Hellcity: The Whole Damned Thing

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(Written by Macon Blair; art by Joe Flood)

Aug 30, 2010 Web Exclusive By Jeremy Nisen

A sort of old-school, hard-luck gumshoe yarn, taking place against the backdrop of what is quite literally a city where the damned spend their afterlife, Hellcity has some pretty compelling elements. It’s funny how cruelly the demon/devil denizens of Hellcity abuse the humans. The political power structure and potential power vacuum when “Lou” (as in “-cifer”) falls for someone in a slightly higher elevation is a neat idea. And the lead character, Bill—a damned private eye that somehow holds his head up, and manages to be a pretty tough guy, even existing under such daunting circumstances—is a cool protagonist.

But there are a few things that might give a reader pause. Many of the situations, which alternately borrow tropes from private eye pulp and/or from the various incarnations of literary hell, feel a little tired and not so innovative. The character motivations and reactions are a little too on the nose at times. And, finally, I hate to say it because artistic preference is such a subjective thing, but I really did not enjoy Joe Flood’s art very much. It’s not that it’s a little sketchy and cartoony and un-rendered; in fact, I think those aspects play to what’s best about the art, that it’s pretty lively. (In fact, “cartoony” art tends to be my favorite kind in comics.) It’s just that Hellcity‘s art is not very consistent, with some awkwardness in angles and spatial relationships. Even in such a fantastic environment, it’s hard to believe some of the creatures exist simultaneously.

Hellcity is at its strongest toward the beginning and into the mid-point reveal; after that, it’s a rushed finish that feels obligatory rather than frenetic. Even so, this is not a bad book. There’s enough to like that fans of certain horror or pulp or even of absurdist punishment might find this right in their wheelhouse. I’d not recommend shelling out the $25 for this admittedly thick volume, but I’d certainly borrow it from a friend or the library, or possibly pick it up on sale. Okay overall. (www.imagecomics.com)

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