Nightbreed hasn’t disappointed its readers by any means. I think Clive Barker is getting everything he ever wanted out of this story. Marc Andreyko captures these monsters and their representations in every character and every setting. It is very cool seeing this all come together. The comic again revolves around Boone listening to stories about these monsters and the sacrifices that each has made. You would think this plot would get old, but the reader gets so caught in each past story that you forget that these are being retold. Plus we clearly need to hear these stories before Boone’s character gets more action. He needs training just as the reader does. The only thing I fear is that Boone’s character is being lost among the other monsters. We hardly know him and what I know of Nightbreed is that Boone is our main dude and one of the leaders. He seems to just have entered Midian, so he is really far behind in character development and in his own personal endeavors. But for now, I will forget this small detail and enjoy the characters that are developing.
The first story features Chocolat. We have seen her before when her child was ripped away from her by the church. She was run out of town with her other kids and now fights for her life and acceptance every day. Chocolat is clearly a monster by her colorful skin, lines around her body, and vampire teeth, so she must hide her entire body. Although I think she has given up on humans accepting her. She seemed to have learned from a young age that humans are judgmental and irrational. You can’t help but sympathize with her character especially since she got one kid stolen and has two kids to take care of. She is that underdog you will root for.
Then we again follow the Priest, a monster in his own right. He has made the vow to God to rid the world of evil. But this Priest is pure evil. He isn’t exactly taking the straight path and murders sinners even though he himself is sinning more than anyone. His story just makes me sick; being compared with Chocolat’s builds up the hatred in the reader too. We get two completely opposite characters.
It is clear how Chocolat’s story will cross paths with Midian, but the Priest’s story wasn’t so clear at first. I think he will eventually hunt down the monsters. And he may even become the biggest villain of them all. Chocolat, although we don’t know much about her actions, will probably be our hero. Again, I think the comic has minor errors. I feel like Chocolat and the Priest’s story are progressing slower than expected. We have been following these two for two issues now and we just now moved to a new step in their plots. As the comic moves forward, I hope these stories can pick up just a tad more in order to keep the comic on track. But again, the errors are so small.
Nightbreed gives the audience exactly what they have been wanting from Clive Barker’s story. I think this comic will be around a while and could take us on so many monster stories. Each week is a ride along in this mysterious world. I look forward to the next issue, and I hope you can get on track with Barker’s new hit.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Marc Andreyko Artist: Piotr Kowalski Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 9/3/14 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital