We could all use some magic right now
Luckily, comic writer, Rik Worth, has stopped by to tell us about his series HOCUS POCUS
Hi paranters,
After a well-needed break last week, we’re back.
It’s been a hard-hitting time for a lot of us; cost of living crisis, another school shooting in the U.S. and a defamation case that has triggered me to no end.
I was tempted to write about it today, but I wanted time to process.
And luckily, Rik Worth, Paranting columnist of “Daddy Issues” and comic book guy, has spoken to me about his comic book series HOCUS POCUS being nominated for a Eisner Award.
I first met Rik as part of a working-class journalist group a couple of years ago. Like me, he’s in the North and is a parent… and some how making some sort of living from writing.
He became a columnist for Paranting Issue 1 through 3, covering his journey as a new parent to a gorgeous baby girl.
You can read Issue 1 and 2 online for free, by visiting our website: https://parantingmagazine.co.uk/buy-now
Q: Tell us about how HOCUS POCUS came to be.
A: Jordan (Collver) and I met at uni. He was an exchange student from Canada. It’s very nerdy but we started Leeds University Union comic society together, which I’m pleased to see is still going.
We started making small press comics together immediately and working the UK convention scene, where we met Owen (Watts).
Professor Richard Wiseman came into the mix when I was researching Houdini for a potential graphic novel and needed to know how a certain trick was performed.
He never told me and the books was never made (although you can read out comic pitch for it .
Anyway that impressed Wiseman as we appeared to know our magic history and we made the entire story mirrored down the central spread. So, we started working on a few projects and ended up with HOCUS POCUS.
Q: What HOCUS POCUS about? Can you tell us what to expect?
A: The series itself is an all-ages anthology about the science behind the paranormal, told through real-life stories of magicians and con men.
Each issue covers a different parapsychological subject.
But we’ve managed to weave in illusions and tricks into the books themselves to heighten the experience.
For example, in issue one, we read your fortune and use micro-muscle movements to detect where you have hidden a note.
Think Horrible Histories by way of The Beano if Derren Brown was the editor.
It’s genuinely really good for kids too, I’d say 10 years and over, as it’s fun. But it also promotes scientific thinking and curiosity. We want kids, and grown ups, to finish HOCUS POCUS and not just say, “well that’s that.” We want them to develop the reasoning skills and to ask, “well, how do I know that? why do I think I know that.”
Q: I hear you’re up for an award and that’s it’s a pretty big deal…
A: Well, the Eisners, of The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, are the Oscars of comics.
They’re named for the man who wanted comics to be seen as more than kids stuff, Will Eisner.
In fact, the only reason we have the term “Graphic Novel” is thanks to Eisner. He knew adults (and Guardian readers —like me) would think comics were beneath them, so he invented that term to sell funny books to grown up.
But they’re exactly the same thing.
Anyway we’re nominated for “Best Limited Series” against some very good competition. This award has been won by graphic novels such as Watchmen in the past.
It’s practically unheard of for a small-press, self-published book to be a finalist, so we’re already very excited.
Q: How can we support HOCUS POCUS?
A: People can vote for us if you are a comics industry professional.
So that means creators, retailers, reviewers, editors etcs.
If that’s you can sign up on the San Diego Comic Con website https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards-current-info
Voting closes on the 8th of June… So we’re going to be very annoying and beggy for the next week or so.
But more than that, we really just want people to read the book. We’re mostly sold out and practically no one in the US had a chance to buy the book.
So, if people get in touch with is, either on Twitter or our site and we’ll try our hardest to get copies to you.
You can also subscribe to our newsletter for news about out final issue and upcoming collection.
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