Clive Barker’s Hellraiser issue 6 Retro Review
I am noticing more and more returning names with each issue. This issue sees three writers returning to the word of Cenobites, two of which contributed to the last issue (Issue 5). This is a good thing. A cohesive core of writers lends to more cohesive storytelling, which becomes evident starting with next issue where the first ever multi-issue story arc, The Devils Brigade, begins!
Our opener today is titled “Original Sin.” Ron Wolfe returns from last issue, where he wrote “Glitter and Go.” the artist, SMS is probably best kniwn for 2000 AD. The story is about a mother and her child. The mother, Laura, wants nothing but the best for her baby boy, Andy. Unfortuantely, she cannot provide the best for him, because the father, Jack, has turned into an abusive drunk. Most of Andy’s toys come from a second hand store, including his favorite, a puzzle box. One night when Jack is at his worst, Andy manages to solve the puzzle box, and two sister Cenobites arrive for him. One had her mouth sewn shut, the other is missing her eyes. Their names are Bright Eyes and the Voice. They take Andy into Hell, but Laura follows. In Hell, she catches uop with them and takes her son back. After some time in the Labyrinth, The Cenobites catch up to her again. She tells them that she won’t leave without her son. They respond by saying that she has to stay forever, but Andy might be able to escape, if he grows strong enough. She takes the deal and takes andy into their Hell, a life with good ole abusive Jack! I enjoyed this story much more than Wolfe’s first Hellraiser story, “Glitter and Go.” There are some great interpretations of the Labyrinth, and SMS conveys these images very well. A great opening story!
With “Lingerings,” James Robert Smith returns for his third outing, the most recent being “Firetrap” from the last issue.” Jamie Tolagson, who has done a lot of work for all the major companies and worked on books like The Books of Magic, The Crow, and Tomb of Dracula, pulls art duty. This tale starts with the renting of an apartment. The renters, Hub and Calvin, move in shortly thereafter. There are a couple odd things about the apartment : A Giant, Ornate Door that goes nowhere, and an unfinished puzzle lying on the floor. Hub never really warmed up to the place and hates the door, but he loves Calvin and will follow him anywhere. Hub comes home one day to find the puzzle solved, a slime trail leading to the Door to Nowhere, and Calvin missing. Hub knows there is more to the Door, he has heard things in the night. So, as he always does, he follows Calvin. He solves the puzzle and awaits his fate. Honestly, I wasn’t really happy with this story. The relationship between Calvin and Hub (and yes, I realize what that sounds like when you say it in that order, and no, there aren’t any tigers in this story) didn’t seem strong enough for Hub to blindly follow Calvin into hell like he did. We never see any Cenobites, or any other nasties. Just the Slime trail, some sound effects, and out imagination. I like that part…very Lovecraftian, but the story itself just didn’t do it for me.
From the writer of the very first story, in the first issue (The Canons of Pain) and the adaptation of Weaveworld, comes my favorite sory of the issue. Erik Saltzgaber gives us “Tunnel of Love.” Drawn by Joe Barruso, who did more Hellraiser books after this, including Book of the Damned, and, this is the comics debut, and Origin Story, of another Cenobite regular, Atkins. Atkins is also one of my favorites of the comics. He is definitely the most Comic Bookish of them all. Later in the series, he is the Armorer of Hell, but here, he is just a soldier in Vietnam. His platoon encounters a Tunnel in the ground, and he volunteeers to explore and “clean it out” if necessary, armed with only a knife, and a pistol. He does take out all the enemy soldiers hiding in the tunnel, but he also encounters some Cenobites. Apparently the Tunnel itself was a Puzzle Gateway. Atkins, being the badass that he is, isn’t scared of the “Blue boys” and is ready for a fight. This is a very short yet entertaining story. We don’t actually see Atkins get transformed, but don’t worry, you see this scene again, in more detail in Pinhead #2! What this story does prove is that there are certain personality traits that survive the transformation process. These traits are what make people Candidates for Prospective Cenobites in the first place, instead of just another Victim.
Our final tale, “The Trainer” takes us to the Horse Tracks. The story is written by the duo of Bill Mumy and Miguel Ferrer, yes the actors, (and this isn’t their only comic work either) and drawn by Bill Wray, who has done too many things to mention here (okay fine, he worked on Howard the Duck and Atari Force). It was one of the more humorous stories in the series. Wray’s artwork is a lot more cartoonish, so it adds to the humor. The story is about a Gambler/Horsetrainer/Owner, Cassidy, who is not having a good day at the track. He takes his frustrations out on the horse that het bet on, beating it with a broom. Okay, granted, this part isn’t funny, but there is a funny part on first page where the lady standing next to Cassidy, who loses her top and Cassidy doesn’t notice because he is so upset. Anyways, Cassidy is full of Douchebaggery, and it is established pretty quickly. The next day, Cassidy is watching the horse train, when he is approached by a guy with an offer. Now this gut is extemely pale, and surrounded by flies. I always take deals from Animated Corpses, how ’bout you? The Offer is a special Stopwatch that makes “Any horse you clock faster than ever before.” A fairly specific stopwatch, if you ask me. So he tests the watch out on his horse, and it works. You can here the kaching in his head. I am surprised his eyes didn’t turn into Dollar signs for a minute. Later, on his way to place bets, he drops his watch and it shatters. Cassidy can’t find the Undead guy to fix it so he takes it to the local Watch Repair Shop, but that guy can’t fix it. He said it isn’t a watch “It’s a puzzle to me.” So Cassidy takes it home to fix himself, which he does. So, yeah, the Watch is a puzzle, and the Cenobites (Movie variety) arrive and tell Cassidy that they have been watching him and his brand of “discipline” for a long time. He is has what it takes to be a Cenobite. Of course Cassidy is actually excited at the sound of his new career path. That is until the Re-Ordering of his Flesh begins. Pinhead ends the story by saying “I think in time, we’ll call him “the trainer.” If he masters the discipline to stop screaming…” What a fun story. I am fairly involved with various facets of Animal Rights, so I abhor the Horse Racing Industry, so I got a thrill seeing this guy get his come uppance.
According to the Editor’s Note at the end, this was the last issue of the Quarterly release schedule. The book went Bi-Monthly starting with Issue 7, just in time for The Devil’s Brigade, which is an 18 part epic that had stories is Issues 7 all the way to 16. Before I tackle that though, I want to return to the world of the Breed for the first post movie Story arc. The Next 6 issues covered a storyline titled…”The Blasphemers.” See you then!
