Colder Omnibus

Colder (Collected Editions) #1-3

by Paul Tobin, Matt Burns (Illustrator)

Declan Thomas is an ex-inmate of an insane asylum that was destroyed in a fire, he has the strange ability to step inside a person's madness--and sometimes cure it. He hopes to one day cure his own, but time is running out, as a demonic predator pursues him. Collects the entire COLDER series!Complete collection of Colder vol. 1-3Written by Eisner Award-winner Paul Tobin (Bandette)!Art by Green Arrow's Juan Ferreyra!

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Paul Tobin is the Eisner-award winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Bandette, Colder, and many other comic books and graphic series.

Bandette, drawn by Colleen Coover, was awarded the Eisner Award for Best Digital Series in 2013, 2016, and 2017; and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Graphic Literature in 2016. His original graphic novel I Was the Cat was nominated for an Eisner in 2015.

The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat , first in his five-book series of middle-grade books, came out in 2016 from Bloomsbury Kids. It was followed in 2017 by How To Outsmart A billion Robot Bees , and How To Tame A Human Tornado in March 2018.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nightmarishly wonderful. Delightfully creepy. Beautifully drawn and written with horror, humour and heart. This has shot up to the top of my list now, one of the best comic books or graphic novels I have read, amazing. Instant favourite. Wow.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED the exceptionally disturbing artwork in this omnibus.

The characters of Nimble Jack & Reece were my favourites. Their mannerisms and actions were constantly intriguing. My fav storyline was Swivel’s- dude was just stealing fingers left, right, and centre!

I would’ve loved to see more of the Hungry World- maybe a backstory on its origin. Overall I enjoyed my time spent with the Colder graphic novels, would highly recommend them for horror aficionados.

[The Lion's Share · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colder published by Dark Horse in 2013, is one of the rare independent gems that doesn’t get much publicity despite the iconic cover. There is a foreword about the design of the front cover which goes to explain how perfectly scary it was for the character.

So what/who is Colder? Colder is a guy called Declan who was put into a mental institution for the insane during the 1940’s. One night a fire breaks out and a demon know as nimble Jack jumps from his dimension into ours. Nimble Jack has an insatiable appetite and he feeds on insanity. He comes to eat the insane people in the asylum, but first comes upon Declan. He sees that Declan is a special kind of crazy and curses him by whispering in his ear “You will get colder and colder.”

Fast forward to 2005 and Declan has been comatose ever since that day and now has a very low temperature and pale, dead like complexion. He is being looked after by a nurse named Reece who falls in love with him despite his comatose state. Then one day Nimble Jack returns to collect Declan and he wakes up. Reece is shocked and wants answers. He shows her that there is a world parallel to this one for the insane and he can enter and leave at will.
So after that, what ensues is a game of cat and mouse between the 3 of them and we get to see other demons/characters as well which make this story so unique and fantastic. This would make a great R rated movie.

Highly recommended.

[Václav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each Colder arc continues closely in the next one. So it was a good decision to wait and then read it as the whole. The Colder is great comics and it's only a few steps to be in my favourite ones. The art is mesmerising ad the story is very good, thrilling, heartwarming, scary and with a swift pace. With the world, I always felt that the "world of insanity" is more lively and complex than the real one, which always feels so sandbox-ish with few locations and generic random space between them. It's not important, but it is a funny observation. The main characters are interesting only for the first arc, but Nimble Jack is the man of the show. Elegant and with style. He acts crazy, but he is sane. Driven by hunger, but sane and in control. And that makes the "winnings" of the Decan just accidental - he's just lucky. Anyway, despite that, the comics is quite well-written and with beautiful complex art. Especially in the "insane" realm, which feels very Lovecraftian both by monsters, the architecture and the mechanics. Beautiful!

[Vaikhari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot : 3/5
Art : ∞/5 (I loved it so much)
Humour : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Overall rating : 4/5

Excellent art work and design letdown by weak plot. Whimsical and grotesque with phenomenal colours. The story was quirky and grim with a touch of humour and the ending was average but satisfactory.

If anyone wants to read a graphic novel or get into comics, give this one a try.

[Bojan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divno i košmarno nacrtano, odlično i jezivo ispričano. Pogotovo je prva priča dobra, podsetio sam se kako sam u nežnijim godinama s oduševljenjem otkrio Barkerov Utkani svet. Ova naslovnica sasvim lepo upozorava na to šta se krije iza nje, iza našeg sveta.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia comienza en 1941, con el incendio de un manicomio, catástrofe de la que solo sobrevive nuestro protagonista, Declan Thomas. Posteriormente, pasamos a la actualidad, donde Reece, enfermera, cuida del paciente Declan, en coma, en su casa, ya que nadie se quería hacer cargo de él. ¿Cómo ha podido vivir tantos años Declan sin envejecer? Hay que explicar que la temperatura corporal de Declan es sobrenaturalmente baja, lo que es una buena explicación. En este estado de cosas, aparece Nimble Jack desde el Mundo Hambriento, en busca de Declan.

‘Colder’ es un magnífico cómic de terror, con un buena historia, y unos dibujos aún mejores. Sin duda, no es una lectura para todo el mundo, ya que contiene escenas realmente desagradables, espeluznantes, desasosegantes, pero también imaginativas.

[Esther (La ingeniosa hidalga) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asi nejsem typický konzument hororů. Jsem totiž značně vybíravý. Nemám rád vyvražďovačky, lekačky a nechutnosti. Mám rád atmosférické, mysteriózní záležitosti. U Chladu jsem tak nějak očekával od všeho něco. Nechutnosti i atmosférickou mysterióznost. Něčím mě ten komiks přitahoval a jeho grafické podobě jsem nedokázal odolat.

Vůbec jsem se nespletl. Ten komiks je krásně nechutný, ale zároveň je úžasně šílený. Chlad je totiž o šílenství a o všech jeho barvách. Jeho vizuální styl se sytými teplými barvami je v brutálním kontrastu s masakry, které zobrazuje. Pracuje s úžasnou fantazií a monstra jsou zde vskutku originální. Třeba takoví pětiprstí psi mě hodně bavili. Celé je to pak navíc odlehčeno jak humorem, tak také romantickým vztahem mezi dvěma hlavními kladnými postavami.

P.S. Pokud nebudete vědět, koho vám hlavní záporák připomíná, tak je to Till Lindemann. :-D

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great art dragged down by godawful plot, character design and dialogue. Real meandering, go-nowhere, learn nothing don’t care stuff. Which is a shame because the monsters and nightmare landscapes are just top tier stuff.

[It's just Deano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm trying to squeeze in the last of the Halloween reading this week and that's lead me to the omnibus for Colder from Dark Horse. I'd previously read the first series of this a few years back, however the rest was new to me.

This is sadly an often overlooked book (besides it's rather icon worthy cover), but it's safe to say this is undoubtedly a hidden gem for Dark Horse.

The story follows Declan Thomas, a mysterious patient suffering with mental illness. As we progress through the book Declan's history and power are revealed in an otherworldly and surreal adventure into insanity.

The great thing about this fantastic horror series are the characters and how memorable they are. The protagonists are instantly relatable (with some suspension of disbelief), but the villains are where this book absolutely shines. The extremely creepy Nimble Jack has a familiar Joker like style, but my personal favourite is the bizarre trench-coat wearing farmer, Swivel. You certainly won't forget these guys!

The imagery and character designs contained within the art work in Colder is wonderfully imaginative and equally disturbing leaving you feeling both eager and dreading each turn of the page as to what you will find next.

Overall, this was an excellent Halloween read, and one that actually improves as it progresses. I'd definitely recommend you put this one on your spooky reading lists.

Individual ratings for the story arcs as presented in this collected edition:

Colder - ***
Colder: The Bad Seed - ****
Colder: Toss The Bones - ****

[Amanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

review coming soon

[Alexa Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I didn't hear about Paul Tobin before this book.
This is the scariest comic I have read, ever! The creatures are absolutely terrifying!
I had trouble finding this because it is out of print, so I managed to snag a second-hand copy in Spanish and dust off my knowledge of the language. I now understand why it is so hard to find...So scary and so good!

The world of the mentally ill is a place of nightmares and frustration, and there is only one person who can pool them out of there, Declan. But he had an adversary called Nimble Jack that wants to cultivate the madness, make it grow and fatten, and then consume it along with the person's soul.
Declan and Rhys must find a way to fight him together. Will they win?

The characters are awesome, the world-building is spectacular, the art is beyond amazing. It was just the right length and the ending was awesome. going to keep this book forever and reread this anytime I need a proper scare :P

[krevetice · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐ SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Oh my god. OH MY GOD. This was such a good read!! I'm speechless.

My usual problem with graphic novels is that they're too short. In this case... you can't really complain that this is short. But you know what? I will. I will complain. Because I'd be able to read much more of this than I was given. I'd read a thousand-page Colder story for sure. Maybe a million-page one.

The biggest advantage of this book is its art. It's stunning. Hilarious. Brilliant. INSANELY GOOD. I also really liked the limited number of characters."Colder" proves that you can build a perfect atmosphere even on a seemingly intimate story.

I don't know what else to say. I loved it so so much. And the ending blew my mind. Not sure how to make a sad ending seem like a happy one? Well, ask Paul Tobin, he sure knows the answer to that. But be careful. You might become... colder.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first part of this collection when it originally came out. With a cover like that, how can one resist! This omnibus also collects the two follow up stories.

The artwork is the real star here. It is creepy, twisted, and raw; a perfect fit for a story dealing with insanity and monsters. For me, it more than makes up for the times when the writing feels like it does not quite know how to handle the tale it is telling.

The first of the three stories is definitely best, but the creepiness makes it worth sticking around for the rest.

[Belfry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look at that cover! I love it; it's so visceral. The art throughout the whole book is gorgeous: Juan Ferreyra is enormously talented and is the perfect artist for a creepy, twisted series like this. The story has interesting ideas and executes them well, and the characters are pretty well-written (with Nimble Jack being especially fun to read). I wish the series had ended on a different note, but overall definitely worth a read if you can handle it (it's rather gory).

[maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this five stars for the art work and design alone because the art is absolutely amazing. Very bloody and grotesque with stunning colours. The story was unique and dark with bits of humour and I loved loved loved the ending. If anyone wants to read a graphic novel or is considering it, do yourself a favour and read this one.

[Andrew Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea.

[Donyae Coles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art carries SO MUCH of this story. By the last book the story is pretty weak and the twist at the end, although I think it was fine, didn't seem very earned. But that art though.

[Kin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 3 was a bit of an overkill, but I loved the art and the atmosphere

[Whitney Jamimah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ONLY thing I don't like about this book is that it is out of print.

I like to read comics in physical form mainly because, let's face it, I'm a book snob but also because in digital forms sometimes the art is small and when you enlarge the image it gets blurry and can lose the overall effect of the page you are reading from but anyway, I read this digitally because that is the only way you can read it. As far I am aware the single volumes aren't even available and that is a crying shame. If Dark Horse ever does a reprinting, I'm there.

Take this as a warning or as a TOP recommendation. This book is filled with creepy and gory imagery, just look at the cover. The art that Juan Ferreyra renders in this comic is stunning. Each panel is like a little masterpiece. After this book I am very interested in reading another book by Ferreyra again, I'm going to scour my comic shelves to see if I have anything else on hand that he has done. The monsters that he creates and the whole setting of the Hungry World are TO DIE FOR. UGH! I wanted more.

I loved the juxtaposition of Declan and Nimble Jack especially but even Swivel were a really great antagonists. I was getting strong Joker vibes from Nimble Jack, if you like Joker you are going to dig Nimble Jack, even if you don't like Joker (for some reason) you will probably like Nimble Jack. I loved the play on insanity between Declan and Nimble Jack.

The whole thing had me grinning from start to finish, really. If you want a spiffy little comic with a ton of crazy, pick up Colder even if you have to read it digitally.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely splendid! The art is amazing and terribly creepy. Just look at that cover! It's a variation on an actual scene from the story. This omnibus contains the complete "Colder" story originally published in three volumes. It's about insanity and as such no simple plot summary can do it justice. However, the main character is Declan, a man in a psychiatric hospital in a coma-like trance who one day "wakes up" and a relationship starts between him and his nurse caretaker. He has powers and the two of them venture from this world to the one the insane inhabit while being chased by real monsters, most notably Nimble Jack. A brilliant story which is fast-paced and a quick read for a book over 400 pages. The book then ends with two prose short stories which take place within the same universe and are both brilliant. This is one of my favourite reads this year.

[Isil Arican · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated series, creepy and unsettling story. Really enjoyed reading about the details of how they artist came up with character ideas at the end during the third book the story gets little complicated and hard to follow but the illustrations make up for it.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of dark, creepy stuff but this is one of the best I’ve ever read. The mix of great story, interesting characters and beautifully grotesque imagery is a homerun.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down to 3 for Goodreads

This collects all 3 volumes of Colder into one nice, tidy package. I reckon, without having seen the individual volumes (much less the issues), that this is the ideal way of experiencing Colder, although the first volume is by far the best part of the lot--and stands alone pretty good--for those who want to dabble without committing.

Declan has had a life--most of which is a mystery, as his memory is pretty much toast--and it has left him comatose and under the care of Reece. She'd been a nurse at the mental hospital where Declan was a patient, until its closing; now he lives in her house where she cares for him. Not that he requires much, as he just sits and stares all day. Oh, and he's a medical mystery, as his body temperature runs extremely low--hence the comic's title. But when he wakes up, it's not the cold that's a huge concern, but rather a guy named Nimble Jack--a supernatural being that eats insanity, and he's had is eye on Declan for a while.

Even just from the cover, you can tell that Colder is a mature title. Regularly gory, constantly grotesque. The images are striking, although I waffled often on whether or not I actually liked them. Certainly I'm no stranger to violent images--and consider them a perk more than a negative--but despite some wonderfully creative violence, it felt like a replacement for narrative rather than a natural result of the narrative. As such I felt like reading Colder was more spectacle than storytelling.

The strongest images are those that inform us about the characters. Reece trying to bash Nimble Jack's head in is memorable because she's rising up to overcome, not out of fear for her own safety, but to protect Declan. Meanwhile, the insanity that surrounds Nimble Jack is much less memorable simply because he's established early in the graphic novel and his violence doesn't illuminate his character at all. Grotesque images on a page--even good ones--are little more than browsing a DeviantArt account if the grotesque images don't give us something about the characters or the narrative.

While this reliance on image hides narrative and character development flaws, there are worse elements for a graphic novel to focus on. The narrative problems would exist, regardless of how the art was used. So in a roundabout way the grotesque imagery--even without substance--compels page turning. It is entertaining. It's a slight-of-hand maneuver, but magicians build entire careers on sleight-of-hand.

Cautiously recommended for comic fans that like some gruesome artwork.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very solid horror comic that deserves more attention. The story mostly centers on Declan Thomas, a man who is institutionalized for insanity in the '40s. A fire breaks out destroying the asylum, but Declan goes comatose and remains in a frigid state for decades. In the contemporary timeline, the compassionate nurse Reece takes over the care for Declan. We soon learn that Declan is plagued by a demonic entity known as Nimble Jack, who hungers for the minds of the insane. What ensues is a trip through some surreal hellscapes with loads of mind-bending imagery rendered by Juan Ferreyra. The story itself is pretty solid and well paced, but it does feel like it runs out of ideas after some time. Most of the characters are fairly uninteresting as well, and while Nimble Jack is a wholly creepy villain - he does come off as a bit of a Joker pastiche more than anything. It's a fairly serviceable story - nothing that I found to be overly memorable, but far from disappointing.

The artwork is really what made Colder an engaging read for me. Ferreyra composes some of the gnarliest and creepiest body horror artwork I've ever seen (just look at the cover!). The color choices are spectacular as well, where the images are lush and pop off the page. I'd happily flip through pages of this book again simply to take in the spectacular artwork. This is definitely a solid horror book that I'd recommend to any horror fan easily.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of the great concepts, characters, and art can't save this series from pretty mediocre writing. Don't get me wrong, it's enjoyable, and I really really wanted to love it, because it has the best cover I've ever seen, and I want that image on my wall. But the plotting is just all over the place and it feels like every volume ends with Declan just pulling something out of his ass. The pacing in volume 2 is also so bad that I nearly gave up on the series.

That said, it can't be understated just how good the artwork is in this series. The Hunger looks amazing, and eerie, and wrong. The second volume is absolutely full of incredible surrealist horror illustrations. Also both Swivel and Nimble Jack are absolutely incredible villains. Nimble Jack is basically The Joker, but better, and I by no means offer that up lightly, The Dark Knight is one of my favorite movies, specifically for The Joker.

Basically, this is a series with incredible highs, and incredible lows.

[Pedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colder es sin lugar a dudas el mejor cómic de horror que he leído. La historia es terriblemente inquietante. Colder no va del miedo a la muerte sino que va sobre el miedo a la locura, a perder la cabeza. Además la locura en esta obra es un lugar al que se puede ir, del mismo modo en que el ensueño de Sandman es un lugar. El villano principal, Nimble Jack es una versión aún más terrible, (si eso es posible) del Joker, que de manera sobrenatural se alimenta de la cordura de las personas hasta matarlas. Y lo que hace a Colder una verdadera obra maestra del horror es el emparejamiento perfecto entre la terrorífica historia y las verdaderamente escalofriantes ilustraciones del argentino Juan Ferreyra. Además esta edición omnibus incluye al final dos cuentos cortos dentro del universo de Colder que complementan la historia de una manera que hiela la sangre. No puedo recomendar más a esta obra. Lo mejor que he leído en el género.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Declan (who was in an insane asylum in the 40's and has been nearly comatose since then) is revisited by Nimble Jack, who wants to eat him.

Wowzer! I read a ton of horror and am not easily creeped out and this book definitely did it. The artwork is amazing with that cover being beautiful (in its own graphically awful way). Part of what I liked about this is that I didn't know what would happen next. The off-balanced mental nature of the main characters plus an alternative world meant that anything could happen. Horrific body horror, a scene where someone rips the skin off another's back for 'paper' that is made into a paper airplane that then flies and cuts off another's fingers, truly sad moments with a monster made of eyes that has obviously been abused - extremely inventive and affecting stuff.

[Amanda Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really not sure how to rate this one. Found a single panel online, the nice library lady found the omnibus for me. Just finished reading it. It's kinda gross and gothic and I could not stop reading. I had to know what came next. And the middle and the ending! If I wasnt crazy before I wonder if I am now. Will I see Nimble Jack next time I go outside?
A wild ride to be sure.
I want to tell you not to read thes. Stay away, dont let the madness infect you.
But like every good pathogen it wants to be passed along. Go read it, let the madness spread, Nimble Jack is hungry.