If you need someone to watch your back … Hellchild is the one to do it.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Ralph Tedesco
Artwork: Butch Mapa
Colors: Dijjo
Letters: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Angelica Blackstone attempts to keep Jake and Vera safe from Tor’s men by finding a spot for them to hide out. But when Vera spills the beans on the sadistic truth behind Tor’s actions, Angelica decides she can’t turn a blind eye and must go above and beyond her duties as a bodyguard.
Content (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
With Jake insisting on going to a nightclub even though he knows of the imminent danger, it is not long before Tor and his men find the unfortunate couple and begin turning the lively place into one of complete chaos. Seeing no other option than confronting these heavy handed gangsters Angelica draws forth her double bladed weapon and stands before them defiantly, warning them to chose their words wisely as a foolish enforcer begins to laugh at her bravado. Leaving her little choice an edge soon finds itself embedded within his belly and as a result of this attack another hoodlum is missing his hand after trying to retaliate via gunpoint. As this pitiful creature is screaming from the loss of a limb, the powerfully muscular leader steps in to stop the violence, boldly declaring this woman’s identity as the Hellchild, however her reputation is lost on the ignorance of the hired men.
It is only then does Tor begin to explain the situation: the pitiful excuse of a man who Blackstone is protecting killed two of his girls and this meeting is preliminary to repartations for the loss of his employees. Openly doubting the kindness of this ruthless mobster Angelica boldly challenges the accusations, by which he demands she step aside and allow them to retreat with his prisoner since there is no way she can win this contest. Even though Hellchild agrees with the worthlessness of her charge, it is her reputation which is more concerning and thus answers his request with a swift headbutt and equally vicious assaults to the remaining henchmen. After she quickly yells at the couple watching helplessly to run the fury of her attacks ruthlessly continues with all the strength of a demigoddess, however as it appears she has the upper hand Tor brings the fight to an end with his crushing grip around her throat. With all of the punishment Angelica dealt to this monster, what does it take to finally bring him down?
In Summary:
With introductions from the new story finally over, it is with great enthusiasm readers are able finally to leap head first into the no nonsense attitude which we know as Hellchild, and writer Ralph Tedesco does not spare the ferocity which she is known for, allowing her temper to explode from the beginning of this issue. I was beginning to wonder how long it would be until we saw this primal fury, but at the same time it feels as if she is restraining herself since most of the opponents are human; after all when we saw her last the foes were demonic in nature plus cousin Ares so she could let loose without fear of guilt in killing innocents or ripping them apart, but now that same ferocity appears to be restrained and only doing enough damage to pacify or put them out of their misery without too much suffering. However now that Tor has shown his hidden nature and revealed the despicable truth behind his enterprise, perhaps that hindrance will be negated and we will see more of what we long for – vampiric brutality which lays partially dormant under her human appearance. Even as Angelica tries to forget her demi-goddess and sanguine natures, of course it those essences which make her a force to be reckoned and at the same time it is the humanity which makes creates a dynamic individual which make her so admired.
Even with the lighter tonal contrast established for this title, you still cannot deny the amazing illustrative skills of Butch Mapa is able to set the mood with striking imagery, allowing for Angelica to take over the attitude of the room with her imposing figure. However it is the opening splash page, emphasis on the splash, which arouses your interest with colorist Dijjo magically blending in the energy of a neon dance floor with the brutality of Hellchild – your eyes immediately going to the crimson accent of the plunging blade and her flowing mane of matching hair. And it only becomes more cruel from there as Blackstone continues her dance of death with a ruthless smirk on her face all as the gangsters are stunned by her lethality from their overexaggerated appearances and the piercing eyes of Tor. The excellent use of shading and our heroine’s cold eyes with those pinpoints of red makes her power ooze from the page, allowing for a smooth transition between panels following her exploits almost effortless. And yet even when she is not the center of attention, Mapa knows how to draw our interest by allowing crisp expressions upon the actors’ faces to become our guide throughout the issue. But the most distinct moments are when he allows certain elements of perspective to focus the reader within the story, making our eyes follow those forefront images to concentrate our scrutiny at essential moments and thus cement them in our memory, preparing the audience for what happens within this exploitative tapestry of continuous action.
With a flurry of violence Hellchild: Blood Money begins to enthrall us within the ferocity of Angelica’s world, all as the story slowly unfolds in a manner which makes us and our heroine become more interested in what at first appeared to be a slow to develop narrative. But now that we have become hooked by the foul mechaniations which Tor who manipulates behind the scenes, hopefully the intensity will only become all the more enthralling. And as we await with bated breath, you can only ponder in anticipation what will arise from the depths of this stygian abyss and hope it will only get better with age.
Grade: A
Rating: T (Teen)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: May 8th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
