This is the first I’ve read of the Colder series, Toss the Bones being the third story arc.
I wouldn’t be able to tell you much about who the hero, Declan, or his friend, Reece, are, as they spend most of the time in this first issue not wanting to talk about what happened in the previous series, but while they are attempting to take a “me” (in this case a “we”) day, a pretty terrifying character named Nimble Jack, long-lost offspring of The Joker and Salvador Dali, wreaks havoc on just about everyone he comes into contact with.
Paul Tobin is the writer who saved the Ridley Scott film, Prometheus, with his follow-up comic, Prometheus: Fire and Stone which was pretty terrifying. He took a jumble of very ambitious ideas and made sense of it in a nightmare-inducing way.
He injects this book and the character of Nimble Jack, thus far the driving force of the book, with that same macabre joy. I don’t know where Nimble Jack comes from, except that he apparently has been displaced from his home, is mad, and wants to spread his madness like a disease. He drives every unsuspecting soul around him to some kind of breaking point, in ways that I’m certain will haunt my nightmares. It was easy in the first couple of pages to dismiss the character until he starts working his magic, then it’s too late and you can’t pull your eyes away. You don’t want him to come into contact with anyone else, because you don’t want to see what he’ll do. At the same time, you’re too curious to look away. Remember the first two Hellraiser films? You read on because your imagination is stimulated, but it’s your imagination that quickly becomes the enemy.
The art of Juan Ferreyra, also Prometheus: Fire and Stone, is part of the reason your imagination is hotwired. His imagery is both beautiful and horrifying. His visual style is akin to lucid dreaming. From panel to panel, you’re led on a weirdly surreal journey.
With Halloween on its way, this is a good series to jump into. Nimble Jack would be the perfect costume. Personally, I’m going back to read the first two volumes from this winning creative team.
On a more personal note: Mr. Tobin, my girlfriend uses the term “glomp” in an endearingly aggressive way to refer to anime-style hugging – she attacks and shouts “GLOMP!” Your use of the word GLOMP may have marred that. I am going to show it to her against my better judgment, and she may just find herself with a different narrative next time she “glomps” me. If they find my remains under the bed in an abandoned apartment, people will know what went wrong.
