Clive Barker's Books of Blood Collection (5 Graphic Novels)

Clive Barker's Books of Blood Collection







Publication Dates: 1984 - 1985

Type: Animated Comic

Format: .CBR







Books of Blood are a series of "29" horror/fiction stories written by the British

author Clive Barker. Although undoubtedly horror stories, like most of Barker's

work they mix fantasy themes in as well. The tales invariably take place in a

contemporary setting, usually featuring everyday people who become embroiled in

a terrifying or mysterious events. Barker has stated in Faces of Fear (interview book)

that an inspiration for The Books of Blood was when he read Dark Forces (book) in the

early 1980's and realized that a horror story collection must not have any narrow themes,

consistent tone or restrictions. The stories could range from the humorous to the truly

horrific.





Books Included:





1. Rawhead Rex



An ancient, malevolent monster, magically imprisoned underground, Rawhead and

Bloody Bones, is accidentally awakened in the town of Zeal. Rawhead was once a

king over humans in prehistoric Ireland, ruling as tyrannically as he pleased.

Rawhead is a gigantic humanoid with a huge, tyrannosaur-like head. Rawhead goes

on a rampage, killing and eating people until he is defeated with the help of

his only weakness, a menstruating woman. The story was later turned into the

movie Rawhead Rex (film)(1986).





2. Revelations



A woman is unwillingly taken on a tour of the USA by her unfeeling preacher

husband. They stay at a motel which is haunted by the ghosts of a couple who

killed each other there years before. The ghosts try to compel the unhappy

wife of the preacher to do something about her present state.





3. Son of Celluloid



An escaped convict dies behind a movie screen. After his death, his cancerous

tumor gains sentience and torments the few people that remain after a show.





4. The Life of Death



Elaine, a 36-year-old woman, has just had a hysterectomy following a brush with

cancer. Feeling lethargic and empty after the operation, she becomes fascinated

by a church that is being demolished. She encounters a cheerfully morbid man named

Kavanagh who shares her fascination. The church demolition soon reveals a tomb of

plague victims, and Elaine breaks in at night to view the bodies. When her friends

begin to die off she realises she is a carrier of the plague (immune to it, but able

to spread it) and when the police come after her to stop her from spreading the disease,

Elaine takes refuge with Kavanagh. It turns out Kavanagh is a serial killer and necrophile;

he strangles and rapes Elaine. As her soul flees her body, Elaine takes a sick glee in

realising that Kavanagh will now be the carrier of the plague and will spread it far and wide.





5. The Yattering and Jack



Jack Polo is a gherkin importer who's haunted by a minor demon called the Yattering.

Despite its determined efforts to drive Jack mad, the Yattering is frustrated by his

good cheer and apparent obliviousness. Bound by the powers of Hell to stay in Jack's

house until it succeeds, the Yattering subjects him to increasingly severe torments,

killing his cats and terrorizing his family, but all fail. Eventually Jack tricks it

into leaving the house, and by violating the orders of its demonic masters, the Yattering

becomes Jack's servant. Unusual for Barker's early work, this story is unabasedly comic.