Tapping the Vein: Book Three

Tapping the Vein #3

by Clive Barker, Chuck Wagner, Fred Burke

great comic

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

65 pages, Comic

First published January 1, 1990

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

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror done in true Clive Barker style. Sex, beliefs and humanity all come into question in these 5 graphic novels.
There are two stories / graphic novel and each story is not only different in content but also in art style. Essentially it's like reading 12 different comic books with the same writer. It's almost like reading an animated Books of Blood. And just like the Books of Blood some stories are better than others, nevertheless, Barker definitely has a handle on the short story format. And in book 3 we get to see one of his tried and true stories "Midnight Meat Train" come to life in true graphic novel form.
As always he is a fabulous writer and the artwork just accentuates his amazing writing. I do wish however that Clive Barker would have done some of the illustrations himself as he is a brilliant artist and some of his sketches are completely out of this world! I think it would have been nice to see a few of his sketches within these books. Perhaps at least on the covers.
All things considered these books definitely have my heart. ❤️ Clive Barker's work. Do recommend!

[Mikepottz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books of blood to quench our thirst in . The first story is one of my favorites. The movie isn't great but does have some creepy moments. Leon had recently moved to NY. The city was a slut waking up in the morning and picked murdered man from its teeth. Subway murders were on people's lips. A corpse found completely stripped, the clothes meticulously folded in bags next to the body, disembowed body that looked like an abbatoir worker had been disturbed. Mahogany was the wraith with a human face, a scared duty with a deadline. Leon takes the late subway and sees Mahogany, Leon could smell the salty blood in the air, the bodies hanging with entrails missing, the bodies swinging to the rhythm of the train. Mahogany with his bloody apron. Mahogany won't be feeding what's at the end of the subway but Leon will take over with a duty and purpose. 5 stars. The second story is an island not on a map. Death swimming around and under the island. Illustrations aren't great on this story as well as the story pretty much rubbish.

[Jemiah Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adaptations and great artwork in the first story, less great but passable in the second. At the very least I am going to find and read every bit of this series; I love Clive and I love these stories.

[Bill Borre]

"The Midnight Meat Train" - A down-and-out man, Leon Kaufman, falls asleep on a New York subway train, only to wake up at a secret station beyond the end of the line. Kaufman encounters a man named Mahogany, who has killed and butchered several people and hung their bodies up on the train. Mahogany remarks that he will be forced to kill Kaufman to guard his secrets. Kaufman fights Mahogany and kills him in self-defense, but then the train doors open and strange malformed creatures board the train. The creatures eat the dead passengers, then force Kaufman to serve them as their new butcher, cutting out his tongue to ensure his silence. They tell Kaufman that Mahogany was getting old and could not do the job any longer, and that Kaufman now has a new career. It is also revealed that the creatures have also been the secret rulers of New York City for centuries. The police have always covered up for the creatures. Kaufman finds he now has lifetime employment.

[D.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of a stunning (and finally fitting) cover from Dave McKean, this volume of the series is a bit disappointing. The first story is a good one, 'Midnight Meat Train,' but the art by Denys Cowan and Michael Davis is a little too comical and vague for the terror the story demands. It's adapted again by project originator Chuck Wagner and editor Fred Burke. The second part is 'Scape-Goats,' not one of my favourite Barker stories. Here it's given a fittingly dull adaptation and illustration by Bo Hampton. This is the beginning of a downward trend for the series.