Strangehaven #10 NM Abiogenesis Press Gary Spencer Millidge 1st print Movie IDWE

Description

Strangehaven (1995) #10

Published Nov 1998 by Abiogenesis
Writer: Gary Spencer Millidge
Artist: Gary Spencer Millidge
32 pages, B/W interior

Flying Saucers

Alien Adam describes the finer points of interstellar travel to Ronnie, who has something quite different on her mind, while Suzie takes the bull by its horns.

Star of the show this issue is alien Adam who describes the finer points of interstellar travel to the village post lady Ronnie, although she has her mind on other things. Suzie decides to take the bull by its horns, the doctor ends Alex’s confusion by a startling revelation about sibling relationships and Janey and Chippy plan a party.

Unforgettable. Beautiful. Can’t praise it enough. If I was on a Desert Island, Strangehaven would be coming with me.

This issue includes:
24 pages of story and art
Strange Maven’s Diary – editorial
Village Gossip – series recap
Abiofeedback – readers’ letters
Bookshelf – references & further reading
Advert for Comics’99, the Bristol Comics Art Festival
Plus a A Little Bit of Advice for Budding Artists

Millidge cites the television series The Prisoner and Twin Peaks as inspirations for Strangehaven, and the similarities are obvious. Like the titular Prisoner, Alex Hunter is trapped in a picturesque, apparently British village from which there is no escape. In Strangehaven’s case, he is not pursued by any kind of security device; rather, any attempt by him to leave results in the geography of the outlying area warping to deposit him back in the village, as if he had somehow driven in a circle. In one issue, a man in the local post office also uses the phrase “be seeing you”, which was a catchphrase of that show.

The influences of Twin Peaks are also evident; it, too, was about a stranger entering a small community plagued by supernatural strangeness, and interacting with a number of quirky and sometimes supernatural locals. Like those living in Twin Peaks, a number of the village’s residents are members of opposing lodges — in this case the Knights and the Coven — and like Twin Peaks, its protagonist is extremely enthusiastic about the small community, despite its unusual aspects. One scene in which Elsie claims that her dogs told her who buried some bloody clothing mirrors a scene in Twin Peaks in which the Log Lady claims that her log witnessed some strange goings-on. The series also follows a soap-operatic style much like Twin Peaks, in which the supernatural is offset by more mundane story elements such as infidelity, young love, and murder.

Millidge also took inspiration from The Darling Buds of May, a TV series about peaceful countryside life, and The Avengers, a ’60s spy show that often featured quaint English villages run by diabolical masterminds.

In September 2021, Millidge announced that Strangehaven had been optioned for film and TV by IDW Entertainment.

British indie STRANGEHAVEN optioned by IDW Entertainment
A bizarre English town could be coming to our screens

Gary Spencer Millidge’s indie series Strangehaven has been optioned for film and TV. The creator announced today via his website that IDW Entertainment have optioned the series, which Millidge began publishing in 1995.

Strangehaven is about a mysterious town in the middle of the English countryside, where a man awakens following a traffic accident and discovers himself unable to leave – and the town is far more bizarre than its picturesque Devonshire façade suggests.

According to Millidge,

“So, I can now announce that Strangehaven has been optioned for film and television by IDW Entertainment.

For those that don’t know, an option gives IDWE the exclusive right to develop Strangehaven for television, film, and other media. While this doesn’t make a Strangehaven TV show or movie a certainty, it does make it somewhat more likely. And I know that many of you reading this have been advocating for a Strangehaven adaptation since it was first published in 1995.”

He continues,

“I’m very excited to have the team at IDW Entertainment working towards bringing Strangehaven to the screen and I have no concerns about their commitment to the project; it took ten years for Locke & Key to get made into a Netflix series, including two previous pilot episodes that were both filmed and discarded. Now, Locke & Key has been renewed for a third season!”

The comic has been intermittently published by Millidge since its 1995 debut, and has so far been collected into three trade paperbacks. In 2014, after a near-decade hiatus, Millidge continued the series in Soaring Penguin Press’s Meanwhile… anthology, the tenth issue of which was recently funded via Kickstarter.

No stranger to critical acclaim and notice – Strangehaven was nominated in the inaugural Ignatz awards, in 1997, for Outstanding Series, sharing the category with Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library; Jason Lutes’ Berlin; Dan Clowes’ Eightball; and Seth’s Palookaville (!!!!). Strangehaven was again nominated in 1999 and 2003 (losing out that year to Charles Burns’ Black Hole). Strangehaven and Millidge himself have also been nominated for Eisners as well as Britain’s own Eagle and National Comics Awards – winning the latter in 1997.

This news is much deserved and we at the Beat wish him luck.

Near mint, 1st print. Bagged & Boarded.