The Girl has just moved to a new town with her mother and father. She lies on her bed, head swimming with the anxiety of starting a new school in the morning. In an attempt to soothe her, the Girl’s mother digs an old, beloved poetry book out from a stack of unpacked boxes but is called away before she can read to her daughter. There in the lamplight, on the edge of sleep, the Girl recites an old nursery rhyme about a monster.
And then the trouble starts…
The Shenk: Oja, Catwitch, The Girl, The Goblin, Heron and a Librarian
The Shenk is a story of displacement, lost and stolen power and the search for home, whatever that means. It began as a web comic in 2018, the characters having come to me while walking the West Highland Way the year before. In 2021 I was awarded a grant from Creative Scotland to adapt it into a graphic novel and was able to shape the lengthy, ink scraps into a coherent novel. It was another few years before I could return to the many worlds but then in 2024 I decided to make the time to write, draw and colour a chapter a month. It was a ridiculous amount of work but releasing these chapters as monthly comics funded the completion of the book while garnering a small but dedicated following along the way.
Finally at the beginning of 2025 The Shenk was picked up by a publisher and is due to be released as a graphic novel in 2026.
A few collections of the comics remains, which you can buy here or by clicking on any of the images below.
