Comic Review: CLIVE BARKER’S HELLRAISER #1

The comic world is seeing a return of many classic movie icons.  IDW is releasing next week the return of  Godzilla (over seen by original creators Toho Co.).  Also, Boom! Studios is releasing two new series that will follow the original movie continuity: Planet of The Apes and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. Clive Barker is a man that needs no introduction.  The world he created in The Hellbound Heart was famously visualized in the 1987 film Hellraiser.  Since that film, the man has remained absent from the world of cenobites, puzzle cubes, and Pinhead.  He now makes his long awaited return in a new series that is the “official” continuation of Barker’s original classic.

Issue #1 opens with a distraught young girl trapped in a room that includes a glass window from which a strange farmer is able to record and view her. When he powers on the lights, she sees a strange object sitting on the table: The Puzzle box.  Upon her handling of the box, three cenobites emerge lead by the iconic Pinhead.  It is immediately evident that Pinhead is frustrated with yet another victim of “sameness.” Aggravated by the fact that their “gifts of sensation are offered to the numb and naive” Pinhead rips her apart with chains.  Pinhead and the female cenobite then retreat to Hell and discuss Pinhead’s boredom with his position.  This contemplating forces Pinhead to realize that he wishes for a new sensation: To be human!  On Earth, we are introduced to a beautiful painter.  Through her discussions with her boyfriend, we learn that this is Kristy Cotton (our heroine from the original films), now older and working on a painting of Pinhead.  When her boyfriend leaves for work, the strange farmer stops by and sets a mysterious envelope in her mailbox.

The first issue kicks off with a surprising bang.  Known for his distinct choice of words, we see a new side of Pinhead: One that is tired of his current state.  These scenes are beautifully put to art by Leonardo Manco.  In one striking panel, we see Pinhead walking with the female cenobite in what looks to be a forest of spikes and hanging chains.  It is a simple and gorgeous image.  In another, we see Pinhead at an organ that exudes sounds from human bodies instead of organ pipes. A fitting homage to The Phantom of The Opera while also displaying the melancholy of the character.  Clive Barkers seems to have no problem conveying his beautiful language in the comic-book medium.  Writing along with Christopher Monfette, the story comes across as a fitting chapter in a new stage of the world of Pinhead.  It goes without saying, that it is great to see Kristy return to the story.  Fans of the series will get a kick out of the fact that Barker portrays her as a painter, since original actress Ashley Laurence is known now to be a painter as well.

I hope the story develops the character of this strange farmer in future issues.  His inclusion in the whole story arc (as well as how he acquired the box) has not been revealed.  He looks to be an interesting addition in the  Hellraiser world.  I think the biggest achievement in the new book is its look. Manco has structured many of the panels to look almost like storyboards for a film.  This helps it read like a true sequel to the film series.  Not only that, the artwork has a gritty and grimy look that displays a lot of emotion and adds a creepier look to the character’s faces.

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser #1 is an all around success!  Great writing fit to new iconic images, makes this a must-have for fans of Hellraiser.  Though it has been almost 25 years since Barker has entered the world of pleasure and pain, never once does he feel out of touch with the subject.  It is a credit to him that he was able to reveal this world again so easily where other writers and directors have failed so miserably in the past.