Review: Satanic Hell #2

Story: Grigoris Douros
Art: Kevin Enhart/Newel Anderson
Colors: Jimmy Kerast
Letters: E.T. Dollman
Publisher: Alterna Comics

Satanic Hell #2 picks up the story of three young, pro-darkside, rock musicians touring ultra conservative Texas where religion dictates all and governs the people. Their arrival has raised the concern of the state’s government and churches, fearing they will corrupt the people of the state.

The issue opens with a counsel of the state’s top leaders discussing the issues of the land, including the arrival of the group “Satanic Hell”. Next, we see the group performing for the first time. The creative team dedicates 4 pages of a 27 page issue to this concert. Each page holds only 3 or 4 panels and one speech bubble per panel. What the artist captures across multiple pages seems like it could have been accomplished in a two page splash. It feels like a huge waste of space considering this series is limited to 7 issues. Later in the issue the writer does give us some background of one of the group’s members, but that’s about it. There isn’t much to take away from this issue, or series so far.

Two issues into Satanic Hell and I still do not understand what the creative team of this book is trying to accomplish, or where the story is going. There is a post concert interview and a trip to a sex toy shop depicted in this issue that do absolutely nothing to drive this story forward. Â The issue ends abruptly and without cliffhangers, leaving the reader with no reason to return next issue. There is a lot of room for improvement with the writing and art in this series, as neither the story nor art is compelling enough so far to make up for the other.

Final Verdict: Hopefully the creative team is able to effectively tell the story they have in mind over the remaining 5 issues. I’m not sure what that story is, and Satanic Hell #2 doesn’t do much to change that.

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