Hook Jaw Cover A – Conor Boyle
(Updated 28th July 2016, new imagery added): Comics news site Multiversity Comics has delivered the news that Hook Jaw – the giant killer shark first brought to life in the pages of 1970s comic Action by Pat Mills, Ken Armstrong and Ramon Sola – is back, thanks to Titan Comics.
Presumably buoyed by the success of their excellent Johnny Red mini series by Garth Ennis and Keith Burns, a character also owned by Egmont Publishing, TItan says their new five-issue Hook Jaw book, written by Si Spurrier and drawn by the hugely talented Conor Boyle, will launch in December.
Titan Comics broke the new series at the San Diego Comic Con Diamond Retailer presentation.
Hook Jaw Preview Art by Conor Boyle
Hitting stores in December 2016, the five issue mini-series is written by Si Spurrier (Cry Havoc, Weavers, Doctor Who) and drawn by Conor Boyle (Futurequake, Zarjaz, Sentient Zombie Space Pigs and co-owner of Disconnected Press with his partner, writer Lizzie Boyle) with colours by Giulia Brusco and edited by British comics editor, marine life expert and highly accomplished artist, Steve White, editor of the superb book Dinosaur Art: The World’s Greatest Paleoart, who recently left Titan for Hachette.
Steve White’s amazing variant cover for Hook Jaw #1
Variant covers are also in the works from Marc Laming and Steve White.
Marc Laming’s inks for a Hook Jaw variant cover
Probably the best-remembered and certainly most popular strip in the Action, Hook Jaw, inspired by the classic blockbuster movie Jaws, was created by Pat Mills, scripted by Ken Armstrong and drawn initially by Ramon Sola, followed by Felix Carrion and Eric Bradbury. Consistently topping reader polls, it was Mills who decided to make the shark the star of the strip which tackled environmental issues and corporate greed with equal relish.
The original Hook Jaw re-purposed for STRIP Magazine by Jim Campbell, coloured by Gary Caldwell.
More recently, early episodes of Hookjaw were reprinted in the short-lived STRIP Magazine, beautifully re-worked by Jim Campbell to remove the dated, staid lettering for modern fonts and coloured by Gary Caldwell – but Egmont were at that point unwilling to authorise new adventures. These revised versions were collected as a digital edition by Egmont, and were previously also offered by SEQUENTIAL.
Spitfire Comics released a collection of the original in 2007, available at bonkers prices on Amazon.
Titan says their mini-series is set to be an intense modern iteration of the titular ocean predator.
“I’ve wanted to do a Hook Jaw story as long as I’ve been making comics,” gushed A-list writer Si Spurrier. “Social, complex, intelligent and exceptionally good at what it does, today’s Hook Jaw arrives like a shadow amidst a catalogue of zoologists, soldiers, spies and Somali Pirates.
“Every person involved thinks they’re the hero of the story. They’re all wrong.”
As the series synopsis indicates, this creative team are pushing this new iteration into completely uncharted water:
Off the coast of Somalia, a rag-tag group of marine scientists are studying the Virgin Brides, a pack of female great white. What secrets are laying at the bottom of the Indian Ocean? And just how will they face up to the shadowy terror of the legendary great white – HOOK JAW?!
• Hook Jaw #1 will be on sale in comic stores and digital devices from December 2016 and is available to order from the October edition of PREVIEWS
• Pre-order Hook Jaw #1 at your local comic shop – or here on Forbidden Planet
• Read Multiversity Comics exclusive news story
• Follow Si Spurrier on Twitter @sispurrier
• Follow Conor Boyle on Twitter @pencil_monkey
• Follow Steve White on Twitter @sharkbitesteve
- 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, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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There was some interesting feedback on this item over on Facebook after I first posted this story. Many very positive and excited by the prospect. “It’s rare for me to say that the entire creative & editorial team are mates of mine,” said comics editor Tim Pilcher. “Si Spurrier, Conor Boyle, Giulia Brusco, Steve White & Rob Steen – looking forward to it gang!”
Some also recalled their favourite Hookjaw moments.
However, Phil Boyce, who publishes the Oink! comic blog, sounded a note of concern.
“As much as I loved this as a child I’m not sure this should be going ahead in this day and age when great whites are officially on the endangered species list,” he argues, “and the media are constantly giving out false images of them. Having an endangered animal portrayed this way is wrong to me.
“It’s a different world now and reprints are fine, but new stories I’m not okay with personally, not the right message to be sending out to children when so much is being done to protect the sharks.”