“We have such sights to show you.” 

They’re immortal words, inspiring fear and horror ever since uttered by cruelest and most demonic creature of them all, Pinhead. He's a walking abomination, emblematic of Hell's deepest pits; a creature of unique vision and poetic justice who seeks pleasure in inflicting pain to the righteous and hypocritical. But what happens when he leaves Hell; When all that is his domain is suddenly under the rule of his most formidable human enemy, Kristy Cotton, the new reigning Queen of Cenobites? These are the questions that launch Boom Entertainment's mini HELLRAISER arc, THE ROAD BELOW. Hot on the heels of Clive Barker's return, this four issue mini-series promises to be as perverse and terrifying as its predecessor.

The story opens up with our new Pinhead, Kristy Cotton, as she surveys her new home, a literal pit of flames and bodies. As she approaches one of her female cenobites, we get a strange feeling that something is not right in netherworld. Suddenly, the comic cuts to an occult shop, a little store that is the newest owner of Hell's Puzzle Box and the stores proprietress, a temperamental woman with an eye for black magic. We follow her as she goes about her day taking care of the store, bickering with her daughter, and basically being an everyday human being. But it wouldn't be a HELLRAISER comic if that's all there was to her. As demons from her past bang on her door, threatening to destroy everything she holds dear, it’s revealed she is no mere human, but something more powerful,

Of course, as any card carrying member of Satan's Army would tell you, there is only one way to fight a demon: summon a bigger and badder one to kill it. And who is badder than Pinhead herself?

HELLRAISER, in its many incarnations, has a set a standard of horror that few have met, and the new comic is a beautiful addition to the already twisted tale. It keeps faithful to the twists and turns that we’ve come to expect and the gore, oh boy, the gore is splendid! While some might be turned off by Pinhead’s replacement, our new girl is really worth her weight in gold, and will no doubt keep us disgusted in this side story as much as the main series.

Author Brandon Seifert, does a great job of spinning a bit of mystery and magic around the lead character, and the art by Haemi Jang is beautifully done, with dark colors and finely inked lines jumping right off the pages like hungry little monsters. Though this side story just launched, the main HELLRAISER series has been running strong for a little under two years, so be sure to pick up both when your out shopping for your weekly thrills and chills at your local comic shop.

---

Reviews - Comics Reviews