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“The Kirknewton Story” comes to comics, celebrating the history of a Scottish village

By John Freeman on March 12, 2022

Every town and city should have its own history told in comics – and if you need any confirmation that this is a great idea, look no further than The Kirknewton Story, written by Colin Maxwell – a new comic book about the village of Kirknewton near Edinburgh, in Scotland!

The comic, which will be delivered free to every household in Kirknewton, features the work of 26 different artists, and an eight-page comic by Kirknewton Primary School. It was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and commissioned by the Kirknewton Community Development Trust, the comic’s publication co-ordinated by ComicScene publisher Tony Foster.

*A sneak peek at Lew Stringer’s telling of a UFO sighting and alien abduction in Kirknewton in the 1990s, which was taken seriously by the Ministry of Defence*

Kirknewton village is in West Lothian, located 10 miles south of Edinburgh and three miles from Livingston on the edge of the Pentland Hills. A village with a unique history, including a UFO sighting and claimed alien abduction, dating back to the Iron Age. Today, it has around 2000 residents, serviced by various local shops, a church and primary school, as well as a number of very busy community groups.

Three years in the making, Colin researched the history of the village and its surrounding area and wrote the script, and also supplied several pages of artwork for the project, liaising with artists and the publisher.

*The opening page of The Kirknewton Story*

Process - Colin Maxwell revealed on Twitter his sketch to digital of a double page spread from the Kirknewton comic. It’s about a landscape artwork by Charles Jencks called “A Stone’s Progress” — Process – Colin Maxwell revealed on Twitter his sketch to digital of a double page spread from the Kirknewton comic. It’s about a landscape artwork by Charles Jencks called “A Stone’s Progress”

If you don’t live in Kirknewton, you can still buy a copy of this terrific comic, which will be published later this month – and who wouldn’t want a comic that features a cover by much-missed Ian Kennedy, one of his final commissions?

Written by Colin Maxwell, with a cover by Ian Kennedy, creators involved include Martin Baines, Rachel Ball, Gary Burley, Gary Erskine, Tony Foster, Ade Hughes, Steve Ingram, Staz Johnson, Rob Jones, Calum Laird, Steve McGarry, Sarah Millman, Kenneth Stewart Moore, Monty Nero, Russell Mark Olson, Tanya Roberts, Andrew Sawyer, Neil Slorance, Bruno Stahl, Lew Stringer, Kev Sutherland, Gustaffo Vargas, Steve White, and Jim Wilkes.

Plus, of course, many school children, who also took part in comic workshops during the making of the comic!

A page in The Kirknewton Story features every child from Kirknewton Primary School who contributed to part of the comic, having participated in researching Kirknewton history and the classroom comic workshops

This isn’t the first time the village history has been documented – a book, The Kirknewton Story, was published back in 1974 by the Kirknewton Story Committee – available here with the permission of the authors, Kenneth Roy and TL Hardie, as a PDF – but this comic history is a lot more exciting!

• If you want a copy of The Kirknewton Story email stephkirknewton@gmail.com with your name and address and you will be sent bank details to pay. £10 – the 56 page comic posted | £20 – comic and cover print poster | £25 – international posted

• Follow Kirknewton Village on Twitter

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.