Filed under: Comic Reviews, Dark Horse Comics | Tags: Dark Horse Comics, Declan Thomas, Juan Ferreya, Nimble Jack, Paul Tobin, Reece Talbot
With one of the best covers in recent memory I had high hopes for Colder from Dark horse – promising a gruesome horror but was that really what we got?
After this first issue I’m still on the fence I think but there is potential here as a fire at an insane asylum kicks things off in 1941 Massachusetts, introducing our central character Declan Thomas. From here things get weirder and weirder as we see the strange figure of Nimble Jack appear as he crosses from what appears to be another dimension…..whispering in Declan’s ear that he’s going to get colder.
Flip to modern times and we have Jack working his way through the streets of Boston looking for the next of his “victims”. Stopping off at local jail to climb up the wall and squeeze through the bars to convince local inmate to hang himself….although his ulterior motives soon make themselves apparent as he sucks the soul out of him. Jack’s the creepy figure in this book as no one else can see him except his victims and his ability to drift in and out of reality seem to be the smoothest way for him to work his mischief.
Now we are thrown into the every-day life of Reece Talbot, recent victim of a daylight mugging, nurse and latest interest for Jack……although for much different reasons than we first expect. Escorted home by the police after her mugging with Jack tagging along we discover that she’s also the adoptive carer of Declan and has been for the past five years. This brings Jack back into Declan’s world and while Declan has been in a catatonic state with a plummeting body temperature since the fire and initial visit from Jack…..he’s just the wrong kind of crazy for Jack to target.
The issue closes with Declan talking to the Reece for the first time ever by the sound of things and we’re left to ponder this revelation after a meandering tale from the offset. True the events have all been tied together by Jack & Declan but there just hasn’t been the true horror that I had expected from the front cover. Instead it’s a slow-burning start with a clear air of the unknown about what the real story is going to be. It’s been compared to Locke & Key in its approach but I’m going to hold-off until I read more of this before I confirm if that comparison is justified.
Writer Paul Tobin does manage to keep us interested in the tale and I’m sure more of the events will unfold but the pacing seems a bit stop/start for me……maybe that’s how it will play out. That being said the build-up to Declan talking to Reece is handled well and makes me want to know more. The art is consistent from Juan Ferreya but I can’t help but feel that the disconnect from that startling cover and the events of the issue have reduced my expectations.
6/10
G-Man
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