Strange Embrace (Paperback)

by David Hine (Author, Illustrator) "WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER ME?..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A small masterpiece of madness, memory, shadows and sexuality. A terrifying nightmare of modern gothic." -- Deadline Magazine

"Delving deep into childhood fears the starkly powerful Strange Embrace establishes David Hine as one of Britain’s most exceptional talents." -- Time Out

"Hine weaves a hypnotic tale about a malicious clairvoyant obsessed with a tragically dysfunctional family. A truly scary horror story." -- Top Shelf - Chris Staros

An astounding portrayal of sexual perversion, the dark corridors of the human experience, and themes rarely explored in any medium, it will be one to hold onto for a very long time. (5 of 5 bullets) --Tim Hartnett, Line of Fire Reviews

David Hine's Strange Embrace is a masterful piece of horror fiction. Not content to merely show us 'boo' images, or the same old tired vampires and zombies, we are instead taken down a twisting, winding path of terrors both psychological and supernatural. (4/4 stars) --Ken Lowery, Pop Syndicate

Delving deep into childhood fears, the starkly powerful Strange Embrace establishes David Hine as one of Britain's most exceptional talents. --Time Out

Product Description
For the first time in trade paperback, Active Images presents David Hine's tortured modern gothic tale of madness, death and sexual longing. The world of Strange Embrace is one of pain and sorrow, obsession and damnation -- a world that twists and pollutes the lives of all that enter it.

Readers who like FROM HELL, SANDMAN, HELLBLAZER and Gothic Murder Mysteries will also enjoy STRANGE EMBRACE.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Active Images (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974056723
• ISBN-13: 978-0974056722
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #265,870 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Great Unknown Graphic Novels., June 14, 2006

By	G. Stanton - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This graphic novel really is one of the genre's masterpieces. It's a perfectly paced, intricately plotted gothic novel -- and the artwork complements the mood perfectly. A moody and brooding tale of control-freak psychics, sexual repression, insanity, guilt and horror. Something for everybody. If you've read all of Sandman, Alan Moore and Frank Miller, give this little shocker a try. You won't be dissapointed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A landmark graphic novel, August 27, 2003

By A Customer

A criminally neglected masterpiece that comfortably sits alongside the most highly regarded comics of the past decade. As a study in malevolence and truly horrific obsession there's nothing to match Strange Embrace in comics. Writer and artist David Hine begins with the psychic Alex Steadman, who murders his parents before becoming a tenant in a vast house owned by the reclusive, broken Anthony Corbeau. Probing his mind as he sleeps, Alex learns of Corbeau's youth, seemingly one of callous indifference to those around him in keeping to a solitary indulgence. As more of Corbeau's family history seeps through, a tragic story is revealed, fleshed out by the hidden diaries of Corbeau's long-deceased wife. Magnificently plotted and considered down to the smallest observations, this deeply disturbing story is ideally matched by Hine's art. Jagged and dark, his choice of African tribal carvings as a recurring motif provides profoundly unsettling primal imagery to counterpoint the preposterously formal turn-of-the-century domestic structure. In a truly graphic novel that's part Joseph Conrad, part E.M. Forster and part Edgar Allen Poe, the shocking events depicted have resonance that remains long after the story concludes. If you're interested in intelligent adult comics you should buy this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Strange Embrace Experience, May 22, 2009

By	A. Christensen "Andy Christensen" (Menomonie, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Strange Embrace is truly an experience. From page one I was captivated by a strange fascination (a strange embrace if you will...) with the nightmare that was unquestionably about the begin. Nightmare though it is, I feel like this book has a lot to say about human psychology/nature, and doesn't hesitate to show its dark side. While this book does indeed illustrate an extreme of this "dark side", I believe it's a side that is in all of us as human. We are all flawed, and the antagonist in this book preys and feasts on those flaws.

I think many people would find a lot of content in this book offensive. While I caution that there is a lot of material that some might find questionable, I urge future readers to keep an open mind... a VERY open mind. Because whenever the content is extreme, I believe that it is done with purpose. Sometimes extremes are needed to communicate a particular message (as in the case of this book), although if you're easily offended, perhaps this book was not meant for you (or maybe it was... I can't speak for the author).