Oni Press has released a second look at the long out-of-print sleuthing phenomenon HOBTOWN MYSTERY STORIES VOL. 1: THE CASE OF THE MISSING MEN.

The press release follows:

Media Release -- The long out-of-print sleuthing phenomenon HOBTOWN MYSTERY STORIES VOL. 1: THE CASE OF THE MISSING MEN is the first of five volumes to be released in full color by Oni Press– three of which are never-before-read stories in the critically acclaimed series from Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes. Hobtown Mystery Stories received starred reviews from trade publications such as Booklist and Publishers Weekly along with favorable reviews in publications such as The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Toronto StarBookshelf Canada, The Comics Beat, The Coast, and more!



Hobtown Mystery Stories inspire nostalgia reminiscent of Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Scooby-Doo with a sharp adult edge– a pulpy cast of teen detectives investigating folk horror in rural Canada. The Hobtown Mystery Stories are one part mystery, one part horror, and one part teenage coming of age. David Cronenberg and David Lynch would find themselves right at home in this world.

PRAISE FOR HOBTOWN MYSTERY STORIES

"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 (Starred Review)

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

"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

"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

"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

"...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

HOBTOWN MYSTERY STORIES VOL. 1: THE CASE OF THE MISSING MEN
WRITTEN BY KRIS BERTIN
ART BY ALEXANDER FORBES
COLORED BY JASON FISCHER-KOUHI
ON SALE MAY 21st, 2024 | 312 PGS | $24.99
FOC: 4/1/2024

Welcome to Hobtown, a charmingly bleak village (Population: 2,006) in the hinterlands of Nova Scotia, 1996. It's an easy place to get bored or depressed 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—who make it their business to investigate each and every one of their town's bizarre occurrences. 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. In the course of the teens' investigations, their seemingly innocuous hometown explodes into a terrifying world of pagan secret societies, psychic assaults, possible "wee man" sightings, and homebrew behavior modifications gone horribly wrong. 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 Nova Scotian 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.