Black House Comics

Black House Comics was an Australian independent publishing brand established in 2008 by publisher Baden Kirgan. The company was created within Jeffries Printing Services, a commercially established printing business, with the ambition of developing an Australian counterpart to the darker, creator-led publishing associated with Vertigo. Its editorial concept centered on original stories with horror, crime, science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, and satirical themes, presented in professionally printed comic books and related formats. The publisher's most prominent property was The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes, an original series that placed the familiar Victorian detective in a gothic supernatural setting influenced by British Hammer horror cinema. Written by Christopher Sequeira, illustrated by Phil Cornell, and featuring covers by Dave Elsey, the series represented the company's preference for genre reinterpretation rather than straightforward licensed adaptation. Other notable comic-book projects included Eeek!, an Australian retro-horror anthology by Jason Paulos; The Soldier Legacy, a story connecting an Australian Second World War soldier's masked identity with a descendant confronting contemporary urban violence; The Twilight Age, a vampire-apocalypse miniseries by Jan Scherpenhuizen; and Pay Through the Soul, a satirical web-cartoon collection by M Emery. Black House Comics also published graphic novels and collections intended to broaden its catalogue beyond periodical comics. These included Criminal Element, an anthology of crime stories; collected editions of The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes and Eeek!; The Guzumo Show, a satirical examination of prejudice, politics, sexuality, and social behavior; McBlack, a dystopian crime and science-fiction narrative by Jason Franks; and A Mind of Love, Bruce Mutard's psychologically charged exploration of obsession, pornography, and technology. The publishing program extended into magazines through Terra, a triannual newsstand title combining serialized science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime stories, and into prose through After the World, a series of novellas set in a shared post-zombie-apocalypse universe. Distribution combined an Australian newsstand route with international direct sales. In Australia, the books were distributed to newsagents through Gordon and Gotch. International customers could access titles through the company's online distribution arm, BlackBoox.net. This structure reflected the challenges faced by specialist publishers: maintaining physical availability in the domestic market while using direct online distribution to reach readers abroad. The brand also participated in activities outside conventional book publishing. The Soldier Legacy appeared in a Youi Insurance television commercial that began airing in Australia in October 2011. Kirgan appeared as a judge on Beauty and the Geek Australia during a superhero-costume challenge broadcast on 27 October 2011. Black House Comics sponsored the inaugural Australian Society of Authors Comics Masterclass in Sydney in November 2011, an event featuring Colleen Doran. Individual contributors brought further recognition to the catalogue: Dave Elsey won the 2011 Academy Award for Best Makeup for The Wolfman, while Jason Paulos received a 2010 Aurealis Award nomination for Eeek! Weird Tales of Suspense. Black House Comics ceased trading in 2014. Although the company itself became inactive, some titles continued to be published independently or transferred to other publishers. Publicly available reference material does not establish a successor company, a sale of the entire catalogue, or the precise legal circumstances of the closure.

Black House Comics emerged in Australia in 2008 when Baden Kirgan, working from the commercial printing company Jeffries Printing Services, developed a plan for a dedicated dark-genre comics imprint. The concept was described as an Australian equivalent of Vertigo: a home for original, mature, and stylistically distinctive stories rather than a general-interest superhero line. The company pursued several formats, including individual comic books, graphic novels, magazines, and prose novellas. Its early catalogue established a broad genre identity. The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes combined the Victorian detective tradition with gothic supernatural horror and visual influences associated with 1960s British Hammer films. The Twilight Age presented a vampire-themed outbreak and investigation narrative, while Eeek! drew on the atmosphere of mid-century black-and-white horror comics. The Soldier Legacy used Australian military history as the foundation for a generational masked-hero story, connecting a Second World War Digger in New Guinea with his grandson's struggle against modern street violence. The publisher's graphic-novel program expanded the range of its fiction. Criminal Element collected ten crime-oriented stories involving figures such as gangsters, burglars, hitmen, saboteurs, and bounty hunters. McBlack placed a violent former private detective in a dystopian science-fiction environment. The Guzumo Show used satire to address racism, sexism, homophobia, religion, politics, misogyny, and misanthropy. A Mind of Love explored obsession and the effects of technology and pornography on human relationships. These books demonstrated that the company's identity rested less on one fixed genre than on dark, adult-oriented storytelling. Black House Comics also experimented with anthology and shared-universe publishing. Terra was a triannual newsstand magazine featuring serialized science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime material by multiple Australian creators. After the World consisted of self-contained novellas set in a common post-zombie-apocalypse universe, including Killable Hours, Gravesend, Corpus Christi, Army Corpse, and the collection Pack Rules. This mix of formats allowed the company to present both individual creator projects and interconnected genre fiction. Distribution was handled domestically through Gordon and Gotch, which supplied Australian newsagents. International readers could purchase titles through BlackBoox.net, the publisher's online distribution arm. The combination of newsstand distribution and direct online sales was important for an independent publisher whose catalogue was aimed at specialized genre audiences. The company maintained visibility through media and industry activities. The Soldier Legacy appeared in a Youi Insurance commercial in October 2011, and Kirgan participated as a judge in a superhero-costume segment on Beauty and the Geek Australia. Black House Comics also supported the Australian Society of Authors' first Comics Masterclass in Sydney in November 2011. Contributors associated with its books received outside recognition, including an Academy Award for cover artist Dave Elsey for The Wolfman and an Aurealis Award nomination for Jason Paulos's Eeek! Weird Tales of Suspense. Black House Comics ceased trading in 2014. The available reference record does not identify a specific acquisition, insolvency proceeding, or successor owner. It does indicate that parts of the catalogue survived the company's closure, with certain titles later published independently or by other companies. The brand is therefore best understood as a defunct Australian independent publishing house whose principal legacy is its dark and varied genre catalogue.

• 2014

  Trading ends

  [1]Black House Comicsen.wikipedia.org

  Black House Comics ceases operations, while some of its titles remain available through other publishing arrangements.

• 2011

  The Soldier Legacy reaches television advertising

  [1]Black House Comicsen.wikipedia.org

  The Soldier Legacy appears in a Youi Insurance commercial broadcast in Australia.

• 2010

  The catalogue expands into collected books and novellas

  [1]Black House Comicsen.wikipedia.org

  Black House Comics develops graphic novels, satirical collections, and the shared post-apocalyptic After the World novella universe.

• 2008

  Black House Comics is founded

  [1]Black House Comicsen.wikipedia.org

  Baden Kirgan establishes the publisher within Jeffries Printing Services with an ambition to build an Australian dark-genre comics arm.

• 2008

  The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes launches

  [1]Black House Comicsen.wikipedia.org

  The publisher begins its signature gothic-supernatural reinterpretation of Sherlock Holmes.

An Australian independent genre publisher focused on dark, creator-driven comics and illustrated fiction spanning horror, crime, supernatural narratives, science fiction, fantasy, satire, and post-apocalyptic storytelling.

• Comic-book series and graphic novel · 2008

  The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes

  Black House Comics' signature series reimagines Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England through a blend of detective fiction, gothic Victoriana, and supernatural horror inspired in part by 1960s British Hammer films. Christopher Sequeira wrote the series, Phil Cornell provided the interior art, and Dave Elsey created the covers. The comic-book run was published from 2008 to 2012, with an early graphic-novel collection gathering its first four issues.

• Horror anthology comic and graphic novel · 2010

  Eeek!

  Eeek! is an Australian retro-horror anthology modeled on the atmosphere of black-and-white American horror-comics magazines from the 1950s through the 1970s. Jason Paulos served as writer, artist, and cover artist. The first five comic books were also collected in graphic-novel form, and the series was recognized through a 2010 Aurealis Award nomination for Best Illustrated Book or Graphic Novel.

• Action and superhero comic series · 2011

  The Soldier Legacy

  Paul Mason's series follows an Australian soldier, or Digger, serving in the New Guinea jungle during the Second World War. After taking up a mask to honor a friend who died saving him, the character's legacy passes to a grandson living in modern Australia, where the mask becomes part of a fight against gang activity and suburban violence. The series had three issues available during its 2011–2012 publication period.

• Horror and apocalypse comic miniseries · 2008

  The Twilight Age

  Jan Scherpenhuizen's five-part miniseries follows FBI agent Justin Barnett as he tracks a blood-drinking serial killer publicly labeled Dracula. The investigation unfolds during a plague spreading across the world and threatening human survival. The series was published between 2008 and 2009.

• Satirical web-cartoon collection · 2011

  Pay Through the Soul

  M Emery's collection gathers satirical web strips centered on Cloud Bitch and other unusual figures from a parallel universe. The stories use absurdity and social commentary to examine modern relationships and broader social conditions. The collection was published in 2011.

• Crime anthology graphic novel · 2012

  Criminal Element

  Edited by Jason Franks, Criminal Element collects ten stories about crime and criminality. Its subjects range across gangsters, demons, burglars, nurses, hitmen, saboteurs, slavers, and bounty hunters, reflecting Black House Comics' interest in varied dark-fiction premises rather than a single conventional crime formula.

• Dystopian science-fiction graphic novel · 2011

  McBlack

  Jason Franks's graphic novel is set in a dystopian science-fiction world and follows Whiteface McBlack, a former private detective who is also a ghost and part demon. Having abandoned his former life, the protagonist pursues murder, sabotage, theft, and arson as his chosen vocation.

• Genre comics magazine · 2012

  Terra

  Terra was a triannual newsstand magazine edited by Jason Franks. It assembled serialized work by Australian creators across science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime, giving the publisher a periodical platform for multiple stories and contributors.

• Post-apocalyptic novella series · 2010

  After the World

  After the World is a shared-universe series set after a zombie apocalypse. Individual novellas stand on their own while contributing to the same fictional setting. Listed titles include Killable Hours, Gravesend, Corpus Christi, Army Corpse, and the anthology Pack Rules, with contributions from writers including Jason Fischer, Clay Blakehills, and Jason Franks.

• 2011Youi Insurance television commercial

  Australia

  The Soldier Legacy was featured in a Youi Insurance advertisement that began screening on Australian television in October 2011.

  Outcome. The campaign provided the property with exposure beyond the comics market.

  Source
• 2011Beauty and the Geek Australia superhero-costuming challenge

  Australia

  Publisher Baden Kirgan appeared as a judge during a superhero-costuming challenge on Beauty and the Geek Australia.

  Outcome. The segment aired on 27 October 2011.

  Source
• 2011Australian Society of Authors Comics Masterclass sponsorship

  Australia

  Black House Comics sponsored the inaugural Australian Society of Authors Comics Masterclass in Sydney, featuring comics creator Colleen Doran.

  Outcome. The event connected the publisher with professional education and the Australian comics-creator community.

  Source

• 2014

  End trading operationsOther

  Background

  After several years of publishing comics, graphic novels, magazines, and novellas, the company stopped operating.

  Action taken

  Black House Comics ceased trading.

  Aftermath

  Some catalogue titles continued independently or through other publishers, but the available references do not identify a formal successor or acquisition.

  Source

• 2010

  Broaden the publishing format mixStrategy

  Background

  The initial comics program was extended into books, magazines, and prose fiction to support a wider range of creators and genre properties.

  Action taken

  The company issued graphic novels and collections, launched Terra as a serialized genre magazine, and developed the After the World novella universe.

  Aftermath

  Black House Comics operated as a small multi-format publisher rather than solely as a periodical-comics imprint.

  Source

• 2008

  Create an Australian dark-genre publishing armStrategy

  Background

  Kirgan developed the company after deciding that Jeffries Printing Services could support a specialist comics and graphic-novel operation inspired by darker Vertigo-style publishing.

  Action taken

  Black House Comics was formed to publish original stories across horror, crime, science fiction, fantasy, and related genres in professionally printed formats.

  Aftermath

  The strategy produced a multi-format catalogue and an identifiable Australian independent genre-publishing brand.

  Source

1. 1Black House Comicsen.wikipedia.org