Gideon Gunn, the Pagan Priest

Gideon Gunn, the Pagan Priest is ridiculous adventure with plenty of nostalgic appeal to those who enjoy classic British comics or Hammer horror.

The concept’s in the title. Created by writer Daniel Whiston and artist Andrew Richmond, Gunn fights monsters in 18th century Bath with whatever makes sense, whether holy or pagan.

This single comic, “Strange Alchemy”, has three stories. Gunn fights vampires, zombies, and a Frankenstein-style animated corpse. Even though I have little exposure to 80s British comic anthologies or 70s horror movies, I had a blast reading it. The stories set a premise, send a creature after Gideon Gunn, have him defeat it, and wrap up. Nothing is padded or stretched, keeping the excitement up.

The creators have clearly thought this through, with the issue also including fake letters and other documents. The art is wonderfully moody, making full use of the black and white, with nods to famous genre stars like Peter Cushing.

You can see sample pages or if you’re in the UK, order a copy from the book’s web page.

(The creator provided a digital review copy.)