Hellverine #8: On Hold

Despite Hellverine #7’s high stakes ending, Hellverine #8 is actually quite tame. Hell Hulk gets his head put back on, and Akihiro escapes his tomb. Most of the rest of Hellverine #8 is exposition. Percy uses Akihiro’s internal monologue to tell Hell Hulk’s story, from his birth as part of Severith’s experiments in Hell’s Laboratories all the way through to its defeat at Bagra-Ghul’s hands (unseen but set between Weapons of Vengeance Omega and the Hellverine mini-series). This is one of the least effective uses of the internal monologue device that Percy employs to tell Hellverine’s story. It successfully imparts the information that it needs to, but it isn’t a compelling story in and of itself.

The exposition plods along for almost two thirds of Hellverine #8 before the titular character returns to Project: Hellfire. At that point the pace picks up. The issue ceases to be about info dumping and instead about the gruesome destruction that Hell Hulk is causing in his wake. This issue serves as a good example of the paradox that Hellverine sometimes falls into. The series as a whole leans into the horror genre. But too often the theoretically most horrible supernatural elements are described rather than actually experienced by Akihiro.

This is probably the biggest shortcoming of the writing style Percy often employs. He crafts a good overall narrative, and his reliance on internal monologues showcases the depths to which he understands his characters. But sometimes he gets so caught up in the text that the issue becomes more telling than showing.

Regardless of how narratively successful any particular sequence is, though, Ienco’s depiction of the series’ hellish creatures seldom disappoints. Hellverine #8 opens on Akihiro locked away in a tomb with Severith’s staff which quickly turns into a large worm that tries to consume him. It has many, many hook-like feet along the lines of a centipede, but it is one unsegmented body. The worm’s front end is reminiscent of Dune’s sandworm in that it is one giant maw. But whereas the sandworm’s teeth pull inward, the worm’s small inner tentacles reach out of the mouth to suck Akihiro in.

More generally, Ienco’s art is consistently detailed. Character expressions come via liberal shading around cheekbones, jawline, chin, forehead, and so forth. Akihiro’s one sequence passes without dialogue or interaction with other characters. His internal monologue is also fairly dry and unemotional. Ienco’s detailed work is primarily responsible for communicating Akihiro’s emotions in the few panels between escaping the worm and turning into Hellverine.

Valenza’s work is somewhat one note through much of Hellverine #8. Much of the Hell Hulk flashback origin sequence lacks any variety in color shades. It is as if there is an evenly bright source of light surrounding everything in panel. His best work is in the scenes featuring Akihiro and the worm. Here there is a variation of shades across both the worm and Akirhiro’s bodies. Ironically, this scene apparently takes place in the dark.

Lanham does a good job keeping the many caption boxes in Hellverine #8 out of the way of the art. In an issue that is trying to be so visually propelled, the best work is the work that stays out of the way.