Hellmouth #3 Review
Writers: Jordie Bellaire & Jeremy Lambert
Artist: Eleonora Carlini
Colors: Cris Peter
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of the Buffyverse reboot and this has been one of the best issues to date. There is a bit of classic Buffy humour here when Drusilla calls Angel “Angelus” and Buffy mishears it as “I’m Jealous”. It is so reminiscent of the TV series.
One thing this series does really well it tease things to come. That was always a speciality of Joss Whedon, try rewatching Buffy or Angel and see all the references and teases that he puts in sometimes years before they show up. It’s nice to see that carried on here. It also leaves me desperate to read the next comic and find out what happens. It was bad enough having to wait weekly for TV, waiting monthly for the next comic is difficult. On the plus side the way the release schedule for the Buffyverse is done there's a new issue of one of the series released nearly every week which is well planned.
Things that have been teased since Angels first appearance are now coming to fruition. The next issue promises to be the best one yet.
We get an opportunity to find out a little more about Angel here, and what motivates him. There’s even a reference to the classic Angel episode “I will remember you” which is sure to put a smile on fans faces. That’s one of the things that I love about this series, little easter eggs for the long time fans but done in such a way that newcomers won’t even realise they’re missing out.
Out of all the characters in the reboot we’ve probably spent the least amount of time finding out about is Angel. This issue gives us a chance to find out a bit more about him, and the next one promises a confrontation between him and Buffy that has been brewing for a long time. And I suspect it will reveal a lot about the rebooted Angel and I can’t wait.
Another thing this issue does well is tie it into the other comics a bit better. I thought the extent of this Hellmouth events actual crossing over with Buffy and Angel would only be the titular characters absence from their series, and obviously the fact Hell has come to Sunnydale. We find out more in this issue about what’s going on in Buffy than we have in Buffy so far which was a nice touch.
There’s a great double page splash which hints more at this propechy that’s been getting teased. I can’t help but feel things aren’t going to end well for our heroes at the end of this event.
Eleonora Carlini’s art is outstanding as always. I would love her to take over the reigns during the main Buffy series once this event is over. She really captures Buffy and Angels likenesses, the Hellmouth is suitably alien, forbidding and monster filled. Her demons are great, not restrained by a TV budget she really gets to let loose and has some great creature designs.
Cris Peter’s colors are also great. It gives the Hellmouth a suitably otherworldly atmosphere, we know we’re not in Kansas anymore. I do however have one complaint relating to colors. There is a mistake at the start of the comic, where we see a few scenes replayed while Drusilla monologues. We see a few of the characters, including Robin and Gunn, and I wasn’t sure who they were at first because they both look white. It seems a strange oversight to have got through editing. My review is done from an early reviewers digital copy though, so it’s entirely possible this is fixed in the actual book and if so I’ll update when I’ve picked up my copy from my comic book shop.
My only slight reservation here is Drusilla. I've not been sure of the reboots take on her so far, and I thought at the conclusion to the last issue we might be getting the crazy Drusilla fans of the series know and love, but that seems to have been a blip and we're back to the coherent Drusilla that's been present throughout the reboot. She's just not Drusilla to me, not yet anyway, far too different from the series.
The Hellmouth event has been great, this is a fantastic example of comic book events done properly. Writing is spot on, the art is great to the point I’ve found myself stop reading to admire it. The conclusion to this issue is one of the best cliffhangers I've read and I can actually hear Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz's voices in my head in the last few panels.
Artist: Eleonora Carlini
Colors: Cris Peter
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of the Buffyverse reboot and this has been one of the best issues to date. There is a bit of classic Buffy humour here when Drusilla calls Angel “Angelus” and Buffy mishears it as “I’m Jealous”. It is so reminiscent of the TV series.
One thing this series does really well it tease things to come. That was always a speciality of Joss Whedon, try rewatching Buffy or Angel and see all the references and teases that he puts in sometimes years before they show up. It’s nice to see that carried on here. It also leaves me desperate to read the next comic and find out what happens. It was bad enough having to wait weekly for TV, waiting monthly for the next comic is difficult. On the plus side the way the release schedule for the Buffyverse is done there's a new issue of one of the series released nearly every week which is well planned.
Things that have been teased since Angels first appearance are now coming to fruition. The next issue promises to be the best one yet.
We get an opportunity to find out a little more about Angel here, and what motivates him. There’s even a reference to the classic Angel episode “I will remember you” which is sure to put a smile on fans faces. That’s one of the things that I love about this series, little easter eggs for the long time fans but done in such a way that newcomers won’t even realise they’re missing out.
Out of all the characters in the reboot we’ve probably spent the least amount of time finding out about is Angel. This issue gives us a chance to find out a bit more about him, and the next one promises a confrontation between him and Buffy that has been brewing for a long time. And I suspect it will reveal a lot about the rebooted Angel and I can’t wait.
Another thing this issue does well is tie it into the other comics a bit better. I thought the extent of this Hellmouth events actual crossing over with Buffy and Angel would only be the titular characters absence from their series, and obviously the fact Hell has come to Sunnydale. We find out more in this issue about what’s going on in Buffy than we have in Buffy so far which was a nice touch.
There’s a great double page splash which hints more at this propechy that’s been getting teased. I can’t help but feel things aren’t going to end well for our heroes at the end of this event.
Eleonora Carlini’s art is outstanding as always. I would love her to take over the reigns during the main Buffy series once this event is over. She really captures Buffy and Angels likenesses, the Hellmouth is suitably alien, forbidding and monster filled. Her demons are great, not restrained by a TV budget she really gets to let loose and has some great creature designs.
Cris Peter’s colors are also great. It gives the Hellmouth a suitably otherworldly atmosphere, we know we’re not in Kansas anymore. I do however have one complaint relating to colors. There is a mistake at the start of the comic, where we see a few scenes replayed while Drusilla monologues. We see a few of the characters, including Robin and Gunn, and I wasn’t sure who they were at first because they both look white. It seems a strange oversight to have got through editing. My review is done from an early reviewers digital copy though, so it’s entirely possible this is fixed in the actual book and if so I’ll update when I’ve picked up my copy from my comic book shop.
My only slight reservation here is Drusilla. I've not been sure of the reboots take on her so far, and I thought at the conclusion to the last issue we might be getting the crazy Drusilla fans of the series know and love, but that seems to have been a blip and we're back to the coherent Drusilla that's been present throughout the reboot. She's just not Drusilla to me, not yet anyway, far too different from the series.
The Hellmouth event has been great, this is a fantastic example of comic book events done properly. Writing is spot on, the art is great to the point I’ve found myself stop reading to admire it. The conclusion to this issue is one of the best cliffhangers I've read and I can actually hear Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz's voices in my head in the last few panels.
A Look Inside
