Welcome to Hellcity, where all your nightmares come true. This is where we are brought in Macon Blair & Joe Flood’s HELLCITY. Released this past Summer, HELLCITY is a graphic novel that sits at over 300 pages. Now I recently had the chance to read this little diddy so allow me to let you all know what I thought!
Like any private eye worth his salt, Bill knows this case stinks like a stack of dead rats…but what doesn’t around here? It’s Hell’s capital burg, the nightmare metropolis, the damned urban sprawl. If you’re not miserable, you’re somwhere else.
Crack the mystery of the Devil’s mental breakdown as violent coups and counter-plots multiply and the city teeters on the brink of civil war? At best, it’s a suicide gig. At worst, well…the possibilites are endless this side of the Styx. There’s trouble in the streets, secrets in the dark, and Bill’s about to reap one big bloody whirlwind.
Hellcity, baby.
REVIEW: As I dove into HELLCITY I found myself not knowing what to expect. Sure I read the plot but aside from that I was going on nothing, and that definitely ended up being a good thing! As a whole the 300+ page graphic novel intertwines various different plots but at the heart of this thing it’s a story about love and that neverending chase for happiness. ‘Bill’ finds himself deep within the bowls of Hellcity and yet he still holds onto that hope… A hope that brings him on a dangerous, intense journey. But we’ll get into all of that…
What really impressed me about HELLCITY was exactly that.. The titular setting is the comic’s biggest selling point in this schmuck’s opinion. Don’t get me wrong, everything else regarding HELLCITY was pretty solid, but I actually found myself looking back and thinking about what a badass place Macon Blair had created. And the imagery of Joe Flood was just as impressive. The best way to describe it would be to take your worst thoughts of Hell and slap them right in the middle of New York City. I’m not talking about the tame setting of LITTLE NICKY either… No, no. The very mention of things that go on in HELLCITY will make you cringe. Stuff like rape, murder and everything in between. I mean… this is Hell we’re talking about.
But let’s rewind to the beginning. In HELLCITY we follow a former private eye detective named ‘Bill Tankerslee.’ Before his demise Bill was your average guy that just wanted to put in a good day’s work before coming home to his beautiful wife. Well one day Bill’s world was turned upside down when his wife was blown away by a shotgun toting psycho. Bill took the only way out he could think of – suicide. And now his home address reads Hellcity. Bill quickly finds himself in a miserable life that consists of a demon roommate and a horrible job… but his life is turned upside down once again when a mysterious woman approaches Bill and asks him to take on one more case… This is where our story begins.
With promises of being moved out of Hellcity and to a more enjoyable part of Hell, Bill takes on the case. Ah the case… You see the Devil himself has been acting kind of strange lately and certain people are starting to talk. So Bill’s been slapped with the task of finding out what’s going on with the Devil. A task that brings Bill to secret raves, Pandemonium and to Heaven itself. We’re treated to the boiling point of a demons versus humans war as well as presidential conspiracies, countless murders, massacres and a hidden entrance into Heaven. The beasts created by Macon Blair and Joe Flood that reside in HELLCITY are disturbing in every sense of the word. From large three headed murderous beasts to giant tattooed bulls that go around raping people…. We’re treated to some truly f*cked up characters. And I loved every second of it! Like I said earlier though, at the core of HELLCITY is the age-old tale of boy meets girl.
Once Bill discovers the hidden pathway to Heaven dreams of reuniting with his wife quickly fill his mind. This is the sole thing that drives him deeper into these conspiracies and wars. Another interesting thing about HELLCITY is your constantly questioning who the villain is. Is it the Devil himself? Or the human anarchist leader Van Lee Burger? Or the coniving tabloid king August Venzig? Or perhaps it’s all of the above… And what’s to transpire at the end of our adventure? Is Bill reunited with his wife? What happens with the demons versus humans war? Why does the Devil secretly frequent Heaven and who will take his place as the ruler of Hell? So many questions! I can tell you the answers but I highly suggest you go out to pick up HELLCITY and find out for yourselves!
Mind you there’s always a lot going on in HELLCITY but the story seems to flow so easily. From one page to the next things just work at the perfect pace. I found myself surprised that I’d flown through such a large comic in so little time. You can get an idea of the different plots intertwining from what I’ve said above, and you’d think it would complicate a story, right? Not in HELLCITY’s case. If anything all the twists and turns enhance the plot! And the illustrations are simply awesome. Nothing too intricate here but detailed enough where you might just turn away at the shot of several mutilated bodies sprawled across the floor. The details are unbelievable Joe Flood does such an amazing job of bringing Hellcity to life that I had no problem imagining what this fabled world would be like.
As far as negatives go… there really wasn’t many. It’s biggest weakness was actually the novel’s hero, ‘Mr. Bill Tankerslee.’ Not the character itself but the lack of the character. While we follow Tankerslee throughout the whole story he doesn’t seem as involved in the plots. Sure, his actual job as a private eye is to sit back and watch what’s going on but that’s exactly what’s going on in the book. It feels as if Tankerslee is more of a narrator rather than the main character of the story, especially considering his plot of wanting to get back to his wife is the heart of the tale. I can also see how the comic can be considered pretty predictable but it’s still highly enjoyable.
Now I’m actually nitpicking here because I found HELLCITY to be entertaining and enjoyable. I’m not saying to run out to your nearest book store and snag this one up… But if I’ve caught your interest at all in this review do yourself a favor and pick this one up, kill some time and enjoy. My rating: 8/10.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed