Printed Perversions: Nancy in Hell #2

"Don't worry about the goo... just hold me tight!"

When we last left our chainsaw-welding, scene-chewing heroine she had been 1) violated by demon succubi, 2) saved by a mysterious stranger, 3) attacked by devil dogs and 4) surrounded by a horde of undead who subsequently had their heads explode thanks to the almighty power of Satan... er, Lucifer. Issue #2 picks up right where the previous issue left off with Nancy's confrontation with the wingless fallen angel whereupon the "light-bearer" drops a lengthy monologue on us in the form of uninspired (and stereotypical) representations of God, Heaven and the Heavenly Host (angels). One twist does come in the origins of Hell which, as opposed to being a creation of God, is actually the manifestation of Lucifer's guilt and sorrow given form by something known only as the Darkness.

We also learn a little more about the mysterious Mr. Macabre who, as it turns out, isn't quite that complicated of a character as I had hoped. Instead, he fills more a rogue demon kind of role similar to the Violator in McFarlane's Spawn series. He even shapeshifts in a far more hideously grotesque form which is admittedly pretty visually stunning. Nonetheless, besides an unprovoked penis joke and the insinuation that Hell is something of a living organism, his appearance in the issue does little to move the story along.


Lucifer tries to impress Nancy with his best E.T. impersonation... and fails.


A lack of copyediting and a blithely weepy-eyed Lucifer drag the story down a notch from its debut issue. When the script isn't being overly dramatic it fails to understand the concept of singular and plural nouns, often confusing the two and taking you out of the story. On the other hand, the artwork remains as gorgeously grue as before with a highlight reel that includes nasty zombies, gnarled demons, and mangled corpses that have been eviscerated beyond all recognition. There's even a brief cameo by a mad scientist turned psycho slasher(?) and the reanimated meatsuits of Nancy's friends, who are also revealed to have been the victims of the aforementioned scientist/slasher.

I'll admit that this ride was more fun the first time, but I'm still willing to give it another shot with issue #3, though I'm hoping that El Torres' story can keep pace with Ryp's spectacularly lush artwork. Ending a little less anticlimactic than its predecessor, this issue leaves off with Nancy squaring off against her demonic former friends and a stoic, stone-faced Lucifer being tempted by an agent of the Darkness. Here's hoping the not-so-red lord of Hell can grow a pair long enough to keep me from wanting to cut my wrists with his depressing aura of self-loathing and pity.


Is it just me or do the female angels seems more laidback and carefree then the men?






3 comments:

  1. I don't know...seems like the perfect excuse for softcore comic porn to me. Where's Chainsaw Sally by the way? Maybe they will explore that feud in an issue or two. One can only hope they can break away from topless angels with horrid implants. Every other panel is just plane 'ol eye candy for the tweenies. The good news is we all know what God looks like now: a very pissed off Thor. Great post man!

  1. Paxton said...:

    Yeah, the artwork here looks fantastic. The story looks to be a lot of fun. However, like always, I may wait until the inevitable trade paperback to read the series. However, I'm intrigued so far.

  1. Strange Kid said...:

    @Paxton: It's definitely feeling like a trade paperback kind of book. The art is gorgeous, but the story tripped on itself here. I'm hopping issue #3 picks up the fire of the first issue again.

    @Elliot: Haha, he DOES look a little like Thor. Luckily, there's only a few pages of this kind of heavenly exposition before we're pulled back into the blood and guts of Hell... literally.

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