The enemy of my enemy is my friend … so make sure that your new ally is on your side.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Pat Shand
Artwork: Vincenzo Riccardi
What They Say:
Thousands of years ago, Hades, the God of the Underworld, had a daughter named Angelica. Because of his own foolish schemes, Angelica was tragically killed. But present day Hades is a changed man. In a committed relationship with Liesel Van Helsing, Hades has taken to fighting evil. However, as a new threat rises up in New York City, Van Helsing, and Hades will be forced to face the consequences of his past evils. This is the story of the Hellchild …
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
Angelica has found her place in the world and it is not one that she wanted or craved. This is not the Earth she once knew, it is now a place that holds no meaning – aside from the vengeance she still carries engraved into her heart for Hades. However now she has caught the attention of another, but does this upstart of a leader really hold her interests as his own or does he need her for another reason? The streets are slick with blood and the thirst for that libation is not the only craving which he wants or needs. This vampire is a twisted sadist who knows that this girl has a hunger, but is he willing to satisfy her needs before his own, she can only hope for that in her new companion.
As Angelica sorts through her hatred, Liesel and Marian find that the accident which was meant to bring closure for Hades has brought the opposite effect. The love of his daughter has now turned to anger towards his beloved, the millennia of suppressing the loss have now erupted and he has no outlet to vent the rage aside from lashing out. A god in New York and a demi-god with the powers of a vampire, both with an overwhelming fury to destroy an unseen enemy can only end in trouble. One has allies who wish to help and the other has no one aside from a bloodthirsty egomaniac – a difficult decision as to who will prevail. But both have something in common: a longing to settle a disagreement centuries in the making but which side has the more compelling argument. The daughter has a new friend while the father has none, either way, this exchange will end badly.
In Summary:
This story has become a wonderfully engrossing tale of a daughter/father dynamic taken to the extreme – with both having the ability to destroy everything and anyone foolish enough to stand in their way from accomplishing their own selfish goals. Pat Shand has taken a departure from the norm in what should be a typical rebellious teen story against her overprotective father and inverted it into something of both wanting acceptance but horrifyingly their only path is via destruction; if you project this even further, you might be able to distort Olaf’s mission as a perverted undertaking into having the vampire community acknowledge his desire to show them the power of foreign blood. The want for recognition may be universal, but the desire to force their views upon others is where that need borderlines on obsession. And we have all seen how that idea can turn even the sanest of men into raving lunatics if that appetite is combined with power, it always ends in disaster. This has all the elements for a monstrous soap opera: teen angst, a father who was never there and a power hungry manipulator, but when Shand is involved, it becomes something much more enthralling for the reader, a tapestry of Grecian tragedy set in the modern world – who could ask for anything more? All you need are masks and a chorus then the stage will be complete.
But the most striking narrative elements in the story are focused on the eyes of the characters during pivotal moments which Vincenzo Riccardi uses with utmost effectiveness. Every act of the issue has those events where the windows to the soul are exposed – the emotions are portrayed so fervently that no words are needed, you just need to witness their impassioned zeal to understand the motivation, even without pupils they still make an impact, sometimes even more so. By using this technique, the whole of a scene can be drastically addressed and with the addition of dialogue, each panel is made for more eloquent through Riccardi’s illustrations. Additionally, each antagonist’s passion is dedicated to separate acts, whereby it magnifies the previous actor’s emotional strata, building the frustration until it breaks at the end. This is a wonderful use of the overall rage which seemed to elevate the performances of the previous character; no matter who it was, whether friend or foe, the outcome was the same – an explosive ending.
Hellchild is evolving into a sensational title whereby the characters are driven more by their emotions instead of the actions brought forth by that enthusiasm. Each actor has a history by which they are defined and that story has crafted them into relatable antiheroes through which we can understand primal fears such as rejection and wanting. We as readers are sympathetic to those concepts and it is due to that empathy that one draws a deeper connection to the individuals, especially Angelica. Hopefully, her conflict with Hades will be concluded with an amicable ending, but if not, we will surely enjoy the journey dictated by Shand and Riccardi to their inevitable fate.
Grade: A+
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: May 18th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
