Teenage boys aren't known for sharing their fears and emotions, so if you're the father or sister of one, how do you know how he’s coping with his mum's death?

Fifteen year old Hunter isn't entirely sure himself, and even if he could put any of it into words, he no longer knows who to say it to.

Boys Don't Cry is the debut 80-page graphic novel from Ostragoth Publishing: Jacqueline Saville, Mark Pexton, Andrew Woods.

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Jacqueline Saville mainly writes short stories, though some of them get drawn. Her imagination doesn't conform to neat genre boundaries, but nevertheless her work has been published in magazines, websites, and a twitter fiction anthology (see the full list). Some teasers of her writing can be seen below.

She blogs about this project at
ostragoth.wordpress.com
and about writing in general at
thousandmonkeys.wordpress.com


Mark

Mark Pexton's art has been featured internationally in comics, magazines (including Interzone), and as cover art. He occasionally writes as well as illustrating, notably Letters to Eric in the Zarjaz Judge Dredd 30th anniversary special, 30 Years of Hurt. A selection of his work appears below. A larger portfolio is available here and Mark also has a deviantArt portfolio.


Andrew Woods edits, organises, and deals with practicalities that aren't the creative duo's strong point. He did the lettering and layout for Boys Don't Cry and designed and manages this website.

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Click a title to view.

  • “Iridescent,” she said without looking. “Aren’t they?”

    Henry Deaton shook his head, exasperated that his wife still couldn’t remember the colour of his eyes.

    “Never mind,” he replied.

    He raced up on deck and peered through the reinforced bubble covering the ship as it sailed the methane seas of the oil-rich planet that had made his fortune. As long as Lydia had her silks and jewels she was happy; she had no time for Henry’s eyes.

    “Captain!” came a shout, and Henry turned to watch, longing for excitement.

    ...

    continue reading at 365 Tomorrows

  • Softly fluid the mist wolves ran, coalescing out of the night fog along the embankment, loping towards the inhabited streets above. The boy watched with shock and fear as their elongated snouts formed from the pearly drops of mist along the river, sniffing for prey. Prey like him.

    ...

    continue reading in Issue 5 of Silver Blade

  • In the legend, Psyche was the breathtaking wife of the god of love. Psyche Sinclair, however, was an Edinburgh teenager with mildly eccentric parents, and hair the colour of drying blood. She didn’t have a boyfriend, but that didn’t bother her; she knew her namesake was too beautiful for mortal men, and she’d heard that names were reflections of the soul. Psyche most certainly believed in souls.

    ...

    continue reading at Everyday Weirdness

  • Ben followed Fiona into another physics lab and stood, clipboard poised, while she explained the lab's functions using terms she was familiar with as departmental administrator but didn't fully understand. A couple of researchers lounged with mugs of tea in a small room off to one side, watching Ben as he noted down heating, cooling and ventilation systems.

    "And in here it's just a sort of preparation and write-up room," said Fiona, gesturing to the doorway.

    Ben marked another red cross on his floorplan; he periodically checked each department to make sure their rooms still matched the University's central records. Apart from the annexing of empty rooms by growing research groups, and the sneaky acquisition of power-hungry machinery, it wasn't unknown for partition walls to spring up or be knocked down between visits.

    ...

    continue reading in the Oct 2010 Bards and Sages Quarterly


Click a thumbnail to view.

  • sample art
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Our online shop is now available here.

Boys Don't Cry

Our 80-page graphic novel available as ebook or print. The ebook version can be downloaded for free here - available under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.

Boys Don't Cry graphic novel

To buy the print copy, please visit our shop.


Mark Pexton merchandise (badges etc.) is available at Cute N Creepy.

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