For those who perhaps haven’t caught up, writer Tom Eglington and artist Simon Davis offer the following to help you catch-up on series one?
TC EGLINGTON: Thistlebone is a folk horror tale following the story of Avril, a woman who survived an abduction from a bizarre cult as a child. Decades later she is drawn back to the woods where she experienced her ordeal. Disturbing memories and dark forces stir as she recalls her past.
We tried to create something disquieting, atmospheric and beguiling with Thistlebone, punctuated with stabs of genuine horror. It is realistic, but there are aspects that have a dreamlike quality as the reader experiences sections of the first story through Avril’s viewpoint, memories that are distorted by her confused mental state. Simon’s artwork was been perfect for this, as his style conveys mood so well.
SIMON DAVIS: Yes, everything Tom said. I have a love of the genre that’s referred to as Folk Horror…one inextricably linked to nature, isolation and the old ways. We hadn’t worked together before yet shared a love of the genre and get on well, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to create something new together.
Hopefully it was unsettling. Because of modern society’s general disconnect from the natural world…food production, species depletion etc… I feel that nature holds a lot of primal fears for the modern city dweller. I think setting the first story in the overpowering presence of a forest already creates a feeling of unease and oppressiveness. It’s a folk-horror story in a lot of ways…the fear of modern industrialisation, myth and fear.
(More revelations from this interview can be found here.)
2000 AD Prog 2229
Cover: Dermot Power.
Judge Dredd: The Penitent Man by Kenneth Niemand (w) Tom Foster (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Thistlebone: Poisoned Roots by TC Eglington (w) Simon Davies (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Visions of Deadworld: Transpolar by Kek-W (w) Dave Kendall (a) Simon Bowland (l)
Future Shocks: Regarding Henry by Mark McCann (w) Glenn Fabry (a) John Charles (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
Feral & Foe II by Dan Abnett (w) Richard Elson (a) Jim Campbell (l)
Thistlebone: Book One by T. C. Eglington & Simon Davis
Rebellion ISBN 978-178108778-7, 29 April 2021, 64pp, £12.99. Available via Amazon.
The secluded rural village of Harrowvale holds a dark past—that years earlier, on a farm bordering the vast tracts of woodland, it hosted a cult that was seeking to escape civilisation and find purity in the old ways, namely worshipping an ancient deity called Thistlebone. Led by the charismatic Jasper Hillman, their pagan beliefs grew ever more radical to the point where they held the young Avril Eason captive with the intention of sacrificing her. But Avril escaped…
"Simon Davis' artwork really is some of the best he's ever done. Magnificent." — comicon.com
"hits all the right buttons ... More please." — All-Comic
"Feels like visiting a novel by Stephen King. The eerie atmosphere, the supernatural undertones but, perhaps most importantly, the grounded approach to storytelling." — Multiversity Comics
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