Hellraiser: The Dark Watch Vol. 3

Clive Barker's Hellraiser: The Dark Watch #3

by Clive Barker

The three people to serve as Pinhead—Elliott Spencer, Kirsty Cotton, and Harry D’Amour—have been thrown into various factions fighting a war between Hells that threatens to destroy all of humanity. As the divisions between dimensions dissolve, each of the Hell Popes must decide how far they are willing to go to win the war and to ensure their surivial. Clive Barker and co-writer Brandon Seifert, with artist Tom Garcia, bring this epic HELLRAISER saga to a thrilling conclusion. This volume also includes stories from HELLRAISER ANNUAL 2013, featuring work by Barker and Seifert, as well as Ben Meares, Jesus Hervas, and Janusz Ordon. Collects CLIVE BARKER’S HELLRAISER: THE DARK WATCH #9-12, and CLIVE BARKER’S HELLRAISER ANNUAL 2013.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Supernatural, Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 12, 2014

About the author

Clive 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,

Reviews

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe this could've been interesting continuation of a Hellraiser storyline if it was cut short. Maybe. This way it just went downhill after 3 first story arcs, with writing and drawing. Hellraiser turned to Spawn or Marvel universe, only grotesque. Ridiculous characters, lack of skills for storytelling, bad art, confusion and mess. All this and more waits if you decide to dive into it. Skip it and read original novella or watch couple of movies.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third (and final?) installment in the "Hellraiser: The Dark Watch" graphic novel series is an exciting, bloody good time as the war in Hell rages between Leviathan's forces and Abaddon's Army. Seriously, there's a hella lot of gratuitous blood and guts in this one.

My only gripe with this one is the ending, which is so abrupt and almost tacked on, as if the writers (Clive Barker, Brandon Siefert) had a deadline, didn't know how to end the damn thing, and just said "fuck it".

Other than that, this has been an entertaining horror series.

[Allie Genia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehh. I thought this would have been more interesting, but it was like riding a rickety old wooden roller coaster: you know what to generally expect, but you get jerked around a lot more than you thought you would. It's okay for a night, but nothing too memorable.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Myk Pilgrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, but I felt like things sort of went a little wibbly wobbly as it drew nearer the end.
(he says as his hand hovers over the 'buy now' button for Hellraiser: Bestiary #1)

[Josh Burkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how a story ends in the MOST epic fashion. It's really a shame that Hellraiser got shuffled around in the cinematic sense because I believe had Barker continued to make those movies they would be insane. The Dark Watch is one of the best maxi-series I've ever read. The expansion of the lore for Hellraiser was simply incredible. I wrote in my volume two review that this book felt like a sequel to The Scarlet Gospels, the book Barker would go on to write following this series, but after reading this series. Gospels feels more like it was inspired by The Dark Watch. I feel like having read both now I have a finer appreciation for how this story ends and I can't wait to read the sequel series.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horror series which goes hand in hand with the films. It’s amazing how one short story “The Hell Bound Heart” made into a film, turned into such an enduring horror franchise. This volume collects CLIVE BARKER'S HELLRAISER: THE DARK WATCH #9-12, and CLIVE BARKER'S HELLRAISER ANNUAL 2013.

It is essentially a story of the body horror genre, and as much as I doubted they could, the comic created just as much nausea and disgust as the films. The art, while not the most detailed, is still a grotesque ride. I think it’s the constant use to human heads on monster bodies that really puts it over the edge.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

You'll either love it or hate it

Well...you'll either love the ending or hate it. This arc wasn't really for me, and the last installment didn't really save it. Hard to say much more about it without spoiling it. If you've read the previous two books, this one was more of the same. I can't help but wonder if this story had more potential than it was able to realize - if there was a better way to tell it - or if it just really isn't what I want out of a Hellraiser story, regardless.

[Francesca Giardiello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfetto finale che corona la trilogia.

Trama e azione si spalleggiano fra Inferno e la Terra mostrando come si possa scrivere una storia splatter/horror senza tralasciare le tematiche sottili tanto care a Barker.

Preziosa trilogia perfetta per tutti gli appassionati del genere, buona lettura anche per coloro che si sono approcciati a Hellraiser unicamente tramite i film (basta pochissimo background per ambientarsi e conoscere i personaggi, Barker ci permette di "ri-conoscerli" e approfondirli nel modo più naturale possibile).

[Wine of Ages · Rating 5 out of 5]

The box. You opened it. We came.

I absolutely loved the whole series both the Dark watch and Hellraiser. The art work is amazing. I'm a big fan of Hellbound heart and the Hellraiser movies (excluding a few) but I enjoyed the path these comics took. Take the plunge and read them. "They have such sights to show you"

[Václav Urbánek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jedna z nejnudnějších věcí, který se s Hellraiserem daj podle mě udělat, je tlačit do něj mytologii židovsko-křesťanskýho pekla, ve kterým sou Cenobiti prostě démoni, co trestaj hříšníky podle nějakej danejch morálních standardů. Jelikož už to ale takhle evidentně dělá i sám Clive Barker, tak halt asi nemá moc cenu nad tím brečet…

[Brett Perlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

War in hell

The war in hell rages fury verses desire......who will suffer the most. Not you because you have read an interesting story...the true horror is getting to the end but fear not....the story continues

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasnt bad...it wasnt great. I liked the ending but overall I felt like the story was super rushed. The Dark Watch series was free on Comixology Unlimited but I dont really think it would be worth buying on it's own. But as a free read it was decent and passed the time.

[Kristin Raap · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Awesome Follow-up

This was an excellent follow-up to the original works. I was riveted and so happy to see such a complex and idealistic bunch come to blows across multiple planes of existence.

[Drew Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The battle between the hells comes to an end, and a definitive conclusion is reached. Seeing how the story ends was a lot of fun, and I must admit I did enjoy that final blow of an ending. Missing the personality of the original, but still lots of enjoyment to be had here. 3.75/5.

[Bryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another head-scratching, unsatisfying, and visually hard-to-follow conclusion to what looked to be a promising Hellraiser arc. I left this one as confused as its surviving protagonists.

[quincy jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It works for me

[Alexander Bane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Qué mal final…

[Vaarna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed the new Hellraiser comics from Boom! The ending was a bit of a letdown though, since they chose to undue every bit of progress made during these books: Kirsty and her band became humans again and Spencer returned to his role as Pinhead.

Really the best parts of this series came from the bold choices of unleashing Pinhead and making Kirsty a cenobite so they could finally fight on more even ground. Were they too afraid to shake the status quo?

I did like the bittersweet tone of the final pages though, that's Pinhead for you. :)

[Julio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aunque visualmente muy atractiva, la historia de esta serie de Hellraiser es algo frágil y caótica. Creo que el formato no permite profundizar ni los caracteres ni la historia misma y obliga a una superficialidad que le quita atractivo. O se requiere una mayor extensión para darle más densidad tanto a los personajes como al hilo de la historia, o la historia debe evitar el gran número de sorpresas y redireccionamientos. De todos modos, es muy entretenida.

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting that Kirsty and Tiffany become Cenobites.
Makes so much more sense now that the most recent movie had a female Pinhead.
I don't think this is a great one to start at, as I definitely am missing a lot of context not having read the first 8 chapters before these.

[Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

The battle rages on with Abaddon bring his insect like army to invade the Earth, Kirsty is given a tough choice by the Leviathan to stop this.

It was pretty fun and the art was great, a fantastic conclusion to the arc.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conclusión a la guerra entre las facciones infernales donde el autor limpia el tablero... sin dejar de trazar posibles rumbos. Muy entretenida si se es fan de los engendros creados por Clive Barker.

[Suellen Almeida · Rating 2 out of 5]

You gotta have some background on Hellraiser after the movies to go into this. I was lost here.