For Review & Feature Consideration: NICNEVIN AND THE BLOODY QUEEN, a Haunting Coming-of-Age Horror Story For Our Times
(March 5, 2020) Something strange has been unleashed in the North of England. A modern-day druid has been committing a series of ghastly murders in an attempt to unleash the awesome power of the ancient gods of Great Britain. But all hell really breaks loose when his latest would-be victim, rebellious teen Nicnevin “Nissy” Oswald, turns out to be more than she seems. In NICNEVIN AND THE BLOODY QUEEN, debut graphic novel writer Helen Mullane, acclaimed artists Dom Reardon and Matthew Dow Smith, and celebrated colorist Lee Loughridge have created a haunting and unsettling coming-of-age horror story for our times.
The original graphic novel has already received accolades from some of the biggest names in horror:
“[An] honestly chilling, surprising, human and brilliantly structured murder mystery in the unknown heart of Britain.”— Warren Ellis (Castlevania)
“Darkly magical and strange, NICNEVIN AND THE BLOODY QUEEN explores British landscape and myth in the style of folk horror film and TV from the 1960s and ’70s but with a contemporary edge.”— Kim Newman (Anno Dracula)
Humanoids, the publisher of some of the world’s most iconic and groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy graphic novels, will publish NICNEVIN AND THE BLOODY QUEEN on March 10, 2020. The book features a stunning cover by Jock, the co-creator of Wytches and one of the modern masters of comic book suspense.
This original graphic novel marks the literary debut of writer Helen Mullane, who collaborates with artists Dom Reardon and Matthew Dow Smith, and colorist Lee Loughridge for a different kind of horror and a different kind of heroine. In the story, London teen “Nissy” Oswald is stuck in the countryside for the entire summer with only her mother and little brother for company, but things start to look up when she meets Reggie, an attractive and mysterious older man to whom she feels inexorably drawn. As Nissy divides her time between feuding with her mother and lusting for Reggie, the small town is rocked by a grisly murder and everything changes. “I wanted to channel the feelings and attitudes that I remember so clearly from my own teenage years, the experiences of me and my friends,” said Mullane. “We weren’t wholesome or chaste, or bothered about saving the day--we weren’t the Famous Five or the Teen Titans! We just wanted to hang around, maybe get a bit wasted, get crushes on whoever was around… I feel like that sort of teen experience is rarely explored in mainstream comics.”
NICNEVIN AND THE BLOODY QUEEN is ripe with black magic, myth, and murder. The book comes alive with its honest depiction of family dysfunction and moments of quiet despair. It’s a spellbinding story, the kind that recalls the best horror stories of the past, while daring to unearth something entirely new.
For additional information and interview requests, contact:
David Hyde, Superfan Promotions LLC
ABOUT THE WRITER
Helen Mullane began her career in film distribution, managing the release of major films for the likes of Studio Canal and EOne. Later she produced the feature documentary FUTURESHOCK! THE STORY OF 2000AD and various shorts such as the multi-award-winning NASTY. Helen currently resides in northern Sweden where she lives with 80 huskies, balancing her time between writing and dog mushing.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Dom Reardon is an illustrator from the U.K. He is best known for his work in the anthology comic 2000 AD where he co-created the series Caballitics Inc. with writer Gordon Rennie and The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael with writer Rob Williams. He has also worked for Dark Horse, Walker Books and Wizards of the Coast among others.
Matthew Dow Smith is a writer and comic book artist who has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. His art has appeared in Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, Dark Horse Comics’s Bad Luck Chuck, Aftershock’s Dead Kings, DC’s Suicide Squad: Hell to Play, and many others. He is also the writer/artist of the upcoming The October Girl graphic novel series.
ABOUT HUMANOIDS:
Based in Hollywood, California, with branches in Paris, London, and Tokyo, HUMANOIDS was co-founded 46 years ago in Paris, France, by legendary creator Mœbius, and has published thousands of titles since, including international bestsellers and iconic series such as The Incal and The Metabarons.
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