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Clive Barker's Next Testament #1-3
Clive Barker's Next Testament Omnibus
A rich explorer discovers a figure in the desert who calls himself Wick, and claims to be God. Together, the pair embark on a reign of terror across the globe, and Wick seeks to reclaim the throne he believes is rightfully his.
Finally collected in one complete volume, experience the terrifying madness of Master of Horror’s first original comic book series, Clive Barker’s Next Testament.
Julian Demond is a captain of industry who left behind everything and began a walkabout, believing himself to be on a mission from above. He soon discovers a figure unlike any other, one who calls himself Wick…and claims to be God.
Their journey together will span the globe and see Wick emerge as the vengeful God of the Old Testament who is none too happy with the current state of man. And while Earth’s new Lord exercises brutal displays of power and gains new disciples at every turn, there is one pair of young lovers who might be humanity’s last hope of surviving a wrath of biblical proportions.
Bestselling author Clive Barker, co-writer Mark Alan Miller (Clive Barker’s Hellraiser), and internationally acclaimed artist Haemi Jang (Clive Barker’s The Road Below) come together for a thrilling story not of this world. Clive Barker’s Next Testament Omnibus collects all twelve issues of the Harvey Award-nominated horror epic.
Finally collected in one complete volume, experience the terrifying madness of Master of Horror’s first original comic book series, Clive Barker’s Next Testament.
Julian Demond is a captain of industry who left behind everything and began a walkabout, believing himself to be on a mission from above. He soon discovers a figure unlike any other, one who calls himself Wick…and claims to be God.
Their journey together will span the globe and see Wick emerge as the vengeful God of the Old Testament who is none too happy with the current state of man. And while Earth’s new Lord exercises brutal displays of power and gains new disciples at every turn, there is one pair of young lovers who might be humanity’s last hope of surviving a wrath of biblical proportions.
Bestselling author Clive Barker, co-writer Mark Alan Miller (Clive Barker’s Hellraiser), and internationally acclaimed artist Haemi Jang (Clive Barker’s The Road Below) come together for a thrilling story not of this world. Clive Barker’s Next Testament Omnibus collects all twelve issues of the Harvey Award-nominated horror epic.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2019
4 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Mark Alan Miller
39 books34 followersMark Alan Miller has carved a niche for himself working alongside some of the top horror icon makers of all time. He worked as editor to Clive Barker for over a decade, adapted stories by Joe R. Lansdale, and created original archival content with Tom Holland.
In 2009, Miller began shepherding the release of the director's cut of Barker's classic film Nightbreed. After 6 years of Miller's campaigning, tracking down the footage, and assembling the film, Barker's long-thought-lost vision was released on Blu-Ray by Scream Factory and the film won best vintage release at the 41st annual Saturn Awards. Miller was there to accept the award in person. The project has garnered worldwide interest, and been featured in publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Fangoria,and Empire magazine, and was named Total Film's 14th best extended cut of all time.
Mark's work is not limited to the printed word, however. He has produced a series of animated shorts with the comedy troupe Superego for Nerdist Channel, directed an animated original by the name of The Great Corben, for Hulu's Fun Size Horror Volume 2, and was a staff writer for Stan Lee's Lucky man the animated series. Most recently, his short film The Coming Dawn Ministry can be seen on the Twisted Twins' Blood Drive anthology.
His other works include, Clive Barker's Hellraiser, Hellraiser Bestiary, Next Testament, Next Testament the Novel, and Joe R. Lansdale's The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down.
In 2009, Miller began shepherding the release of the director's cut of Barker's classic film Nightbreed. After 6 years of Miller's campaigning, tracking down the footage, and assembling the film, Barker's long-thought-lost vision was released on Blu-Ray by Scream Factory and the film won best vintage release at the 41st annual Saturn Awards. Miller was there to accept the award in person. The project has garnered worldwide interest, and been featured in publications such as Entertainment Weekly, Fangoria,and Empire magazine, and was named Total Film's 14th best extended cut of all time.
Mark's work is not limited to the printed word, however. He has produced a series of animated shorts with the comedy troupe Superego for Nerdist Channel, directed an animated original by the name of The Great Corben, for Hulu's Fun Size Horror Volume 2, and was a staff writer for Stan Lee's Lucky man the animated series. Most recently, his short film The Coming Dawn Ministry can be seen on the Twisted Twins' Blood Drive anthology.
His other works include, Clive Barker's Hellraiser, Hellraiser Bestiary, Next Testament, Next Testament the Novel, and Joe R. Lansdale's The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 13, 2023
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
That’s what Richard Dawkins said about the God of the Old Testament and what Clive Barker used as a basis for this comic book. However, since it’s Barker we’re talking about, he takes the whole idea of the Holy Trinity and turns it upside down in a way only he can do. Sure, Clive likes to play with religious ideas and the whole mythos behind them upon which he builds his stories. In this comic book, a person on a personal quest finds a mysterious figure in the desert named Wick who claims he’s the God. The one from the Old Testament. A sadistic bully. Having been in colorless prison for two thousand years, he goes around the world to see what has changed and eventually tries to bring the end of the world.
How much of this comic book was written by Clive Barker and how much it was contributed by Mark Alan Miller it’s hard to say. I believe the story was Clive’s and that’s where it ended since there is Clive’s brilliance in there, that rich imagination, but it lacks to deliver. One of the reasons it’s just too short and this was the wrong media for this story. This should’ve been Clive’s novel, not a comic book. The idea so grandiose cannot be done in a 300 pages comic book. Often it looks like there are gaps in the story making it chaotic to follow. Another reason is the art that does not fit a Clive Barker work, looking more like a manga or some childish cartoon.
I just wish to see this in a form of a novel. 500+ pages one.
That’s what Richard Dawkins said about the God of the Old Testament and what Clive Barker used as a basis for this comic book. However, since it’s Barker we’re talking about, he takes the whole idea of the Holy Trinity and turns it upside down in a way only he can do. Sure, Clive likes to play with religious ideas and the whole mythos behind them upon which he builds his stories. In this comic book, a person on a personal quest finds a mysterious figure in the desert named Wick who claims he’s the God. The one from the Old Testament. A sadistic bully. Having been in colorless prison for two thousand years, he goes around the world to see what has changed and eventually tries to bring the end of the world.
How much of this comic book was written by Clive Barker and how much it was contributed by Mark Alan Miller it’s hard to say. I believe the story was Clive’s and that’s where it ended since there is Clive’s brilliance in there, that rich imagination, but it lacks to deliver. One of the reasons it’s just too short and this was the wrong media for this story. This should’ve been Clive’s novel, not a comic book. The idea so grandiose cannot be done in a 300 pages comic book. Often it looks like there are gaps in the story making it chaotic to follow. Another reason is the art that does not fit a Clive Barker work, looking more like a manga or some childish cartoon.
I just wish to see this in a form of a novel. 500+ pages one.
March 8, 2025
mfw (my face when) i find a banger in the cesspool of sexism and stereotypes that is much of the comics world
October 24, 2021
I liked the first volume, but it never really built from there for me. Felt like the ending was rushed and there wasn’t a lot of depth to the characters...
January 6, 2022
An interestingly visceral contemplation on the nature of the holy trinity from start to finish.
October 13, 2025
A ver... no nos engañemos. Para cualquiera que se haya leído el Antiguo Testamento, no es ningún misterio lo que voy a decir: Dios Padre es, sin duda, el peor villano de la historia de la villanía: nada está por debajo de su absoluta maldad. Ni el infanticidio, ni la venganza más aterradora por los motivos más ridículos, ni el hacer apuestas con Satanás que arruinen la vida de sus seguidores más fieles, ni, por supuesto, la más abyecta y concienzuda limpieza étnica concebible. Su naturaleza caprichosamente maligna se disfraza burdamente de plan divino incomprensible para los meros mortales, pero las matanzas, las leyes arbitrarias que exige que cumpla su pueblo, las pestilencias y hambrunas, los sádicos castigos que impone a cualquiera que se aparte siquiera un pelo de sus implacables exigencias, hablan a las claras de una criatura amoral e indigna, no ya de adoración, sino siquiera de algo parecido al respeto.
Clive Barker y Mark Miller aprovechan a este detestable personaje para crear una historia interesante, bien concebida aunque con un final un tanto anticlimático, que goza de los sugerentes dibujos de Haemi Jang, un para mí ilustre desconocido. Básicamente: un tarado libera a Dios Padre de la prisión en la que lo encerraron hace milenios Jesucristo y el Espíritu Santo (estos sí eran majetes de verdad en la historia original, que conste, que también me he leído el Nuevo Testamento)... y, pues ya pueden figurarse la orgía de insana destrucción y el carnaval de sinsentidos que siguen a esa decisión tan poco meditada. Solo el amor verdadero puede detener a este cafre. Bueno, el amor verdadero y las otras dos entidades cósmicas que andan por ahí adormiscás hasta que... y hasta aquí puedo leer.
Desde luego, Barker y compañía no inventan la rueda: este es, básicamente, el Dios de Preacher puesto de ácido. El de Second Coming sin hijo hippy que le cante las verdades del barquero. Es Nyarlathotep cansado de chorradas. Pero, aun así, es bueno que el cómic siga siendo refugio de este tipo de historias "basadas en hechos reales" (es decir, en la Biblia; léanla si no me creen) que parecen vetadas en cualquier otro medio, básicamente porque los tebeos no le importan a nadie. Y, oigan, que Barker se merece nuestro respeto; fue un escritorazo, ¿eh? Y el que tuvo, retuvo.
Clive Barker y Mark Miller aprovechan a este detestable personaje para crear una historia interesante, bien concebida aunque con un final un tanto anticlimático, que goza de los sugerentes dibujos de Haemi Jang, un para mí ilustre desconocido. Básicamente: un tarado libera a Dios Padre de la prisión en la que lo encerraron hace milenios Jesucristo y el Espíritu Santo (estos sí eran majetes de verdad en la historia original, que conste, que también me he leído el Nuevo Testamento)... y, pues ya pueden figurarse la orgía de insana destrucción y el carnaval de sinsentidos que siguen a esa decisión tan poco meditada. Solo el amor verdadero puede detener a este cafre. Bueno, el amor verdadero y las otras dos entidades cósmicas que andan por ahí adormiscás hasta que... y hasta aquí puedo leer.
Desde luego, Barker y compañía no inventan la rueda: este es, básicamente, el Dios de Preacher puesto de ácido. El de Second Coming sin hijo hippy que le cante las verdades del barquero. Es Nyarlathotep cansado de chorradas. Pero, aun así, es bueno que el cómic siga siendo refugio de este tipo de historias "basadas en hechos reales" (es decir, en la Biblia; léanla si no me creen) que parecen vetadas en cualquier otro medio, básicamente porque los tebeos no le importan a nadie. Y, oigan, que Barker se merece nuestro respeto; fue un escritorazo, ¿eh? Y el que tuvo, retuvo.
November 10, 2019
Atheistic narrative centred around a supernatural male who claims to be god from the Old Testament. He is awoken by an unhinged rich male and proceeds to gradually wreak increasing havoc. The story is left open at the end of the book.
This was my first graphic novel in a long time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It has many features of a good one (for me): enough space among the panels to encourage thinking, effective quotes at the beginning of chapters and the effective retention of a comic tone while managing to make its core points (which are based on religious horror). The artwork was engaging and consistent throughout (though I’m not qualified to make refined judgments on that) and the foreword and afterword neatly topped and tailed the narrative appropriately.
It loses stars for me in the depth of the main antagonist. ‘The man/god of colours’ isn’t the creepiest moniker in itself, neither the name ‘Wick’. Maybe there’s symbolism/connotations of a fire about to be lit, but there’s not enough mystery surrounding the character to make him horrifying and intriguing. His constant exposition on biblical/historical wrongs factors into the comic tone nicely, but it would be nice if more had been done to make him more menacing. A few beads of sweat on characters he talks to wasn’t really enough to make him seem properly terrifying. Perhaps a grander scene involving a grander setting - stalling a bank robbery or interrupting a meeting at the Vatican - would have given the dinner party turning point more edge? Something to really make the character of Wick stand out and separate him from the narrative, promoting his true dangerous potential as a deity.
This was my first graphic novel in a long time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It has many features of a good one (for me): enough space among the panels to encourage thinking, effective quotes at the beginning of chapters and the effective retention of a comic tone while managing to make its core points (which are based on religious horror). The artwork was engaging and consistent throughout (though I’m not qualified to make refined judgments on that) and the foreword and afterword neatly topped and tailed the narrative appropriately.
It loses stars for me in the depth of the main antagonist. ‘The man/god of colours’ isn’t the creepiest moniker in itself, neither the name ‘Wick’. Maybe there’s symbolism/connotations of a fire about to be lit, but there’s not enough mystery surrounding the character to make him horrifying and intriguing. His constant exposition on biblical/historical wrongs factors into the comic tone nicely, but it would be nice if more had been done to make him more menacing. A few beads of sweat on characters he talks to wasn’t really enough to make him seem properly terrifying. Perhaps a grander scene involving a grander setting - stalling a bank robbery or interrupting a meeting at the Vatican - would have given the dinner party turning point more edge? Something to really make the character of Wick stand out and separate him from the narrative, promoting his true dangerous potential as a deity.
January 3, 2022
I picked this up as a last second splurge when it caught my eye as the book store was closing. Had I looked closer, I would not have purchased it, as I am not into horror and especially not into "let's take Chrisitianity and make it evil and twisted" horror.
What drew me to this was the art - after having read some dark and gritty graphic novels I was on the lookout for a bright colorful style with modern high-quality artwork. The art was brilliant throughout, and a lot of time definitely went into each cell.
While I had a tough time with the Christianity-skewing horror theme, the story was quite intriguing. I enjoyed that there were at least some characters who were actually good people, and the story was not entirely one of darkness.
What drew me to this was the art - after having read some dark and gritty graphic novels I was on the lookout for a bright colorful style with modern high-quality artwork. The art was brilliant throughout, and a lot of time definitely went into each cell.
While I had a tough time with the Christianity-skewing horror theme, the story was quite intriguing. I enjoyed that there were at least some characters who were actually good people, and the story was not entirely one of darkness.
April 30, 2024
The collaboration between Barker and Miller seems to work better on comic books than novels. New Testament has a lot of typical Barker’s topoi (the divine as something above morality, the awakening of an ancient, malevolent entity, sex, violence, a couple hold together by true love) expressed through a quite enjoyable tale. Not as revolutionary and devoid of cliches as the various disclaimers would have us believe, but a good story nonetheless.
March 3, 2022
this stinks
September 4, 2023
3 star story + 5 star artwork = 4 stars.
December 4, 2024
Same review for the other one... I put it on the wrong deal
Read
August 10, 2025Only worth reading if you're a Barker completist (like me).
November 23, 2025
Almost as scary as the old testament. Almost.
February 13, 2024
Score: 71
Art: 10/20
Story: 16/20
Characters: 16/20
World-building: 14/20
Writing 15/20
Art: 10/20
Story: 16/20
Characters: 16/20
World-building: 14/20
Writing 15/20
July 22, 2025
Imagine if God came back, but instead of love and light, it was more gold-plated apocalypse and flamboyant judgement. That’s Next Testament. Barker’s fingerprints are all over it—the body horror, the mystical dread, the strange sensuality. It felt like The Hellbound Heart got trapped inside a technicolour dream. The art is hit or miss, but the concept is bold as hell.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews