It’s time to raise a glass to a long-running, much acclaimed independent comic, Strangehaven, the creation of Gary Spencer Millidge, which launched 30 years ago this month.
For those impossibly unfamiliar, Strangehaven is a self-published comic book series, created, written, and illustrated by Gary Spencer Millidge. Ostensibly a murder mystery set in a small, isolated village in South West England, the tale of a stranger arriving in a strange village, Strangehaven fuses elements of folk horror and supernatural soap opera with off-beat humour – and an impossibly idealised vision of British rural life.
Inspired in part by Children of the Stones and The Prisoner, but very, very unique, Strangehaven initially ran for eighteen issues and has deservedly garnered multiple industry award nominations. It’s been collected into three graphic novels, and the fourth, Strangehaven: Destiny, was serialised in the anthology title, Meanwhile…, published by Soaring Penguin Press. Back in 2021, the series was optioned for film and television by IDW Entertainment.
The first issue was once described as a fine example of “native British weirdness”, a fascinating tale that has intrigued, confounded and very much enjoyed by many longtime fans, and reprinted in several languages.
Today, its progress is charted today through a dedicated Patreon page Gary launched to support the creation of the fascinating story’s final arc, in Strangehaven: Epilogue, coming soon… hopefully!
A facsimile edition of the first mindbending issue and other early issues, as well as back issues, are available from Gary’s official webshop.
Gary Spencer Millidge is a writer and illustrator from Essex, England. He’s the creator of the critically acclaimed, award-winning comic book series Strangehaven, and the writer of Comic Book Design and Alan Moore: Storyteller for Ilex Press. He’s also contributed comics to numerous anthologies, including Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror, Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman, Negative Burn and Where We Live, the Las Vegas shooting benefit book from Image Comics.
In a post published yesterday, titled “This Long Strange Trip: Strangehaven is 30 Years Old”, (and on his official website, here) Gary, who’s been working on the story’s final arc recently, notes the arrival of the first issue in comic shops. It made its debut “before eBay and Google, before there was Harry Potter, before the Macarena, before Toy Story and the first Mission: Impossible film, before Sex and the City and The Sopranos, when William S. Burroughs, Carl Sagan, Tupac and Princess Diana all still walked this planet.”
“I’m not exactly sure what week it shipped, as documents from my printer in Texas, USA appear to contradict themselves, but it was either the last shipping week of June, or the first of July 1995,” Gary notes.
“In fact, a lesser seen eight-page ‘prequel’ episode (never reprinted) which appeared in issue #24 of Caliber Press’ Negative Burn anthology may even have beaten Strangehaven #1 into the shops by a week! The strip was due to appear in issue #26 but was brought forward to #24 without my knowing about it.
“Either way, as I finally approach the saga’s completion, this madcap little creative pursuit of mine is celebrating its 30th anniversary (but hold the champers until the final page is inked and coloured, please). It wouldn’t have happened without my wonderful, dedicated following of readers like you.”
The anniversary is a milestone for British independent comics, reflecting just how vibrant the sector is, and has been for decades, celebrated through the upcoming publication of The Jigsaw Review anthology by Mal Earl – a collection of fantastic, independently published strips now launching next month, by creators such as John Bagnall, Denny Derbyshire, Bob Lynch and Ed Pinsent, all contemporaries of Gary whose comics similarly delighted comic fans when Strangehaven began (and, in some cases, before it).
If you have long been entranced by the world of Strangehaven, you can help Gary to finish it by supporting him on Patreon, or buy back issues of the story through his webshop.
“Please take a look at the various benefits available to my paid patrons, or sign up to the free tier to show your support and receive occasional unlocked posts,” he asks. “Your support helps me more than you know to get this behemoth over the finishing line.”
So… after eighteen Strangehaven comic books, three short stories, three Strangehaven trade paperback collections, eleven colour Meanwhile… episodes, dozens of completed pages of Strangehaven: Epilogue and thirty years of persistence, has it all been worthwhile?
“Kinda hard to say without knowing what the alternative might have been but I’d like to think so,” says Gary. “To quote T.S. Eliot, ‘Culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living’ and it’s been a privilege to contribute to that culture in some small way.”
For those of us who have followed the story, we raise our sun hats to Gary, and lay in that bottle of champagne, as suggested, in readiness for Strangehaven: Epilogue. It will, we believe, be worth the wait…
• Follow the creation of Strangehaven here on Patreon
• Gary Spencer Millidge is online at millidge.com
• Gary’s Guide to Strangehaven
The first Strangehaven collection is currently sold out from Gary direct (Volumes 2 and 3 are available), but a facsimile edition of the first mindbending issue and other early issues, as well as back issues, are available from Gary’s official webshop
Strangehaven ©️2025 Gary Spencer Millidge
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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.
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