Comics
Review: ‘Hellraiser: The Dark Watch’ #5
Avoiding formula, “Hellraiser: The Dark Watch” #5 takes a different approach that rejuvenates the long-standing mythology. Through fresh writing, Clive Barker’s reboot of the “Hellraiser” franchise is making its own stamp in the comic book medium. Readers end up with a thrill ride that will not disappoint.
WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Brandon Seifert
ART BY: Korkut Oztekin
PUBLISHER: Boom! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: June 19th, 2013
With a war looming in Hell, the Cenobites will now have to choose sides. The Pope of Hell, ex-private investigator Harry D’Amour, believes Leviathan is playing a bigger game behind his back. D’Amour hires Tiffany and her gang to investigate what is going on inside the Church of Lost Salvation. What Tiffany uncovers inside the abandoned church makes her very frightened. The Church of Lost Salvation is holding monsters that even D’Amour hasn’t seen before. These demons do not belong to Leviathan’s realm, nor are they Cenobites. A new player is in town, who may want Hell’s throne for himself.
Barker and co-writer Brandon Seifert are finding ways to expand their dark universe with new monsters. There is a turf war brewing between the Cenobites, Leviathan’s servants, and a new breed of demons. Seifert and Barker cleverly ask their readers, “Who do you want to win this war?” If any one of these three win, humanity is definitely screwed in the end. If her side loses, the Female Cenobite knows this isn’t the Hell she wants to live in. The Cenobites have everything to gain and lose from this war.
What I really enjoyed is how Seifert provides Tiffany with her own character arc. Put up against a corner, Tiffany has to decide whose side she is really on. Is she going to continue to work with D’Amour? Or, is she going to betray him, like her partners want? Knowing how much she despises the Cenobites, Tiffany sits down and secretly plans her next move. This clearly isn’t the Tiffany you remember from the “Hellbound” movie.
Artist Korkut Oztekin brings in the goriness right from the first page. While hanging upside down, an innocent man is setup as a sacrifice and sliced in half. His skin is then used to bring back a fallen member of Tiffany’s crew. A great way to start off the comic, this is a gruesome transformation captured in Oztekin’s illustrations. In a disturbing sight, the skinless corpse screams when he sees the puzzle box right in front of him.
There is a new breed of demons around and Oztekin has some really interesting designs for them. These new demons have horns on their heads and flash their fangs when they smile. At the Church of Lost Salvation, one of the members rips his head off and reveals his demonic half. When Tiffany and her gang witness this, one of them looks like he wants to throw up.
A violent war is introduced in “Hellraiser: The Dark Watch” #5, where demons will fight demons. After so many disappointing sequels, the “Hellraiser” franchise has settled in perfectly into the comic book medium.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jorge Solis
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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