Feature # 5
(US Fanzine) June/July 1996

STRANGEHAVEN - Gary Spencer Millidge
Review by Charles Brownstein

I can't say enough about how good this book is. Strangehaven is one of the most unique and bizarre stories to infect the comics medium in quite some time. The action revolves around a small town in the British Countryside that the protagonist Alex Hunter arrived at when the apparition of a woman drove him off his course and sent him crashing his car into a tree. Once he arrived, Alex came to meet a town that welcomed him with open arms….though maybe just a little too open. The town itself is loaded with bizarre touches, including Masonic knights, an Amazonian shaman, and a man who says he comes from the planet Nimoi. Now come on, you didn't think the town got it's name for nothing?

Loaded with echoes of Twin Peaks and The Prisoner, Strangehaven brings the quiet country town with major skeletons in its closet to comics. Fortunately, Millidge is a skilled enough storyteller to achieve this without being derivative or boring. He is an incredible artist frequently mixing stark line drawing with tones and photography to create a look unlike any other comic on the market. This is a book well worth checking out. Expect to be hearing more about it in the future, but for now run down to your comic store and demand a copy. You won't be at all disappointed. Strangehaven is a place you'll want to visit quite often, though I imagine you'll have nothing but sympathy for the poor sod who has to end up living there.

©1996 Charles Brownstein

If you've read any notable pieces concerning Strangehaven that may have escaped our attention and does not appear here, we'd like to hear about them! E-mail us at webmonkey@millidge.com

All text and images (c) copyright Gary Spencer Millidge/Abiogenesis Press All rights reserved.
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