A solid installment, “Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #3 dives headfirst into a vivid nightmare where there is no difference between monsters and humans. Based on Clive Barker’s “Cabal” novella, this spinoff comic explores the isolated inhabitants living in the underground city of Midian. Just like with the “Hellraiser” series, there is so much potential here to explore original stories within the “Nightbreed” mythology.
WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Marc Andreyko
ART BY: Piotr Kowalski
PUBLISHER: Boom! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: July 30, 2013
Reviewed by: Jorge Solis
A hideous-looking woman is hiding her unborn children from an angry mob. If the horde of violent killers finally catch up to the frightened runaway, they will slaughter her offspring one by one. Elsewhere, a young man is about to cross the thin line between saint and sinner. There is no turning back, no act of forgiveness, after what he is about to do. Though these are diverse backgrounds during special circumstances, everyone is about to learn that all roads lead to Midian.
To draw in newcomers, Barker kickstarts the mythology from scratch while keeping the essential themes in the comic book adaptation. This is really about people being persecuted for the color of their skin, their race, and their beliefs. From there, co-writer Marc Andreyko expands on the dark universe, giving minor characters a more significant role. For example, Boone returns into the limelight but not in the way you would expect.
The highlight of Andreyko’s storytelling is how he is able to split and connect three loose narratives. At first, you’re expecting an anthology of shorts but each separate subplot comes together in the last pages for a surprising twist. When you read the three issues together, back-to-back, you can tell the writes have a clear direction in store for the series. I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.
Artist Piotr Kowalski doesn’t shy away from sexuality and violence in his gritty illustrations. In just a few panels, Kowalski captures the clumsiness of virginal shyness and the temptation of lust. In the opening pages, the artwork depicts a bearded man being burnt alive. We see the body bursting into flames and falling to the ground in sequence.
Kowalski has done an interesting character design of Boone that stems from the book’s pages, than from the film. Boone’s misshapen face looks more like he had tattoos done on his face, which makes him human-looking. Our reluctant hero isn’t as freakish looking like other Midian residents, but there is something unnatural about his appearance.
“Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #3 hooks readers in and surprises them with a clever twist. Just reading the “Nightbreed” comic makes me want to preorder “The Cabal Cut.”
