Mike Higgs “The Cloak” collected at last

By John Freeman on January 13, 2026 • ( 0 )

Australian publisher Comicoz has teased the forthcoming publication of The Collected Cloak by Mike Higgs, introduced by Alan Moore.

The Collected Cloak written and illustrated by Mike Higgs, published by Comicoz

The Cloak first appeared in 1967 in Odhams’ Pow! weekly, one of many comics that combined both adventure and humour strips within its pages – a format that, sadly, seems to have been consigned to history.

The collection includes all of Mike Higgs’ strips from the 1960s, and works from elsewhere, plus, probably, some new material, and a new cover by Mike. Back in 2024, Comicoz publisher Nat Karmichael revealed that Mike and he had been discussing this reprint collection for some time.

He said then that hardcover volume release will be limited to 1000 copies and although the publication date has slipped – first planned for release in September 2025 – the project is now firmly on course, now another Comicoz project, The Complete Iron Outlaw, is complete.

“Mike Higgs has been so wonderfully kind in sharing some insight into his cartooning history, and Alan Moore has written an introduction for the book,” Nat said yesterday.

“We’ve just completed a pagination of what is planned as a limited edition hardcover book, with over 200 pages at last count.”

While it’s being published in Australia, The Collected Cloak will be available in the UK: distribution plans are still being ironed out.

C is for….
Coming Soon!
Collected
Cloak!

*Mike Higgs created this introduction to The Cloak when Smash! and Pow! merged*

Back in 2007, Lew Stringer provided a useful background guide to The Cloak, a comedy adventure r working for the “Special Squad”, whose origins remain a mystery , on his Blimey! blog.

“With issue 18 of Pow! (on sale 13th May 1967) ‘The Cloak’ replaced the adventure strip ‘Jack Magic’ strip in the weekly comic. The Cloak was the creation of Birmingham-based cartoonist Mike Higgs, a lifelong fan of comics and pulp magazines. In 1964 Mike had produced a fanzine entitled The Shudder, a parody of pulp magazine legend The Shadow, and with a few tweaks this character became the inspiration for ‘The Cloak’ strip that he submitted to Odhams.

For those unfamiliar with The Cloak, courtesy of Lew Stringer, here's an episode from Pow! No.53, published in January 1968. Story and art by Mike Higgs. “One of the best British comic strips of the Sixties,” Lew says – and we agree! — For those unfamiliar with The Cloak, courtesy of Lew Stringer, here’s an episode from Pow! No.53, published in January 1968. Story and art by Mike Higgs. “One of the best British comic strips of the Sixties,” Lew says – and we agree! Click for larger images

“The editors of Pow! liked what they saw. Their line of comics already had serialised spy strips (‘Eagle-Eye’, ‘Man from B.U.N.G.L.E.’ and ‘Wee Willie Haggis’) but clearly they saw that ‘The Cloak’ was something unique. The other strips were in the Leo Baxendale mould (more or less the closest thing Odhams had to a house style) but Mike Higgs’ work had none of that, being more influenced by Peter Maddocks, Chester Gould, and Elzie Segar. More importantly, his style looked very contemporary, very Sixties… and the one thing that set Odhams above their competitors was how much they reflected the ‘swinging sixties’.”

Battling bizarre villains every week, assisted by his partners Mole and Shortstuff, later acquiring a partner/girlfriend by the name of Lady Shady, each serial ran for around six weeks, with cliffhanger death-trap style endings at the end of each instalment.

Mike retained ownership of The Cloak and has returned, occasionally, to the character; for example, reviving him for a comic strip for Crikey! Issue 13 back in 2010, a story that pitted him against the Time Tea Leaf – a fun story that brought The Cloak to the present day.

This collection is much welcome: while there are British humour characters better known, few are as inventive, or as downright daft as ‘The Cloak’!

From “Sunbeams” to Sunset by Graeme Cliffe - definitive book on Australian Comic Book History

Comicoz is Nat Karmichael‘s publishing imprint. Nat is committed to preserving a permanent collection of Australian comic and comic strips, who feels that there is a need to recognise comics’ contribution to and depiction of Australian culture.

In 2024, the Australian Cartoonists Association bestowed Nat the honour of The Jim Russell Award for his “outstanding contribution to Australian cartooning”. Since 2011, he’s self-published over twelve comic-related books and many more comics. He is presently the Membership Secretary of the Australian Cartoonists Association, and the Lead Judge in the Ledger of Honour Awards for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia (formerly the Ledgers).

• Stay tuned to Comicoz for news on The Collected Cloak by Mike Higgs | ComicOz Webshop

Head downthetubes for…

Lew Stringer’s Blimey! blog articles on The Cloak:

• Enter The Cloak
• The Cloak is Back
• Christmas Comics: Smash, 1968
• 40 Year Flashback: Smash Regenerates

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.