Hellbreak #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Brian Churilla
Published by Oni Press
If there’s one thing that’s to be said about Cullen Bunn, it’s that he’s someone who knows how to get things done. At the moment, he has at least half a dozen projects coming out the door with several of the big comics publishing houses. Here’s one of his projects for when he’s not shooting off high profile titles from Marvel or DC, it’s a little book called Hellbreak. This title has one of the most fantastic and out there ideas in a long time, the special brand of pulpy weird science fiction that is the life blood of comic books. The story follows the Kerberos Initiative, a privatized military project specialized in black ops exorcism. When someone comes to them with a friend or a family member possessed by one of the forces of Hell, they’ll rescue them from the demonic forces trapping their soul in the underworld.
This first issue hits many of the right marks when trying to make a good first impression. This book serves the simple purpose of introducing the world of Hellbreak, how the Kerberos Initiative operates, and what sort of nightmares the team must face. The comparisons will likely be drawn to Hellboy for the obvious superficial similarities though this world more closely resembles the technology meets magic beat of Charles Stross’ Laundry Files book series. Cullen Bunn jumps right into the action as the Kerberos Initiative seeks to extract a poor soul taken as a sort of party favor at a Hellish gala. It’s a simple enough introduction which sets up the premise nicely. There is not much characterization out of the team just yet save for setting up who everyone is and what role they play. There’s some hinting at the moral conflict of saving only particular souls from Hell but it’s only set up for later.
The artwork is handled by Brian Churilla. He’s a good fit for this book as he’s able to keep many plates spinning for this one issue. The human world looks appropriately drab with a pinch of the gothic. For Hell scenes, he has some excellent monster designs and makes the Pit out to be much more elaborate than simply fire and brimstone. The six person team that makes up Hellbreak’s special operations team all look unique and stand out from each other while looking relatively normal. Admittedly there are times where characters start to get obscure once they enter the background but it’s relatively harmless as Churilla otherwise works perfectly fine.
This is an issue that proves you can make up for short comings with a solid script and intriguing premise and is definitely worth following. It doesn’t wallow in setting up character subplots meant to play off later, instead jumping in medias res and showing the Kerberos team in action. It’s a fun monsters vs. military adventure that’s well worth one’s while.