Sometimes the only thing you can fight a demon with is another demon. It helps if he has sharp claws though. Your Major Spoilers review of Hellverine #1 from Marvel Comics, awaits!
HELLVERINE #1
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Julius Ohta
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Mark Basso
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 28th, 2024
Previously in Hellverine: A demon called Bagra-Ghul possessed a person named Bram Straub. In order to remove the demon from him a government program called Project Hellfire pulled it from him and put it into Wolverine. Ghost Rider then used his powers to defeat the demon and lock it away.
RESURRECTION BRINGS CHANGE
Hellverine #1 opens up with a recap of the story of how the demon Bagra-Ghul had previously been defeated by Ghost Rider and Wolverine. After that, a series of scenes showing The Hellverine slicing his way through various bad people plays out. Things then shift to Arlington Cemetery where a special forces unit is being laid to rest. After the ceremony, they are dug up and brought to Project Hellfire where they’re experimented on before they emerge as bloodthirsty hellfire-infused monsters who quickly start killing everyone in their sight. Intercut with these events are scenes showing Wolverine being captured by military personnel. He’s eventually shown images of the Hellverine’s path of destruction, including what he did to a dinner party of rich cannibals. Wolverine explains that it’s not him. They then show him an encounter Hellverine recently had with the resurrected military unit, and he manages to spot a clue that might reveal his true identity.
METAL AS FRICK
Hellverine #1 is like a visualization of a metal concept album. It’s full of demons, blood, violence, fire, a hint of sacrilege, and even a sex scene on top of a blood altar. What really helps drive this tone home is the usage of narration. You can almost hear the movie trailer guy’s voice reading out the descriptions of the various scenes that play out. The problem is that for this issue, is that it’s almost all style over substance. The story is pretty bare-bones and comes off more like an extended cold open than a full chapter of a bigger story. Due to so much of this issue being montage or intersected scenes, it leaves things feeling disconnected from each other, like two halves of two different comics being cut apart and pushed together in a way that makes the most sense, while never really getting there. It’s only towards the end that there seems to be any direction established. That being said, I’d be lying if I didn’t think that what is here, as shallow as it is, is pretty cool to see and there is something about Hellverine #1 that tickles the part of my brain that just likes to see some gore-y action.
FIRE IS COOL
The art in Hellverine #1 is pretty good. The action looks slick, and it finds a good balance between the more realistic style of the characters and the cartoonish nature of the violence. Where it rises above though is in the colors. In particular, the flames. It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that a comic that’s all about beings powered by hellfire will have, fire and here it all looks dang good. A lot of time fire in comics can obscure too much, but here it blends in nicely and the coloring done to it manages to convey both heat and danger.
BOTTOM LINE: A SHALLOW AND HELLISH ROLLERCOASTER
Hellverine #1 is full of scenes that are intense and get the adrenaline pumping. They just can’t manage to come together into something that’s deeper than a puddle. Good art throughout and some course correction towards the end do enough to keep this from being a throwaway and help justify checking out what comes next, but it’s hard to imagine what else this series can bring that isn’t already here in the first issue. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Hellverine #1
Do you want to see Wolverine and a bunch of cybernetic soldiers drenched in fire, killing everything in sight? Then Hellverine #1 is your comic. Do you want anything else? Maybe look elsewhere.
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Writing5
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Art6
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Coloring8
At a young age, Jonathan was dragged to a small town in Wisconsin. A small town in Wisconsin that just so happened to have a comic book shop. Faced with a decision to either spend the humid summers and bitter winters traipsing through the pine trees or in climate controlled comfort with tales of adventure, horror, and romance, he chose the latter. Jonathan can often be found playing video games, board games, reading comics and wincing as his “to watch” list grows wildly out of control.