John Carpenter's Tales of Science Fiction: Hell #6

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Hell #6

Storm King Comics 2021

Written by DAvid J. Schow

Illustrated by Andres Esparza

Coloured by Sergio Martinez

Lettered by Janice Chiang

Battered and burned from their engagement with the savage insectoid Stalkers, the CalEx strike team is now fractured into three parts, all lost in the Underneath: Brandon Samples, alone and suffocating; Stef, half-blinded, her group ravaged by the conflict in the Crystal Cathedral; and the remnants of Capt. Lamb's unit, captured and herded by more Stalkers than anyone can fight. At the end of their quest: actual demonic gargoyles, the overlords of the Underneath! They're not only in charge - but they already know how to speak English!

I am in love with this series. I mean this is one of the rarest of them all when each arc in this series has been some of the most exceptional work we see in comics right now. It certainly helps in how much we enjoy the book and to be honest with a story of this magnitude it needs this level of work. The way that this comes across is pretty amazing and while it isn’t the literal Hell one might find in the bible it is within the Earth’s crust and contains lifeforms that grew unhindered in this environment.

I love, love, love 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 is exquisitely presented. The character development 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 marvellous job in bringing their personalities to the forefront.

I really like the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. How we see the layers within the story open up new avenues to be explored while in the process of exploring those avenues already opened add so much great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. With the “now” arc and the three arcs that run simultaneously there is a lot going on and it’s all just so deliciously rendered throughout the book. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is so impeccably achieved.

The interiors here are completely and utterly phenomenal. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this insane level & quality of detail within the work is brilliantly rendered. The backgrounds are so important to the story and they enhance and expand the moments beautifully. They also work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The creativity and imagination that we see throughout the book is utterly marvellous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a masterful eye for how colour works.

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The creativity and imagination that we see through the writing and the artwork elevate this book so far above what we’ve come to expect and it’s utterly glorious. With only two issues to go and at least one known survivor it’ll be interesting to see just what is still to come. The writing for this is extraordinary and the characterisation is unbelievably strong while the interiors bring this underground world to life in an absolutely stunningly brilliant manner. If you aren’t reading these, I urge you to get the trades because this is some of the creme de la creme of comics storytelling.