As a fan of Clive Barker, it is not a surprise that I picked up a graphic novel adaptation of Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always. This short story originally written as a fable for children with several colorful paintings, but was adapted in 2005 by Kris Oprisko into a graphic novel that is not only appropriate for a children’s tale, but has an appeal for adults as well, from the unique art style to the storytelling that Clive Barker is so famous for.

The plot of Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always revolves around a boy named Harvey Swick, who is certain that he is going to die of boredom on one gray, cold February day. It is while he is wishing for something to happen that a figure comes to him, the delightfully wicked looking Rictus, and Harvey is introduced to Holiday House, a house no one else can see behind a wall, where he is given anything he wants, and where every day can be measured as an entire year, as all four seasons happen in one day. Harvey is joined there by other children, such as the rotund Wendell, and the mysterious Lulu, and with these two he spends numerous days there. Yet he begins to suspect something is going on, and when he discovers how wicked the heart of Holiday House is, then the true horrors are revealed, and it is up to Harvey to escape to the world he left behind.

In Clive Barker style, the context of the story goes far deeper than just the main plot line. You can see how the years lost to Harvey are representative of people in real life who lose years chasing after some unattainable dream. How that dream, which can be seen as Holiday House, feeds the person chasing it, but robs from it what truly counts, which is the time wasted. This fable is light fare though, ready for teenagers who might be looking for something substantial amongst the wide eyed beauty of manga about magical girls and talking animals.

The art of this particular graphic novel is quite beautiful. Glossed over with sepia tones, pencil sketches come to life with colors that are found only in those hazy days when you feel the most lazy or despondent. Even when Harvey is busy having fun in Holiday House, the art style gives the reader the idea that not all is as it seems. The four creatures inhabiting Holiday House, Rictus, Jive, Marr, and Carna are all portrayed in beautiful horror, all something out of a video game where you face unknown things in the dark. They are terrible and lovely at the same time, and only something that could belong perfectly in a fable for younger readers. Christened with wide, saw toothed smiles, and hunched shoulders making wide eyes look even wider, the characters are truly the showpiece of the art.

While I am used to more flash and discussion about the difference between the flesh and the soul in works by Clive Barker’s (such as the graphic novel spin off of his Hellbound Heart characters), Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always captured even my imagination. Solid storytelling with beautiful artwork by Gabriel Hernandez combine to make this graphic novel worth not only picking up, but adding permanently to your collection.