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Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1989) #4
Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Book 4
Winding and wicked are the roads to Hell.
Roads filled with actors trading masks of
comedy and tragedy for ones of human
flesh. Roads backed up with vets whose
wars could never leave enough scars to
please the Cenobites. Roads paved with
lost travelers offering their souls for a final
glimpse of the light. But there are shortcuts
to Hell, as well , mapped out inside these
pages by the infernal imaginings of Clive
Barker. They're guaranteed to get you
down below in style.
Getting back is your problem.
Contents:
Cenobite! by Nicholas Vince, John Van Fleet
Like Flies to Wanton Boys by Bunny Hampton-Mack, Scott Hampton
To Prepare a Face by Jan Strnad, Mark Chiarello
Roads filled with actors trading masks of
comedy and tragedy for ones of human
flesh. Roads backed up with vets whose
wars could never leave enough scars to
please the Cenobites. Roads paved with
lost travelers offering their souls for a final
glimpse of the light. But there are shortcuts
to Hell, as well , mapped out inside these
pages by the infernal imaginings of Clive
Barker. They're guaranteed to get you
down below in style.
Getting back is your problem.
Contents:
Cenobite! by Nicholas Vince, John Van Fleet
Like Flies to Wanton Boys by Bunny Hampton-Mack, Scott Hampton
To Prepare a Face by Jan Strnad, Mark Chiarello
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Clive Barker
684 books15.3k followersClive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship, with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009.
In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.
Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.
Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.
A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,
In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.
Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.
Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.
A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 23, 2019
With three hits in a row, it would seem probable that a dud would show up eventually. And that’s exactly what book four is, a resounding dud. In odd contradistinction to the successes of its immediate predecessor(s), the greater length of page count per story actually works against this compendium. Far more indulgence than excellence, mediocrity wafts pungently over each page.
April 10, 2019
"No holds barred" horror movies were ruined for me when I saw a few when I was way too young but I still enjoy well-crafted suspense and creepy atmosphere. I've seen every Hitchcock film- I love the way he created and maintained terror without needing to barf it onto your face. I just didn't and don't find getting "grossed-out" entertaining whatsoever especially with the torture films.
If you're one of those horror fanatics that craves observing all the methodical specifics of real people, played by actors in real-time, going through the physio-psychological terror that is actually perpetrated in the real world I keep my distance- who knows what lurks in your soul.
BUT when I realized how well the graphic arts, with much less intrinsic reality, represent horror, especially the outrageous and bizarre sci-fi type stuff- I began enjoying them and kept coming back. Without the building intensity of attention-jarring soundtracks supplimenting quick camera work that's intentionally confusing I can enjoy the ability to examine a page at length, turn back for better understanding or to put the book down and come back whenever- I could really appreciate them.
I found three books in this series that are illustrated by some of the BEST artists in the U.K. AND U.S. and the painters, especially John Bolton and the Hampton tribe, do an utterly magnificent job. The time and place is completely up to the writers and they only have to tie it to the movie (not prerequisite)* vaguely. PLUS you can jump into the series whenever- both that I've read have multiple stories that are self-contained so you needn't read them in any order either!
*I haven't seen it and there haven't been any times that that led to confusion but I'm sure the stories would be even more enjoyable if they were tied to something you enjoyed.
If you're one of those horror fanatics that craves observing all the methodical specifics of real people, played by actors in real-time, going through the physio-psychological terror that is actually perpetrated in the real world I keep my distance- who knows what lurks in your soul.
BUT when I realized how well the graphic arts, with much less intrinsic reality, represent horror, especially the outrageous and bizarre sci-fi type stuff- I began enjoying them and kept coming back. Without the building intensity of attention-jarring soundtracks supplimenting quick camera work that's intentionally confusing I can enjoy the ability to examine a page at length, turn back for better understanding or to put the book down and come back whenever- I could really appreciate them.
I found three books in this series that are illustrated by some of the BEST artists in the U.K. AND U.S. and the painters, especially John Bolton and the Hampton tribe, do an utterly magnificent job. The time and place is completely up to the writers and they only have to tie it to the movie (not prerequisite)* vaguely. PLUS you can jump into the series whenever- both that I've read have multiple stories that are self-contained so you needn't read them in any order either!
*I haven't seen it and there haven't been any times that that led to confusion but I'm sure the stories would be even more enjoyable if they were tied to something you enjoyed.
December 26, 2017
This anthology only features 3 tales.
The first, Cenobite! is fragmented and really not helped by the truly hideous art by John Van Fleet.
Next up is Like Flies to Wanton Boys - artwork was an improvement but I really didn't rate the story - it just didn't feel very Hellraiser-esque.
The highlight is the final tale - To prepare a face - a grisly homage to Lon Chaney the only down side to this was turning it into a Hellraiser story which was really unnecessary.
Over all I found this one had disappointing art and really lacked Hellraiser weirdness.
The first, Cenobite! is fragmented and really not helped by the truly hideous art by John Van Fleet.
Next up is Like Flies to Wanton Boys - artwork was an improvement but I really didn't rate the story - it just didn't feel very Hellraiser-esque.
The highlight is the final tale - To prepare a face - a grisly homage to Lon Chaney the only down side to this was turning it into a Hellraiser story which was really unnecessary.
Over all I found this one had disappointing art and really lacked Hellraiser weirdness.
January 5, 2019
My favorite out of the Graphic novels so far
September 30, 2024
The illustrations continue to be amazing, but the stories just keep getting worse. In this issue I only enjoyed the first one, and it's not like it was great or anything.
May 3, 2014
These comics are definitely getting better and more inventive as they go along. I really enjoyed the art and the three stories in this volume. A madman tormented by order from public school and the army, a wonderful spooky story of a house that reminded me of House of leaves and the story of a mad actor. They've definitely moved beyond, person finds a box cenobites show up and everyone dies.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews