Escape Hatch 035: The Hill House Comics Issue
November 26, 2019
Time for Another Swing of the Axe
Hey, turkey, guess what will be in your local comic book store tomorrow, just in time for Thanksgiving? That's right, it's Basketful of Heads #2! In this chapter, June finds herself all on her own and threatened by a leering home invader. He's got a gun and a mysterious agenda; she's got an 8th century Viking axe and a lot of questions. I'm sure it'll work out fine for both of them.
This comes on the heels of some really delightful news: our first issue sold out it's entire run and is going back to press for a second printing. I'm thrilled -- and grateful to everyone who picked up our weird book about sex, lies, and decapitation. If you missed it, don't be glum. The reprint will be in stores in early December, with a fetching variant on Reiko Murakami's instantly iconic cover.
But Hill House Comics isn't just this one book, and in-between Basketful of Heads #1, and Basket #2, our family has grown! The first issue of The Dollhouse Family materialized in shops only last week, and was greeted with sky high reviews. This is lean, sinewy, intelligent horror of the highest quality, with scripts by Mike Carey, and humane, grounded art by Peter Gross and Vince Locke. A lot of people were disappointed when D.C. hung up the CLOSED sign on their long-running Vertigo line, but I'll tell you what... The Dollhouse Family would've fit in perfectly with any of the earliest Vertigo titles. You don't have to take my word for it. Comic Book Resources called it "another win for Hill House Comics" and Major Spoliers said "it's nice to know that good macabre tales are still out there for those who aren't too scared to seek them out."
But you aren't too scared, right? Hit your local comic store and spend a little time in the house that M.R. Carey built with his pals Gross & Locke. Just be sure the door doesn't slam shut behind you.
Oh, hey, you almost have to pick it up, right? How else are you gonna know what happens next in Sea Dogs, our ongoing howler about werewolves and revolution? Chapter Two is here, with art by Dan McDaid and a script by your faithful correspondent.
No Laughing Matter
We're also just a few weeks out from the release of DYING IS EASY, the crime comic I've been working on with artist Martin Simmonds. I've never really written anything like this one -- it's a straight-up mystery, starring Syd "Shit-Talk" Homes, a washed out homicide detective trying to make a go of it as a stand-up comedian.
When I was a teenager I got hooked on the Lawrence Block novels about Matthew Scudder, an alcoholic ex-cop who -- when he wasn't blacking out or sick with the DTs -- hunted killers. Dying is Easy shares a little of the same DNA. But when I was about midway through writing it, I also realized I was scripting my own big Jerry Bruckheimer 80s action film, the kind of thing that used to star Eddie Murphy or Bruce Willis.
I could tell you more about the world of Syd Homes but -- hahaha -- I made a video instead.
I hope you'll give DYING IS EASY a shot... and that you'll do your worst trying to solve the crime ahead of Syd.
Notably:
I was just getting ready to click SEND on this mail when the news came in that Full Throttle has been selected as a New York Times Notable Book of 2019. I couldn't be more happy or more surprised. And I'm in such good company! You'll find me there alongside The Institute, Paul Tremblay's Growing Things, Margaret Atwood's The Testaments and Ali Smith's Spring.
Honestly, I'm sort of at a loss. I always get excited for the NYTimes Notable Books list and never in a beezillion years thought I'd get on it. It was too unlikely to even daydream about.
If you still haven't had a chance to give Full Throttle a look -- or if you did, and liked it enough to want to kick someone a copy for Christmas -- hit your local Barnes & Noble after Thanksgiving. I signed a whole heap of books for 'em, which have been distributed across the country and are also available online. It's not just me, either: they've got autographed Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Alice Hoffman and more. Signed books make great presents and as a bonus, they're easy to wrap.
I really do have a lot to be thankful for this year... including all the folks who signed up for this newsletter and are still interested in the books and whatever else is going on with me. Thanks for hanging out, everyone. I'll be back in a couple weeks with a best books/movies/shows of the decade list. Here's wishing you a happy calorie-stuffed holiday with your loved ones.