HERETICS
Nobody is above temptation.
Set in 1999, HERETICS is a folk-horror story following the journey of investigative journalist Isobel Lockwood as she travels to a remote island off the coast of Scotland in an attempt to save her younger sister from the Children of the Sun, the free love cult founded by their father, which Isobel escaped from ten years earlier.
“Creepy and vivid, with a look reminiscent of Dave McKean and John J Muth, HERETICS is a fine looking nightmare.” – Rob Williams (DC Comics: Suicide Squad, Vertigo: Unfollow)
HERETICS was announced in 2016 as a six-issue comic-book series, plus preview issue, all created by P M Buchan, Martin Simmonds, and series editor Kasra Ghanbari, with lettering and design by Michael Stock, to be published by 44FLOOD.
The completed HERETICS issue zero, featuring a prequel to the main story that detailed Isobel’s undercover investigation into the final days of the Heaven’s Gate commune, launched in 2016 at an exhibition of folk-horror art as part of the 10th international Thought Bubble comics festival.
The exhibition was hosted by Lady Beck, Leeds, and co-curated by P M Buchan and John Pearson. Moving image video art was provided at the launch night by international glitch artist James Usill, with a soundtrack of horror music selected by Rue Morgue Radio’s Tomb Dragomir.
“Another good-looking NSFW publication from 44FLOOD. If this were a movie it would be rated ‘R’ with coarse language, nudity in a sexual situation, alcohol abuse and frequent bloody violence. That’s just in the preview issue, which also lists a helpful soundtrack of music to make your ears bleed.” – David Hine (Image Comics: Bulletproof Coffin, Marvel Comics: Spider-Man Noir)
A limited print-run of 1000 copies were published and sold through Forbidden Planet and directly by the creators. Issue zero features a five-page preview of issue one, plus a feature article about the classic folk-horror film Blood on Satan’s Claw, written by Euro horror cinema expert Rob Talbot and illustrated by Eisner Award winner John Pearson, alongside a feature on the top ten songs from 1999, written by Music Week Editor-in-Chief George Garner and illustrated by John Pearson.
Due to personal circumstances among the creative team, the HERETICS comic-book series was never published. To date, the first issue of HERETICS has been written by P M Buchan, pencilled by Martin Simmonds, and lettered by Michael Stock, including a back-up essay on the history of folk-horror cinema written by Rob Talbot and illustrated by John Pearson.
Multiple sample pages from issue ones one and two have also been illustrated and coloured by John Pearson as a proof of concept path to completing the series with a sympathetic artist. Storyboard sketches for issue two have been completed to Martin Simmonds, prior to pencilling the full issue.
“A remote island. A girl lost and found... but still lost. A timely reminder that any sufficiently large cult is indistinguishable from the world. Welcome to Buchan and Simmonds’ superb HERETICS. Remember where you moored your boat.” – Alex Paknadel (Marvel Comics: X-Men: From the Ashes, Sentinels)
The full set of scripts for HERETICS have been written by P M Buchan, completing the story. The full set of illustrated backup essays about the history of folk-horror cinema have been completed by Rob Talbot and John Pearson.
Covers have been completed for the comic-book series by artists Martin Simmonds, Ben Templesmith, Caspar Wijngaard, Will Kirkby, and Alisdair Wood. Pinups for the series have been completed by artists including Sarah Gordon, Anna Fitzpatrick, Conor Boyle, George Cotronis, Mark Penman, and Andrew Tunney.
Additional existing assets for HERETICS include a complete set of character sketches by Martin Simmonds, an eight-page coloured and lettered comic-book pitch illustrated by Martin Simmonds of a key sequence from what would have been issue three of the series, plus outlines, pitch documents, additional concept art and full scripts for the complete story.
Get in touch to work together on HERETICS
Based on a concept and story conceived by P M Buchan in 2012, development on HERETICS was paused when the creative team agreed to pursue other creative opportunities. Get in touch if you would like to discuss reviving the story for new markets.
Completion of the planned comic-book series would require an artist who could work in a style sympathetic to Martin Simmonds’ original designs. Alternatively, HERETICS could be developed for film, television, radio, podcast, or games, based on the large quantity of story and concept development already completed.
HERETICS – About the creators
British artist Martin Simmonds co-created (with James Tynion IV) the Eisner-nominated Image Comics series The Department of Truth, which was optioned for film and television by Sister, the production banner co-founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone. Martin also co-created Dying is Easy (with Joe Hill) for IDW, Punks Not Dead (with David Barnett) for Black Crown, and Friendo (with Alex Paknadel) for Vault Comics.
P M Buchan was born in the North East of England and studied BA (Hons) English Literature at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. His stories have been reviewed and featured in Kerrang!, Rue Morgue, Bleeding Cool, and Times Literary Supplement. He has had monthly comic-strips published in Starburst and SCREAM: The Horror Magazine, written for clients including Heavy Metal Magazine and Lionsgate, and has collaborated with bands including Megadeth, Harley Poe and For the Wolf.
P M Buchan is co-creator of the comic-book series LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI and BLACKOUT, and a former member of the art collective 44FLOOD. Collaborating with artists from around the world, he has exhibited at Orbital Comics, London, and Ladybeck, Leeds. He was a Juror three times for the British Fantasy Awards, the longest-running fantasy awards in the UK. In 2011 he was part of the online team that helped to relaunch Starburst, the world’s longest-running magazine of sci-fi, fantasy and horror, becoming a regular columnist when the magazine returned to print in 2012.
Selected press for HERETICS
Kerrang! // Bleeding Cool // Bleeding Cool // Comic Bastards // Pipedream Comics // Big Comic Page // GeekNative