Clive Barker’s Nightbreed #8 Retro Review

Chapter Three of The Blasphemers had a lot of story packed in it, to even things out from the brawling last time.  D.G. Chichester continues to write, but Bret Blevins is no longer on the team.  Co-artist from last issue Mike Manley, is joined by Ricardo Villagran (Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis) Last time, The Breed and the Blasphemers collided for the first time.  Also, Eigerman and Ashberry resurface, and a new player enters the equation, Allen Ritegrig.  He witnessed the brawl and he wants in!  He approaches the Blasphemers and says he can help them, all he asks is to be made one of them! This Chapter opens with Ashberry and Eigerman returning to Ashberry’s former church, to retrieve a few things.  Father Tiernan, and old aquaintance of Ashberry’s is residing in the church.  He hears a noise and goes to investigate, only to find the chapel altered into a shrine to Baphomet.  Tiernan puts up a fight at this blaphemey and actually manages to drive them out of the church.  Elsewhere, Allen is buying a whole lotta guns from a dealer named Stanley.  Stanley wants to get out of the gun running business, and get a little more field work side of being a mercenary.  Allen pretty much completely ignores Stanley, completing his transaction and leaving.  The Blasphemers, still holed up in an abandoned theatre, attend Allen’s version of a briefing.  Motel camera footage of the brawl from last issue.  He is running down all the members of the Breed that were involved, and mentions strengths and weaknesses.  The Blasphemers could care less.  One thing that bugged me about this scene is Aello (still a red hed, dispite the white hair on the cover) seems to be getting ditzier with every issue.  This meeting get’s broken up when Stanley arrives.  He followed Allen, trying to get in on the action, but got more than he bargained for….. Meanwhile, Cabal, Lori, Narcisse, Kinski, and Guido are hiding out at Nickneven’s cabin.  Nicknevin is preparing some kinda nastiness for a meal, and Narcisse wants nothing to do with it, so he and Guido head out to the local grocery store. Outside, Boone and Lori are having a private moment, in which Lori is worried about if she will mutate into some kind of freak, now that she is Breed.  The moment is not so private, as Nickneven and Tater are also on the porch.  The artwork is better now, and it is quite obvious that Nickneven takes of her own head so that Tater can brush her hair.  She tells Lori that she has to “know what’s inside before you can guess at what’s gonna hatch…”  This is being said while those Green Eggs (remember them?) are being cracked open. At the Store, Narcisse and Guido indulge in a little adolescent humor, which ends up catching notice of a police officer in the Store.  They end up playing off Narcisse’s appearance as a really, REALLY bad case of acne.  The best part about this scene is one frame where Narcisse is looking at a Tabloid to cover up his shenanigans over the store’s PA (a price check on Tampons).  The cover story on the Tabloid makes a reference to Bret Blevens, the artist from the last two issues, who is absent on this one. Back at the Cabin, Cabal mentions that when Mulciber offered them meat, they refused, but they did want it.  He starts questioning why this no meat thing is such an important meal.  Kinski is the only one that comes close to providing a helpful answer.  He says that Breed have been blessed with “wondrous talents,” and along with those talents came the “Hellish desires” like hunger for meat.  Kinski claims that if they give into those desires, they are no better than animals, and undeserving of their special gifts.  Nickneven and Narcisse break away from the group because the old Witch has something she wants to show Narcisse, her own Still!  Just as Narcisse is about to take a sip of the Hooch, the Blasphemers make an explosive entrance, armed to the many, many teeth…well, except for Oral, teeth that is.   This issue moved the story along fairly nicely.  All the major players got some screen time.  Honestly, I could have done without the pranking at the Grocery store.  It took away from the story somewhat. However, there was a lot of philosophical discussions as well.  Lori wandering if she will change, and what might she change into.  The Breed, and The Blasphemers both debate Baphomets No Meat law, with incredibly different results.  The Blasphemers had their discussion over dinner, er…Stanley. How will the Breed deal with the Newly armed Blasphemers?  When will Eigerman and Ashberry join the fight?  Is that the last we have seen of Father Tiernan?  Come back next time when I discuss the Next chapter, in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed #9!