The Stuff That Got Away...

Clive Barker's Demonik ...Gamespot and The Hollywood Reporter were first to report that Clive had been hard at work on the background story for a new console game. Demonik was initially to be published by Majesco and Tiger Hill Entertainment (John Woo) as a third-person action game for next-generation consoles before becoming solely for Xbox360 and had a planned release date scheduled for 31 January 2006. Demonik had been worked on for SEGA and Tiger Hill by Todd Farmer (Jason X and the newly-sold John Carpenter 'Psychopath' project) since the spring of 2003 when he was first asked to develop a storyline from an initial concept. Although SEGA apparently passed on the project at the time, Tiger Hill continued to support Farmer's work on Demonik, pitching it as a feature as well as a game. Barker worked in a similar rôle to the one he undertook with Undying in 2001 - concentrating on storylines and character development - with the all-important option to write and direct a movie version, with the tag line 'The ultimate villain descends upon us'.... Details of the game itself became clearer (see previews below), and a taster can be had from the trailer, which may be downloaded from Gamespot. The first set of screenshots and video from E3 were posted at IGN and eagled-eyed movie-goers may have noticed the game featuring in the 2006 film 'Grandma's Boy'... As the release date approached, Majesco then announced (see below) that they had cancelled the Demonik project owing to financial difficulties, and Clive has confirmed that the movie and other options are unlikely now to be fulfilled... "Demonik will be an intense gaming experience. I’m having a lot of fun enriching the game’s mythology and polishing the characters till they shine. And, of course, adding a little bit of Barker darkness. Demonik promises to be a game that you will play with clammy palms." Clive Barker And John Woo Get Demonik By Tor Thorsen, Gamespot.com, 8 May 2005 "In this game, you'll not only be witness to the genesis of a new villain, but you can play him. I find that to be an extremely interesting way to create a new and compelling franchise." Barker, Woo In 'Demonik' Endeavors By John Gaudiosi, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2005 "I have been having a blast; it's been interesting. I enjoyed my Undying time and I'm enjoying this too. It's not, as you know, my strength; I am not a player and yet that in some ways is fun because I'm learning as I go and it's always nice to learn a new thing. It's a big pool of people, there's a lot of people involved, but I like that too, it's collaboration. My day is spent, as you know, in solitary endeavours so sitting with these guys and solving problems and getting some designs together... It's essentially a revenge motif, it's a demon summoned that you are controlling, summoned to carry out revenges on your behalf and the question is, are you actually going to do it or aren't you going to do it? It carries some moral weight, which is fun. The first thing I did when I sat everybody down was quote Gaugin, who said, 'Life being what it is, one seeks revenge,' and everybody nodded sagely and everybody around the table had to tell me who they would want revenge upon - it was amazing! Wives, old boyfriends, there was no end to it, so that's actually been fun too." The Lazarus Muse: Nights Of Magic, Days Of Gore By Phil and Sarah Stokes, 2 June 2005 (note: full text here) "I think Demonik is dead in the water - movies, everything else; I think it's over." You Called, He Came... By Phil and Sarah Stokes, 2 and 3 June 2006 (note: full text here) "I was brought in, as you perhaps know, late in the day to help with a project which was not happening the way people wanted it to. And then it all got cancelled which was a bit heart-breaking for me because I put a lot of work and love into it and I got to work with David Finch, who's an extraordinary artist, and that was wonderful. But it's very seldom I get involved in something that doesn't, somehow or other, come together - finally. It may take years, but finally I'll get there. And the other thing is, it just makes your appetite for the next thing more acute so when we decided to do Jericho there was a real hunger in me to get back to the gaming arena and to do something that was genuinely intense and threatening and hopefully had a narrative that was intriguing and a little bit off the beaten track." Clive Barker Talks About Jericho By Scott Steinberg, Podcast, Digital Trends.com, 26 September, 2007 (note - full podcast online at http://news.digitaltrends.com/) Todd Farmer : "Virtual Reality (The Developers) came up with a concept for a game called Demonik. For a time the project was with Sega. But Sega didn't like the story. Fact is...the story was missing. There was a brilliant concept but as for a story with twists and turns there was none. So Sega asked Tiger Hill to take a look at it. Tiger brought me in. I forget the reasons but there was a time crunch to come up with a story fast so I did. But Sega had already moved on. Tiger later aquired the rights from Sega. Later still, Tiger, myself and the game developers went around to different publishers and pitched the game. Eventually, the publisher Majesco, who the developers had previously worked with on "Blood Rayne" became our Publisher and that brings us mostly current. "Now here's the catch. The Developers were never a fan of my story. The Faustian elements in the story worried them. They were concerned that it would be compared to Spawn's story. When I first heard of their concerns, six months to a year ago, I considered them just that, concerns. Todd McFarlan does not own the copyright on deals with the devil. And Faust is classic. Why not put a new spin on it? That was my argument and as far as I knew everyone agreed. "But that was not the case. The Developers still want no part of Faust. So, here's where Todd Farmer the writer has to decide if he's going to learn from his own past treatment and become the supportive producer or the confrontational producer. And the funny thing is...I'm not a producer on this project. "Tiger Hill and Majesco share the rights. The Developers essentially work for them. Tiger Hill stands behind the story completely. And although Majesco shares the Developers' concerns they have told Tiger Hill that they will back their decision. In other words, if I want to go with my story I could without a doubt force the issue and make the Developers tell the story I created. "There's no doubt in my mind that my story would add rich textures to the game and although one of the developers refers to it as derivative...most ideas are derivative if not exicuted properly. But the bottom line is that if the developers are not happy then they aren't likely to be putting out their best work. I know in the past when I've been forced to make a change I didn't agree with then my passion went right out the window and I'm certain scripts have suffered as a result. "Thus...I choose to support the talent. "I have to submit my ego. I have to back down. My winning the argument is not important. My being the hero is not important. What is important is that the artists (whether they be writers, directors or game developers) are happy, inspired and passionate about what they do. "Thus Tiger Hill and I fly to Texas in ten days to sit with the developers. I see this as having a two part goal. First I have to assure them that I'm on their side. I'm not there to piss in their sandbox. They are the talent. I'm there to help, inspire and offer my unique form or redneck creativity. "Step two will consist of out taking their concept and together we build a story that we can all be proud of as well as excite the developers so much that they develop the best game in ten years." Games vs. Movies By Todd Farmer, www.wendago.com, 15 June 2004 Todd Farmer : "On the work front, the Tiger Hill meetings went great. Clive Barker is now a part of Demonik. Now agents and lawyers are doing their thing. I'm not sure what my involvement will be at this point. It was clear that the Developers wanted very little Todd Farmer in their life. They hated the idea that Hollywood was stepping on their video game toes. But now they have very little say. The question is, will Barker want my involvement? If so, it will be fun. If not then I'll cash the check and take a nap." Surrender By Todd Farmer, www.wendago.com, 25 February 2005 Todd Farmer : "I'd heard a rumor that the Clive Barker deal had struck rough waters. Turns out that's all rumor. He's signed and work on Demonik is moving forward. Not sure where my involvement stands at this point. But with Barker it's in good hands. Any story concerns I may have had...he'll handle it. And has the power to do so. Way more than I ever had. I was the red headed step child who smelled funny. Man, did I do a ton of work on that project. I spoke with Boesky yesterday and we're gonna get me paid... "But there will be some changes at Tiger Hill. Johnny Woo has decided to drop the Tiger. I know why but I reckon it best I keep that tidbit to myself. Boesky's involved and if all goes as planned Brad and David will take the projects and move on. So, from talking to David, this is actually a good thing. Demonik will stay with Woo but Psychopath will go with Brad and David. That means Carpenter and I go with them." Never A Dull Moment By Todd Farmer, www.wendago.com, 12 April 2005 John Woo : [on the creation of Tiger Hill] “Interactive entertainment has quickly become a mainstay in the entertainment industry. With games being cinematic by nature, it only makes sense to bridge the gap between film maker and game developer to deliver the ultimate action/adventure gaming experience. The formation of Tiger Hill Entertainment and the company’s partnership with video game industry veteran SEGA will deliver that experience.” John Woo Establishes Interactive Entertainment Studio Tiger Hill Entertainment By [ ], 14-16 May 2003 tigerhillgames.com Majesco : "[Demonik will] be simultaneously developed as a film property. Barker is set to oversee the story, character designs, cinematics and voice talent for the game. Barker also has the option to write and direct the film." Clive Barker And John Woo Get Demonik By Tor Thorsen, Gamespot.com, 8 May 2005 Brad Foxhoven (Tiger Hill): "Clive is known for creating great and horrific villains. In the game, you get to play the villain, and in the movie, you will be terrified by him." Barker, Woo In 'Demonik' Endeavors By John Gaudiosi, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2005 Ken Gold (Majesco) : "Having the opportunity to bring in the renowned talents of Clive Barker will enhance every aspect of this game. His story lines, stylized characters and wildly imaginative and original ideas will breathe life, death and the human experience into the fantasy horror world of Demonik." Barker, Woo In 'Demonik' Endeavors By John Gaudiosi, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2005 Cris Velasco : "As a fan of [Clive's] I used to, and still do, go to his book signings. I'd get to meet him in person, say hi, and then go on my way until his next book came out. As I got more and more into music and composing I decided to tell him one time that it was my goal to eventually collaborate on a project together. He was very supportive and good humored about this and I'll always thank him for that. The next time I saw him in public I decided to give him my demo CD. I could barely contain my anxiety at having done this at the time. But his assistant emailed me days later to say that Clive enjoyed the music very much. This really gave me the confidence to push towards my goal of working with him. So I continued on with my writing, eventually got my composing career happening, and then approached him again a couple years ago now that I was armed with experience and some credits to my name. He was very open to the idea of working with me at that point and we were actually working on Demonik together until the game was cancelled. So now, probably 12 years from my first book signing, I heard about Jericho and gave Clive a call to ask him if he thought I'd be a good match for this project. Luckily for me he was very enthusiastic about it and personally requested that I be hired to score Jericho." Clive Barker's Jericho: Soundscapes From The Dark Beyond By Spence D, IGN, 17 September, 2007 (note - full text online at http://uk.music.ign.com/) Justin Calvert : "In Demonik you'll assume the role of a demonic named Volrath, who is summoned to earth by people who are desperately seeking revenge against those who have done them wrong. Your missions, then, will be to exact revenge on behalf of the person or persons who summoned you, by murdering whoever it was that wronged them. Although we saw plenty of gameplay where Volrath was walking around levels in demonic form, we understand that you'll spend much of your time controlling the bodies of characters that you've possessed. "It's not yet clear how you'll actually go about possessing characters that you encounter, but we were told that the most powerful characters to take control of will be those who are considered good rather than evil, as indicated by the brightness of the light that surrounds them when you're looking for a host. One of the most powerful characters you could potentially take control of, for example, would be a priest, whereas a criminal wouldn't be very strong at all. Different characters will have different abilities when you possess them, such as a security guard being armed with a pistol. The only characters that you won't be able to possess in Demonik are D-men, who we didn't get to see during our meeting, but who carry equipment that makes them immune to demon possession." E3 2005 Impressions: Demonik By Justin Calvert, www.gamespot.com, 19 May 2005 Hilary Goldstein : "Volwrath has immense power, which you'll need to grow and harness throughout the adventure. While lighting strikes and plague-infection powers come later in the game, the two key abilities are Volwrath's Devil Hand and possession ability. The Devil Hand looks a lot like Psi-Ops, where Volwrath can lift objects and enemies and toss them around like dolls. The 360 difference is that everything in the environment can be interacted with. Everything. At a chemical facility, Volwrath can pick up humans and toss them into acid vats and watch them bubble and vaporize. Throw crates, toss barrels. Consider it your innate gravity gun. "Possession allows Volwrath to enter human hosts and assume their identity. The longer Volwrath stays in a host, the more powerful he becomes as he slowly feeds on the host's lifeforce, but this also slowly turns the human form more and more demonic. Stay long enough and Volwrath will fully emerge from the host. You can leave a host at any time, which instantly places you in a first person "Redeemer" cam. As a spiritual entity, you can't go through solid objects and the further you get from your previous host, the weaker you become. "The applications of possession are pretty awesome. You can possess a security guard and start shooting your buddies then leap out and head into another area of the room to take over a scientist. As the scientist scurries away, the other guards start attacking their brother in arms, who has no idea why everyone is suddenly taking shots at him. Let chaos reign. Run into an enemy who can see your demonic form emerging from a host and you can leap right into the enemy as he sprays the first bullets at your former host. "Demonik features eight different powers (plus the devil hand). Each power can be upgraded three full levels and you can choose which powers to upgrade first. Powers can also be chained, so if you curse an enemy with the Plague, you can then use the Devil Hand to throw them into another group, infecting the whole lot." E3 2005: Demonik Preview By Hilary Goldstein, www.ign.com, 19 May 2005 "Wield over 25 deadly powers to maim, kill and wreak havoc, such as: Hellfire: Burn everything in sight and rain down fire from above, The Devil's Hand: Grab and manipulate objects or humans before throwing them where you see fit, Plague: Spread disease and leprosy amongst your targets. Body parts that fall off may contaminate others or even explode, Swarm: Command swarms of locusts, scarabs and other varied creepy-crawlies and set them against your target; often only bones will remain. Cheat death by possessing and taking control of any human character you encounter. 10 massive levels from around the globe featuring objects to throw, impale upon and wreak havoc with. Challenge your friends' mastery of their Demonik powers via Xbox Live death matches. Demonik models created by world-famous Marvel artist David Finch (X-men, Avengers)" Demonik at E3 By [ ], www.pcgameworld.com, 20 May 2005 David Chapman : "Apparently, vengeance is hard work in the world of Demonik. Volwrath faces off against a variety of opponents, both human and supernatural. Luckily, Volwrath has more than a few otherworldly tricks up his sleeve. They say possession is nine-tenths of the law. In Demonik, possession is nine-tenths of the game. Volwrath has the ability to jump from body to body at will, corrupting those he controls in the process. Volwrath also has access to a total of twenty five different demonic powers, allowing him to do everything from spreading a lethal plague to flash frying anyone in sight... "The game uses a dynamic multipass lighting system and a realistic physics engine that work well together to bring the world of Demonik to life. The developers at Terminal Reality said they're currently working on some framerate issues, but assured me that it's only a problem in the alpha build of the game. The controls seem pretty intuitive so far, and should be fairly easy to pick up and get right into. "Other key points highlighted during the presentation included details on the game's single-player and multiplayer capabilities. The game will include 10-12 single-player summoning missions, as well as a few missions in Volwrath's Underworld home. For the multiplayer side of things, gamers will be able to compete against each other in one-on-one demon combat, or in five-on-one human versus demon battles. It was also pointed out that the game is still in the early stages of development, and that more multiplayer options could be added prior to the game's release." Demonik (X360) - Alpha Preview By David Chapman, www.gamespy.com, 20 May 2005 John "JCal" Callaham : "In Majesco's quarterly financial conference call, company execs confirmed that they have indeed cancelled both Taxi Driver and Demonik. Both games were announced during last May's E3 but have now fallen victim to Majesco's financial problems and its switch to publishing handheld and value priced titles." Majesco Officially Cancels Taxi Driver And Demonik By John "JCal" Callaham, Gamecloud, 18 January 2006 (note - full text online at www.gamecloud.com) Jesse Sutton (President, Majesco) : "This has been a difficult year for Majesco. We entered the premium console market with high expectation for success, but as a result of a variety of factors we were not able to meet our expectations. Recently, we evaluated our product portfolio and have sold or cancelled most of our premium console titles that were scheduled for release in 2006 and beyond." Majesco Cans Two Games, Shifts To Budget/Handheld By Tom Bramwell, Eurogamer, 19 January 2006 (note - full text online at www.eurogamer.net) Hellraiser : Virtual Hell - The Game ...Doug Bradley shot his scenes on a day off from filming Hellraiser IV, the game was plotted and was to feature Pinball, a new cenobite that flung steel spheres (a la Phantasm?) at players, it was slated for an early 1996 release from Magnet Interactive Studios, and then... nothing. The prototype game opened with an image of a computer morphing into Pinhead who then opened his mouth and in you plunged. The Hell was red misted and sulphurous and, as well as being like Doom with a 360 degrees feature, the walls and corridors contained machines and beasts that could be manipulated by the gamer. If you were to journey on to The Hellbound Web (see our links page), you'd be able to see a few screenshots of how it would have looked - and even hear some sound samples..! "This could be fun. [Although] I don't like the way death is taken so casually in many of these games." Pinhead's Progress By Harold Goldberg, Entertainment Weekly, 1995 Doug Bradley : "I say things to the player like I'm delighted that they've fallen for a trap I've laid, or issue a warning not to get too carried away after they're slightly successful. I'd like to see the finished product so I could understand why I was doing a weird bit that at the time seemed so ridiculous." Pinhead's Progress By Harold Goldberg, Entertainment Weekly, 1995 Bill Schick (COO, Magnet Interactive Studios, Inc) : "We are confident that the Hellraiser project will become a benchmark product both in gameplay and visual quality. This interactive title will challenge, shock and entertain." Magnet Interactive Studios To Produce Interactive Hellraiser CD-ROM Adventure Game With Fifth Avenue Entertainment Press relaese, PR Newswire, 29 September 1994 Hellraiser - The Game ...A slightly earlier attempt to bring Pinhead to the small but interactive screen. Developed in the early 90's by a company called Color Dreams, it was shelved when games by other companies evolved faster and better around it... Ectosphere - The Game ...We never saw any screenshots or heard any real details about the plot of this one (although certain elements of The Scrye from the Undying game sound vaguely reminiscent of Dex's ability to see the dead world...). Anyone know anything more about it..? "It's going very well. The images will be amazing. The thing is it's still driven by certain parameters, gaming parameters. I'm not a player and I do not have much capacity for it which, sometimes, I think is, you know, a frailty. But what are you going to do? Imagine being in front of a screen playing a game? Forget it. So, my partner Malcolm and I (Malcolm's the gamer, I'm the picture-man) think it's wonderful to look at. It's going to be rich and ripe and baroque and I think that's going to be wonderful, but it's still, at the end, going to be a game." World Weaver By John M Farrell, Hot Press, No 13951, 1995, Malcolm Smith : "Clive's goal is to utilise these new technologies to give his fans a new experience, actually entering a Clive Barker world first-hand on a computer. Very cool stuff. One of [two projected CD-ROM games] is going to be based on Ectokid which is one of the four comics Clive has coming out, and one that really lends itself to becoming a game. It'll be called Ectosphere and will be about this kid named Dex, short for Ambidextrous, who sees the real world with his left eye, and the spirit world with his right eye and uses an eye-patch which he slides back and forth depending on which world he wants to deal with. What will be fun in the game is you'll be able to switch back and forth between the worlds at the touch of a button. The other game is the one we're doing with Trilobyte and I can't talk about that yet, but it's one Clive's creating solely as a game, and it's going to be very dark and very scary." The Harrowers By [Michael Brown], Dread, No 11, 1993 Marc McLaurin : "The Ectosphere video game from Virgin Games, designed by Clive himself, is destined to rock the status quo of state- of-the-art video games with amazing levels of play through both the here and the hereafter!" Ectokid By Marc McLaurin, Ectokid, Vol 1 No 9, May 1994 Other Games "We are a little early in the process to give you synopses [of video games in the works], but yes, I am very keen and excited to be taking a journey into these new realms. Any opportunity to introduce you out there to what's going on between my ears is fun!" AOL Appearance Transcript of on-line appearance, 1 September 1995 Jon Gregory : "In conjunction with [Candyman] Clive will be collaborating on a computer game for Sega, and will also be creating a completely original video game for them." The Candyman Cometh By Jon Gregory, Hellraiser, No.2, 1991 A Barker-Illustrated Comic Story ...Barker has never ventured himself into the area of illustrating a comic book or graphic novel, although he has of course allowed others to adapt his stories and has also done original storylines for the medium. It looks as though Taboo, Stephen R. Bissette's showcase of horror comic book work, was once planned to have seen a Barker contribution... Steve Bissette : [Re: Taboo] "Clive's been nothing but helpful. Originally, he was to write and draw a story, but his film commitments have delayed that, though hopefully that will still happen." Taboo: Beyond The Limits By Stanley Wiater, Fear, No 5, March - April 1989 Rawhead Rex - Graphic Novel ...Long before the 1993 Steve Niles/Les Edwards version which Eclipse eventually published, the original plan was for Stephen Bissette to be responsible for realising dear old Rawhead in graphic novel format. It was planned for release from Arcane Comix in 1990 and Bissette was so keen on the idea that he was known to sketch the beast for pleasure at comic conventions in late 1989 as shown above... "Steve Bisette is adapting my short story Rawhead Rex - a very, very, very, very unexpurgated version. Steve's imagination is the equal of that." Clive Barker Comes To Comics By [ ], Comic Buyer's Guide, 19 May 1989 "It was always part of the deal that Steve Bissette would end up doing the artwork for Rawhead Rex because he's just about as visceral as anybody when it comes to comic strip painting - he's the perfect man. It's going to be a big adaptation - over sixty pages when it's finished - and it is going to be spread over several issues of Taboo." Straight for the Jugular (Part 1) By Brigid Cherry, Fear, No 12, December 1989 Arcane advert : "What more can be said?! Two of horror's greatest artists teamed up to create the biggest, most graphic, illustrated story to ever appear in comics. "Horror the way horror is meant to be! Terrifying, graphic. No Holds Barred! "50 pages of sheer black and white terror. "Due out next year." Clive Barker's Rawhead Rex Text of Arcane Inc advert published late 1989 Steve Bissette : "I was approached by two comic book publishers and asked if I wanted to adapt a Clive Barker story. But there's really one story of his that I would love to draw and that's Rawhead Rex. Well, Steve Niles at Arcane Comics went out and obtained the comic book rights. It'll probably be out late next year or early 1990." Taboo: Beyond The Limits By Stanley Wiater, Fear, No 5, March - April 1989 Steve Bissette : "I told [Steve] Niles that there's one Barker story I live to draw: Rawhead Rex. It's the best monster story written in our generation. "I design my creatures from the inside out. Right now, I'm working on the physiology of Rawhead's mouth. In the story, his teeth retract into the gums, except when he wants to bite, at which point these tyrannosaurauslike teeth come sliding out of his gums. Once I figure out how his mouth works, I'll structure the head and face around that. " More Barker, More Blood By Dennis Daniel, Fangoria, No 82, May 1989 The Yattering And Jack - Graphic Novel ...On the heels of the Rawhead Rex graphic novel above, Arcane were due to release a John Bolton adaptation of The Yattering and Jack in the Autumn of 1990. Well, you say, that's no loss - there is a John Bolton graphic novel of Yattering... That's true of course but, according to their promotional material, Arcane's version was adapted by Eric Saltzgaber (not Steve Niles) and was to be a 50 page black and white adaptation not the full colour one which emerged from Eclipse in 1991... Other Books Of Blood As Graphic Novels ...In amongst the 1992 lineup from Eclipse of The Life of Death, Dread and Rawhead Rex that did appear, and alongside Age of Desire (above), Sex, Death and Starshine by Lionel Talkaro and Fred Burke and In The Flesh by Les Edwards and Fred Burke were also promised... The Great And Secret Show - Graphic Novel ...Eclipse had plans to produce 'Volume One: The League of Virgins' as a graphic novel around the time that Everville was published. Using the combined talents of Fred Burke and Hector Gomez, they planned to play on the grand scale conflict between the forces of light (Fletcher) and those of darkness (Jaffe). See some of the original Gomez artwork here... Hector Gomez : "Another great unpublished work, was The Great and Secret Show, also from Clive Barker. The publisher that was doing this project went bankrupt." Hector Gomez By [David Campiti], Glass House Graphics, [undated] (note - full text online at www.glasshousegraphics.com) The Plays As Graphic Novels ...Sadly, Arcane also failed to deliver a promised adaptation of Roscoe Rabbit's adventures from The Secret Life Of Cartoons. This one is especially missed since, barring a couple of very short sequences, the text of the play has yet to be issued in any form whatsoever. Frankenstein In Love and The History Of The Devil were also being prepared by Arcane in 1989... "At the very same time that The Secret Life of Cartoons opened in London's West End, to almost universal condemnation, I was in the midst of shooting Hellraiser. A study in contrasts. After two abortive experiences in the cinema, (Underworld and Rawhead Rex) which had ended up resembling scarcely at all the projects I had first set on paper, here I was again - this time in the theatre - seeing work I had enjoyed writing, and which had been successful in another incarnation (as fringe and provincial shows) appearing in a form I barely recognised... "So, by day Hellraiser: hammer murders, lovers raised from the dead, sado-masochists from another dimension. By night, Cartoons: tap-dancing ducks, a transvestite pacifist rabbit, Technicolor anarchy. And travelling between them the conviction growing that I should never, repeat never, let work I loved, or even liked, out of my control. It's an oath easier in the making than the keeping. Since then I've sold a story to Warner Brothers, and a whole number (including Cartoons) to comic book companies for adaptation into that form... You have to let go sometimes. But boy, it's hard." Footnote To Cartoons By Clive Barker, Shadows In Eden, 1991 "I've been talking about doing editions [of the plays] for years now but there will be editions of those real soon. Steve Niles from Eclipse/Arcane is presently organising comic book editions of several of them. John Bolton, who did In The Hills, The Cities for Tapping The Vein, is doing Frankenstein In Love and that's going to be sensational!" Sex, Death, Monsters And Feminism II : The Sequel By Jeff Holland, Coenobium No 3, 1990 "It was a genuine passion on my part to see [the plays] on the page." Straight for the Jugular (Part 1) By Brigid Cherry, Fear, No 12, December 1989 "My play The Secret Life Of Cartoons is being done by [Stan] Steffan." Clive Barker Comes To Comics By [ ], Comic Buyer's Guide, 19 May 1989 The Razorline Comics ..."The Decamundi," was, promised Barker in 1993, "a series of ten new worlds where dozens of characters who have never before existed outside my fevered imagination are ready to erupt." Well, we got as far as glimpsing the four worlds of Ectokid, Hokum & Hex, Saint Sinner and the Hyperkind - but what of the other six worlds that fell foul of poor distribution of the initial Razorline comics..? "Come Spring, we will have another three or four titles to add to the line, and then the following Autumn we'll have another four titles to add to the line. It will be stuff which will have the flavour of a Marvel comic - lots of action and lots of spectacle, but I hope it will also have touches of Clive Barker's strangeness." Clive Barker Gives His Fans Something Else To Marvel At: Comics By John Douglas, Grand Rapids Press: Entertainment, 8 August 1993 "The literal translation of 'Decamundi' is ten worlds. By worlds we actually mean realities, ten dimensions if you like. I would not discount the possibility of there being twenty or thirty books. "Certainly, we're not going through the worlds and saying, 'Here's a book for this world, and a book for that world.' What we're trying to do is create an overview which will allow us the maximum creative flow bwtween realities, and what I think we'll see as time goes by is a whole, I don't want to say 'map', but it is almost a map; a three-dimensional map, which will describe the complexities of this world. "We have another three [books planned] for spring, and then another four for autumn of next year [1994]. We have some titles, but I think I'm supposed to keep them under wraps, so I'd better keep them that way for now, although I can say that they are superhero books and that they're consistent in their range of tone with what we will have initiated in the first four books. The other thing is that the Marvel method is to spin off titles from titles that exist, so I don't discount at all the possibility that once we discover what readers like and dislike, we might actually spin off characters from books that are already in existence." Talking Comics With Clive Barker By Steve Thomas, Comics Values Monthly, No 85, September 1993 Marc McLaurin : "There's big doings in the works as of now with the Razorline. By now you may've heard about the new titles coming out this year under this imprint and from the mind of Clive Barker; titles like Mode Extreme and Wraitheart, the latter of which is to be scripted by Hokum & Hex's own Frank Lovece!... So here's what you can expect in the months ahead: "A dramatic new villain invading the Razorline Universe, whose threats will affect every title in the line! "New groups of heroes, springing up from Clive's most secret and imaginative mythologies! "The dramatic return of heroes and villains from the earlier forgotten age of heroes in the Barkerverse! "And the death and destruction of some of the major characters you've seen so far! "Don't miss it. You've been alerted - now make sure you're not too late!" The Lines, They Are A'Changin' By Marc McLaurin, Hokum & Hex, Vol 1 No 7, March 1994 Robert Getz : "Launched with high hopes and ambitious plans in 1993, the 'Barkerverse' and its 'Razorline' titles ceased to exist after the appearance of Hokum & Hex No.9 (Saint Sinner had concluded two issues short of that with issue No.7). Although a final attempt to reignite interest in the titles would bring forth two one-shot specials (Hyperkind Unleashed! and Ectokid Unleashed!), the Barkerverse had, ironically, taken down its shingle on the eve of what its creators had hoped would be a major expansion of the imaginative line. Hyperkind No.10, had it appeared as planned, would have marked the beginning of an ambitious crossover storyline, entitled 'The Tarot Conspiracy', that would have involved all four titles and whose plotlines would have spun off three additional books during the course of its appearance! In May of 1994, Hyperkind writer Fred Burke (Clive Barker - Illustrator, and the forthcoming Mythonaut) sent out a mailing to fans of the Razorline announcing the upcoming Hyperkind Unleashed! and, as a small thank you, enclosing the outline for the cancelled Hyperkind No.10. The details that follow, then, are courtesy of Mr. Burke: 'As this issue opens, we see the United Nations building burst into flames. We quickly cut to the office of Decamundi arch-villain Paragon John, as an alien Emissary places the tarot card 'The Tower' on John's desk. It looks uncannily like the carnage we've just witnessed at the U.N. 'We are made to understand that the Emissary wields a sort of 'tarot gun' which can force hyperkind to assume the archetypal imagery of the Tarot deck. Additionally, this mysterious Emissary is in the employ of a rogue Neurath, an alien force that has its mind set on conquering Earth.' Burke writes, 'The Tarot is an iconic system, revealing the entire subconscious of the dominant biological evolution on Earth: humankind. These were painted, moreover, by a hyperkind, one progressing to the next stage of evolution, so these particular cards have a clarity that others might not. The Neurath wishes to subvert and control the bio-energy of the higher consciousness of Earth, and thus consume and become our world.' By forcing hyperkind to assume the imagery of the Tarot deck, the Neurath will be able to control the Earth 'like a puppeteer'. 'The Neurath's Emissary strikes a deal with John: he's to use his media empire to help ease the transition, in return for which the Neurath will eradicate his hated nemeses, the Hyperkind. In the pages that follow, the Emissary makes good on his promise. Forewarned by Ecka that danger is coming, and that using their Quo powers will only help their enemy defeat them, the Hyperkind try to avoid using their keys. After unsuccessfully attempting to turn Ambertrance Fasia into the 'High Priestess' icon, and Kenny and Lisa into the 'Lovers' card, the Emissary manages to trap Amokk and Armata in the pose of the 'Strength' card. Ecka gives chase as the trio disappear through a Tarot Gate. 'Returning to Paragon John's, we learn that he has handed over the reins of the Neurath's disinformation campaign to Blake Murchison-Smith (from Saint Sinner). The Emissary appears and captures John in the 'Emperor' card. Meanwhile, Logix, searching desperately for help, travels through a phone line in search of Trip Munroe. He's too late. Trip has already made a deal: his sense of humor in exchange for safe passage to the Neobys where he can search for Godkin Straith. 'Logix follows Trip into what seems a very uncertain future. As the story ends, Bliss toys with what we can now see is a Saint Sinner medallion. "No one to turn to...", she whispers as she begins to pray to him. The stage is now set for a showdown unlike anything the Decamundi has yet witnessed.' A catalog that Marvel Comics sent out to retailers reveals what the next step was to be. Concurrent with the playing out of this story, three new Razorline titles were scheduled to debut. April 1994 was to see the appearance of the first issue of Wraitheart, a book set in Las Vegas that was to be written by Frank Lovece (Hokum & Hex). While standing at the altar waiting to be married, Chad Womack hears a voice whisper the word, 'Wraitheart'. The wedding's off, and soon a new hero is trying to clean up this gambler's paradise. Chad is "the last in a long line of shamanistic warriors of the night, dedicated to guarding the gateways between dimensions" (a description that eerily presages the plot of the recent comic mini-series 'Nevada', by Steve Gerber). Self-styled king of Vegas J.R. Ebert has his own reasons for wanting to stop Chad, while jilted girlfriend Wanda Luckett tries to reclaim the man she loves. Schizm was scheduled to begin the following month. In this book, to have been written by Fred Burke (Hyperkind), we meet the maniacal ruler of the Tokoetic Empire (which would include the Horusians, Anubisti, and Quo that we've met in the pages of Hyperkind), Summa Summamentis. (There's some small confusion about the first name: the Marvel catalog refers to him as "Sauriz", while the Burke outline calls him "Summa". Interestingly, "Summa Summamentis" is referenced in Everville!) Summa's relentless persecution of his son Sulfa has caused his identity to fragment into multiple personalities. Sulfa flees to Earth, taking refuge in the form of four babies who will have no inkling of their true origins. Years pass. Plagued by strange dreams, one of them creates a device that communicates to other worlds and summons her brothers and sister. It also, unfortunately, alerts Summa to their location. 'Schizm' are Madison Offenbach, shape-changer; Lisa Quinnel, super-mind; Marsha Hwqang, an empathic; and Stanley Flee, who boasts the strength of infantile will (shades of Bull Baby from Saint Sinner!). They face an impossible decision: to remain divided and stay on Earth as a super-powered quartet, or become Sulfa once more and travel the stars. Either way, they know Summa will stop at nothing to get them back. Finally, June would have seen the release of Mode Extreme (a title which was first considered as the collective name for the Barkerverse books before Razorline won out). To have been written by Sarah Byam, Mode Extreme was to introduce two Washington, D.C. gangs, the white Zeals and the black Quids, as they are about to go to war. It soon becomes clear that this gang war has been artificially created by a being called The Sickle, who has stoked the fires of confrontation merely to entertain his Neurath masters. When the Zeals' Jose Tamayo, known as "Gospel", finds out the truth, he tries to prevent the slaughter to come. It's already begun, though, and soon the only ones left standing are Gospel and gang leaders Chariot and Raveman. Gospel convinces them of the truth and the three team up to defeat The Sickle. During this battle, an inter-dimensional wall is opened through which Chariot and Raveman fall, only to emerge transformed: "Black limbs are mismatched with white ones, guns have melded into fingers, and knives prick their hearts, which are visible in the high-tech furnaces of their chests." With Gospel, they form Mode Extreme. If they're ever to be whole again, they must protect each other's flesh, while battling mobsters, pushers, and corrupt politicians. The same catalog that describes these unrealized books also provides some tantalizing glimpses of what might have been. Ectokid would have met James Dean and Janis Joplin; Saint Sinner would have fallen in love with one of the Hyperkind; and the loss of his sense of humor would have made the now terribly serious Trip Munroe unintentionally funnier! Additionally, there were hints in an Egyptian storyline that appeared in The Harrowers and that mentioned the Quo, that the Barkerverse and the Hellraiser universe would have managed to crossover, thereby bringing this collection of comics-only characters into the already established world of Clive Barker's fiction. Unfortunately, The Harrowers met the same fate as the Razorline. The writers and artists who brought the worlds of the Decamundi to life, some of whom were just beginning their careers, have met with varying degrees of success since the line's demise. Anthony Williams and Andy Lanning (Hokum & Hex) would go on to illustrate "Fate" (whose title character resembled Trip Munroe on steroids) and its spin-off book "Scare Tactics" for D.C. James Robinson (Ectokid), who's had no kind words for his Razorline experience, went on to create an offbeat and revamped "Starman" for D.C. and continues to write comics and screenplays. Most notably, Larry Wachowski (Ectokid) enjoyed terrific success with his brother Andy when the two wrote and directed "The Matrix". It's tempting to see Dex Mungo's jumps into the Ectosphere as an early inspiration for the hierarchy of realities in their hit film, but I suspect they owe more to Philip K. Dick than Clive Barker. Trivia buffs can also find Ectokid artist Steve Skroce's name among the film's art credits." Beyond The Razorline By Robert W. Getz, Written for the Revelations site, October 1999 Hector Gomez : "My best work was at the same time, a defeat, because it was never published due to some internal problems at Marvel. It was Wraitheart, a hero created by Clive Barker, sensational." Hector Gomez By [David Campiti], Glass House Graphics, [undated] (note - full text online at www.glasshousegraphics.com) Mythonaut - by Fred Burke ...'A Traveller's Guide to the Worlds of Clive Barker' by the author of the Illustrator volumes, this was set to be an encyclopaedic book incorporating entries on concepts and themes in Barker's work as well as being an index of characters, places and all other manner of minutiae - a huge undertaking. The content promised much and looked set to provide some fascinating insights as there appeared to be no small amount of co-operation from Barker on this project - we eagerly awaited the final product which was originally set for late 1998 publication by HarperCollins, but were sadly disappointed as the volume never appeared... "He seems to be shaping up his encyclopedia. I think he would tell you that this has turned out to be a much larger project than he anticipated. He has great ambition for this book, which is wonderful. I think he's attempting to make it as thorough and as authoritative as possible. My files are at his disposal and we are also trying to break into the inner sanctums at MGM and at Fox to get stills from the movies which maybe nobody has seen before. He wanted to find visual material which is preferably unique. There a lot of large novels here and I keep writing them, with big ideas and philosophies. I think it great that he wants to underline those philosophical ideas in those books. We don't want this to be just a list of names and places. We want it to be conceptually driven, about what the concepts are that underline my books. He's on to it and he's working like crazy." Confessions By [Stephen Dressler and Cheryl Bentzen], Lost Souls, Issue 10, June 1998 Fred Burke : "I've covered the basics, but now I want to know what themes in Barker's work you wish to see taken on in Mythonaut. Some examples? Deity. Transformation. Grief. Sexuality. I'm looking for the basic things that resonate with Lost Souls members." Mythonaut An advert repeating a call for help issued by Fred Burke at DragonCon, Atlanta 1997, Lost Souls, No 9, November 1997 Pandemonium 2 ...Michael Brown's excellent book about Barker (see link to Pandemonium page) was planned to be just the first in an ongoing series. What happened is a mystery, although Eclipse's fall might have had a hand in the process... Michael Brown : "Clive has released Frankenstein in Love, one of his many original plays, for publication in the next issue of Pandemonium, published by Eclipse Enterprises. The first issue contained Barker's apocalyptic tale entitled The History of the Devil. If you enjoyed The History of the Devil, you won't want to miss Frankenstein in Love." The Dreaded News By Michael Brown, Dread, No 4, 1992 Diane Keating : "This book will pick up where Pandemonium I left off, exploring productions such as Hell On Earth, Candyman and Nightbreed. There will also be featured a never-before-published play called Colossus, as well as the usual round of sketchbook art and illustrations of his fiction work." News: Pandemonium II - The Dark Visions Of Clive Barker By Diane Keating, Coenobium, No 10, Summer 1993 Virtual Meltdown ...Japanese Manga-style film with Barker's vocal talents due to be on show. Clive was set to play the evil 'K' - who does battle with our heroine, Morgan, for the souls of the passengers of her spaceship, the 'Argentine', which she lost in the middle of a hyperspace hurricane. 'K' manifests himself as her psychiatrist, Dr Kalashnikov, and her counsellor, Dr Kaydick, to play on her repressed fears and guilt, but Morgan triumphs over 'K' to gain free access to the heavens for all mankind... "Silence on that front. Good question. They are finding funding is all I know. They'll come and tap me on the shoulder when they are ready to go if and when they find their funding." Confessions By [Stephen Dressler and Cheryl Bentzen], Lost Souls, Issue 10, June 1998 Randy Lofficier : "We wanted to have some exciting choices as well for the actors who voiced the characters of Virtual Meltdown. To that end we asked renowned horror writer-director Clive Barker to lend his voice to K. Clive really knows how to use his voice to advantage when he reads his own works, and we are excited at the prospect of having him involved in this project." Virtual Meltdown Press Release By [ ? , 1997?] Click here for Other Stuff Still To Come ...And Still To Come Index | Home page This page has been created for information and entertainment purposes only. All quotes remain the copyright of the original owners.