Creepy Pigeons Galore in Colder: Toss The Bones #1

Having lived and worked in London all my life, I’m fairly used to seeing pigeons all over the place. I’m not sure I’ll ever look at them quite the same after reading the first issue of Colder: Toss The Bones from Dark Horse Comics.

This is the latest instalment in the Colder series from Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra, and it is a dark, twisted tale indeed.

Before I picked up Colder: Toss the Bones, I had read two Paul Tobin books before – Plants vs Zombies and Bandette. To say that Colder is a shift in tone from the jolly wackiness of those two titles may be the biggest understatement of all time.

There is certainly some humour in this book, but it is the blackest of the black, the smirk that you’re a little ashamed of.

I haven’t read any of the previous Colder books, so coming into this story cold was somewhat jarring. We first meet the villain Nimble Jack, who is a bizarre, terrifying ball of energy and limbs. And he leaves a trail of wanton blood and destruction behind him, all because he is just so “hungry”.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have Declan and Reece, a young couple still licking their wounds from the events of previous Colder books that have left Declan without his fingers. And while they both realise they desperately need to talk about what they have been through, it’s still easier to put it back until another day. It will be easier tomorrow, right?

Maybe. But not if the pigeons have anything to do with it…

I’m not sure ‘enjoyed’ is the right word to describe my experience with this comic. I’ll confess that having not read any of the previous Colder books, I was a little lost at times. This is not the easiest jumping on point.

But the art is so surreal and other-worldly, and Nimble Jack is such an arresting presence that it’s fair to say I was gripped throughout.

And terrified of the pigeons.

If you like to be thoroughly creeped out by your comics, then Colder: Toss The Bones is worth a look. But be warned, you may never look at the world around you in quite the same way.