Hook Jaw: Shark Comic Classic As Anti-Hero
In 1974, Jaws the novel by Peter Benchley was released. In 1975, it became a blockbusting film from director Steven Spielberg. In 1976, a new comic was launched in the UK, it's star was Hook Jaw, who made the Great White from Jaws look like a barracuda. Huh, what?
Jawsmania had arrived and the world went shark crazy, part of that insatiable feeding frenzy of all things shark in the media was a new UK comic called Action, which made its debut in February 1976.
Emblazend on the front cover was its undoubted star, Hook Jaw, a Great White shark with a hook stuck in its jaw from a previous battle.
If Jaws went for suspense and atmosphere, Hook Jaw went straight for the jugular, it - and Action - even ended up being banned, thanks to Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewers and Listeners Association.
Action became a legend in its own limited lifetime - not to mention the wrath of the British press - and remains hugely influential to both readers and artists alike. It also paved the way for Pat to create 2000AD.
The Daily Jaws Chief Writer, Dean Newman, caught up with with the Editor of Action, comics legend Pat Mills, who decided that the titular shark should be the hero of the strip, feasting on greedy and immoral humans.
Mills contributed to early stories along with Ken Armstrong. Art was by Ramon Sola.
Editor of Action, comics legend Pat Mills (Photo credit Lisa Mills)
Interview
The Daily Jaws (TDJ): What was the reaction to Hook Jaw like in 1976?
Pat Mills (PM): Hugely popular. The number one story. Full marks to its creator Ken Armstrong and artist Ramon Sola. I doubt any other artist could achieve that menace
TDJ: How did the character come about?
PM: I wanted new stories for Action a comic I was devising
TDJ: Did you ever think that Hook Jaw would still be being talked about today,?
PM: Not as surprised as you might imagine. There were so many possibilities, just like any long running series. Sad to hear about the Titan edition which sounded awful.
I did a version in Read em and weep Goodnight John Boy, just to demonstrate how it should be done properly. White shark at Bikini and end of Vietnam
TDJ: With stories often having an ecological twist, in many ways would you say he is more relevant than ever?
PM: Definitely. And it should be done the original way. Reimagining it is a cop-out. The original is bloody hard work - that’s why there are these re-imaginings. I wrote many of the Action episodes but if I had been the original creator I would be more vocal and quite angry at the way they’ve fucked with a great story.
My message here - do it like the original, pay the original creators a percentage, otherwise… Leave it alone!
TDJ: Had you been a fan of Jaws?
PM: Yep
TDJ: Did you see it at the cinema?
PM: Yep
TDJ: Did you have a favourite character or moment?
PM: The music
TDJ: As a writer, what is it you thinks work so well with Jaws the film?
PM: Fear of the unknown
TDJ: Unlike Jaws, Hook Jaw is the anti-hero, he'd often end up devouring the human villains at the end. What kind of problems did that present in a comic - Action - aimed at 10-14 year olds?
PM: I don’t think we encountered much censorship until the time Action was banned
TDJ: Were you surprised at the controversy Action caused in the national press?
PM: Not really. We were dancing in the headlamps.
TDJ: Your next project was of course 2000AD, do you think there would have been a 2000AD without Action?
PM: It was a natural progression. Or even regression - to escape reality
TDJ: Your work is very filmic, was screenwriting ever something you were interested in?
PM: I’ve done some film treatments and was commissioned to write several screenplays. Getting it on screen is another matter.
TDJ: You were instrumental in developing Judge Dredd, it would be rude to not talk about Hollywood and Judge Dredd (1995) and Dredd (2012). How do you feel about them?
PM: I subscribe to the generally held view by fans on both. BUT… I don’t think fans have taken on board that the second movie didn’t appeal to young Americans, vital for the success of a Hollywood movie. We’re not talking arthouse here. The harsh truth is appealing to Dredd fans isn’t enough, but you’d think it was. Same problem with Watchmen. You HAVE to appeal to the ordinary viewer - that’s not a nettle that fans wish to grasp.
TDJ: With the success of the shark film The Meg, a sequel is set to start filming this year and numerous other shark films set for release, do you think we'll ever see a big screen Hook Jaw?
PM: I doubt it because there is a bias against Brit products by Hollywood. They really love their own. So Watchmen etc is okay because it has DC etc behind it.
TDJ: Your work had a great impact on me aged 10, I'd been given the 1986 2000AD annual for Christmas, which featured a reprinting of the entire Shako story (originally appearing in the 2000AD comic in 1977). It was like Jaws with a giant killer polar bear and some cold war antics thrown in.
PM: Indeed. I designed it as an SF Hook Jaw.
TDJ: It's violence, action and death scenes were amazing. At the time it was like nothing I'd read before in comics, and certainly wasn't anything I was reading in US comics.
PM: As you probably know I have a dim opinion of American superhero comics. And seeing their culture on the news right now does not endear me to US comics. It’s the height of uncool.
TDJ: Action, Battle and 2000AD were like a breath of fresh air and didn't talk down to their readers, to me it was the like the films I wanted to see but couldn't. Why was the time right for that style of comic?
PM: I believe comic and media change is created by individuals (not movements) who may take advantage of the times, but would probably create change whatever was going on. e.g. Eagle - 1950s protective comics. Action - 1970s punk comics. But I’m still doing SPACEWARP today in a world that’s fucking conservative, woke, pc, and culturally pretty dire/ And it still works. So it’s the individuals that count, I feel.
TDJ: Do you think it was something uniquely British? Would that anarchic style have worked in America at that time?
PM: Pre superhero comics in US were great… Last Gasp, Warren Comics, Manning that inspired Dredd. Then these ghastly superhero comics came along. All that great talent (Steranko, Kaluta etc) died or was dragooned into spandex.
TDJ: Hook Jaw was resurrected a couple of years back for a limited series, were you involved or did you read it all all?
PM: The Titan one? I heard it was dire! Reimagined.
TDJ: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get into writing comics?
PM: Have some formal training in all creative writing. Find a guru - mine is McKee Story. Then consider self publishing print on demand. Working with an artist requires a whole new set of skills. Don’t find out the hard way what they are. It’s a dance and if you’ve got flat feet and no rhythm you’ll piss off the artists.
TDJ: What's the future of British comics and are there any names or titles that we should be watching?
PM: SPACEWARP and all the attendant artists
TDJ: What are you currently working on?
PM: SPACEWARP
TDJ: Anything else you wanted to add?
PM: Another plug for Ramon Sola and Ken Armstrong. I wrote/rewrote many Ken episodes, but he was still the creator. I doubt any modern artist could recreate Sola’s Hook Jaw.
Discover more about Pat Mills and Spacewarp here: https://www.millsverse.com/spacewarp/
Pat MIlls was interviewed by Dean Newman for The Daily Jaws