I mentioned back in November 2009 about my new found love with the release of the PSN Comic Store. While it's only been three months since it's official release, I've already accumulated over one hundred comics in that time and thought that I'd share some of my favorites. I was originally going to write about some of the various Spider-Man arcs as well as a lot of my other Marvel favorites until I came to find that there are so many lesser known comics on the PSN Comic Store that deserve to get some mentioning . . . and here is one such case - Clive Barker's The Thief of Always.Originally a book released in 1992, it was adapted as a three part comic in 2005 released by IDW Publishing with Kris Oprisko (author) and Gabriel Hernandez (artist). The story follows ten year old Harvey Swick as he wades through his mundane life of school, uninteresting teachers, and homework. Then one day, Rictus appears and tells him about a paradise for children called Holiday House. He convinces Harvey to go to the Holiday House and the rest of the story becomes a magically filled mystery as Harvey is treated to the splendors of his new home.
With its intriguing story, The Thief of Always reminds me a lot of the movie Coraline with a lot of similar themes and nuances. The story itself is unique as well as the way it is told. Hernandez's art is simple but gives you the feeling of something other-worldly. In many ways it felt like a dream that I had forgotten about or a childhood memory that you lose when you become an adult. While it was originally written as a children's book, the comic book adaption is filled with a mystery that will keep anyone interested and the art sucks you into a world that you will feel you have been to before.
The entire three part series is available on the PSN Comic Store and the best thing about it - Clive Barker's The Thief of Always will only steal your time, not your money because each issue is only $0.99 - making the complete series just a mere three dollars. You could only get one Marvel comic for that price and I guarantee that the quality of the scan is much better from IDW Publishing than it is with Marvel. If you haven't picked up anything yet from the new comic store, I definitely recommend looking out for the Thief of Always because you'll want this comic to steal your time.
