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Review: “Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #1

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10 years ago

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An impressive first installment, “Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #1 delivers a surreal nightmare with exotic and monstrous creatures. Based on Clive Barker’s “Cabal” novella, this prequel comic explores the inhabitants that live in the subterranean city of Midian. Just like with the “Hellraiser” series, I think there’s potential here to tell new and original stories that could make “Nightbreed” a real winner.

2014-05-28-nightbreedWRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Marc Andreyko
ART BY: Piotr Kowalski
PUBLISHER: Boom! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: May 28, 2013
Reviewed by Jorge Solis

Down in the bayou swamps of Louisiana, an innocent couple is being hunted down by a group of racist murderers. Lizzy continues to paddle through the murky waters, hoping to find salvation. She unfortunately bumps into the disfigured and violent stranger, known as Peloquin, hiding in the shadows. Will Peloquin be Lizzy’s saving grace from the real monsters chasing after her? While Peloquin decides whose side he is on, a politician steps into a secret brothel, where a mysterious girl will fulfill his every sexual desire.

Though I have memorized every single line of “Cabal,” and “Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut” is my all-time favorite movie, I am so glad Barker decided not to retell Aaron Boone’s story in comic book form. Barker keeps the essential themes, such as monsters seen as outcasts, in the narrative while co-writer Marc Andreyko gives larger roles to minor characters. Peloquin looks visually interesting and I really like how his back-story deals with racism.

What’s interesting about Andreyko writing is the juxtaposition between Peloquin’s quick-paced slasher subplot and Senator Emery’s slow trip to the brothel. I want to know more about Peloquin and the history of the location Emery stepped into. As a reader, I’m wondering how these two subplots will connect to each other in later installments. There’s enough mystery and intrigue to make me want to come back for more.

Artist Piotr Kowalski captures two distinct time periods, the 1850s and the 1940s, in his illustrations. Notice how different the wardrobes and settings are in Kowlaski’s drawings. Kowalski takes readers on a visual trip to the Louisiana swamps, then to the seedy and upscale Boston streets. I also noticed something weird about the working girls of the brothel. Kowalski draws the prostitutes with the same hairstyle and facial expressions, as if they are all supposed to be twins.
Kowalski stays true to Peloquin’s character design that was memorably created in the cult classic film. Though hideous-looking, Peloquin has scars and wounds as if he was persecuted, which harkens back to the racism theme. Just like in the movie, Peloquin’s hair looks more spiky, like a twisted form of dreadlocks. His dirty and rugged wardrobe suggests he may have been a prisoner and escaped from his cell.

Horror fans will definitely enjoy every bit of “Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #1. After finishing the first promising first issue, the “Nightbreed” comic makes me want to reread Clive Barker’s novella and check up on “The Cabal Cut.”

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‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

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22 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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