in the second edition. This means the first edition will never be seen in print again in its current form.

Fortunately, I have around 300 copies that were sent to me by the Insomnia distributor when the company landed in financial trouble.”

Burke & Hare delves into the 12-month period from 1827-1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland, when two Irishmen by the names of William Burke and William Hare murdered 16 people and disposed of their bodies to the eminent dissectionist Dr Robert Knox.

Delve into the murky, misquoted history of Scotland’s most notorious serial killers with a research-based graphic novel that unravels a ghoulish story of medicine, murder and money.

The price of the book is £10+£2 P&P. if you live in the UK. If you’re outside of the UK, contact Martin via sales@burkeandharecomic.co.uk and he will give you a price on postage.

• If you want a copy, you can send Martin the money via PayPal to sales@burkeandharecomic.co.uk and he will get it sent out to you as soon as possible.

• Read David Hailwood’s review of Burke and Hare

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.