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dogunderwater's review
2.0
ehhhhh i guess. it's not bad but you have to be VERY invested already. http://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2017/10/27/halloween-reviews-bonanza/
absurtiddy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
audreysbookcorner's review
1.0
This book is about a race to find Hell's artefacts that murder people. I didn't like it. It was gory just to be gory. I was expecting manipulation, tears and suffering, but there was only blood. I felt the characters were trowned into my face and I didn't connect with any of them. I'll have to find an evil pov somewhere else...
mackenzi's review
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I read 1-5 (or is it 1-20?) individually over Kindle Unlimited. Rating the omnibus so it feels like one full novel instead of 5 partial stories (comic books are so annoying).
Certain parts of this were okay. To be upfront, I'm not a huge Hellraiser fan. From my review of volume one: "Every iteration feels like a bunch of hell demons who constantly move the goalpost and torture people just to torture them; they bloviate and barf up all sorts of christian-adjacent religious nonsense in a world where very few non-white non-christians exist. I know that's all some people need to enjoy it, but it doesn't feel like there's much of a story when the answer always seems to be "actually there's no god here *tears your face off with hook chains*. This happens approximately two hundred thousand times. I also hate how Barker seems to embrace gender roles in such a boring, biological way. If you're a gal your story will inevitably involve rape, abortion, miscarriage, traumatic birth, some kind of ridiculous menstruation, etc. All of that is still in this series so it's not like, a massive improvement."
So that is all still true and it's why I'm not really into Barker's stuff. But in small doses this universe is bearable. It is definitely stylish, the most stylish splatterpunk I've seen, and I appreciate that the Cenobites seem to hold themselves to that dominatrix dress code, they are all maimed in symbolic and artsy ways, and that their gadgets are lovely shiny gold. I liked Kirsty's new look as well, and when she was the main focus of the story, it moved at a great pace. All of that combined with an abundance of blood on virtually every page makes for some decently stylish horror in the earlier volumes. The artist in me likes all of this enough to get through this whole comic. It holds to a nice aesthetic and I appreciate that.
Sadly, the story started strong but by the end was somewhat convoluted, especially once it zoomed out into a world-wide scope. Seeing groups of men in suits yelling at each other about clearance levels is absolutely boring and it feels old fashioned and trite. Also, the art in the last bit, volume 5, was a huge downgrade. At that point you're finishing it to finish it.
But if you like chains with hooks ripping people's faces off, and a dozen or so sad micro-stories of people fucking up and then getting ripped apart by chains, it might be worth reading. I mean, if you get a free month of Kindle Unlimited, this will cost you zero dollars to read, so it's definitely worth it if you're a fan of Barker, Hellraiser, Splatterpunk, or if you're just curious and want to see some gore and nudity to spice up your day. But it's not the comic that will win you over to liking comic books, it's not going to win you over to the Hellraiser franchise, and it's not even that fascinating of a stand-alone story.
Certain parts of this were okay. To be upfront, I'm not a huge Hellraiser fan. From my review of volume one: "Every iteration feels like a bunch of hell demons who constantly move the goalpost and torture people just to torture them; they bloviate and barf up all sorts of christian-adjacent religious nonsense in a world where very few non-white non-christians exist. I know that's all some people need to enjoy it, but it doesn't feel like there's much of a story when the answer always seems to be "actually there's no god here *tears your face off with hook chains*. This happens approximately two hundred thousand times. I also hate how Barker seems to embrace gender roles in such a boring, biological way. If you're a gal your story will inevitably involve rape, abortion, miscarriage, traumatic birth, some kind of ridiculous menstruation, etc. All of that is still in this series so it's not like, a massive improvement."
So that is all still true and it's why I'm not really into Barker's stuff. But in small doses this universe is bearable. It is definitely stylish, the most stylish splatterpunk I've seen, and I appreciate that the Cenobites seem to hold themselves to that dominatrix dress code, they are all maimed in symbolic and artsy ways, and that their gadgets are lovely shiny gold. I liked Kirsty's new look as well, and when she was the main focus of the story, it moved at a great pace. All of that combined with an abundance of blood on virtually every page makes for some decently stylish horror in the earlier volumes. The artist in me likes all of this enough to get through this whole comic. It holds to a nice aesthetic and I appreciate that.
Sadly, the story started strong but by the end was somewhat convoluted, especially once it zoomed out into a world-wide scope. Seeing groups of men in suits yelling at each other about clearance levels is absolutely boring and it feels old fashioned and trite. Also, the art in the last bit, volume 5, was a huge downgrade. At that point you're finishing it to finish it.
But if you like chains with hooks ripping people's faces off, and a dozen or so sad micro-stories of people fucking up and then getting ripped apart by chains, it might be worth reading. I mean, if you get a free month of Kindle Unlimited, this will cost you zero dollars to read, so it's definitely worth it if you're a fan of Barker, Hellraiser, Splatterpunk, or if you're just curious and want to see some gore and nudity to spice up your day. But it's not the comic that will win you over to liking comic books, it's not going to win you over to the Hellraiser franchise, and it's not even that fascinating of a stand-alone story.
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