Hellraiser comics - any point?

[Greg1066]

I love the movie Hellraiser, but have been pretty disappointed in the way that the sequels were handled. I’m not much of a comic reader (as in, I now have two) but when I saw two Hellraiser comics going very cheap on ebay, I picked them up (that is why I have two). Out of those two comics, I only found two stories that I thought were any good and neither of them really tied in to the mythos much.

I note that on ebay, I can buy the Collected Best of this series - volumes 1 and 2. Does anyone have anything to say about them? For that matter, is there anything to be said about the comic series “Pinhead”? At least it sounds like it maintains an interest in the cenobites, but the covers I saw were not encouraging. One showed Pinhead watching two very unrealistic cavemen fighting and one showed Pinhead locked in mortal combat with somebody called “Martial Law”. I’m looking for some grown-up quirky horror folks!

[Xipe Totec]

I was planning to buy some of the Hellraiser comics, but haven`t bought one yet.

[Fettdog]

OK, several years ago there were several different series based around the Hellraiser mythos, all of which I own, and I try and enlighten you as to all of them here! :)

First of all there was a series of books just called Hellraiser, which occasionally featured Pinhead, but mostly were just stories by a variety of writers and artists (usually 3 or 4 per book) using the whole Lament Configuration / Hellraiser / Cenobyte mythology as their foundation and building them from there.

This series ran for about 20-something issues, plus a couple of specials, and was on the whole very good, although some of the stories were verrrrry strange. The artwork, however, was never anything less than stunning, and as a result these books remain a treasured part of my collection. Well worth bpicking up the best of collection, in my opinion.

Next up was an actual 6-issue mini-series based on Pinhead himself, and which basically spanned his history, right from the stone-age through to modern day. This was OK, but nothing special, and tried to turn him into more of a personality than the silent, menacing figure we know and love.

The Pinhead vs Marshall Law thing was a two-issue crossover between these two characters, and frankly wasn't very good. I get the feeling it was more of a Marshall Law book with a guest appearance from ol' Nailhead, rather than a Hellraiser mythology, and so is best avoided unless you're a Marshall law fan (which I'm not).

Finally, there was a 6-issue Marvel mini-series (on their now defunct Epic label) called The Harrowers, which told the story of a group of kids who had to journey into hell and eventually face-off against pinhead and the Cenobites (although, for the life of me i can't remember exactly why they had to do this at the moment :) ). It was pretty good, and I think was the last appearance of Pinhead in a comic book to date.

Hope this helps!

[Johnny582]

i got a couple
i got like 2 saint sinners, and one called "HEROES FROM THE MIND OF CLIVE BARKER <HYPERKIND>,
i dunno some trash comic inspired by clive.

[Greg1066]

Originally posted by Fettdog
OK, several years ago there were several different series based around the Hellraiser mythos, all of which I own, and I try and enlighten you as to all of them here! :)
...
Hope this helps!

Crikey! I suppose I posted in the right place to find an expert. Thanks! :-)

[Greg1066]

Followup: I just got Hellraiser Collected Best 2 and I was very impressed. I found that the stories were, in general, both good in their own right and tied in nicely to the mythos. Some of the visuals were stunning. Oddly, most of the artists seem to view the cenobites (apart from the fab four) as being weird monsters rather than mutilated humans.

Anyway, I'm very glad that I made this purchase and look forward to getting volume 1 in the mail.

Thanks.

[Marshal Law]

I recently picked up Hellraiser #15 after enjoying Nightbreed so much. Not sure what to think about it though. Guess I'll have to read it again.

I've also read Pinhead vs. Marshal Law (the irony of my first post!) And as a fan it kicks ass. If you see a TPB of "Fear and Loathing" give it a look. Excellent superhero satire