Colder #5

by lucstclair on March 06, 2013

Feeding off the fear & madness of innocent people for years, Nimble Jack is ready for the main course… Declan! But Nimble Jack isn’t the only one with an insatiable hunger.
 

The Team

Written by Paul Tobin (Doctor Doom & the Masters of Evil, Prepare To Die!, The Bionic Woman Vol. 1 TP) & illustrated & cover by Juan Ferreyra (Rex Mundi Omnibus Vol. 1, Solomon Kane Vol. 2 : Death’s Black Riders). Published by Dark Horse Comics. #5 (of 5)
 

The Pros & Cons

All bets are off, as Nimble Jack & Declan viciously battle each other hopping in & out of reality and the madness dimension in the conclusion to this weird & wonderful little mini series. This series wraps up with a very satisfying ending, my belly is full (sorry). It’s hard for me to review this issue without spoiling it, but let’s just say that the characters involved get their just desserts (sorry again). I will say this, this is definitely the goriest of all 5 issues, as Declan kills Nimble Jack or he thinks he did, in extremely gory ways over and over again.
 
What made this mini series stand out was its complete abundance of originality. I’ve never read a comic quite like it. Madness manifested as another dimension, a villain who feeds on people’s fears driving them to the brink of insanity, a protagonist with ice cold skin who can take away your madness & twisted monsters plucked from your worst nightmares. Writer Paul Tobin took the reader on an eerie & unexpected journey and you never knew quite where he would take you.
 
Combine that with Juan Ferreyra’s innovative illustrations and you have one stunning comic book series. I could go on and one about how great his drawings are, but I have other reviews to write. One in particular amazed the hell out of me was in this issue’s “panels house”. Like the ghost of Christmas past that takes Scrooge through time, Nimble Jack takes Declan in the past and into that fateful night in that asylum all those years ago (see Colder #1). The doctors walk across the floor and down the staircase as they discuss about the patients medication doses. The panels are set up like a house, characters go from top to bottom, Nimble Jack & Declan are in the very first panel looking through a window on the 3rd floor and by the last panel, they’re looking through another window on the ground floor. Just brilliant. Another fun treat I was looking forward every month were the awesome covers. They grabbed you by the throat, especially the 1st issue, which coincidently happens to Declan’s face in this very issue.
 

The Outcome

I pretty much praised this series as much as I could. Buy the issues or wait for the TPB, you’re in for a wild ride. This issue gets a 9 and the entire mini series gets a 10.
 
 

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside