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INFERNO: HELLBOUND #1
Recommended (7/10)
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Image Comics/Top Cow Productions
Writers: Marc Silvestri & David Wohl
Pencils: Marc Silvestri
Inks: Batt, Eric Basaldua, Jason Gorder, Jonathan Sibal & Danny Miki
Colors: Steve Firchow
Letters: Dreamer Design
Editor: Renae Geerlings
Price: $2.50 US |
Though the concept sounded intriguing, I've found that a lot of Top Cow's main output, such as Witchblade, The Darkness and that kind of thing doesn't resonate with me, and so I wasn't expecting much from Inferno. Surprisingly, Wohl, Silvestri and the rest have turned in a story that seems akin to Stargate crossed with The Mummy, knowingly a little cheesy but full of
solid visuals and good action. At this point we really haven't met any of the
main characters, we've simply been introduced to the premise, so it's too soon
to judge the long-term success, but the first issue is an interesting read with
a lot of potential.
Though I was a fan of his work on Uncanny X-Men, Marc Silvestri's work at Image was never amongst my favorite, and thus his return to pencilling wasn't really a big draw for me. That said, however, even with the multiple inkers, the artwork here is pretty nice. It fits the Top Cow "house style," which is fitting given that he established it, and he's at his strongest when dealing with smaller character-based parts of the story. The opening sequence is terrific, a mixture of desert ambience with a dark tinge that gives a real sense of the setting and what's going on with the nomadic warriors, and while his extravaganza shots can't measure up to similar widescreen effects in JLA or The Authority, Silvestri does draw some creepy
looking demons.
There are essentially two stories here, the
backstory and the opening sequence for the arc. The backstory, showing a group
of dedicated Canaanites defying the gods and attempting to close a gate into
Hell, is easily my favorite part of the book. There's a sense of a long journey,
and even with only a few pages to use, the script develops the characters such
that their fate and the eventual betrayal is effective. The second part, setting
up the reopening of the gate and the modern day response that will become the
heart of the book, is weaker, partially because too much time is spent on the
situation and not enough on developing the characters.
In fact, the second half of the story loses
a lot of the enjoyable dialogue that came in the first part of the issue. While
the overblown dialogue worked in the ancient setting of the prologue, it often
seemed ridiculous in a modern setting. The expository nature was too blatant,
whether it was establishing a couple as adulterous or a murderer as unrepentant,
and I have a hard time believing any military unit speaks in action movie
cliches like the special force sent in to deal with the gateway does. "Sir! With
interest, sir!" doesn't really sound like any kind of realistic or even overly
clever response to talk about repaying army loans. Instead, it seems a bit
goofy.
However, despite my problems with the
dialogue and the lack of solid characterization in the second half of the book,
the first half gives me a lot of hope. If the special team recruited to go into
Hell can be established as well as the warriors who sealed the gate in the first
place, and if the creators can avoid the prolonged periods between issues that
have plagued Top Cow's books, Inferno could well become a hit.
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