An impressive installment, “Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #5 delivers a surreal nightmare where readers cannot tell the difference between monsters and humans. Based on Clive Barker’s “Cabal” novella, this spinoff explores the underground inhabitants living in the secluded city of Midian. Just like with the “Hellraiser” series, there is tons of potential here to explore new territory within the “Nightbreed” mythology.
WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Marc Andreyko
ART BY: Piotr Kowalski, Emmanuel Xerx Javier
PUBLISHER: Boom! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: September 24, 2014
Reviewed By Jorge Solis
Boone is about to meet two interesting characters living in Midian. The first persona is Luda, a trickster who looks like a demon. The second is a celebrity from Hollywood’s past lifetime. Boone recognizes this starlet from when he watched movies with his grandmother. He realizes Annastasjia has not aged a bit since the ’20s. Boone is about to learn what makes her different from the others. Though they have diverse backgrounds, with special circumstances, Boone is about to learn that all roads lead to Midian.
What will really draw in newcomers and longtime followers are these two new and fresh characters, Lude and Annastasjia. The duo revolves around Barker’s themes about people being persecuted for the color of their skin, their race, and their gender. Co-writer Marc Andreyko delivers some laugh-out-loud humor through Lude. Because Lude has the face of a demon, you forget he’s really this fun clown you’d really have a drink with at the bar.
The highlight of Andreyko’s storytelling is how he is able to split and connect the two origin stories. The narrative jumps back and forth between two timelines at a quick pace. At first, you don’t know what makes Annastasjia special until her surprising twist. I can’t wait to see if Lude will become more prominent role in the upcoming issues.
Artist Piotr Kowalski Javier plays around with Lude’s comical facial expressions. Though he is supposed to be demon-looking, he really is the comic relief. Kowlaski plays with that comedy aspect, especially when Lude is a little demon baby. His face and eyes are round, almost cartoon-like, which adds to the humor.
Emmanuel Xerx Javier has done a great job referencing the 1920s time period. In her character design, Annatasjia has clothes from the her Hollywood days, as if she’s still stuck there. This is a washed-up actress who couldn’t move on with the rest of the world. Though her body hasn’t aged, she is a living replica from the forgotten days of her youth.
“Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #5 will definitely shock readers with the clever twist at the climax. Just reading the “Nightbreed” comic makes me want to preorder “The Cabal Cut.”