Clive Barker's Nightbreed: Vol 01 (2015)
Authors: Clive Barker / Marc Andreyko | Illustrator: Piotr Kowalski | Page Count: 112
"Midian calls to all of her children."
Given the choice, I'd rather have had a sequel novel than a prequel comic book, but a comic version of Nightbreed that's canon is better than nothing at all, I guess.
It's a story set in the present, broken periodically with flashbacks to years before. To confuse matters, the 'present' is the year the film is set (so, yes, you'll need to have viewed the film prior to reading) and the flashbacks are from a number of different perspectives, each one telling the story of how a particular member of the collective lived prior to finding the safety of Midian.
I had a secret hope that the short series would do what the film itself failed to do: flesh out the inner-workings of Midian and deepen the concerns of the creatures, warts and all, beyond just 'we may be ugly on the outside, but humans are morally uglier on the inside'.
With that in mind, it begins badly. Presenting Peloquin as a kind of monstrous version of Marvel's Wolverine was worrying. Thankfully, his story is just one of many that are spread out over the years, with each era given its own visual look.
The histories continue in a similarly bland fashion until the end of issue three. Without going into detail, an unexpected element is introduced that may (fingers firmly crossed) turn out to be a pivotal happening further down the line. There are a number of different routes that it could take and I'm guessing that most, if not all, of them will end in bloodshed. If so, the only question then will be whose blood gets shed most, Natural or Nightbreed?
The cover art by Riley Rossmo is excellent but misleading. Only about half of those shown feature in the first volume. I didn't feel cheated because squeezing any more in would've made the story seem even more fragmented than it already is, but it's worth mentioning, nonetheless, in case one of those pictured is your favourite and you were really hoping to find them inside.
Volume 01 collects together Clive Barker's Nightbreed issues 1-4 (of 12).
More flashbacks telling more individual histories, the earliest of which is to the year 1642. The histories are intercut with each other, so we get a couple of pages of one before being rudely cut off and given a couple of pages of another. It allows for some compare and contrast situations but not nearly enough of them to have the benefits of the split outweigh the complications.
It's now that we get the story of Boone, a pre-film glimpse at past events that the troubled protagonist is himself unaware of. Thankfully, Lylesberg is on hand to coax out the hidden memories. Boone's portion of the book is the best it has to offer, but that's due in part to us having the strongest connection and a deeper knowledge of the character from his actions in the film.
Speaking of which, there's a quote on the book's back cover that claims, 'This is perfect for fans of the film and an outstanding introduction to those not familiar with Barker's characters...' I won't name the source, out of professional courtesy, but I'll go on record as respectfully and wholeheartedly disagreeing with the statement. I feel it's an appalling introduction and utterly ruinous for anyone who hasn't yet viewed the film and plans to do so. If anything that I've written on this entire blog thus far has impressed upon you that I care about storytelling and respect the order in which it should be enjoyed, then please don't read this crap before viewing the film.
The final volume is a sequel to the Nightbreed story. I suppose you could say to the original novella as much as to the film, but (for reasons) I personally view it as a sequel to the film only, specifically the 2014 Director's Cut of the story, not the Theatrical Cut.
There are a couple of meritorious inclusions in-keeping with the peculiar nature of the film, but at the opposite end of the scale there are things that are ridiculous, bordering on plain fucking stupid, that are the kind of thing that give comic book tie-ins a bad reputation - events that would never fit in the established canon but which are rolled out half-formed because to do otherwise would mean having to spend more time on them, seeing them for the nonsense that they are.
I mentioned at the top of the page, after having read Volume 01 only, that I'd have preferred a sequel to the original Nightbreed story, which is what Volume 03 is, but I meant in novel form. And having now read the full series, I no longer believe that a comic version that's supposedly canon is better than nothing at all.
Clive Barker's Nightbreed: Vol 02 (2016)
Authors: Clive Barker / Marc Andreyko | Illustrator: Piotr Kowalski | Page Count: 112
"Damn these frightened humans!"
More flashbacks telling more individual histories, the earliest of which is to the year 1642. The histories are intercut with each other, so we get a couple of pages of one before being rudely cut off and given a couple of pages of another. It allows for some compare and contrast situations but not nearly enough of them to have the benefits of the split outweigh the complications.
It's now that we get the story of Boone, a pre-film glimpse at past events that the troubled protagonist is himself unaware of. Thankfully, Lylesberg is on hand to coax out the hidden memories. Boone's portion of the book is the best it has to offer, but that's due in part to us having the strongest connection and a deeper knowledge of the character from his actions in the film.
Speaking of which, there's a quote on the book's back cover that claims, 'This is perfect for fans of the film and an outstanding introduction to those not familiar with Barker's characters...' I won't name the source, out of professional courtesy, but I'll go on record as respectfully and wholeheartedly disagreeing with the statement. I feel it's an appalling introduction and utterly ruinous for anyone who hasn't yet viewed the film and plans to do so. If anything that I've written on this entire blog thus far has impressed upon you that I care about storytelling and respect the order in which it should be enjoyed, then please don't read this crap before viewing the film.
Volume 02 collects together Clive Barker's Nightbreed issues 5-8 (of 12).
Clive Barker's Nightbreed: Vol 03 (2017)
Authors: Clive Barker / Marc Andreyko | Illustrator: Piotr Kowalski | Page Count: 112
"The intricacies... the elaborate systems... the potentialities... the magic that makes life!"
The final volume is a sequel to the Nightbreed story. I suppose you could say to the original novella as much as to the film, but (for reasons) I personally view it as a sequel to the film only, specifically the 2014 Director's Cut of the story, not the Theatrical Cut.
There are a couple of meritorious inclusions in-keeping with the peculiar nature of the film, but at the opposite end of the scale there are things that are ridiculous, bordering on plain fucking stupid, that are the kind of thing that give comic book tie-ins a bad reputation - events that would never fit in the established canon but which are rolled out half-formed because to do otherwise would mean having to spend more time on them, seeing them for the nonsense that they are.
I mentioned at the top of the page, after having read Volume 01 only, that I'd have preferred a sequel to the original Nightbreed story, which is what Volume 03 is, but I meant in novel form. And having now read the full series, I no longer believe that a comic version that's supposedly canon is better than nothing at all.
Oh, and the 'unexpected element' that I mentioned previously (Volume 01), the event that could've become a pivotal happening further down the line? It was forgotten about, abandoned, as if it had never even happened. Maybe I was wrong to assume that it had importance beyond its meagre use before, but why furnish it with such foreshadowing if it was never intended to develop into anything further? The entire twelve issue series feels like a missed opportunity.
Volume 03 collects together Clive Barker's Nightbreed issues 9-12 (of 12).
Individual covers. Click for FULL size.
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