Comics
Review: “Clive Barker’s Nightbreed” #1
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.
WRITTEN 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.”
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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