Other Media Projects - Cooler...

Clive Barker Documentary

...Working in tandem with Clive's production company, Seraphim, Thommy Hutson worked on a promising documentary exploring Clive's creative life, which he first hinted at in June 2014. Sadly, no hint of it for some time now...

Thommy Hutson : "I'm excited to be working on a documentary about Clive Barker. I'm partnering up with Clive's company to produce, direct and write. It's exciting because it's not going to be like all the other documentaries in a sense that it's a movie by movie, scene by scene breakdown of how they made it. This is going to be more about Clive Barker as a person, Clive Barker as a creator, Clive Barker as an artist and just really looking at how someone of his artistic caliber and creativity functions and brings things into the world. Why we love those things so much and why the things that he's created have clearly become iconic. That's going to be a really fun project to work on."

Filmmaker Thommy Hutson of The Id, Crystal Lake Memories

By Melissa Ann, Horror Geek Life, 22 November 2016

Thommy Hutson : "I am excited that I'll be putting together a documentary on Clive Barker, which will focus on him as a creator of so many wildly creative and memorable things, with the amazing team at his company, Seraphim Films. It's going to be different in approach than any other doc project I have done and that is really exciting."

Thommy Hutson Talks Freeing The Id

By Staci Lane Wilson, Dread Central, 14 November 2016

Thommy Hutson : [On a possible Clive Barker project] "That might be true. It might also not be. A boy has to keep some secrets until the time is perfect."

Oh, The Horror: Behind the Nightmare on Elm Street Documentary

By Devan Sagliani, Escapist Magazine, 9 February 2015

Thommy Hutson : "Without delving too deep, Catherine and I are working on something with Clive Barker and his company Seraphim Films, which is really exciting."

'Animal' Writer-producer Thommy Hutson Talks About His Creature Feature

By Clark Collis, Entertainment Weekly, 19 June 2014

Raising Hell: The Visions Of Clive Barker

...Inspired by an interview with Clive which he filmed in April 2009 for the Dream The Impossible commercial project, Joe Berlinger embarked on the creation of this documentary and has been accumulating material in recent months. With plans to capture further material at a convention in March 2010, Berlinger's project has continued to progress and a trailer is now being presented on his site.
Joe Berlinger - set-up for filming Clive at home, April 2009

Unearthed: The Hellraiser Saga

...Clive is contributing to this comprehensive documentary project on the Hellraiser series. First news of this broke in February 2010, followed the next month with news of Clive's involvement, including sharing the creative process of designing a brand new cenobite. Stefan Hutchinson is directing with our good friend Ryan Rotten on writing duties and shooting apparently got underway the following April. No news since then, save a cryptic tweet from Ryan in July 2012...

Ryan Rotten : "Camelot Entertainment Group and MasiMedia are in production on Unearthed: The Hellraiser Saga - an exhaustive documentary on the Clive Barker-created franchise that thrives across various mediums.
"Stefan Hutchinson is directing and I'm writing this beast of a project that will run about 90 minutes but will contain hours and hours of bonus features that delve into the Hellraiser films, comics and more.
"Today, we're happy to announce that Clive Barker is involved in the project and creating a new Cenobite for the documentary. Being Barker's first Cenobite in over a two decades to make it on film, this retrospective will include the complete transformation of a Cenobite from conception to form."

Barker Creating Cenobite for Hellraiser Documentary

By Ryan Rotten, Shock Till You Drop, 16 March 2010

Anthony Masi (Producer) : "This retrospective will be different than the ones we have done for other horror franchises, because the creator, Clive, will be imbuing the project with original and exclusive artwork that will help tell our story. This is something everyone is excited about. Clive's work in the horror genre shares a unique vision that has many complex layers."

Barker Creating Cenobite for Hellraiser Documentary

By Ryan Rotten, Shock Till You Drop, 16 March 2010

Stefan Hutchinson (Director) : "When I was originally thinking about how to approach the material, I came up with the idea of doing it almost as a narrative - as a character explores the universe, we do so with him and find out at the same time as he does. I wanted the character to follow the path of Doctor Channard in the second film - somebody who becomes a Cenobite. At this time, I was simply going to sketch out a new design myself, because I really didn't think we'd get that level of involvement from Clive. Anyhow, Ryan approached him about doing it and he was all for it, which is kinda amazing!"

First Word on 'Unearthed: The Hellraiser Saga'

By Robg, FEARnet, 29 April 2010

The NECA Toys Hellraiser Series

...Having now created three series of 7" Cenobite/Hellraiser character models, together with a growing number of deluxe and variant models (see NECA Models ), the anticipation has been growing for that possible Fourth Series. However, These plans were delayed, temporarily, to make way for a unique collaboration between NECA and Clive Barker - the Hellraiser Cenobite Lair.
Despite reports to the contrary from the New York Fall 2005 Toy Fair, NECA have stated (see below) that they have neither announced nor confirmed a fourth Hellraiser series. What is clear, however, is that a Boxed Set Engineer is currently slated for release in 2006. Figures.com report from the recent 2006 Toy Fair that the set will potentially include a Kirsty figure and may incorporate her hospital room and hallway to connect to their Cenobite Lair...
What is perhaps more exciting is the news that NECA are also celebrating Clive's publication of the ultimate Pinhead story in 2007 by turning their attention to the cenobites of The Scarlet Gospels, with Barker writing back-stories for each figure, as he did for McFarlane's Tortured Souls and Infernal Parade series...
The success of the Chatterer III bust has also led to the development of a lifesize Pinhead bust - originally planned for a possible 2005 release.
Latest news is of a Pinhead figure as part of NECA's limited edition Cult Classics Hall of Fame - in development now for release in 2007 (see below...)
Not content simply with models, NECA's licence includes every kind of merchandise imaginable - from lunchboxes to prop replicas - together with their 'Head Lites' and 'Head Knocker' series. Look out for lines of Hellraiser clothing...
NECA have a dedicated Hellraiser site featuring upcoming products and pre-production images at www.hellraiserthemovie.com but head over to www.necaonline.com for an early look at forthcoming products...

"The Scarlet Gospels stuff won't come until I deliver Scarlet Gospels, but they wanted to do one last definitive Hellraiser 'Clive Barker-verified' scene so that you'd have all four of the Cenobites in the scene at the top of the Cottons' house and they've done a really nice job with it so I agreed to be part of that. It irritated me a little that all that stuff was getting done - and getting done very nicely, I thought the NECA stuff was very lovely - and that I couldn't be a part of it. And I guess it was just miscommunication because as soon as I spoke to Randy over at NECA I immediately liked him and we got on famously! I have a few of them to sign for the limited editions and so forth, but yes, that's definitely happening."

The Lazarus Muse: Nights Of Magic, Days Of Gore

By Phil and Sarah Stokes, 2 June 2005 (note: full text here)

Randy Falk : "We have a new exclusive figure planned for later this year - hopefully around Halloween. Like Chatterer II this figure will be offered at the various conventions we attend and through the Hellraiser Collector's Club. We will also make every effort to make them available to collectors outside the US through other means."

Answers

By Randy Falk, posted at Movie Maniacs Asylum, 23 March 2004 (note - full text online at www.mm-asylum.net)

Randy Falk : "We announced this line at Toy Fair and now we are ready to reveal more. NECA's Horror Mini Busts will start shipping around June of this year. Expect to see all of your horror genre favorites with a new Mini Bust introduced every 4-6 weeks. Each Mini Bust is made of resin and features insane amounts of detail along with bases that are specific to each character.
"Yes - Pinhead will have real metal pins in his head - over 100 of them! And real metal chains with his base!!"

NECA Horror Mini Busts

By Randy Falk, posted at Movie Maniacs Asylum, 7 April 2004 (note - full text online at www.mm-asylum.net)

Randy Falk : "Pinhead Mini Bust: Expect to find this limited edition resin mini bust in stores later this November. A brand new sculpt featuring the combined talents of Ray Santoleri and Kyle Windrix bring the Prince of Pain to life."

[Hellraiser] Pre-Halloween Treats!

By Randy Falk, e-mail newsletter, 29 October 2004

Randy Falk : "We have been working on the functioning lament for over a year - very tricky to pull off. They use five different versions in filming since it is so problematic... We are still working on it and we have more Hellraiser goodness coming so it will happen but not until it is perfect."

Chat Transcript: Randy Falk of NECA

By Johnny Butane, Dread Central, 4 November 2004 (note - full text online at www.horrorchannel.com)

Russ (Movie Maniacs) : "As for Series 4, you may be waiting a while. While Randy definitely does not discount the possibility of Series 4, they are working pretty Hardcore on Cult Classics right now as you've seen from everything at Toy Fair, and as was alleged in the article, they have some things under development from Barker's new Hellraiser Novel."

Where Is Hellraiser, Series 4?/ Hellraiser Playset From NECA!

By Russ, posted at Movie Maniacs Asylum, 25 April 2005 (note - full text online at www.moviemaniacs.net)

Randy Falk : [Re. Report of Engineer in Hellraiser Series Four] "We have not announced or confirmed a Series 4 at this time. We have confirmed we are working on an Engineer Boxed Set for release sometime in 2006. The Engineer would be a separate stand alone item - not part of a series."

Hellraiser Series Four

By Randy Falk, by e-mail to Revelations, 14 November 2005

Randy Falk : "I wanted to give you the news first that later this Fall NECA will release a limited edition Cult Classics Series entitled Hall of Fame. This collection will be produced in limited quantities and is comprised of characters that were previously only available in deluxe boxed sets or in some cases we have sculpted new pieces to make some of the figures different from versions previously released...
"The new version of Pinhead features the original Pinhead figure body from Series I with new chest deco and the weapons from Hellbound Pinhead. Pinhead comes with an interchangeable head that features his Elliot Spencer likeness from the end of Hellraiser II and a brand new custom display base that can be connected to the Clive Barker's Hellraiser Cenobite Lair Playset. This is the first time Pinhead has been part of the Cult Classics line."

Cult Classics Hall Of Fame

By Randy Falk, NECA MySpace.com, 22 June 2006 (note - full text online at www.myspace.com/necafans)

Pinhead Mini Bust

IDW Projects - Dark Delicacies

...Steve Niles - Clive's long-time collaborator from the days of Arcane and Eclipse and, of course, the creator of the awesome 30 Days of Night among other treasures - has announced he's hoping to adapt Haeckel's Tale for a new comics anthology drawn from the two volumes of Dark Delicacies stories edited by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb.

Steve Niles : "I had been invited to write stories for the first two Dark Delicacies anthologies. And at the same time I'm looking at what people are doing in horror comics, and every time anyone does an anthology there, it's a nod to EC. So I talked to Del Howison, and I'm saying, 'Look, you're editing this book where you've got Stephen King, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, David Schow, you've got all the hard core horror writers. Why don't you do a version of what you're doing in the books in comics? I'll help you out. I know what I'm doing with artists and getting it to IDW.'
"So I guess I'm really 'producing' the comics. Really what I'm trying to do here is help Del, and just get a solid horror anthology out there that's on the level of the books....
"I'll be adapting, hopefully, Clive Barker's and at least one per issue."

Steve Niles' Supernatural Summer

By Kiel Phegley, Comic Book Resources, 29 July 2008 (full text at www.comicbookresources.com)

IDW Projects - Torakator

Clive Barker - The Great And Secret Show - early cover art (Trinity), Gabriel Rodriguez 2005
...Eclipse had plans to produce The Great And Secret Show as a graphic novel around the time that Everville was published (see Other Stuff That Got Away...) but IDW eventually picked this up together with new, and perhaps original comic titles from Barker, in the wake of their successful Thief of Always partnership.
IDW's Chris Ryall has announced that he also has firm plans to adapt Everville and The Damnation Game as well as, 'many of [Clive's] upcoming projects, from movies [Clive]'s developing and financing himself to The Scarlet Gospels, his final Pinhead tale, to some of his back catalog as well.'
The IDW site has a wealth of content that's well worth checking out.
See our pages on IDW's Thief of Always and Great and Secret Show adaptations here...
December 2007 sees Chris Ryall announce (see below) the next project to hit the blocks - Torakator. Co-written by Clive and Chris, this is an original title which the pair have been considering since the success of The Great And Secret Show graphic novel series.

"I'm hoping we all get to work on The Great and Secret Show and Everville. I'd love Sacrament as a comic project. I mean, you know how much I love comics. They've always been a part of my life. I'm sitting here in my library surrounded by books and comics! And painting and image-making has always been a part of my life, so it's definitely something I want to be doing with you guys again, as soon as possible."

An Interview With Clive Barker

By [ ], The Thief Of Always graphic novel, Book 3, May 2005

"I am delighted to be working with IDW, adapting some of my works could be a massive undertaking which I know IDW will meet head on. One I am most looking forward to is a planned adaptation of The Great and Secret Show, a very visual novel of violence, sex and intimations of Apocalypse. I can't wait to see the result, and no one is better suited to deliver then IDW."

Press Release

By [ ], IDW Publishing, 5 July 2005

"I had always wanted to do the Great and Secret Show mythology-the 'Quiddity' mythology, if you will-with Eclipse Comics way back when. They had done some beautiful adaptations of the Books of Blood, and they actually started on an adaptation of The Great and Secret Show years ago when they went under... But the story is a very visual story, and lends itself not only to obviously being depicted visually, but, and this is aimed in your particular direction, to expand the mythology beyond The Great and Secret Show and Everville, and the third book to come, into other areas. I think the idea of the Dream-Sea is something that could be explored further. I have always wanted to explore this world in comics, and see an artist as we have use beautifully presenting the imagery to show this world and perhaps use it as a jumping-off place for further exploration.
"I'm not one of those people-you know I'm not one of those people who sort of has an, 'oh, comics are beneath me' attitude-you know, tomorrow's Wednesday, and that's new comics day. I take real pleasure in the medium. I'm a 53-year-old guy, but last night, I had a choice between taking a big, solid handful of backissues to read or a novel, and I said 'fuck it, I'm gonna read comics.' Now, I wonder how many 53-year-olds still grab a handful of comics to read at night. I bet you it's more than we think."

Talking Comics With Clive Barker

By Chris Ryall, Newsarama, 3 February 2006 (note: full text online at www.newsarama.com)

"I'm doing another collective project with IDW because I really liked what they did with The Great And Secret Show. I think they did a great job on a very difficult project...
"Yeah - [it's an original project] I can't talk about it right now - well, just because the contract isn't signed, and I'm always a little superstitious... Chris and I are going to do something - I gave him an idea which addresses the life of the story. People never talk about the politics of it as opposed to the, well... let's just leave it that way. But I feel, strongly feel, the urge to address the political issue of why are we telling this story..."

Hellfire And The Demonation

By Phil and Sarah Stokes, 7 September 2007 (note - full text here)

"I have gone to [IDW] with a proposal for a 12-issue, completely original story which I have now titled and I just wanted you to have the title and the announcement rights of the project. It's called Torakator. What and where and how Torakator is, is secret right now...
"This is interesting actually... I, in a way, pitched this to Chris [Ryall]: he wanted to adapt something else and he came up to the house, he lives in San Diego and he came up to the house to talk about what we would next do. I said, well, before we get into sort of other novels, can I pitch something? So I laid it out for him, a half-hour pitch maybe and his first question when we were done was, 'Why?' and I said, what do you mean, 'Why?' He asked why I would give him a new story that could be a book or a movie. And I said the future of comic books depends on having unique work, I said I love this idea and I very much want it to become a work of art and I have great faith in both Chris and Gabriel. The trouble, the detail that Gabriel put into the creation of Quiddity and all the various pieces of The Great and Secret Show are extraordinary and I thought, you know, you guys deserve an idea I'm really passionate about, I said, and we're going to start off with something you'll love and not just be warming up something. And so that was my answer to 'Why?'"

Pivotal Voices: Was, Is And Will Be

By Phil and Sarah Stokes, 11 April 2008 (note - full text here)

Chris Ryall (IDW) : "The chance to work with a true talent like Clive and bring new life to his existing works, as well as to offer comic extensions of his upcoming movies and some new, original projects besides is definitely a highlight of my tenure at IDW."

Press Release

By [ ], IDW Publishing, 5 July 2005

Chris Ryall (IDW) : "The artist I wanted [for Great and Secret Show] is a guy named Gabriel Rodriguez... "I started to lay out the samples for Clive. Gabe's was first, which, I suppose, was me stacking the deck just slightly... I started to reach for the next sample when Clive said, 'This is our guy. I want him, and only him.' I tried to hide my smile. He agreed it'd be fair to look at all the other samples, just to see if he passed someone better. He liked what others had to offer, and thought some might be good for future projects (in the middle of '06 will be Damnation Game, and I've already got a good, established comic writer signed up for that one), but he never faltered in his belief that Gabe was the guy to make this project happen."

The (Hopefully) Great And (Not-So) Secret Show, Part I

By Chris Ryall, Movie Poop Shoot, 10 October 2005 (note - full text online at www.moviepoopshoot.com)

Chris Ryall (IDW) : "Personally, as far as Clive's stuff goes, TGASS is the one I most wanted to work on (along with Everville, and I'd love to do a sort of 'Tales of Quiddity' book, too). But I also think Imajica would be great. That was the first Barker book I ever read. No idea how an adaptation would work, but if I survive TGASS, I think I could handle it... "

Great and Secret Show

By Chris Ryall, Forum post, www.idwpublishing.com, 1 June 2006

Chris Ryall (IDW) : "Before I left [town] last week, Clive Barker asked me to co-write a brand-new project with him. Which is an amazingly flattering thing to hear, let me tell you. So now we're gonna write the Great American Graphic Novel together, just you wait and see."

Detox

By Ryall, MySpace.com, 2 September 2007

Chris Ryall: "I'll be hanging with Clive Barker at Mysterious Galaxy this Thursday, for his Mister B. Gone signing. I'll be bringing the first copies of The Complete Great and Secret Show collection, both in TPB form and hardcover, too... Maybe Clive will talk a little more about our upcoming new comic series that we're co-writing (which just feels ridiculous to even type, I have to say)."

Call Your Mom And Tell Her You Love Her

By Ryall, MySpace.com, 12 November 2007

Chris Ryall: "That's right, Torakator (Tor-ah-kah-tor, not tora-cater). Coming in 2008 from Clive Barker and Chris Ryall. Created by Clive, co-written by both of us. Actual co-writing. An all-new epic series about which I will say no more for a while. Although I'm excited as hell. Torakator...
"Torakator. Say it out loud - it's fun to say."

Torakator

By Ryall, MySpace.com, 5 December 2007

Hellraiser Play

...News of early versions of this were greeted somewhat sceptically at first but Barker seems to have warmed to the idea. Oliver Parker has proved his credentials to be first rate and his adaptation of Othello was unafraid of freshening the Bard's prose to get the message across on screen. Now comes the challenge of moving in the opposite direction - from screenplay to script. Familiar, of course, with Doug Bradley from the final couple of years of the Dog Company and the season they did together after the Dog Company disbanded, this has everything possible going for it at this stage...

"This is timely... A fax about Hellraiser: The Stage Play to be performed in a West End theatre. How soon the Saturday morning cartoon?"

Clive Barker - Lord Of Illusions

By Nigel Floyd, SFX, No 16, September 1996

"Oliver [Parker] was from the beginning an incredibly driven guy. He was relatively young when I met him - I was in my late twenties at the time - but he didn't strike us as being immature at all. Here came this very energetic, incredibly handsome young man, with this amazing willpower and drive. I saw in him some sharp, great ambition, and maybe he saw in me someone with an imagination he could relate to. We were mutually empowering. I think we were all in love with him a little bit for a while.
"I've no doubts it can work with Olly as benign dictator this time! He's a first- rate director because he has a great gift for moving people. That desire, to make them laugh or cry, might sound obvious but it's actually bloody difficult. You have to really want to do it."

Film Studies: Actors Are On His Side

By Hero Brown, Independent on Sunday, 28 March 1999

"As you may know, my professional relationship began with Doug as an actor on stage in plays that I had written and was directing. He's an extraordinarily charismatic stage actor, and the chance to see him live as Pinhead (laughs) is irresistible. I believe the production, which is rumored to open in London next year, is to be directed by Oliver Parker. Oliver is not only a fine actor himself (he plays Peloquin in Nightbreed) but he's also the director most recently, of the film adaptation of Othello starring Larry Fishburne. "

People Online Appearance

Transcript of on-line appearance, 30 July 1998

Doug Bradley : "I'm deadly serious - although the idea began almost as a joke. We were talking about reviving one of Clive's plays and the [proposed] producer said, 'You know, what we ought to do is put Hellraiser on stage!' At first we all had a good laugh at this absurd notion...the more we thought about it and talked about it, the more of an intriguing possibility it became. After all, the first movie - which is what we'd be doing - has a very small cast, which is good for theatre, and it's effectively a one-set film. Immediately we could see the set, which would be a cutaway of the house in Ludovico Street, with all the action going on on different levels. And then there's the challenge of putting the effects on stage in real time.
"The question is, do I want to sit in the stalls and watch some other [actor] do it? And the answer is no, I don't."

Truly, Bradley, Creepily

By David Hughes, Fangoria, No 175, August 1998

Doug Bradley : "One thing that is developing fairly well is a plan to put Hellraiser on the stage, and if it all comes together as planned we would be looking at a May start next year in the West End. Clive won't be involved, but he has given his blessing to the new play. He doesn't actually control all the rights to Hellraiser. He has the literary rights, but has no say over what happens on the screen to Pinhead. The original Hellraiser is the one we would be putting on stage, so I'd be spending a lot of the evening hanging around in the dressing room. It would involve a lot of make-up each night, but the bottom line is that I don't want some other bugger doing it. I can't face the thought of someone else opening the show in the West End or taking it over to Broadway."

Hell To Pay

By Nick Joy, Shivers, No 57, September 1998

Oliver Parker : "We were going to do it now, but the guy who was producing it... got cold feet. There are a lot of things you could do to surprise the audience. Or I might be wrong. It might surprise me and we'll fall flat on our faces."

Pinhead Of The Class

By Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 1999

Oliver Parker : "Clive is very keen to have it done, and he'll be involved in some respect."

A Fearless Novice Takes on the Masters

By Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 June 1999

Oliver Parker : "I've been directing feature films for a while now, but I'm keen to return to the stage at some point. I would love to resurrect some of Clive's plays one day, indeed have been developing a production of Hellraiser for the stage. We have a play script and design, but our plans are in abeyance at the moment, 'though we hope to pick them up soon."

The Dogs: Some Random Canine Memories

By Oliver Parker, e-mail correspondence with Phil and Sarah Stokes, 4 July 2002

History Of The Devil - The Opera

...Long favoured by companies around the world for production as a stage play, it seems that creative minds have wrought this into yet another format. A Dutch adaptation has garnered a favourable response, leading to its competition performance in Greece in November 2000...

"History Of The Devil is now an opera - not by my hand - but by somebody's else hand and it's just won some prizes in France and it's going to be performed for the first time in Paris later this year. You know, that for me is extremely cool."

Clive's Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy Year

By Smilin' Jack Ruby, 13th Street, 12 July 2001 (note - full text online at www.13thstreet.com)

Hellraiser : Hell On-Line

...This on-line game will (if and when it ever actually arrives on its dedicated site at www.hellraiseronline.com ) start as a simple puzzle that users must solve each time they visit the website. Each move of the box, we are promised, will reveal a deeper clue and story element. But this is to be no ordinary game, when you solve it or open it; you don't necessarily win. Opening the box is 'just the beginning of an on-line gaming experience unlike anything else on the web'. Uh huh...

Larry Kasanoff (Chairman/CEO of Threshold Entertainment) : "Hellraiser is one of the best-known entertainment brands in the world! We're proud to further the development of the franchise with the first ever online game."

TheThreshold.com Acquires Rights to Horror Franchise 'Hellraiser'

Press Release - The Threshold.com, By Hanna Schmieder [?], 28 November 2000

Eric Gardner (CEO of Panacea Entertainment) : "Hellraiser is the quintessential on-line property both demographically and conceptually, and via TheThreshold.com Larry Kasanoff has provided us with the ideal virtual theater."

TheThreshold.com Acquires Rights to Horror Franchise 'Hellraiser'

Press Release - The Threshold.com, By Hanna Schmieder [?], 28 November 2000

From Oz To 42nd Street

...This Barker film biography, subtitled 'Travels With Clive Barker', was being put together by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe. Best known for the wonderful documentary 'The Hamster Factor' about Terry Gilliam and, more recently, a second Gilliam project - 'Lost In La Mancha: The Unmaking of Don Quixote' - the pair had unparallelled access to the creative workings inside the Barker household. It may be some time before this sees the light of day but, as and when the financing brings the footage back off the shelves, it should prove to be well worth the wait...

"Asked to define my own place in this parade of dark fictions I would want to be filed where some dyslexic clerk might slip me, somewhere between Baum and Burroughs (William S., not Edgar Rice); by which I mean that the kind of fiction I write is often a fiction of invented worlds (even when it is set on Earth; or perhaps especially then); the traveller's tale as written by a man just back from Hell by way of Oz and 42nd Street."

Speaking From The Dark/Keeping Company With The Cannibal Witches

Essay by Clive Barker, (i) Daily Telegraph, 6 January 1990 (ii) Deadline, No 23, October 1990 (iii) Pandemonium, 1991 (iv) Fantasy Tales No 6, Spring 1991

"Two gentlemen came to me - they'd made a very good film about Terry Gilliam, the filmmaker. They wanted to make a film following my life for a year, like flies on the wall watching me do my movie stuff, paint, do a book tour. They want to watch me write - such a dull business. They'll be there as I play with my dogs, recording the interplay of my life both domestic and public.
"It'll be a feature film portrait of a gay man working in mainstream culture, producing work that reaches different kinds of audiences. It's going to be interesting."

Who Needs a Niche?

By Laura Dempsey, Dayton Daily News, [July] 1998

"It's a film made by two people, Lou [Louis Pepe] and Keith [Fulton], who are now making - and have been making it for the past year - a film about my work. And I've let them in on a lot of things which I've never let anyone in on before, like... for many, many hours while I've been painting, and that's quite interesting. I've made some paintings in front of them and then there's the writing and a few... and I think they'll work on it for another year and I think at the end of it they'll have, by the time they've finished it, a sense of how the pieces all fit together."

Leitmotifs And Dark Beliefs

By Phil and Sarah Stokes, London, 24 September 1999 (note: full text here)

"They've got a huge amount of footage. They've actually got a huge amount of footage, which is now sort of historically very important footage. They've got me painting a lot of Abarat pictures and I'm a different human being, I'm not the human being I was 5 years ago - who is? So what they have to do is find someone who is going to spend the money to put this into an organised state, it's not a cheap amount of money. But they're looking around right now to find somebody who will eventually help them organise this, and shape this up. If Abarat is a successful book then I think it will happen."

Open Roads... What Price Wonderland?

By Phil and Sarah Stokes, 3 April 2002 (note: full text here)

Jeff Fox : Writer / Producer "The Barker film will be at least another year in filming and probably six more months in cutting."

Clive Barker: Forward the Imagination

By Frank Barron, Horroronline, 1999

Keith Fulton : "How do you know about that? No one ever brings that up."

Louis Pepe : "Its official status is Unfinished. We shot it. We just could never get the financing to finish it."

The Mirror, Cracked

By Dickon Edwards, Plan B, Issue 15, October 2006

The Barker / Korn Projects / Oblivion

...The pairing's earliest planned collaboration was for an interactive DVD to collect the mutually inspired works of Clive and Jonathan Davis of Korn. A dozen of Clive's paintings were planned to illustrate music by Davis and Richard Gibbs (formerly of Oingo Boingo) and vice versa. 'Making of' footage was promised to be included on the release, together with commentaries by Barker, Davis and Gibbs.
Sony's hopes to infiltrate Clive's ever hectic schedule and get a release date before the end of 2001 came to nothing as the project was put back to allow for work on the upcoming Korn album and marketing discussions over the mixture of demographics to which the DVD might appeal continued...
In June 2007, however, Davis began talking of a new collaborative project - an opera about the end of the world to be written with both Clive and Richard Gibbs. AOL's Pop Eater reports that the opera will be entitled Oblivion and runs alongside a project collecting Davis' 12 favourite horror stories into an illustrated coffee book. April 2008 sees Davis confirm (below) that the project is still live...

"We're doing a multimedia project with Korn right now. They're taking a bunch of my paintings and writing music to go with them. If it works, I might very well go to Sleazy and to Jeff [of the band Coil] and talk to them and see where we are on all of that. I certainly like the idea of putting together images and music in a much less rational, story-oriented way than the regular video does, which is sort of boring as far as I'm concerned. So, yeah, in principal, I'd love to do that."

Raising Hell With Clive Barker

By Raymond M. Padilla, Happy Puppy.com, December 2000

"The points of reference are the paintings of William Blake and Francisco Goya and Hieronymus Bosch.
"This will be the ultimate trip:music and painting. Salvador Dali was once asked what drugs he took to paint, and he responded, 'I am a drug. Take me.' That's what we're saying."

[ ]

By [], Entertainment Weekly, June 2001

"It's neither a painting nor a piece of music, it's an imaginative entity... [making] every hair on my body stand on end, including the curly and crinkly ones. It's not my painting and not [Davis's] music, but something else... imaginative and wild portraits of strange and otherworldly creatures... We're bringing art in the broadest sense into people's homes via DVD."

Clive Barker DVD Weds Painting To Davis Music

By Scott Hettrick, Variety, 1 June 2001

"I'm a fan of Korn's, and Korn are fans of mine. Jonathan tested the waters by taking one of my paintings and adding a soundtrack to it. When I first went to Jonathan's studio and heard what he'd done, every hair on my body stood on end! What he and Richard have done is amazing - created a musical journey, if you will, which takes you into the painting. You literally see new colours when you listen to this music!
"I got very excited, and painted some new pictures especially for them to compose to. Hopefully what we're creating is a new artform and something completely fresh. The DVD format is only just beginning - it's so responsive now that you can really feel like the paintings will come alive on your screen. You can have an ever changing gallery in the corner of your room...
"It's a new, epic sound for Jonathan. You'll recognise it as Jonathan Davis, but remember there's three artists working here. The whole thing will create a sense of a huge imaginative space in which the audience can play."

Korn To Raise Hell!

By [ ], Kerrang, No 857, 16 June 2001

"He has all my images. I think we're looking at Jonathan having the music finished by the end of the year."

Clive Barker

By Tasha Robinson, The Onion, 14 November 2001 (Note: online at www.theonionavclub.com)

"I'm doing a DVD with Korn. They're writing the music, I'm painting the pictures. It's a two-way creative process because Korn is writing songs to go with my paintings and I'm painting to go with their music. It will be a strange, hopefully unique artistic experience."

Saint Clive

By Chris Wyatt and Anthony C. Ferrante, Cinescape, Issue 66 and 67, November / December 2002

"This is a ground-breaking project unifying state of the art music with paintings pulled from the depths of my unconscious."

Korn Frontman Jonathan Davis And Clive Barker Team With Composer Richard Gibbs For Fine Art DVD

By Metalboy, Unearthed.com, 6 November 2001 (note - full text online at www.unearthed.com)

"I was practically wetting myself. What got me was the depth of conviction between the music and the image [Blue Vision]. I don't like to use the word 'soundtrack' because I think that's a reduction in terms, but on one level, that's what they're doing. I think they're also providing a kind of explanation for the nature of the paintings."
"Here's two extremely smart, creative folks who want to do something which is completely off the wall, something which doesn't have a precedent. I would be an idiot not to want to do that. When they came to visit, I was like, 'Let's do it!' There's nothing about this that doesn't suit my sensibility, which is doing it without censorship from anybody. We're making something original and sharp."

Unlikely Couple Weaving Musical Magic Into Barker's Art

By Christa Titus, Billboard, 21 July 2001

"Now we are just waiting on Korn. I turned in my pictures. They've begun their composing. All the deals have long been done, so now it's just a question of two things that need to be done. They need to finish their composing in line with my pictures and they have to give me one piece of music to which I will then paint a picture. So it's a sort of reciprocal creation. They will write most of the music in line with the pictures I have already painted. Then there will be one piece of music that they will give to me, which I will use for starting off place for a painting."

Confessions

By Craig Fohr, Lost Souls, 1 August 2003 (note - full text online at Lost Souls)

"Jonathan has taken 12 paintings, not Abarat paintings, which he is using as starting places for music. I am taking a piece of music which he has yet to write, which I am going to paint a painting for and we're going to put all of this on a DVD. So we're sort of waiting for Jonathan really. I don't know how soon - I wouldn't hold your breath too much - but it'll happen one of these times. He has the paintings, I should call him!"

Barnes and Noble Stage Presentation

By Brein Lopez, LA Festival of Books, 2004

Richard Gibbs : "I said [to Clive], 'It's kind of popped into my head, but it would be fun for Jon and I to write music for one of your paintings - to score a painting,' I've never done that. I've done moving pictures - why couldn't I do a still one?"

Unlikely Couple Weaving Musical Magic Into Barker's Art

By Christa Titus, Billboard, 21 July 2001

Jonathan Davis : "We're both dark, twisted, sick fucks, so we really hit it off."

[ ]

By [], Entertainment Weekly, June 2001

Jonathan Davis : "I really don't care who it appeals to, it's a great idea. It's beautiful art. I don't know if my fans will be into it or the art community will get into it, but I really don't care, because we're doing something we love. I'm not trying to sell a product or anything, so for me, it's just the satisfaction of working with that guy and doing music. If it's good, people will buy it."

Unlikely Couple Weaving Musical Magic Into Barker's Art

By Christa Titus, Billboard, 21 July 2001

Richard Gibbs : "Jon is definitely the most musically twisted brain I have ever worked with. And now for us to collaborate with a multi-demented soul like the one and only Clive Barker... I don't know what's going to happen, but I hope the authorities have been alerted."

Press Release

By [], MSO Press Release, 1 June 2001

Jonathan Davis : "We've set out to create a new medium unlike any other, combining the elements of art, beauty, music and horror with state-of-the-art technology - a post-millennium coffee table book for your DVD player."

Press Release

By [], MSO Press Release, 1 June 2001

Jonathan Davis : "I'm starting to write an opera with Richard Gibbs and Clive Barker and have Stan Winston design everything... it's gonna be way different [from Korn's music], it's an opera... like dark opera. It's called Oblivion and it's about the end of the world... We're just starting, don't know when it will be done."

Jonathan Davis of Korn Interview

By 'PeteInMusic', AOL Music, June 2007 (note - full text online at http://music.aol.com)

Jonathan Davis : "My partner Richard Gibbs and I have been working on it. It's called Oblivion. It's about the end of the world. We got Clive Barker to write the story. Stan Winston is on board to do costumes. We're just looking for backing now. It's gonna be sick, dude."

Do You Support Family Values?

By Tom Iacuzio, Daytona Beach News Journal, 10 August 2007

Jonathan Davis :"[Clive and I are] in the middle of writing... [then Richard and I] will start writing the actual opera... The stuff we've come up with has been pretty insane, really good. I'm excited. I think in a couple more months we'll have the whole thing written out. That's when we'll start writing the music."

CD/DVD To Accompany Korn's Davis' Solo Tour

By Gary Graff, Billboard.com, 1 November 2007

Jonathan Davis :"I'm going to work on a musical that I'm going to write with Clive Barker... Clive's in the middle of writing it and it should be good - I've got the basic gist of what it's about, I mean I know what it's about but the actual storyline, then we're going to start writing the lyrics and tie everything together into a crazy, dark musical... Basically I want to do it on Broadway, so it's just going to be a musical, a Broadway musical...
"I think it'll be amazing - if we can make it into a movie after it would be really cool, but it's basically about the end of the world and religion and The Book Of Revelation and all that fun stuff so, it'll be crazy and twisted - like Clive Barker does."

Full Interview With Korn Frontman Jonathan Davis

By David Farrier, 3 News, 30 April 2008 (note - full video online at http://www.tv3.co.nz/)>

Codemasters - Jericho Sequels

Codemasters
...Following the success of Jericho, Clive's association with Codemasters looked as if it would swiftly lead to a sequel, and there was the prospect of further collaborative projects too. There is certainly potential for further storylines involving the Jericho team which could perhaps introduce the multi-player features which could not be supported by the first Jericho game.
Clive dropped hints about possible future plotlines, including 666 children in the hold of a large vessel at sea - and, believe us, you do not want to know what is happening to those children...
Currently, though, there's no progress on any projects with Codemasters.
See our pages on Jericho here...

"There's no doubt that if Jericho is liked by players we will take our psychic squad out on other adventures (assuming, of course, any of them survive.) The human appetite for mystery and terror has never waned even when, as now, the world is filled with very real terrors. Maybe that's the connection. Maybe we seek out games and stories that allow us a measure of control over the horrors of the invented world: a control which we do not have, regrettably, in the real world."

Q&A: Clive Barker's Jericho

By [ ], online for Xbox 360 print magazine 'Readers Only' at www.oxm.co.uk, 13 February 2007

"It's the first of what will be a series of stories about a group of militarily trained but magically gifted men and women who deal with powers that are beyond anything that you or I would ever imagine...
"I want to do three of these, just three, and make it the Jericho trilogy in which this son - I gave a clue there, I didn't intend to. Okay, the First Born is the son of something. Oh well. It's not a terrible thing; it's kind of funny. But when we have the trilogy together I think we'll have this fucking huge confrontation between what may end up being a suicide club of men and women who are willing to give their souls and their bullets to the business of destroying the son of something. I mean, in a way it's already there in the 'First Born'."

Clive Barker Waxes Gory On His Cult Shooter Jericho

By The Gamepros, GamePro at www.gamepro.com, 5 September 2007

"I have a lot of things waiting in the wings and I'm going to do a big deal - which I can't talk about right now, but which will have me making games for many years to come. And I have two epics that I have structured and are ready to be shared with my creators once my creators have signed the contract! My creative team, I mean - Codemasters - and I am astonished by how far they have gone on my behalf and on behalf of the game [Jericho] to get it right."

Clive Barker Talks About Jericho

By Scott Steinberg, Podcast, Digital Trends.com, 26 September 2007 (note - full podcast online at http://news.digitaltrends.com/)

"There's more I want to accomplish for the title. There's more I want to accomplish with the form. There's more I want to accomplish with the Jericho squad in the sequel. I want to do multiplayer versions of this game and of other Jericho games. I want to take the squad into even darker places....
"I would like to take the Jericho squad - which will be changing in shape, because none of these characters are immortal; some of them are going to die and be replaced by other characters, some of whom may not be human... just a little hint. I want to take this squad [while] still applying the military aesthetic, for want of a better word, you know, applying what Medal of Honor did so well, which is taking the training and the laws of the military and bringing the soldiers that we have created in our little box into contact with supernatural powers and I just want the powers to be as interesting and complex as possible...
"Literally and metaphorically, yes, [I've sketched further episodes]. I mean sketched in the sense that I draw a lot of this stuff out, often just for my eye, as a little memory aid, sometimes to give to the artists - to give them a first version - a bad version perhaps - but something that they can start with.
"Everything begins with a blank page, a blank screen, a blank canvas. And so we begin."

Clive Barker

By Curt Feldman, (i) GameTap.com, 21 September 2007 (note - full video footage online at www.gametap.com) (ii) reported as 'The Devil's Business', GameTap.com 26 September 2007 (note - full text online at www.gametap.com)

[If the evil is conquered, what of a sequel?] "You kind of silenced me on that. Because in one sense I want this to be definitive, but if this does break out, what is the next game? Though the characters do make references to other missions they've been on."

Clive Barker on Jericho

By Greg Edwards, GameSpy.com, 1 October 2007 (note - full text online at http://uk.gamespy.com/)

"I've already told Codemasters where the next game will head. It starts on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, with 666 children in the hold..."

Vintage Violence

By Tim Wapshott, The Times, 27 October 2007

Raul Rubio (Designer, Mercury Steam) : [re. Jericho sequels] "Time will tell..."

Clive Barker's Jericho

By Dan Webb, Xbox360 Acheivements, 27 September 2007 (note - full podcast online at http://www.xbox360achievements.org/)

Clive Barker's Demonik

Clive Barker - Demonik - trailer Clive Barker - Demonik - trailer

Clive Barker - Demonik Clive Barker - Demonik promotional material


...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...
Clive Barker - Demonik - trailer Clive Barker - Demonik - trailer Clive Barker - Demonik - trailer


"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)

Demonik - Todd Farmer at Wendago.com 12 June 2004

Hellraiser : Virtual Hell - The Game

Virtual Hell - cover artwork


...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

Press relaese, PR Newswire, 29 September 1994

Hellraiser - The Game

Hellraiser - cover artwork


...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

Rawhead Rex - poster advert Rawhead Rex - original artwork


...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 (in the pages of Taboo) 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 Bissette 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

Steve Bissette : "I'm also doing Rawhead Rex for Arcane Comix but appearing in Taboo. I've done the written adaptation and consulted with Clive Barker on some of the sequences. It's eighty-six pages long and I'm pencilling it with Michael Zulli of Puma Blues inking...
"Rawhead Rex did not work as a film but it works wonderfully well as a short story. Why didn't it work? The limitations of the film-makers was such that they could never put you into the Rex's mind. You never understood in the film that he was a regal prehistoric being who came back to take back his 'kingdom' from the little human beings. Without that. you don't have a story. It can be done, because White Dog, directed by Sam Fuller, put you in the head of a white German shepherd. Fuller is a good film-maker who knew how to do it without using any narration or contrived device. In comics we can use some of the same tricks and we have the added advantage of having captions, so we can give the character's mind a voice."

Steve Bissette & Steve Niles

By Paul Duncan, Ark, No 32, 1990

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 (now resurrected), Sex, Death and Starshine by Lionel Talaro and Fred Burke and In The Flesh by Les Edwards and Fred Burke were also promised (although Stewart Stanyard's name was also attached at one stage to the latter)... Steve Niles also adapted The Forbidden for a thirty two-page graphic novel with John K. Snyder III's name attached as illustrator ...

The Thief Of Always - Graphic Novel

...At the same time as Nelvana was working on an amimated movie version, Fred Burke adapted Harvey Swick's adventures as a ninety-page graphic novel for release by Eclipse. Pencils were done for at least the first thirty pages (possibly by Dan Brereton) but, alas, no final version would appear until IDW's version more than a decade later...

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

Clive Barker - Secret Life of Cartoons - Arcane advert


...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

The Evil 'K'


...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?]

Conceptual artwork for Morgan by Sylvian Despretz Conceptual artwork for Morgan by Sylvian Despretz

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