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Strangehaven #3
Strangehaven: Conspiracies
In the isolated, quirky village of Strangehaven - hidden in the depths of the English countryside - the village's police Sergeant starts investigating a mysterious hanging, an apparent suicide, and a disappearance which all took place on the same fateful night. But the village's clandestine society, the Knights of the Golden Light, creates divided loyalties amongst the village folk. Newcomer Alex is drawn into a web of intrigue with both the Knights and the secret witches' coven vying for his allegiance. Meanwhile, another murder plot is being hatched and a love triangle develops in the latest installment of Millidge's supernatural, darkly humorous romantic murder mystery. All this and a World War II RAF fighter pilot.
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 5, 2020
It's pretty sad that right when the Lynch-ian strangeness and body count ramp up, the series is over. Ah well. 3.5 stars.
April 28, 2022
This Volume isn’t quite as good as the previous, but it’s still a lot of fun. I’ll have to check out the ‘Meanwhile…’ comics to see where the story leads.
Edit - after thinking about it, I've raised the rating and my thoughts have become a lot more positive. The improvement and experimentation in the artwork is fantastic, and the way the lore is developed is done really effectively. I took a bit of digesting to appreciate this volume so I had to come back and update my review!
Edit - after thinking about it, I've raised the rating and my thoughts have become a lot more positive. The improvement and experimentation in the artwork is fantastic, and the way the lore is developed is done really effectively. I took a bit of digesting to appreciate this volume so I had to come back and update my review!
July 14, 2024
This is a self-published comic series that was of 18 issues released between 1995 and 2005.
These books contain 6 issues in each.
It is set in a typical but fictional English village and blends folk horror with soap opera, think of an amalgam of The Archers and MR James.
It’s a rural gothic with a set of very strange residents that becomes a murder mystery.
The artwork is really well done, and the result is entertaining and highly original.
These books contain 6 issues in each.
It is set in a typical but fictional English village and blends folk horror with soap opera, think of an amalgam of The Archers and MR James.
It’s a rural gothic with a set of very strange residents that becomes a murder mystery.
The artwork is really well done, and the result is entertaining and highly original.
June 25, 2013
It's a shame that this is (at least for now, says Millidge) effectively the end of Strangehaven. Millidge had cemented his artistic style, formed an utterly believable world with living breathing characters, and was just winding into a peak of activity when circumstances forced him away from his self-published opus. It would have been wonderful to see where all this was headed, as the events here are perfectly poised to take off. As it is, we're left with a well-balanced set of cliffhangers and no pay off.
Having said all that, this is still an excellent story, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
This book collects issues 13-18 (thus leaving an odd bit here and there for Strangehaven collectors to track down) with black and white reproductions of the originally colour covers. It also adds a very British introduction from Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons, a more-illustrated-than-previous 'What Has Gone Before' catching-up intro from the perspective of the village's own Sergeant Clarke, the usual acknowledgements and an all-new comprehensive two-page creator biography.
Having said all that, this is still an excellent story, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
This book collects issues 13-18 (thus leaving an odd bit here and there for Strangehaven collectors to track down) with black and white reproductions of the originally colour covers. It also adds a very British introduction from Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons, a more-illustrated-than-previous 'What Has Gone Before' catching-up intro from the perspective of the village's own Sergeant Clarke, the usual acknowledgements and an all-new comprehensive two-page creator biography.
July 22, 2022
Yo creo que en este caso ya llego tarde para aplicar la Twin Peaks y subirse al murder mistery, pero como no escribo soup opera noir... mejor no comento.
A ver... al haber tanto espacio entre medio de cada numero y siendo este tan reducido, obvio que iba a tener problemas en la forma de realizarlo.
1 - Hablando del problema numero uno, el tardar meses o años en lanzar cada comic hace que cambie mucho la perspectiva de lo que el quiere contar, que se olvide o que quiera hacer un giro dependiendo su crecimiento como escritor. Y yo que se, todos cambiamos con el tiempo mientras escribimos una obra, pero quizás la diferencia en años hicieron estragos en la historia, el ritmo y los aspectos generales de la misma.
2 - El segundo punto es sobre la cantidad de cosas que quiere colocar en un solo numero. Muchas veces los personajes principales desaparecen por números enteros o se siguen con plots terciarios que no avanzan la trama, sino que finalizan cosas poco exploradas(Como paso con el misterio de Msc. Magready). Pero el problema de esto no es que sea poco tiempo para explorarla, sino la cantidad de cosas que el quiere hacer con su obra. Quiere a Alex en el centro de todo, pero desaparece durante números, quiere personajes terciarios que sean desarrollados en pequeñas historias, quiere números de gran exposición sobre cuestiones metafísicas o religiosas, quiere generar nuevos protagonistas como Maureen o Clarke y quiere terminar plots principales de forma satisfactorias pero en los últimos números va mas apurado que yo a buscar plata.
Si bien Gary es un artista de puta madre, se nota que intenta abarcar mas de lo que el puede hacer y me pongo a pensar si un libro no hubiese sido mas acorde con lo que el intenta realizar.
En este ultimo tomo, el sargento gana protagonismo para resolver un caso que por lo visto se resuelve solo y sin mucho misterio, haciendo que toda la tensión se desvanezca. Otras cosas toman su lugar, pero nada tan interesante como lo que se venia gestando. El misterio general del pueblo se desvanece en una abertura nueva sobre los grupos ocultistas que no se va a ver hasta llegado los números de Meanwhile. Menos mal que leo esto mucho tiempo despues de su salida, porque estaría muy triste si fuera lo ultimo que leería de Strangehaven durante tanto tiempo.
Espero que lo próximo a leer se tome su tiempo como en los primeros números y se olvide de generar cierres para cosas que no fueron bien desarrolladas.
A ver... al haber tanto espacio entre medio de cada numero y siendo este tan reducido, obvio que iba a tener problemas en la forma de realizarlo.
1 - Hablando del problema numero uno, el tardar meses o años en lanzar cada comic hace que cambie mucho la perspectiva de lo que el quiere contar, que se olvide o que quiera hacer un giro dependiendo su crecimiento como escritor. Y yo que se, todos cambiamos con el tiempo mientras escribimos una obra, pero quizás la diferencia en años hicieron estragos en la historia, el ritmo y los aspectos generales de la misma.
2 - El segundo punto es sobre la cantidad de cosas que quiere colocar en un solo numero. Muchas veces los personajes principales desaparecen por números enteros o se siguen con plots terciarios que no avanzan la trama, sino que finalizan cosas poco exploradas(Como paso con el misterio de Msc. Magready). Pero el problema de esto no es que sea poco tiempo para explorarla, sino la cantidad de cosas que el quiere hacer con su obra. Quiere a Alex en el centro de todo, pero desaparece durante números, quiere personajes terciarios que sean desarrollados en pequeñas historias, quiere números de gran exposición sobre cuestiones metafísicas o religiosas, quiere generar nuevos protagonistas como Maureen o Clarke y quiere terminar plots principales de forma satisfactorias pero en los últimos números va mas apurado que yo a buscar plata.
Si bien Gary es un artista de puta madre, se nota que intenta abarcar mas de lo que el puede hacer y me pongo a pensar si un libro no hubiese sido mas acorde con lo que el intenta realizar.
En este ultimo tomo, el sargento gana protagonismo para resolver un caso que por lo visto se resuelve solo y sin mucho misterio, haciendo que toda la tensión se desvanezca. Otras cosas toman su lugar, pero nada tan interesante como lo que se venia gestando. El misterio general del pueblo se desvanece en una abertura nueva sobre los grupos ocultistas que no se va a ver hasta llegado los números de Meanwhile. Menos mal que leo esto mucho tiempo despues de su salida, porque estaría muy triste si fuera lo ultimo que leería de Strangehaven durante tanto tiempo.
Espero que lo próximo a leer se tome su tiempo como en los primeros números y se olvide de generar cierres para cosas que no fueron bien desarrolladas.
April 29, 2023
Millidge never quite concludes Strangehaven in single issues, so I'm not going to hold the lack of ending against this volume. The experimental storytelling and ability to capture the tones from all time great surrealist stories like Lynch's Twin Peaks and McGoohan's The Prisoner is impeccably done. While the first volume juggles the many sprawling plotlines of Strangehaven best, I'm still pretty impressed with the imagination that went into creating so many interconneted storylines and keeping them interesting throughout.
This volume mostly focuses on Alex's rejection to the offer to join the Knights of the Golden Light, the mystery behind Petey's murder, the disappearance of Suzie, and return of Billy Bates. The volume also begins a new plot - the doctor's wife is trying to divorce him, but seeks some pretty deadly options. Other plots, like Adam the alien, Meg's Amazonian shaman stuff, and Brian's offputting behaviour, is put on the backburner here, but they didn't feel too missed by me. In fact, the stories in this volume felt quite a bit more balanced than the previous volume, though I do think the lack of resolution does keep this comic from feeling like an all-timer.
The cartooning remains sharp all the way through these eighteen issues, and Millidge finds interesting ways to experiment with form without wavering from his strengths. I did this re-read of Strangehaven since I only recently found out that Millidge has continued serializaton in the Meanwhile... anthology, so I can only hope the series goes on as strong as it did during this initial run.
This volume mostly focuses on Alex's rejection to the offer to join the Knights of the Golden Light, the mystery behind Petey's murder, the disappearance of Suzie, and return of Billy Bates. The volume also begins a new plot - the doctor's wife is trying to divorce him, but seeks some pretty deadly options. Other plots, like Adam the alien, Meg's Amazonian shaman stuff, and Brian's offputting behaviour, is put on the backburner here, but they didn't feel too missed by me. In fact, the stories in this volume felt quite a bit more balanced than the previous volume, though I do think the lack of resolution does keep this comic from feeling like an all-timer.
The cartooning remains sharp all the way through these eighteen issues, and Millidge finds interesting ways to experiment with form without wavering from his strengths. I did this re-read of Strangehaven since I only recently found out that Millidge has continued serializaton in the Meanwhile... anthology, so I can only hope the series goes on as strong as it did during this initial run.
March 21, 2018
Millidge's Twin Peaksish tale of a small English village hits its third volume, and I feel that it is at a crossroads. There are still several good moments - most of the characters behave so naturally and believably that Millidge puts the VAST majority of comic book scripters to shame. Alex, Janey, the sheriff, John and Billy are all great, great characters. Megaron and his little witches cabal got a little short-shrifted, which is a shame, because they're great characters as well.
The sheriff's investigation into Peter and his wife's separate deaths was very well done, and the ending was believable and fitting.
This volume, however, featured way too many soap-opera plots. Maureen's attempts to murder her husband so that she can get out of her horrible marriage without losing her standard of living were pathetic and predictable. As was her attempts to turn her brother-in-law to her side.
The highlight of the book was the appearance of a character who died decades before the series even began. It was the one real Strangehaven moment in an otherwise soapy, mediocre volume.
The sheriff's investigation into Peter and his wife's separate deaths was very well done, and the ending was believable and fitting.
This volume, however, featured way too many soap-opera plots. Maureen's attempts to murder her husband so that she can get out of her horrible marriage without losing her standard of living were pathetic and predictable. As was her attempts to turn her brother-in-law to her side.
The highlight of the book was the appearance of a character who died decades before the series even began. It was the one real Strangehaven moment in an otherwise soapy, mediocre volume.
July 31, 2019
Too bad there's no number 4. I'd have continued on with this story. It was really starting to get interesting, and it's not clear where it's going.
March 24, 2012
Bem vindos à vila de Strangehaven. Sintam-se confortáveis. É melhor. Se a vila gostar de vós nunca mais vos deixará partir. É sobre este fundo misterioso que numa aparentemente pacata vila inglesa se movem personagens aparentemente banais. O encanto de Strangehaven está nesta dicotomia. Um misto de banalidade telenovelística com relações que se quebram e estabelecem, traições, amores e as tropelias simples do dia a dia colidem com uma paranormalidade indefinida de espaços que se dobram sobre si próprios, laços temporais, conspirações entre sociedades secretas e um suposto alienígena que tenta construir um equipamento de comunicações enquanto foge aos encantos de uma rapariga da aldeia.
Sim, Strangehaven. A vila simpática onde todos têm segredos, que acolhe aqueles que estão à deriva na vida e os prende num laço inexplicável.
O outro grande ponto de interesse deste comic é o ser criado não por autores consagrados mas por um fanboy, que com paixão se dedicou à escrita, ilustração e edição desta série enganadoramente simples e surreal.
Sim, Strangehaven. A vila simpática onde todos têm segredos, que acolhe aqueles que estão à deriva na vida e os prende num laço inexplicável.
O outro grande ponto de interesse deste comic é o ser criado não por autores consagrados mas por um fanboy, que com paixão se dedicou à escrita, ilustração e edição desta série enganadoramente simples e surreal.
June 19, 2014
Well. I want to begin by talking about the extraordinary art. The novel actually had a story which most graphic novels avoid concentrating on. It was an amazing experience to read the series as it takes you to a Strange Haven.
April 11, 2021
Millifge's Strangehaven (hard to describe, but not unlike a very British take on Twin Peaks) moves from strength to strength, and this volume features some of the best artwork and dialogue so far. Sadly the last one to see print, so we can only hope Millidge returns to it at some point.
March 25, 2012
I started this book thinking the series was a trilogy. Come to find out there are more volumes! No loose ends tied, now I have to seek out the rest of the series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews