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Clive Barker's Next Testament #2
Clive Barker's Next Testament Vol. 2
What if God came back and told us we'd gotten it all wrong?
God has returned to the world in a manner that only horror master Clive Barker could imagine. His name is Wick and he is the God of Colors, the god of the Old Testament, and he is displeased with humanity. Wick’s flock continues to grow, but this brings him no pleasure – what he asks of Julian next may bring his closest disciple to the breaking point. Meanwhile, Tristan & Elspeth meet a pastor who knows plenty about both of them...and Julian. Meanwhile, Julian is forced to make a very public display of loyalty to Wick, as their flock meets resistance from an unexpected source, and Wick’s jealousy leads to a show of force unlike any of his previous acts...
God has returned to the world in a manner that only horror master Clive Barker could imagine. His name is Wick and he is the God of Colors, the god of the Old Testament, and he is displeased with humanity. Wick’s flock continues to grow, but this brings him no pleasure – what he asks of Julian next may bring his closest disciple to the breaking point. Meanwhile, Tristan & Elspeth meet a pastor who knows plenty about both of them...and Julian. Meanwhile, Julian is forced to make a very public display of loyalty to Wick, as their flock meets resistance from an unexpected source, and Wick’s jealousy leads to a show of force unlike any of his previous acts...
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2015
29 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
About the author
Clive Barker
703 books15k followersClive Barker was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Joan Rubie (née Revill), a painter and school welfare officer, and Leonard Barker, a personnel director for an industrial relations firm. Educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School, he studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool University and his picture now hangs in the entrance hallway to the Philosophy Department. It was in Liverpool in 1975 that he met his first partner, John Gregson, with whom he lived until 1986. Barker's second long-term relationship, with photographer David Armstrong, ended in 2009.
In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.
Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.
Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.
A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,
In 2003, Clive Barker received The Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. This award is presented "to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for any of those communities". While Barker is critical of organized religion, he has stated that he is a believer in both God and the afterlife, and that the Bible influences his work.
Fans have noticed of late that Barker's voice has become gravelly and coarse. He says in a December 2008 online interview that this is due to polyps in his throat which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in ten percent of the air he was supposed to have been getting. He has had two surgeries to remove them and believes his resultant voice is an improvement over how it was prior to the surgeries. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars. On August 27, 2010, Barker underwent surgery yet again to remove new polyp growths from his throat. In early February 2012 Barker fell into a coma after a dentist visit led to blood poisoning. Barker remained in a coma for eleven days but eventually came out of it. Fans were notified on his Twitter page about some of the experience and that Barker was recovering after the ordeal, but left with many strange visions.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, writing in the horror genre early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 – 6), and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved towards modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991) and Sacrament (1996), bringing in the deeper, richer concepts of reality, the nature of the mind and dreams, and the power of words and memories.
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his films have received mixed receptions. He wrote the screenplays for Underworld (aka Transmutations – 1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome, are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, which have been re-released together to moderate critical acclaim. After his film Nightbreed (Cabal), which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. Barker was an executive producer of the film Gods and Monsters, which received major critical acclaim.
Barker is a prolific visual artist working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early Nineties, as well on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), as well as on the second printing of the original UK publications of his Books of Blood series.
A longtime comics fan, Barker achieved his dream of publishing his own superhero books when Marvel Comics launched the Razorline imprint in 1993. Based on detailed premises, titles and lead characters he created specifically for this, the four interrelated titles — set outside the Marvel universe — were Ectokid,
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
February 8, 2017
I'm not sure whether I just wanted it to be longer or maybe I just didn't enjoy the ending as much as I was hoping to when I learned this was the end. There's a lot of impressive and gorgeous and colourful art in the final fight of this series but I think the ending I just found too conventional overall. No one is scot free but still.
November 7, 2017
More of the same shit, really. Wick continues to deliver tiresome, self-important monologues and gleefully murder huge numbers of people without much rhyme or reason - knowing that chaos and nihilism is the whole point for him doesn't make the writing here any less ham-fisted or lazy.
Cardboard cutout Tristan and his even more underdeveloped fiance Elspeth continue to get into a number of over the top encounters with religious nuts and sexual deviants. The whole thing just trudges along without much progression or passion or rhythm. I don't even hate it; I'm just indifferent at this point.
Cardboard cutout Tristan and his even more underdeveloped fiance Elspeth continue to get into a number of over the top encounters with religious nuts and sexual deviants. The whole thing just trudges along without much progression or passion or rhythm. I don't even hate it; I'm just indifferent at this point.
August 9, 2019
The tale of vengeance and inflicting atrocities on humans continues. And a displeased Wick is much worse than regular Wick. The violence is graphic and truly horrifying. But then if you read Stephen King or Clive Barker or other horror masters, you surely would expect the body count to add up, wouldn't you?
August 9, 2019
Not as great as the first two volumes (probably because nothing about Wick/God is surprising anymore)
Tristan and Elspeth must find more folks to help out for sure, and see if Wick can be stopped or killed.
Tristan and Elspeth must find more folks to help out for sure, and see if Wick can be stopped or killed.
August 10, 2020
La storia si srotola sotto gli occhi del lettore nel modo più naturale possibile.
Divinità e umanità si scontrano e fondano creando un contrasto tutto da leggere e da scoprire.
Divinità e umanità si scontrano e fondano creando un contrasto tutto da leggere e da scoprire.
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January 22, 2021I don’t know what to make of this yet. 🤷🏻♀️
August 7, 2020
Even more constrained in imagination and scope than vol1, and still drawn slightly awkwardly with bad coloring outside of its very good cover art. As much as this seems to relish its own blasphemous edginess, its actual provocations are relatively lame and unthoughtful in a way that defangs any criticisms it could offer.
November 7, 2017
Christ, it's finally over. Unfortunately the ending didn't redeem this steaming turd of a series - if anything, it fizzled out with even less gusto than the rest of the story, solving everyone's problems with a literal fucking deus ex machina and all the drippy, sentimental tropes you could possibly think of.
Jang's art continued to be bright and evocative and engaging, and essentially the only thing that kept me reading to the end. Otherwise, this has got to be one of the most disappointing graphic novel series I've ever read. With its premise and the people involved, it should have been something so much more, a deep, violent meditation on the nature of religion and gods and creation. It should have been batshit crazy, and pitch black, and also just FUN. Unfortunately it was none of those things.
What a wasted opportunity.
Jang's art continued to be bright and evocative and engaging, and essentially the only thing that kept me reading to the end. Otherwise, this has got to be one of the most disappointing graphic novel series I've ever read. With its premise and the people involved, it should have been something so much more, a deep, violent meditation on the nature of religion and gods and creation. It should have been batshit crazy, and pitch black, and also just FUN. Unfortunately it was none of those things.
What a wasted opportunity.
August 10, 2020
Next Testament giunge alla fine.
I nodi vengono al pettine e il finale è uno fra i migliori che potessi (non) immaginare. Sogni, speranze e sopravvivenza si intrecciano nella lotta contro il divino, nella lotta dell'umano. L'approfondimento dei personaggi non è curatissimo ma in questo caso condivido appieno considerando che il protagonista reale non è incarnato da un personaggio quanto da ciò che significa.
E' un fumetto che scuote ma soprattutto emoziona donando agli occhi tavole fantastiche.
I nodi vengono al pettine e il finale è uno fra i migliori che potessi (non) immaginare. Sogni, speranze e sopravvivenza si intrecciano nella lotta contro il divino, nella lotta dell'umano. L'approfondimento dei personaggi non è curatissimo ma in questo caso condivido appieno considerando che il protagonista reale non è incarnato da un personaggio quanto da ciò che significa.
E' un fumetto che scuote ma soprattutto emoziona donando agli occhi tavole fantastiche.
July 5, 2022
Definitely an improvement over Volume 2 which was very dull.
Overall these 12 issues were an enjoyable read.
But in the perfect world, this series would have had double that. 24 issues if not more in order to flesh out everything.
Being the way it is now, a lot of things just felt rushed.
Great idea overall that ended too quickly.
Overall these 12 issues were an enjoyable read.
But in the perfect world, this series would have had double that. 24 issues if not more in order to flesh out everything.
Being the way it is now, a lot of things just felt rushed.
Great idea overall that ended too quickly.
May 31, 2017
Wick initiated his final plan for armagaddon, only the discovery that there is a holy trinity can stop him. It was quite a disappointing volume really, much of the let down was in the ending, which was severely rushed. I liked how Barker really tried to condense the story but it still felt rushed.
July 19, 2017
Beautiful artwork but I think dialog was lacking. Seemed like an abrupt ending to a buildup that left me wanting more. Read this with an active imagination to fill in and visualize what is going on. Pleased I read it.
May 6, 2016
Dark and imaginative. Wish I had the next volume
February 18, 2018
My least fave of the 3, but a great series overall
October 26, 2019
Sort of anti-climactic. A deus ex machina ending.
June 28, 2020
The culmination of the beauty and terror that is Wick, the Father's return to the Earth and how gods and people are both working to exile Wick once more.
August 7, 2020
Still a very mediocre waste of a decent premise with great covers and underwhelming panel art, but at least the apocalyptic climax enlivens things a bit.
May 7, 2018
The Next Testament was something I picked up at a used book store. It was the second volume and that hampered the story a bit- but this was good. So good that I'll hunt down the rest.
So here is what I know- a god-like being has come to Earth and nothing will be the same. Apocalyptic events are happening and all the religious kooks are coming out. In this story we see it through the eyes of the God-being and the eyes of two younger kids trying to survive. They run into a lot of different weirdos. The God-being is very interesting. He does what he likes when he likes, but I guess thats the point of being a God right?
The art work is solid throughout, but it is the interesting nature of the story that makes this an interesting tale. I will certainly hunt down the rest of this to see how it all comes together.
So here is what I know- a god-like being has come to Earth and nothing will be the same. Apocalyptic events are happening and all the religious kooks are coming out. In this story we see it through the eyes of the God-being and the eyes of two younger kids trying to survive. They run into a lot of different weirdos. The God-being is very interesting. He does what he likes when he likes, but I guess thats the point of being a God right?
The art work is solid throughout, but it is the interesting nature of the story that makes this an interesting tale. I will certainly hunt down the rest of this to see how it all comes together.
July 17, 2024
Very good
Disturbing, thought provoking, suspenseful, infuriating (in a way that a story about a powerful psychotic being should be) and...I like it a lot. I love Clive Barker and Mark Millar. The art of Haemi Jang is gorgeous even when it's depicting something awful. I really enjoy this series. I just wish Kindle would provide the entire series instead of getting me completely invested with eight chapters before cutting me off. That sucks so bad. But I guess we can't have everything.
Disturbing, thought provoking, suspenseful, infuriating (in a way that a story about a powerful psychotic being should be) and...I like it a lot. I love Clive Barker and Mark Millar. The art of Haemi Jang is gorgeous even when it's depicting something awful. I really enjoy this series. I just wish Kindle would provide the entire series instead of getting me completely invested with eight chapters before cutting me off. That sucks so bad. But I guess we can't have everything.
October 26, 2019
God is just making things up as he goes along, creating the sense that the author is just making things up as he goes along.
Light biblical references provide some loose call backs to judeo-christian mythology, but there’s nothing mindblowing here. The midwest has been boiled down to characters embodying the worst, and narrowest range, of archetypes.
Since there’s only one more volume, I’m going to just burn through it.
Light biblical references provide some loose call backs to judeo-christian mythology, but there’s nothing mindblowing here. The midwest has been boiled down to characters embodying the worst, and narrowest range, of archetypes.
Since there’s only one more volume, I’m going to just burn through it.
May 30, 2017
Wick moves to San Francisco to see if people would listen to him, there he revealed his plan for humanity. Meanwhile, Tristan and Elspeth must fight off crazed maniacs on their way to stop Wick.
This volume was not as fun as the previous one (in terms of gore and dark humour) but it's got some pretty gritty drawings and a nice storyline which is developing into something interesting.
This volume was not as fun as the previous one (in terms of gore and dark humour) but it's got some pretty gritty drawings and a nice storyline which is developing into something interesting.
July 27, 2021
While it can't live up to the brilliant volume one, there's still plenty to enjoy here. Wick's casual malevolence, the gory artwork and the pacing are all great but the story itself flounders a little, getting predictably (if logically) bogged down with the violent reactions of religious nuts. Good, but just not as good as its predecessor.
June 28, 2020
The world has gone to Hell and it's all God's fault.
The continuation of God's exploration of what has happened in the world since he, Wick, was caged. Meanwhile, Tristan and Elspeth travel what's left of the country, trying to find a way to stop him.
The continuation of God's exploration of what has happened in the world since he, Wick, was caged. Meanwhile, Tristan and Elspeth travel what's left of the country, trying to find a way to stop him.
February 18, 2018
Riveting.
August 18, 2019
This is less gory than the first book and therefore I can see the beauty of the plot here. I like how it evolves and wonder what would happen.
August 21, 2020
curious apocalyptic demiurge
clive barker does not disappoint with his tale . he keeps you wondering what the real intent of his demiurge really is
clive barker does not disappoint with his tale . he keeps you wondering what the real intent of his demiurge really is
December 19, 2020
This is a much better outing. Still the same heretical overtone, but now we get a sense of character development and story.
December 21, 2020
What the king says, goes.
July 2, 2022
Compared to volume one, volume two was overall very dull. Every issue felt like a recycled previous issue.
October 13, 2022
Dope
A good must read.. inventiveness on 100. Super original
Wick is not to be played with. Clive hasn't lost his touch..
A good must read.. inventiveness on 100. Super original
Wick is not to be played with. Clive hasn't lost his touch..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews