Hellverine #3: The General

Fire and brimstone is as much a main character in Hellverine as anyone else. Hellverine #3 keeps that trend going with hellfire soldiers, Wolverine’s flaming son, and now a demon’s henchman are running around the series setting both bad and good people aflame.

A flashback to General Harms’ past as commander of a shadow unit opens Hellverine #3. He leads his men through a jungle until they come across a rock face and a built in temple. The unit kills everyone inside–or thinks they do. A survivor takes a shot at Harms, right through his eye. As he dies, a demon offers to resurrect him if he sacrifices people in hell’s name. The issue then jumps to the present where Harms’ hellfire soldiers and Akihiro/Bagra-ghul remain on the loose.

General Harms’ more in depth character development in Hellverine #3 gives the series considerably more depth than it’s had to this point. That isn’t to say Hellverine has been weak and without substance. It hasn’t. Percy continues mining the hellfire infused soldiers for pathos, connecting them to their old lives. But Harms, who set most of the series’ events in motion, has largely been a one dimensional jerk. His resurrection as the tool of a demon, though, not only justifies his attitude to this point but makes him even more dangerous for the future.

Percy continues exploring the Akihiro/Bagra-ghul duality in Hellverine #3 while keeping him on a collision course with Logan. The third person narration Percy employs comes in handy the most in the Akikhiro scenes. The outside observer point of view makes it easier to comment on Akihiro’s condition than it would be with a long internal monologue (or perhaps two if Bagra-ghul also had one). And that limited amount of text lets the series’ best quality shine through.

Hellverine #3 again demonstrates why Ohta and D’Armata are the series’ stars. Most of the series’ identity is owed to the two of them. Ohta puts another distinctive stamp on it when he reveals Harms’ true appearance. He isn’t simply a grizzled old man with a craggy face. Ohta draws a pair of horns growing out of Harms’ head that look almost as rough and ragged as the rest of his face. If anything, the horns put the rest of Harms’ face in a kind of visual context: his worn face looks considerably more natural with the horns visible.

The series’ visuals constantly straddle the line between horror and non horror. Ohta leans into the former more than once, but perhaps no more so than when one of the hellfire soldiers attacks Harms and a cabinet secretary. The soldier’s mouth is a maw of giant metal teeth and she bites the secretary’s head in half.

Harms’ flashback is rendered in black and white with the exception of the general and a few instances of red. D’Armata colors the other soldiers with a comparatively dark shade of gray which makes Harms, in his green fatigues, stand out even more. Even with the third person narration, the coloring decision and D’Armata’s execution of it makes the flashback come across as Harms’ point of view.

Ohta and D’Armata’s collaboration is showcased once more with the various characters that are on fire–and none so spectacularly as Akihiro/Bagra-ghul. Ohta’s linework for the boundaries of fire is soft and thin. The flames don’t feel separate from the backgrounds and settings. Rather, D’Armata’s coloring makes it look organically a part of it. No panels show this off better than a split view of Akihiro’s and Bagra-ghul’s face. Ohta still captures details on both sides of the split face, blending into the flames radiating off it.