Hocus Pocus, the Eisner-nominated history of science and the supernatural written by Rik Worth and Professor Richard Wiseman, with art by Jordan Collver, coloured by Owen Watts, is released in hardback collection in August.
Con-men, conjurors and occultists make up the cast of this anthology of true stories from history, in a series that does things no other comics can do, according to the publishers – read your mind!
First published as a five-issue miniseries, Hocus Pocus was nominated for Best Limited Series (Eisners and Tripwire 2022), Rik Worth was nominated Best New Talent (Tripwire 2022), and won Best Limited Series (CAPStone Awards 2023).
Also available to order direct from publisher and major magic tricks suppliers Vanishing Inc., this will be the first time the critically-acclaimed series has been released as a beautiful, complete collection available from all good book and comic shops.
““Every panel is carefully crafted to delight the reader with insight and irreverence,” enthused Moe Abbas of the series over on Broken Frontier. “Hocus Pocus is a daisy wheel of creative choices that inject new life into the form.”
“Hocus Pocus is the perfect alchemical blend of good writing, entertaining storytelling, and beautiful, creative art and design,” says Jay Hosler, biologist and comic creator. “It would be terrific even if it wasn’t about science, but the fact that it is makes it something special.”
With Hocus Pocus, Professor Richard Wiseman welcomes you into a totally new world unlike anything else the magic community has ever seen.
“This page-turning collection of five magic-themed comics interweaves incredible tales with amazing interactive magic tricks and stunning artwork that will keep your eyes glued to the page,” say the team at Vanishing Inc. “And to create this perfect collection, Richard teamed up with a group of award-winning comic artists to bring this vision to life.
“The result is a breathtaking, hardback collection of fifteen amazing, magical tales about the curious history and psychology of stage magic and the paranormal. Nominated for the prestigious Eisner award, this is one of the most original and captivating adventures through the history of our art ever published.”
Each story explores a topic featuring strange-but-true tales of scientific discovery and exploration of the unknown, hosted by a cavalcade of real life charlatans, sorcerers and skeptics from history. You’ll delve deeply into the world of levitation, prophecy, mind reading, seance, and ghosts …
Discover how Nostradamus became the crown prince of prophecy, the story of the dreaded Borley Rectory, the most haunted house in England, and even how Alexander “The Man Who Knows” … actually knew.
With Hocus Pocus, you don’t just read the story, you become part of it. Along the way, you’ll uncover special mind-bending interactive elements and hidden secrets, including tests of your paranormal abilities, psychic readings and more. And you’ll almost certainly learn stories from magic’s history that you’ve never heard before.
Professor Richard Wiseman’s books have sold over three million copies around the world. His viral videos have had over 500 million views.
He’s a Member of the Inner Magic Circle, a psychologist, was a Director of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is an all round lovely chap.
Rik Worth is a comics writer, journalist and author. His work has appeared in The Fortean Time, Huffington Post, The Independent and many more.
As well as writing comics books about history, he has written a book about comics history called The Creators of Batman: Bob, Bill and The Dark Knight.
Jordan Collver is a freelance illustrator. He specializes in using visual storytelling, focussing on science, belief, and nature.
His work has been featured in The London Natural History Museum, Slate, Skeptical Inquirer, Magic, Physics World, The Nib, and many comic anthologies. Despite sounding Canadian, he lives in Bristol in the UK.
Owen Watts cofounded Comic Creatives UK and is a freelance colorist and artist who has saved Jordan Collver from fear and deadlines on many different occasions. As is the law when you live in the West Country in the UK, he enjoys an occasional glass of cider.
• Buy Hocus Pocus direct from Vanishing Inc.
• Hocus Pocus: The Complete Collection is on sale worldwide from 2nd August 2023 from all good book and comic shops | ISBN 9781954243163 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link
• More about Hocus Pocus from the team at hocuspocuscomic.squarespace.com
- About the Author
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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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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