Posted in: Comics | Tagged: boom, clive barker, Comics

Reading Clive Barker's Next Testament #1

So, Clive Barker is writing a new comic book. Or, rather, writing it with a friend, Mark Miller. And having someone draw it. I'd really like to see Clive Barker to draw his own comics sometime, just because he can, but Haemi Jang is probably and faster… and lots of the nastier stuff actually look like Clive Barker's design work, so it all works out for the best.

So what's going on?

Gods reveal themselves in dreams. Plans are delivered to prophets, who are given a vision and that vision is revealed to be reality. Whether that be Elijah or Joseph Smith, there's a pattern here and it's one that makes the beginning of Clive Barker's Next Testament so very familiar, it's following straight from, well, previous Testaments. Hence the name,

Except that, right from the beginning, we know that they're evil, due to frowns faces and nasty symbolism. The fellow is sent out on a bit of a blind run and trips over the pinnacle of… something. With that nasty symbolism I just mentioned. With horns and stuff.

A god emerges, born or reborn, it seems. And it is born as a comic book creation, the ink is still wet, it is dripping colour, with various hues shimmering across the skin, like oil on water, then falling to their floor.

And it's not just the horns and frowny faces, by his actions, we know this a vengeful, petty cruel deity. And must, somehow be stopped. If such a thing is even possible.

Because there are others close to the prophet, trying to work out what's going on. With only vague glimpses of even the partial picture the reader , it seems that they would have no chance despite their riches and influences to deal with this monstrosity. In issue one, they have a few scraps of paper and very little else. While a god is making moves to do something very bad, they don't have a clue.

This is a very Old Testament God and possibly one that we might have put away some time when we wanted to be all New Testament. And now it's out of the box.

Oh and apparently God is an Englishman and invented the language. All very "William Blake's Jerusalem."

So… massive protest against publisher Boom! Studios anyone? They'd probably appreciate the publicity…

Clive Barker's Next Testament #1 is published at the end of the month.

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