Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 1 - by Kris Bertin (Paperback)

About the Book

"Nancy Drew meets David Lynch in this mystery thriller set in a strange and remote [Canadian] East Coast village. The story follows a gang of teens who have made it their business to investigate every one of their town's bizarre occurrences as The Teen Detective Club (a registered afterschool program). Their small world of missing pets and shed fires is turned upside down when real-life kid adventurer and globetrotter Sam Finch comes to town and enlists them in their first real case--the search for his missing father. In doing so, they stumble upon a terrifying world of rural secret societies, weird-but-true folk mythology, subterranean lairs, and an occultist who can turn men into dogs ..."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

"Powerfully rendered" -The New York Times

" ...a weirdly warm-hearted nightmare." -Booklist (Starred Review)

"...an exceptional, odd mystery." -Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

Perfect for fans of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Hardy Boys mysteries, The Hobtown Mystery Stories take the teen investigator genre to new levels as they explore small town identity and the surreal.

Welcome to Hobtown, a charmingly bleak village (Population: 2,006) and an easy place to get bored if you don't make your own fun.

Hobtown Regional High's top girl, Dana Nance, runs the Teen Detective Club--a registered after-school program that makes it their business to investigate each and every one of their town's bizarre occurrences including pagan secret societies, psychic assaults, and possible "wee man" sightings. Their small world of missing pets and shed fires is turned upside down when real-life kid adventurer and globetrotter Sam Finch comes to town and enlists them in their first real case: the search for his missing father. Something strange is going on, and no one in Hobtown will talk about it. It turns out Sam's dad is the sixth man to go missing this year. The rot runs deep in Hobtown, and it's up to the teen detectives and associates to stay alive long enough to crack the Case of the Missing Men!

Childhood friends Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes have built a truly unique and discrete universe in Hobtown--an exploration of small town identity drawing from the world of pulp, filtered through a lens of esoteric spirituality, skewed genre tropes, deft character work, and an incredible eye for detail.

Review Quotes

"[A] gritty take on the classic 'teen sleuth' genre"-- "Book Riot"

"...an exceptional, odd mystery."-- "Publisher's Weekly (starred review)"

"From the genre pioneered by The Hardy Boys and perfected by Scooby-Doo, The Hobtown stories clear out a space of their own that distinguishes them as highly original."

-- "The Comics Beat"

"I knew I was a goner from the prologue[...] Hobtown Mystery Stories long may it run." -- "The New York Times"

"It's Bertin's confident, idiosyncratic tone and Forbes' small, unnerving, almost Jack Chick-like art that makes this such a weirdly warm-hearted nightmare."-- "Booklist

"The Case of the Missing Men is truly a page-turner, with meticulous black-and-white line drawings that are incredibly nuanced and deft at creating suspense."-- "The Coast"

"There's a fullness of vision that makes The Case of the Missing Men so readable and rereadable. There are perfect images in here that will stick with you like scars."-- "Bookshelf.ca"

"This debut would be impressive enough as a mere genre exercise?the perceptive insights into the weirdly hermetic lives of both teenagers and small towns alike, then, are almost a bonus."-- "The Globe and Mail"

About the Author

Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes are childhood friends who studied separate disciplines in order to reunite and make comics as adults. They grew up in Lincoln, New Brunswick, and live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes are childhood friends who studied separate disciplines in order to reunite and make comics as adults. They grew up in Lincoln, New Brunswick, and live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Jason Fischer-Kouhi is a cartoonist who grew up in Los Angeles and cut his teeth in Portland, Oregon. When he's not coloring Hobtown, he's making his own comics. His favorite color is yellow.