Product Description

For the first time in trade paperback, Active Images presents David Hine's tortured modern gothic tale of madness, death and sexual longing. The world of Strange Embrace is one of pain and sorrow, obsession and damnation -- a world that twists and pollutes the lives of all that enter it.

Readers who like FROM HELL, SANDMAN, HELLBLAZER and Gothic Murder Mysteries will also enjoy STRANGE EMBRACE.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #759140 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780974056722
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A small masterpiece of madness, memory, shadows and sexuality. A terrifying nightmare of modern gothic." -- Deadline Magazine

"Delving deep into childhood fears the starkly powerful Strange Embrace establishes David Hine as one of Britain’s most exceptional talents." -- Time Out

"Hine weaves a hypnotic tale about a malicious clairvoyant obsessed with a tragically dysfunctional family. A truly scary horror story." -- Top Shelf - Chris Staros

An astounding portrayal of sexual perversion, the dark corridors of the human experience, and themes rarely explored in any medium, it will be one to hold onto for a very long time. (5 of 5 bullets) --Tim Hartnett, Line of Fire Reviews

David Hine's Strange Embrace is a masterful piece of horror fiction. Not content to merely show us 'boo' images, or the same old tired vampires and zombies, we are instead taken down a twisting, winding path of terrors both psychological and supernatural. (4/4 stars) --Ken Lowery, Pop Syndicate

Delving deep into childhood fears, the starkly powerful Strange Embrace establishes David Hine as one of Britain's most exceptional talents. --Time Out

From the Inside Flap
There’s no getting away from it, Strange Embrace is dark. Strange Embrace is very… strange. In fact it’s just about as complex, compelling, and generally fucked-up as the Twentieth century which its protagonist – Anthony Corbeau – seems to represent.

In part psychological horror, in part an existentialist study of the classic "Outsider", this "graphic novel", unlike most of them, really does warrant the term ‘novel’. It has the emotional, thematic and historic sweep of a novel, but manages to retain the immediacy and cerebral impact of the best comic.

The narrative is intricate, shifting sometimes breathlessly between place, time and character: we are led into the story by little Sukumar, a product of late twentieth century multi-cultural Britain, into the past, into the strange, and into horror. And it is at times real horror.

Prepare to be shocked.

I first read Strange Embrace about nine years ago, shortly after it was first published. When David asked me to write a few words by way of introduction I of course wanted to re-read the comic. And I was a little concerned that I’d be disappointed. It can happen. I’d really enjoyed reading it the first time around. I had been moved and shocked and some of its scenes, images and characters – the implacably beautiful face of the African mask, the many scenes of sexual perversion, the young telepath Alex’s grin – had stayed with me for some time. And I was concerned that now, in a different century, in sometimes what seems like a different world, it would not touch me in the same way. I needn’t have worried. From the first page I was drawn into the bizarre story, led by poor Sukumar, and then Alex, and then Anthony Corbeau, through to the truly shocking revelations and Grand Guignols of the Byzantine plot…and finally arriving at the truly, truly shocking climax.

If you’ve read this book already you’ll know what I’m talking about. And you’ll do well to re-read it. If you have never read this book then you are in for a rare treat. But be prepared to be shocked. Because there’s no getting away from it.

Strange Embrace is dark.

And very strange.

by Peter Milligan

Peter Milligan resides in London, England and has written comics for over fifteen years. His works include X-FORCE, ENIGMA, SHADE THE CHANGING MAN, HUMAN TARGET and SKREEMER.

About the Author
David HineÂ’s first published comics were in his own art college publications Primal Scream and Joe Public Comix. After college Dave produced Zero Comix for Record Mirror and was also published in several other English papers and magazines including New Musical Express, City Limits, Time Out and Sounds. He also contributed occasional strips for Knockabout Comix before landing a job as inker on Zoids at Marvel UK. Over the next few years Dave inked hundreds of pages for most of the Marvel UK weekly publications including the wonderful Care Bears and John Carnell & Andy LanningÂ’s creator-owned title The Sleeze Brothers. Steve Cook, who was designing for Fleetway, introduced DaveÂ’s illustrations into the 2000AD spin-off, Crisis, which led to his assignment to the strip Sticky Fingers which was written by Myra Hancock. Dave also created a comic strip with stand-up comedian Tony Allen based on the events in Tiananmen Square which was exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Before dedicating himself to full time commercial illustration Dave wrote and drew a series of short stories for Crisis, Revolver and Deadline, followed by three series of Mambo for 2000AD.

Customer Reviews

One of the Great Unknown Graphic Novels.
This graphic novel really is one of the genre's masterpieces. It's a perfectly paced, intricately plotted gothic novel -- and the artwork complements the mood perfectly. A moody and brooding tale of control-freak psychics, sexual repression, insanity, guilt and horror. Something for everybody. If you've read all of Sandman, Alan Moore and Frank Miller, give this little shocker a try. You won't be dissapointed.

A landmark graphic novel
A criminally neglected masterpiece that comfortably sits alongside the most highly regarded comics of the past decade. As a study in malevolence and truly horrific obsession there's nothing to match Strange Embrace in comics. Writer and artist David Hine begins with the psychic Alex Steadman, who murders his parents before becoming a tenant in a vast house owned by the reclusive, broken Anthony Corbeau. Probing his mind as he sleeps, Alex learns of Corbeau's youth, seemingly one of callous indifference to those around him in keeping to a solitary indulgence. As more of Corbeau's family history seeps through, a tragic story is revealed, fleshed out by the hidden diaries of Corbeau's long-deceased wife. Magnificently plotted and considered down to the smallest observations, this deeply disturbing story is ideally matched by Hine's art. Jagged and dark, his choice of African tribal carvings as a recurring motif provides profoundly unsettling primal imagery to counterpoint the preposterously formal turn-of-the-century domestic structure. In a truly graphic novel that's part Joseph Conrad, part E.M. Forster and part Edgar Allen Poe, the shocking events depicted have resonance that remains long after the story concludes. If you're interested in intelligent adult comics you should buy this book.

The Strange Embrace Experience
The Strange Embrace is truly an experience. From page one I was captivated by a strange fascination (a strange embrace if you will...) with the nightmare that was unquestionably about the begin. Nightmare though it is, I feel like this book has a lot to say about human psychology/nature, and doesn't hesitate to show its dark side. While this book does indeed illustrate an extreme of this "dark side", I believe it's a side that is in all of us as human. We are all flawed, and the antagonist in this book preys and feasts on those flaws.

I think many people would find a lot of content in this book offensive. While I caution that there is a lot of material that some might find questionable, I urge future readers to keep an open mind... a VERY open mind. Because whenever the content is extreme, I believe that it is done with purpose. Sometimes extremes are needed to communicate a particular message (as in the case of this book), although if you're easily offended, perhaps this book was not meant for you (or maybe it was... I can't speak for the author).