Part of Clive Barker’s short-lived, superhero comics universe published by Marvel (under the ‘Razorline’ banner, an imprint specifically for Barker’s superhero titles), Ectokid lasted for just 9 issues (plus a single issue of a spin-off, Ectokid Unleashed).

Coming from Barker, you know this won’t be typical superhero stuff, and it certainly isn’t a stereotypical origin story by any means.

In fact, we start in media res, with the titular Ectokid (aka the amusingly named Dex Mungo) being chased through New Orleans. Before long, he’s suddenly transported to a hellish, alternate New Orleans, with monsters on his tail.

Slipping back and forth between worlds, help comes to Dex from a very unlikely source: a familiar literary figure, who lends the confused teenager a hand.

It’s all very odd, but genuinely compelling as the start of a new series. With Barker laying down the initial concept (for this and the other titles in the Razorline imprint), it’s up to James Robinson to script the action, and he doesn’t disappoint. Nor does the excellent Steve Skroce, whose detailed and stylised artwork is superb throughout (as you can see from that attention-grabbing, embossed foil cover).

There’s also a backup story, which sets up another Razorline title: Hokum & Hex. It’s a bit weird, though that feels almost redundant to say, given that this was a superhero universe birthed from the imagination of the peerless Clive Barker.

Though it’s a shame that his superhero universe was cut short, the fact that Barker managed to get a superhero title published by Marvel, let alone a full imprint of multiple comics, running simultaneously, feels like a miracle in itself. And Ectokid, the second title in the line to launch, shows what promise these comics had.

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