Horror Icon John Carpenter Comes to Comics for His New Masterpiece, CATHEDRAL (Review)

Warning: may contain possible spoilers for John Carpenter's Cathedral!

Horror maestro John Carpenter has switched genres for his latest masterpiece, Cathedral. One of the finest horror directors of all time, Carpenter’s films changed the course of the field, helping popularize a variety of sub-genres, such as body horror in The Thing and the slasher story in the modern classic Halloween.

Carpenter’s first film, 1974’s Dark Star, helped put him on the map, and paved the way for the many great movies that followed. After helping invent the slasher genre with Halloween, Carpenter went on a tear, directing The Fog, The Thing, Christine and Escape From New York, among others. The later part of the 1980s saw Carpenter release Prince of Darkness and They Live. Carpenter’s output did not slow down in the 1990s, directing the classic In the Mouth of Madness.

In recent years, Carpenter has turned his attention from filmmaking to composing. Carpenter has already composed scores for many of his movies, and his albums, which include 2015’s Lost Themes and its three follow-ups, carry similar vibes. Carpenter still scores movies, but has retired from directing them. In 2012, Carpenter’s partner and frequent collaborator Sandy King launched Storm King Comics, a division of her Storm King Productions, which has handled many of John’s movies. The publisher has had great success with anthology horror books, as well as Storm Kids, a young adult imprint.

Now, John Carpenter has come to comics, co-writing Storm King’s excellent new Cathedral graphic novel. Joining Carpenter for Cathedral are co-writers Sandy King and Sean Sobczak, as well artists Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna. In addition to the graphic novel, a companion soundtrack album, by Carpenter, his son Cody and Daniel Davies, has been released. In his introduction, Carpenter said Cathedral came to him in a dream, and the graphic novel was a “soundtrack and a storyboard.”

Carpenter also teased that Cathedral was born out of humanity’s fascination with worlds “under the surface of the Earth,” and indeed this theme runs throughout the book. Christine Marks, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, is investigating the death of her father, who was killed in a gruesome fashion while investigating the ruins of an old church. Marks enters the cathedral with two other detectives, swearing revenge on whatever killed her dad. The trio soon find themselves plunged into a dark and dangerous underworld, where they encounter all sorts of fearsome creatures.

Cathedral is 100% Pure John Carpenter

Cathedral's Soundtrack Album Pairs Perfectly with the Graphic Novel

Carpenter, King and their collaborators go all-out with Cathedral, taking advantage of the medium to create an amazing dark fantasy story. Cathedral is set in two worlds, with De Luca providing pencils for the “real world” sequences while Guaragna handles the chilling “underworld” scenes. Colorist Sian Mandrake infuses Cathedral’s underworld parts with their own unique tones, further reinforcing the break between the two worlds. The great thing about Cathedral is that these seemingly disjointed approaches work beautifully, leaving readers with the impression that they are not on safe ground: because they are not.

Cathedral fits nicely into Carpenter’s larger body of work. Carpenter never sat still in his movie-making days, moving from slashers to adaptations such as Christine to heartfelt science fiction and even to musical biopics. Carpenter’s movies are visceral, cerebral and most of all, entertaining, and Cathedral checks these boxes. The kills in the graphic novel are brutal, and De Luca and Guaragna pull no punches in depicting them. Carpenter was no stranger to cosmic horror, having played with the idea in movies like Prince of Darkness, and Cathedral covers similar thematic ground.

Music has become John Carpenter’s primary creative outlet in the past decade, and Cathedral allows him to mix that interest with comics. As noted earlier, the soundtrack is a collaboration between John and Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. The soundtrack, which Carpenter describes in Cathedral’s introduction as more “heavy metal” than his previous compositions, is available from Sacred Bones Records. The soundtrack pairs exceptionally well with the graphic novel. Reading it while listening to the soundtrack is the optimal way to experience Cathedral.

John Carpenter Fans Will Love Cathedral

John Carpenter’s career arc has led him through many different genres. His films have been highly influential in the horror field and beyond, helping shape its contours for decades, and are still being felt today. Some of his movies, like The Thing, received prestigious honors such as being included in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. While this chapter of his life has ended, he continues to grace fans with new music, and now he has switched up to comics for his latest masterpiece, Cathedral.

Cathedral is on sale now from Storm King Comics!