Hellcop #2

Hellcop #2

Anomaly Productions/Shadowline/Image Comics 2021

Written & Illustrated by Brian Haberlin

Coloured by Geirrod Van Dyke

Lettered by Francis Takenaga

“COME HELL OR HIGH WATER”

Virgil has been framed for the murder of his partner. With the help of Taj, he escapes custody and heads to Hell in a desperate attempt to find his partner’s life force and clear his name.

I love the opening here because what it does is remind us of history and what could have happened, so an alternate history if you will, and what did happen because of the hubris of man. Not that that’s what this story is about though. I love the Virgil is being set up for the murder of his partner and that his own department isn’t budging or showing support that they think he’s innocent which just shows me how deep the plot goes. There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear, but there’s a man with a gun over there telling him he’s got to beware. At least he has Taj in his corner and hopefully between the two of them they’ll be able to figure this all out. Being on the run and traversing this Hell dimension is already proving to be one heck of a ride and I reckon we’ll see a slew of interesting twists & turns along the way if this issue is any indication.

I am thrilled with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in continuing to flesh out their personalities. The pacing is amazing and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more invested, intrigued and engaged we become.

I’m pretty impressed with the way that this is being structured and how we see the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow and strengthen. I am also liking the way that the layers open up new avenues to be explored because this adds all kinds of depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

I cannot get over just how good these interiors are! I mean the level and quality of work we see through this computer generated work is outstanding! The creativity and imagination that we see in the various demons, species or whatnot that are in that other dimension really stand out and make for some fabulous characters. The linework is exceptional and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work is mind numbing. Between the use of backgrounds and the composition within the panels enhance and expand the moments while also bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story in such wondrous ways. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a brilliant eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show this sensational eye for how colour works.

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A kind of futuristic science fiction whodunnit of epic proportions is unfolding before our very eyes and it’s all sorts of glorious to behold. The depth and complexity that we see in the writing and characterisation to go alongside these completely bloody brilliant interiors bringing it all to life make it time to buckle and and prepare for a bumpy ride.