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Hook Jaw: Classic Collection
Hook Jaw—the classic comic strip that quickly became the most popular part of Action comic, and caused a tabloid feeding frenzy in the process!
A great white shark disfigured with a harpoon from an earlier skirmish, Hook Jaw is a vengeful force of nature, striking back with unstoppable force against those who despoil the oceans, with grisly results...
This edition collects the complete Hook Jaw for the very first time, including the rarely seen content from the 1976 Action Summer Special and the 1977 Action Annual, and the lost pages from the final Hook Jaw story, 'Jack Gunn', written and drawn but never published due to Action's untimely cancellation.
A great white shark disfigured with a harpoon from an earlier skirmish, Hook Jaw is a vengeful force of nature, striking back with unstoppable force against those who despoil the oceans, with grisly results...
This edition collects the complete Hook Jaw for the very first time, including the rarely seen content from the 1976 Action Summer Special and the 1977 Action Annual, and the lost pages from the final Hook Jaw story, 'Jack Gunn', written and drawn but never published due to Action's untimely cancellation.
158 pages, Hardcover
First published August 16, 2017
4 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Pat Mills
849 books232 followersPat Mills, born in 1949 and nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since.
His comics are notable for their violence and anti-authoritarianism. He is best known for creating 2000 AD and playing a major part in the development of Judge Dredd.
His comics are notable for their violence and anti-authoritarianism. He is best known for creating 2000 AD and playing a major part in the development of Judge Dredd.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 11, 2018
Collection of a sharksploitation comic strip from the 1970's that was banned in Britain.
Hook Jaw is a gigantic great white shark with a hook stuck in its jaw, which it uses to cut up its prey. It eats people for the entire book, in the bloodiest way possible. Anyone can die at any time.
Very gory, very exciting. I had to take a star off, because the art gets pretty rough.
Hook Jaw is a gigantic great white shark with a hook stuck in its jaw, which it uses to cut up its prey. It eats people for the entire book, in the bloodiest way possible. Anyone can die at any time.
Very gory, very exciting. I had to take a star off, because the art gets pretty rough.
September 23, 2017
This one was different but interesting. This series was published in the UK in 1976 and was deemed so violent it was eventually banned and canceled.
The series is about a killer Great White Shark, called Hookjaw due to a harpoon embedded in his jaw by a fisherman that failed to catch him. It was inspired by Jaws, something that its creators never denied. The stories weren't bad, but the science wasn't always on point. The art was decent but didn't always accurately portray the different species of shark, but I suppose that wasn't what this was about anyway. I had originally heard the shark attacked people were out to harm the environment, almost like an agent of nature, but in these stories he just ate anyone that got in his way regardless of their political beliefs. The stories were wordy and a little overdone. Hookjaw must have been the smartest shark ever considering the things he was doing, and also must be the toughest shark as he survived dozens of attacks including explosives, depth charges etc. It just got a little silly before it was over.
I would like to note a few things. This story was published in 1976, before Jaws 2 was released. There was a scene in this comic that looked almost directly from Jaws 2, a scene where someone is holding an electrical cable trying to get the shark to bite through it. I wonder if this comic is where the movie writers got the idea. There's also a cool scene involving an underwater restaurant, and something similar showed up in Jaws 3 which was even later. It was fascinating as the comic either predicted things to come later, or more likely was used as an influence.
Overall this was good but not great. I'm a big fan of Jaws and underwater creature features (but I refuse to watch Sharknado or any of the other Syfy channel shark movies. Sorry, but no.) If you're a big fan of Jaws and/or banned comics you should check this out. It is very violent, but really nothing out of the norm for today. It has its flaws, but is still fascinating.
The series is about a killer Great White Shark, called Hookjaw due to a harpoon embedded in his jaw by a fisherman that failed to catch him. It was inspired by Jaws, something that its creators never denied. The stories weren't bad, but the science wasn't always on point. The art was decent but didn't always accurately portray the different species of shark, but I suppose that wasn't what this was about anyway. I had originally heard the shark attacked people were out to harm the environment, almost like an agent of nature, but in these stories he just ate anyone that got in his way regardless of their political beliefs. The stories were wordy and a little overdone. Hookjaw must have been the smartest shark ever considering the things he was doing, and also must be the toughest shark as he survived dozens of attacks including explosives, depth charges etc. It just got a little silly before it was over.
I would like to note a few things. This story was published in 1976, before Jaws 2 was released. There was a scene in this comic that looked almost directly from Jaws 2, a scene where someone is holding an electrical cable trying to get the shark to bite through it. I wonder if this comic is where the movie writers got the idea. There's also a cool scene involving an underwater restaurant, and something similar showed up in Jaws 3 which was even later. It was fascinating as the comic either predicted things to come later, or more likely was used as an influence.
Overall this was good but not great. I'm a big fan of Jaws and underwater creature features (but I refuse to watch Sharknado or any of the other Syfy channel shark movies. Sorry, but no.) If you're a big fan of Jaws and/or banned comics you should check this out. It is very violent, but really nothing out of the norm for today. It has its flaws, but is still fascinating.
July 20, 2024
Maybe the craziest thing I've ever read...? Maybe...?
I thought THE MEG was batshit crazy, but this puts Steve Alten's cheesefest to shame.
Giant Great White, with a massive harpoon through his jaw, wreaks his eco-vengeance across the seas, eating man and child alike. (Not so much women, as we learn the true shark fact that sharks don't like the way women taste. It must be true, it was in this book!) Other true facts include the fact that humans explode (Literally EXPLODE!) if they get The Bends from surfacing too fast, and sharks will also explode if you fed them boiling hot melons. (!!!!)
Great dialogue is endlessly repeated, including gems like "The JAWS!", and "MY LEGS!"...Hookjaw REALLY likes to eat legs. There's loads of 70s racism and sexism, gore galore...I mean, in real life NATO would have to hunt Hookjaw down, or we'd have to nuke the oceans, because this dude eats literally everyone and everything he comes across. Boats, helicopters, men, children, other sharks, eels, barracuda, natives, rich blowhards, sailors, pilots in the cockpit of their jets (!!!!), NO ONE is spared.
This was a chore to read at times, due the serialized, repetitive nature of the stories, and the -minuscule, bifocal-unfriendly blocks of text, but as a giant-shark-killing-everything-it-sees enthusiast, I really did have a blast. Someone make a hard-R theatrical adaptation of this, ASAP!!!!
I thought THE MEG was batshit crazy, but this puts Steve Alten's cheesefest to shame.
Giant Great White, with a massive harpoon through his jaw, wreaks his eco-vengeance across the seas, eating man and child alike. (Not so much women, as we learn the true shark fact that sharks don't like the way women taste. It must be true, it was in this book!) Other true facts include the fact that humans explode (Literally EXPLODE!) if they get The Bends from surfacing too fast, and sharks will also explode if you fed them boiling hot melons. (!!!!)
Great dialogue is endlessly repeated, including gems like "The JAWS!", and "MY LEGS!"...Hookjaw REALLY likes to eat legs. There's loads of 70s racism and sexism, gore galore...I mean, in real life NATO would have to hunt Hookjaw down, or we'd have to nuke the oceans, because this dude eats literally everyone and everything he comes across. Boats, helicopters, men, children, other sharks, eels, barracuda, natives, rich blowhards, sailors, pilots in the cockpit of their jets (!!!!), NO ONE is spared.
This was a chore to read at times, due the serialized, repetitive nature of the stories, and the -minuscule, bifocal-unfriendly blocks of text, but as a giant-shark-killing-everything-it-sees enthusiast, I really did have a blast. Someone make a hard-R theatrical adaptation of this, ASAP!!!!
January 5, 2019
I had a vague recollection of Hook Jaw from my childhood, but it was obvious within the first couple of pages that what I'd read were the sanitised relaunched version of Action comics (not to be confused with the DC's Action Comics starring Superman) and not only am I not surprised that it got banned, but I find it kind of incredible that it lasted as long as it did! Not that I'm complaining as I now get to read the complete uncensored collection. Basically it's a sensational exploitation of the popularity of Jaws which had just come out, with the creative team coming up with different ways for the eponymous shark to bloodily despatch his human victims every week - heroes, villains or innocent bystanders, once they're in the water it's all the same to Hook Jaw! Some of the art is a little rough and ready, especially the full colour pages, which were obviously done quite cheaply to begin with and even the transfer to higher quality paper can't fully salvage them, but it's also a part of their charm. Definitely a product of it's time, but what a time it was!
November 13, 2017
Jaws came out in the 1970s and this comic book was a direct result. It is a complete collection of a comic strip that appeared in a British publication in the 1970s. It definitely reflects the times. Throughout the pages the shark "Hook-jaw" manages to dismember and eviscerate human beings in every conceivable way possible. That being said, Hook Jaw was the longest running shark themed comic strip in existence. With the constant flux of 'shark attack' movies such as Sharknado, their is definitely still a market for this entertainment. I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the genre and similar ephemera.
August 1, 2018
Controversial 'Jaws' ripoff comic from the UK in the 70's. The art was serviceable and every story was really just an excuse to show often villainous people suffer at the hands of the 'two-ton' beast. Aimed at young'uns at the time, and promsing the carnage they were apparently looking for, this is enjoyable as a vintage artifact from another time and features laughably corny scripts and storylines designed to deliver maximum killer-shark action.
August 25, 2019
Clearly a 70's knockoff of Jaws, this collection of stories from the infamous "Action!" comic is so over-the-top that it's fun. If you want to see all the various gruesome ways people can get torn apart and eaten by a man-eating giant shark with a harpoon stuck in its lip, this is the comic for you. Marred by some racist portrayals of people of color (to the extent that there's a disclaimer on the title page).
September 9, 2017
Crude, trashy, and tons of fun.
July 17, 2018
Read this as a kid so was excited to see it being released. Unfortunately its aged badly with the dialogue of the caribbean natives being particularly cringeworthy. Only for die hard fans I'm afraid
Read
May 2, 2020got kind of bored and sort of skimmed the last two thirds. the shark eats a lot of people which is cool. they should do a Hook Jaw movie.
February 21, 2024
A classic comic of oceanic panic and bone crunching terror. I would love to have enjoyed this in its prime. Jaws has nothing on Hook Jaw!!
Read
May 21, 2018Jaws rip-off from the notorious 2000AD precursor Action, possibly the most punk comic ever produced. Which also means that reading the collection is like trying to listen to a whole punk album*. You see one guy get disembowelled in some gruesomely inventive fashion by a great white, and it's awesome. Fifty, and it's a statistic. Mills' introduction makes much of his co-writer's scientific contributions, but while I can just about buy the infant sharks getting between the bars of a shark cage and eating a diver, the bit where Hook Jaw brings down a helicopter feels like more of a stretch. And then we've got the one where Hook Jaw somehow gets over the reef completely surrounding a tropical island, in order to wreak havoc within the lagoon. Though my problem is less with the freak wave that accomplishes this, than with how the Hell anybody else ever gets to or from the island by sea if the reef really is all-encompassing. Which later developments make clear it isn't, but this is par for the course; at times the strip can't even keep its own story vaguely straight from one issue to the next. Cliffhanger - the ghastly tycoon insists that if the natives don't bring back the shark alive, he'll drive them from the island! Next installment opens on the next page: if the natives don't kill the shark, he'll drive them from the island! I mean, yes, we've all had bosses like that, but there's no indication here from anyone that the mission has entirely changed.
Anyway, this being a Pat Mills comic, the shark represents nature's revenge on mankind, so many (though not all) of the people he eats are nasty capitalists, drawn with all the subtlety and nuance still evident in Mills' current work, the four intervening decades having apparently taught him little more than the word 'sheeple'. The human protagonist is diver Rick Mason, who starts off working for a maniac oil tycoon, barely survives the oil rig's feud with Hook Jaw, and then proceeds to get another maritime job working for another greedy and unscrupulous bastard. So someone with much the same ability to learn from experience as his creator, then. Still, the art is entertainingly gory, and so long as you read it in serial format rather than go into a feeding frenzy, it has a certain brutal aplomb. The tragedy is that the best stuff is in the final story, much of it never published at the time thanks to the pearl-clutchers getting Action cancelled. This pretty much drops any pretence at social commentary, and just has crooks killing people and sharks killing people and one especially memorable panel where a shark eats another shark whole. Plus, in the single best installment, Hook Jaw just goes to a British beach (Looe! I've been there!) and eats a kid for the Hell of it. "Julian felt no pain. There was only a dull throb where his legs used to be..."
*Yes, I know there are exceptions - the Adverts, the Dead Kennedys, even the Clash's first. But you know full well what I mean.
Anyway, this being a Pat Mills comic, the shark represents nature's revenge on mankind, so many (though not all) of the people he eats are nasty capitalists, drawn with all the subtlety and nuance still evident in Mills' current work, the four intervening decades having apparently taught him little more than the word 'sheeple'. The human protagonist is diver Rick Mason, who starts off working for a maniac oil tycoon, barely survives the oil rig's feud with Hook Jaw, and then proceeds to get another maritime job working for another greedy and unscrupulous bastard. So someone with much the same ability to learn from experience as his creator, then. Still, the art is entertainingly gory, and so long as you read it in serial format rather than go into a feeding frenzy, it has a certain brutal aplomb. The tragedy is that the best stuff is in the final story, much of it never published at the time thanks to the pearl-clutchers getting Action cancelled. This pretty much drops any pretence at social commentary, and just has crooks killing people and sharks killing people and one especially memorable panel where a shark eats another shark whole. Plus, in the single best installment, Hook Jaw just goes to a British beach (Looe! I've been there!) and eats a kid for the Hell of it. "Julian felt no pain. There was only a dull throb where his legs used to be..."
*Yes, I know there are exceptions - the Adverts, the Dead Kennedys, even the Clash's first. But you know full well what I mean.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews