Strangehaven
Abiogenesis Press. All written and drawn by Gary Spencer Millidge.
1
Arcadia (1-6). [From Abiogenesis: The long-awaited
first Strangehaven trade paperback collects together issues 1 through 6
of the critically acclaimed and award winning series. Alex Hunter awakens
from a car crash only to find himself trapped in a deceptively idyllic village,
deep in the remote English countryside. He soon encounters some of the village's
bizarre inhabitants including an Amazonian shaman, a man who claims to be
from the planet Nimoi, a woman with talking pets and a murderous clandestine
brotherhood The Knights Of The Golden Light. But who is the woman in the
fishtank? Introduction by Dave Sim.] 
2
Brotherhood (7-12). [From Abiogenesis: In this
volume, Alex Hunter tries to make sense of being trapped in England’s
weirdest village, the ghost of the beautiful woman who haunts his dreams,
and why the villagers celebrate Christmas in mid-summer. The Amazonian Shaman
Megaron reveals his tribe’s deadly cycle of vengeance, and the village’s
resident extraterrestrial, Adam, explains away the UFO phenomenon, while
behind the scenes a clandestine brotherhood pulls the strings. Beautifully
illustrated with pencil, pen and ink, painted watercolor and manipulated
photographs. With an introduction by Heart of Empire creator Bryan Talbot.]
3
Conspiracies (13-18). [From Abiogenesis:In the
isolated, quirky village of Strangehaven, hidden in the depths of the English
countryside, the village's police Sergeant investigates 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 create 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.] Book of the Week 9/21/05: Strangehaven may happen very slowly (the previous collection appeared in 1998), but it is well worth the wait. Often compared to Twin Peaks, it tells the story of Alex, a fairly ordinary man who crashes his car in the middle of nowhere while on a road-trip, and wakes up in a strange town—which he cannot seem to leave. In quick order, he becomes the new schoolteacher and settles in. Mysteries abound. Are the members of the secret lodge loons, or dangerous? Does Adam come from Germany, or another planet? Do animals really talk to Elsie? Why does Alex keep seeing his car crashed into a tree outside of town, when it's parked next to his house? And the second volume ended with an escalating series of cliffhangers which we trade readers have been waiting years to be resolved. I'm sure that Volume 3 will raise more questions than it answers—and I wouldn't have it any other way. Writer-artist Gary Spencer Millidge deserves special notice for his art, which uses a rigorous 9-panel grid to expand, not constrain, the storytelling, with a blend of pen-and-ink and ink-wash drawing and an attention to facial expression that keeps the many conversations that permeate the series visually interesting. This is a wonderful series, and I only wish Millidge could manage more than six issues in seven years.