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Bible John - A Forensic Meditation

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"Bible John - A Forensic Meditation"
"Bible John" on the cover of Crisis #57, dated April 1991; art by Daniel Vallely.
PublisherFleetway Publications
Publication dateMarch – August 1991
Title(s)Crisis #56-61
March to August 1991
Creative team
Writer(s)Grant Morrison
Artist(s)Daniel Vallely
Letterer(s)Elitta Fell
Editor(s)Michael Bennent

"Bible John - A Forensic Meditation" is a creator-owned British comic story. It was originally published in the adult-orientated comic Crisis between May and August 1991. Written by Grant Morrison with art by Daniel Vallely, the story is a multimedia study of the unsolved Bible John murders carried out in Glasgow in the 1968 and 1969.

Creation

The story was one of several commissioned by new Crisis editor Michael Bennent as he took over the reigns from Steve MacManus. It was the first Grant Morrison story written specifically for the title, which had previously printed the Morrison/Steve Yeowell collaboration "The New Adventures of Hitler" after its original parent publication folded, while the final part of Morrison/Rian Hughes revisionist Dan Dare strip "Dare" also saw print in Crisis after sister comic Revolver was absorbed.[1]

Morrison claimed to have written the story using a Ouija board[1] and the story made no attempt to solve the murders, instead focusing on a critique in mankind's attempts to find rationality in searching for the killer.[2]

Artist Daniel Vallely had been a bandmate of Morrison in The Mixers[2] and gained notice working on the first issue of Saviour, Mark Millar's professional debut for British publisher Trident Comics. For "Bible John" he deployed a collage technique, similar to that of Dave McKean.[3][4]

Publishing history

By the time "Bible John" saw publication, Crisis and publisher Fleetway Publications were in dire financial straits as sales for the title fell and pressure grew on company owner Robert Maxwell. Initially a fortnightly, Crisis was now on a monthly schedule.[1] "Bible John" was serialised across eight such issues, dated March to August 1991; the comic's editorial page introduced it as a 'prosepoemessay'.[5] Vallely would ultimately leave comics not long afterwards to pursue a career in photo journalism.[3] As of 2024 the story has not been reprinted since its run in Crisis.

Reception

Comic Book Resources listed "Bible John" as one of the '8 Best British Grant Morrison Comics'.[6] In the introduction to Killer Komix 2, a 2000 anthology of modern crime comics published by Critical Vision, comics scholar Roger Sabin pointed to "Bible John" as one of several comics of the time that had covered serial killers, alongside Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell[7] while Marc Singer identified many of the story's themes as being a precursor to Morrison's 1994 graphic novel The Mystery Play.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Berridge, Ed (11 November 2018). "Four-Colour Classics: Too Much Too Young - The Story of British Adult Comics Part Three". Judge Dredd Megazine. No. 261. Rebellion Developments.
  2. ^ a b c Grant Morrison: Combining the Worlds of Contemporary Comics. Univ. Press of Mississippi. January 2012. ISBN 9781617031373.
  3. ^ a b "A Visit Down South". 5 September 2019.
  4. ^ Comic Book Punks: How a Generation of Brits Reinvented Pop Culture. Rebellion Publishing. 21 November 2023. ISBN 9781786189837.
  5. ^ Holland, Steve (2002). The Fleetway Companion. Rotherham: CJ & Publication.
  6. ^ "8 Best British Grant Morrison Comics". 26 September 2022.
  7. ^ Killer Komix 2. Headpress. 15 September 2023. ISBN 9780952328810.
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