I love John Carptenter’s The Thing. Love it. It’s easily one of my top three all-time horror movies. And,while I wasn’t too thrilled when the upcoming prequel was first announced, it actually looks really good, and it made me realize something--I want more stories about The Thing. Back in 1991, Dark Horse published The Thing from Another World, which carried on the story of the Carpenter film. Now, Dark Horse is bringing The Thing back to comics, with a prequel to the new movie The Thing: The Northman Nightmare. Best of all, you can read the whole thing (no pun intended) for free over at http://www.digital.darkhorse.com.
Written by horror veteran Steve Niles, The Northman Nightmare takes place in Greenland during the 1100’s. A Norse ship has been sent to check on a village that has been out of contact for a while. The ice gets so bad they have to abandon their ship and journey to the village on foot, where they find a massacre has occurred, and there are only a few survivors. Things get worse from there, as it seems there is something else that survived the events that befell the village.
As you would expect, Niles tells a suitably creepy story in this one, and the art team of Patrick Reynolds and Dave Stewart do a great job of bringing the feel of an icy wasteland to the page. They also handle the creature scenes well, providing a version of The Thing that is consistent with the movie, while also doing things that can’t be done on film.
Leading up to the new movie, The Thing: The Northman Nightmare serves as a great appetizer, as well as proof that there are plenty more stories to tell within that universe. Go check it out at http://www.digital.darkhorse.com now, or download it through the Dark Horse Digital app. The movie arrives in theaters this Friday, and you can check out the latest trailer below.
4 out of 5 Frozen Tombs