''Hicksville'' is a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

Dylan Horrocks Dylan Horrocks (born 1966 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a cartoonist best known for his graphic novel '' Hicksville'' and his scripts for the ''Batgirl'' comic book series. His works are published by the University of Auckland student magazine ''Cr ...

originally published by

Black Eye Comics Black Eye Books (formerly called Black Eye Productions) is a small but influential Canadian comic book publishing company founded by Michel Vrana. Under the auspices of Vrana, Black Eye was known as a publisher of artfully designed alternative com ...

in 1998. The novel explores the machinations of the comic book industry, and contains a slightly fictionalized account of the history of mainstream American comics, with particular attention paid to the era of

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

Publication history

Much of ''Hicksville'' was serialized in Horrocks' ten-issue solo series ''Pickle'', published by Black Eye from 1993–1996. The collected edition, which featured much redrawn art, was released by Black Eye in 1998, shortly before the company went out of business. ''Hicksville'' was republished by Canadian publisher

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic content, ...

in 2001 and again in 2010. In 2010 the graphic novel was republished by New Zealand publisher

Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History Vi ...

. ''Hicksville'' has been translated into Spanish (Astiberri Ediciones), Italian (Black Velvet), German (Reprodukt), French (

Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Brussels, Belgium. History The company was founded in 1780 by Donat-Joseph Casterman, an editor and bookseller or ...

) and Croatian ( Fibra).

Plot

Canadian writer Leonard Batts arrives in the tiny

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

town of Hicksville to research the early life of Dick Burger, whose work has taken the comic book industry by storm. He finds that Hicksville is a town in which everyone from the postman to the farmer is an expert on comics, yet everyone seems to hate Burger. Many of the book's main characters are themselves comic creators, and many of their strips are reproduced in full as part of the story, most notably Sam Zabel's extensive account of moving to Los Angeles in order to work with Burger, which he documents in his self-published comic ''Pickle'' (the title of the Dylan Horrocks series in which the storyline was actually published).

Themes

Horrocks said of ''Hicksville'': Derik Badman writes of the village where much of the book's action takes place:

Characters

''Hicksville'' is a

meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or ende ...

-comic and the book's characters include normal (albeit fictional) humans from our world, and comic book characters (all actually created by Horrocks) who appear in various publications — such as ''Laffs'' magazine, Sam Zabel's ''Pickle'', and the various titles published by Eternal Comics — interwoven into the pages of the graphic novel.

Recurring characters

Leonard Batts — a Canadian comics critic for the fictional ''Comics World Magazine''. He previously published a book on

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

called ''The King: Jack Kirby: a Biography'' and has come to Hicksville in search of information about Dick Burger's origins. He appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as Captain Tomorrow, which causes great consternation among the other attendees. Dick Burger — a cartoonist, originally an orphan from Hicksville who now lives in Los Angeles, who has built a mainstream comics empire, mainly based on his revival of Captain Tomorrow and other characters. He controls Eternal Comics. Emil Kópen — Kornukopija's greatest living cartoonist, creator of ''Valja Domena''; Kópen "represents the power of cartooning as pure art."Beaty, Bart and Benjamin Woo. "Hicksville, by Dylan Horrocks," in ''The Greatest Comic Book of All Time: Symbolic Capital and the Field of American Comic Books'' (Springer, 2016), pp. 134-138. Sam Zabel — an indy cartoonist and creator of the autobiographical comic book series ''Pickle'' (as well as a former contributor to New Zealand's ''Laffs'' weekly humor magazine). Sam is originally from Hicksville, where he grew up with Dick Burger. He appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American ar ...

, after previously appearing as

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

. Sally — Sam's love interest and eventually his wife. Mopani — the daughter of Irene; they both live in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. Cincinnati Walker — an American actress who develops an interest in Sam Zabel. She plays Lady Night in the ''Captain Tomorrow'' film series. Mort Molson — creator of the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

Captain Tomorrow. Lou Goldman — creator of the Golden Age Lady Night.

Hicksville residents

Grace Pekapeka — former lover of first Dick Burger and later Danton. A

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, she spent many years working at the Crieste Botanic Institute (Crieste is the capital of Cornucopia). She makes a connection with Kornukopija (Cornucopia) artist Emil Kópen. She appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as Milena, the heroine of Kopen's ''Valja Domena''. Her last name is a reference to a native bat of New Zealand. Helen — appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

(a costume which originally belonged to Grace). She appears to have a crush on Sam Zabel. Danton — owner and manager of The Rarebit Fiend tea room. He appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as Mister Bunion of

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he worke ...

's ''A Pilgrim's Progress by Mister Bunion''. Huck — frequent customer of The Rarebit Fiend. It's implied that he lives with Harry the postman. Harry — Hicksville's postman and an avid comics fan, particularly of the work of

Ed Pinsent Ed Pinsent (born 1960, Liverpool, England) is a British cartoonist, artist, and writer. Biography Ed Pinsent is the son of the classical scholar John Pinsent and was brought up in the city of Liverpool. Pinsent has written and drawn his own sm ...

, Chris Reynolds, and the " English School." He appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as a character with a square head and a large capital "P" on his shirt. Famer Dobbs — a farmer with a dog named Fang. He appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born September 6, 1937) is a Spanish/Mexican cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to '' Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. Among his peers and fans, Aragonés is w ...

.Horrocks, Dylan. ''Hicksville'' (Drawn & Quarterly, 2010), p. 229. Mrs. Hicks — proprietor of the Hicksville Book Shop and Lending Library, which stores an amazing collection of rare and unusual comics from all over the world. She appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire. Hyram — appears at the Hogan's Alley bonfire as

Captain Haddock Captain Archibald Haddock (french: Capitaine Archibald Haddock, link=no, ) is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is one of Tintin's best friends, a seafaring pipe-smoking ...

. He is a proponent of the works of Edgar P. Jacobs. Kupe — resident and caretaker of Hicksville's lighthouse, as well a secret library of "culturally and spiritually" valuable comics, including Mort Molson's ''Captain Tomorrow: Rebirth'', which was plagiarized by Dick Burger. Kupe ends up with Grace. Kupe is inspired by New Zealand's mythical

Kupe Kupe ( ~1180-1320) was a legendary Polynesian explorer, navigator and great rangatira of Hawaiki, who is said to have been the first human to discover New Zealand. Whether Kupe existed historically is likely but difficult to confirm. He is ge ...

. Dougal

Comic book characters

Captain Tomorrow — a Golden Age superhero created by Mort Molson, who has been revived as a much darker figure by Dick Burger in the 1990s. Lady Night — a 1950s-era superhero created by Lou Goldman, who has been revived as a much darker figure by Dick Burger in the 1990s. The Captain — an explorer based on

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

Hōne Heke Hōne Wiremu Heke Pōkai ( 1807/1808 – 7 August 1850), born Heke Pōkai and later often referred to as Hōne Heke, was a highly influential Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) and a war leader in northern New Zealand; he was ...

— a Maori man based on the highly influential

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the hereditary Māori leaders of a hapū. Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that ...

(chief) of the

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

iwi (tribe) and a war leader in Northern

; in the book he accompanies the Captain as his "

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

". Alfred — a cartographer based on

Charles Heaphy Charles Heaphy VC (1820 – 3 August 1881) was an English-born New Zealand explorer and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that could be awarded to British and Empire forc ...

. He appears alongside the Captain and Hōne Heke. Moxie & Toxie — a male & female cartoon duo created by Sam Zabel.

Subsequent work

Leonard Batts and a minor character, cartoonist Emil Kópen, both appear in Horrocks' later series ''

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

''. Sam Zabel is the protagonist of Horrocks' 2014 graphic novel ''Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen'' (Fantagraphics).

Awards

''Hicksville'' was nominated for

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

s for Best Graphic Novel & Best Art, and a

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

for Best Reprint Collection. The French edition was nominated for two Prix d’Alph’Arts for Best Graphic Novel & the

Prix de la critique The Prix de la critique is a prize awarded by the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée to the best comic album released for a year in France. Previously, from 1984 to 2003, it was called ''Prix Bloody Mary'' and awarded ...

("Critic's Prize"). The foreign editions were nominated for an Attilio Micheluzzi Award for Best Graphic Novel, and the Best Foreign Comic at the Barcelona Comics Festival. It was named one of the top five books of 1998 by ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

''. In 2002, based on ''Hicksville'' and his follow-up series ''

'', Horrocks won an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition.2002 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Comic Book Awards Almanac

References

{{reflist

External links

Hicksville at Victoria University Press
1998 graphic novels New Zealand comics titles 20th-century New Zealand novels Drawn & Quarterly titles Comics by Dylan Horrocks Comics about comics