Creative Staff:
Story: Paul Tobin
Art: Juan Ferreyra
What They Say:
Declan Thomas is just an average man, an average man with the ability to step inside of your madness and draw it out like poison from a wound. His past a mystery, all we know is each time he frees an innocent from the grip of insanity, his temperature drops, leaving him at present with a resting temperature of 63.3 degrees. Hounding our frigid friend is a mysterious figure with a penchant for dismemberment and the face of a gnarled tree. While his motives remain a mystery, it’s clear that whatever he is up to, it does not bode well for Declan.
Content: (Spoiler free)
With author Paul Tobin at the helm, this marks a dramatic departure from his notable work on the Marvel Adventures series. Immediately establishing itself as a horror comic with a deep Lovecraftian influence, Colder looks to chill its readership to the bone with nightmarish visuals and gore galore.
Declan is an interesting and unique main character to read. While his powers are fantastic, his motives are simple and pure. His chief concern is how many people he can help before he falls victim to the cost of his ability. His body temperature, while a running gag with his loving girlfriend, has a serious undertone. With no clue why he is capable of freeing people from their demons, but doing so anyway, he invites catastrophe with each act of good will. With great power comes incredible risk and Declan refuses to acknowledge the peril he has placed himself in.
Without the artistic vision of Juan Ferreyra (Rex Mundi, Kiss Me Satan, Conan) the superlative writing would lose much of its horrific edge. Darkness ekes out from the edges of empty halls, twisting nightmares squirm from the confines of the mind, and our antagonist might as well have been plucked from my childhood nightmares. I enjoy a good villain, but Swivel goes above and beyond your everyday arch-nemesis, and into the realm of those horror movie villains you were just a hair too young to see.
In Summary:
With Colder #1 being the first of a five-part mini-series, I am hooked and ready for more. The characters are interesting, the setting is unique, and the villain is cause for me to fish out the old nightlight I promised myself I’d never use. The creative team behind this book is a match made in hell, and that chill you feel running up your spine isn’t your imagination, it’s Colder.
Grade: A
Age Rating: Mature
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 22nd, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
Awesome review. Torn between wanting to read it and being too frightened to give it a chance