Hitchcock, David 1963-

PERSONAL:

Born September 22, 1963, in Derby, England; son of Gordon and Christine Hitchcock; married August 8, 1987; wife's name Kerry (a secretary).

ADDRESSES:

Home—Derby, England. Office—Derby Evening Telegraph, Northcliffe House, Meadow Rd., Derby DE1 2DW, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Prontaprint, Derby, England, graphic artist, 1980-86; Citiprint, Derby, graphic artist, 1986-87; Derby Evening Telegraph, Derby, editorial artist, 1987—. Black Boar Press, artist and publisher

WRITINGS:

The Spirit of the Highwayman (graphic novel), Black Boar Press, 1998.

Whitechapel Freak, Black Boar Press, 2001.

Springheeled Jack, Black Boar Press, 2003.

Creator of the minicomic The Bridge. Contributor to the comic book Meanwhile … and the periodical Skeleton Crew, as well as Internet Web journals, including Comics-International.com and Millidge.com.

SIDELIGHTS:

Comic book creator David Hitchcock got his start working on the Skeleton Crew comic in the early 1990s. That book, however, was short lived, and Hitchcock continued to work on his portfolio, sharing his efforts with industry professionals in an at- tempt to garner interest. Famed comic book artist Alex Ross praised Hitchcock's work, and encouraged him to continue his efforts. Hitchcock's break out came with his self-published comic Whitechapel Freak, which takes a twisted look at the events surrounding Jack the Ripper, elaborating on the factual account by introducing a traveling freak show. A reviewer for Ninth Art remarked that, although this addition makes Hitchcock's book similar to the typical story of the disenfranchised outsider, his effort "distinguishes itself … in the unflinching way in which it confronts its characters and their emotions. These are people pushed to the edge of their dignity and restraint." Hitchcock also enjoys experimenting with format, and with this book chose newspaper-quality paper to increase the impact of his artwork and help set the tone. Alasdair Stuart in the Savant wrote: "The format is a masterstroke, simultaneously mirroring the papers of the time and drawing instant attention to the comic. It's also indicative of Hitchcock's style, a relentless drive to get him noticed, to do something different from the crowd." Hitchcock has since become known for his books that combine English history and the supernatural. His follow-up effort, The Spirit of the Highwayman, was published by Black Boar Press, and also invokes a mysterious facet of English history as its subject matter.

Hitchcock told CA: "From a very early age I was entranced by the power of comic books, particularly books which sported art by the king of comics, Jack Kirby. His imagination was second to none, with artistic power to match. Since the very first issue of his "Avengers," I was hooked. From then on, I discovered many more artists working in the comics field, all with their own style. Great art motivated me to pursue a semi-career in comics, creating my own characters. I then followed that with writing my own work, too. Creating a comic book is like directing your own movie. Sadly I'm no relation to the great cinematic director Alfred, but I do aim to produce work which stands out from the crowd."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Black Boar Press Web site,http://www.blackboar.co.uk/ (April 25, 2007), listing of author's work.

Hold the Front Page Web site,http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/ (April 25, 2007), "Hitchcock Horror Lives On."

Lambiek.net,http://lambiek.net/ (April 25, 2007), author biography.

Ninth Art,http://www.ninthart.com/ (August 6, 2001), Alasdair Stuart, interview with David Hitchcock; (November 23, 2001), review of Whitechapel Freak.

Savant,http://www.savantmag.com/ (April 25, 2007), Alasdair Stuart, review of Whitechapel Freak.

Sequential Tart: A Comics Industry Web Zine,http://www.sequentialtart.com/ (April 25, 2007), Marcia Allass, "Springheeled Jack Leaps Again!"

Zum Comics,http://www.zumcomics.info/ (April 25, 2007), review of Spirit of the Highwayman.