From writer Mike Costa and artist Paco Callomonga comes the first issue in the return of one of horror’s most beloved franchises to the comics medium in Hellraiser Resurrections: New Wounds #1. Featuring colors by Andrew Cramer and lettering from Ed Dukeshire, New Wounds both reintroduces us to Clive Barker’s world of torment and debauchery with familiar sights while expanding the lore of the box, the Cenobites, and possibly even more that we’ve yet to discover. With a compelling script and great visual work, New Wounds is a fitting opening chapter to this new wave of Hellraiser stories.
“From the darkest corners of Rio de Janeiro’s criminals to the underbelly of the untouchable elites in Europe, this Alpha issue twists and turns its way through a story that teases and delights right up to its surprising finish. If you want the earliest glimpse of what’s to come in the new Hellraiser series, then get your hands on this comic and see if you can unlock all its secrets!”
Writing & Plot
Mike Costa returns us to the realms of pain and hedonism in on-brand storytelling fashion with his script for Hellraiser Resurrections: New Wounds #1. Building on the foundation Barker’s original films laid, Costa mainly explores the sort of people that seek out the Cenobites – murderers, sociopaths, and gluttons for torment and pleasure. In this story, a hired killer hunts those who have seen the cenobites in person in order to find the whereabouts of the Lament Configuration; the iconic puzzle box that summons the Order of the Gash. While he’s being paid to bring the puzzle box to his ultra-wealthy employer, his curiosity drives him to make some decisions for himself. The result for him and his boss end up being something far different than either of them – or the readers for that matter – had bargained for. Costa’s script feels like a natural extension of the screenplay Barker wrote for the first 2 films in terms of what the story explores and its overall tone. Occultists, ultra-wealthy hedonists, and murderers obsessed with or even just curious about the outer-limits of ecstasy meeting their just desserts will always be a franchise staple, but it’s the way Costa writes his characters and paces the comic that makes it feel like such a natural extension of what’s been done before. The dialogue is naturalistic yet sharp, but also knows when to get a bit dramatic to reflect the genre and franchise this comic is a part of. We only get hints at the lore we’ve yet to explore in coming stories, but it’s still deeply engaging to witness if you’re a longtime Hellraiser fan.
Art Direction
Paco Callomonga pulls readers back into the realm of the Hellpriest and all the horrors within in excellent fashion in Hellraiser Resurrections: New Wounds #1. While his detailed pencils and hatching, he creates a vision of this universe that blends the innocuous with the depraved and bloody. His work on normal environments like exclusive clubs and unassuming homes makes the bloody happenings and occult intrusions strike that much harder – just like with the original Hellraiser works. His character animations are brilliantly detailed, and his rendition of classic Cenobite horror is top-notch. Callmonga brings an almost cinematic sequential direction to the issue as well, carefully pacing the comic so that every moment feels significant. The color art by Andrew Cramer is an ultra-vivid finishing touch to the comic’s reading experience. Every surface is coated in a sort of natural-feeling color, but the true horror moments see an extra splash of life (or death, since you know, it’s Hellraiser). The candlelight in a room being used for a ritual, sprays of blood, and other elements of horror are delivered in a heightened sense to punctuate the sequences within the issue. Overall, New Wounds is an excellent and appropriately dread-soaked visual experience.
Verdict
Hellraiser Resurrections: New Wounds #1 is a great opening one-shot for this new saga in Clive Barker’s esteemed horror franchise. Mike Costa’s script nails the tone of a Hellraiser story, with the unassuming parts of reality being suddenly nailed by the world’s most depraved men who then get more than they bargain for in ways even readers won’t see coming. The visuals from Paco Callomonga and Andrew Cramer are well detailed and have great direction, capturing the occult horror of this new chapter in both familiar and new, unexpected ways. Be sure to gran this debut one-shot, availaible now!
