brother Chippy. Adam claims to be from the planet Nimoi, stranded on Earth, and some believe him. Ethel the flower seller talks to her animals, and they answer back. Doreen is a painter and a psychic and there's the attractive shopkeeper Peter who gambles with money, drinks heavily and is unfaithful, notably with Janey's Chinese friend Suzie. Oh, and there's the decomposing corpse of a young girl floating naked in a large aquarium to which someone holds the key. The comparisons to Twin Peaks and The Prisoner are a self-inflicted millstone around my neck. I used those two TV shows as a "high concept" in order to promote the first issue of my comic book and it has stuck. There are of course some deliberate similarities, plot-wise and in atmosphere, but there are many other influences and ideas which I hope gives Strangehaven its own strong flavour. For Strangehaven do you refer to a real village? Much of the distinctive landscape is based on a real Devonshire village called Dunsford. But I have taken liberties with the local geography and patched in buildings from other parts of the country to create a fictional canvas on which to paint my characters. In Strangehaven you use a very regular grid to tell your story, avoiding any kind of splash pages or spectacularism. Why did you choose a so rigorous approach? Do you think it's the best way for comics? No, but it was the best way for me to concentrate on the storytelling aspects of the comic. My intention was for Strangehaven to appeal to a mainstream audience. In the UK & US, [continues]