Dylan Horrocks might be best known for his mainstream work as the writer of Hunter: The Age of Magic for DC/Vertigo, or for his Harvey and Ignatz Award-nominated graphic novel, Hicksville. But his body of work is rather diverse, from contributions to various indie and small press anthologies, to a handful of nonfiction comics of an educational or political bent.
Back in 1998 he worked on Spin, a comic about dealing with emotional stress, created at the bequest of the Ministry of Youth Development and the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. Though the SPINZ (Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand) program is still ongoing, the comic does not appear to be available on their website at this time. You can view a few sample images on Horrocks’ site.
Also in the public interest is Red Hot, which was commissioned by the Hepatitis C Resource Centre and deals with—you guessed it—Hepatitis C, namely how it’s transmitted and how to prevent it. A guy named Ben meets an old friend named Jenny who’s been afflicted by hep C, and though wary at first, he learns to accept her condition. It conveys all the necessary information quickly and without being preachy. The entire thing is available to read online.
In a more artistic bent, he’s done a few comics as music columns, talking about his relationship with “Tabula Rasa” by Avro Part, and an interview with Brazilian musician Egberto Gismonti (conducted by Graham Reid).
One interesting project that may never see the light of day is A Pocket History of New Zealand. Horrocks calls it a “work in progress” but also gives no anticipated completion date, uploading one page for us to gaze at and wonder:
