Creation
Inspector John Clive was created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Wayne Howard for the story “The Boar’s Head Beast” which first appeared in 1975’s Monster Hunters #1.
Major Story Arc
The Boar’s Head Beast
When the town of Boar’s Head began being struck by a series of murders, Inspector John Clive had no choice but to call in the renowned monster hunter, Colonel Whiteshroud, because the murder was in fact a monster. The monster was a beast with a boar’s head, a lion’s body, tentacles growing from its back, and eyes that glowed like beacons. No sooner had Inspector Clive filled Whiteshroud in on the situation when the beast tried to attack another potential victim: the young Doreen Pervis. Clive opened fire on it, but bullets seemed to do nothing. The beast soon disappeared along with Doreen, and so Whiteshroud suggested they should investigate for traces of the beast. In an old, abandoned church they discovered Doreen trying to banish the beast using magic rituals. She had discovered writings in the church that told of a demon beast sleeping under Boar’s Head and had toyed with forces beyond her control, causing the beast to rampage and murder at random.
It turns out the beast had been using tunnels underneath the town to move out of sight and then entered and exited town through its many dry wells. Whiteshroud soon came up with a plan: all the wells except one were capped off so that the beast could only use that one, while Doreen would try to control the creature as best she could. That night, the beast surfaced again but would not obey Doreen’s commands. It chased after her, only for it to be led right into Whiteshroud’s trap: several high-intensity spotlights. As soon as the lights were switched on, the beast froze and crumbled into dust. Whiteshroud had correctly deduced that the beast was sensitive to light, as it would only surface during foggy nights or nights were there was no moon to light the sky