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The Pillbox
The Pillbox
Jun 19, 2025 4:55 AM

Author:David Hughes

The Pillbox

On holiday in Suffolk, a boy and his dog discover a World War II pillbox half buried on a deserted beach. When he returns the next day with his parents, the pillbox has disappeared. They learn a pillbox had been there and a boy had once been found in it, dead...

1945, another boy, another dog, the same pillbox … and an American serviceman from the local base. Murder, treachery, a terrible secret…

David Hughes’ second graphic novel is a haunting ghost story – dark, disturbing and – as always with Hughes – stunningly drawn.

Reviews

The Pillbox captures time, twists it, and reconstructs it, to create a truly haunting experience… Once you’ve encountered it, it’ll stay with you forever.

—— Sam Ashurst, 4 stars , SFX

An odd and fascinating book.

—— James Smart , Guardian

Hughes’ stunningly drawn book makes the past and present nestle in original and uncomfortable ways.

—— Neel Mukherjee , Independent

A salty, disturbing book.

—— Rachel Cooke , Observer

Her dry humour and sharp line are combined with merciless observation on the foibles of the middle-classes…a comic genius who has stood the test of time.

—— Tatler

His [Delisle’s] quizzical, bemused approach comes as a breath of fresh air on a topic fraught with political division…the utterly distinctive drawings are as enchanting as ever.

—— Tim Martin , Telegraph

Quietly living his life and observing what goes on around him, Delisle captures the craziness, beauty and tragedy of the Israel-Palestine conundrum.

—— Keith Kahn-Harris , Jewish Chronicle

Jerusalem is Delisle’s biggest and most accomplished work to date… Without Delisle we might never learn what it’s actually like to live in a place like this, or get a realistic idea of the people we would meet if we did. He’s clear-eyed, good-hearted, he takes what he sees and he turns it into art.

—— Rev’d Hayley Campbell , New Statesman

A brilliant, educational piece of observational journalism.

—— Word Magazine

Delisle’s artwork is just stunning and accompanies the tale brilliantly.

—— Dog Eared Discs

Delisle’s genius lies in his ability to simplify convoluted international situations and make them vividly relatable to the reader.

—— Mr. Hyde

Radtke's life – and the way she beautifully elevates her deeply personal experiences into universal lessons – makes for brilliant, compelling, unforgettable art.

—— Bustle

Kristen Radtke leads us through a bleak and beautifully crafted story of heart and heartbreak – creation, connection, decay, and loss. Imagine Wanting Only This is challenging and inspiring.

—— Ellen Forney, New York Times bestselling author of MARBLES

Writer, illustrator, and editor Radtke’s graphic memoir does something difficult within just a few minimally designed, emotional pages: she transforms the over-studied experience of being a talented artist stuck in that yearning gulf between college’s purpose and life’s demands into something unique and thuddingly real.

—— Publishers Weekly
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