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Hellstrom (Collected editions)
Hellstorm: Son of Satan - Equinox
When the Son of Satan is your best option, God help you. New Orleans. The Big Easy. The membrane between our world and the underworld has always been a little thinner here. Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the outpouring of human misery has drawn demons like sharks to a bloodbath. What better time for Daimon Hellstrom - a.k.a. the Son of Satan - to pay a visit? It starts with the doctor who delivers a baby that vanishes into the night. A doctor who is devoured by demons wearing New Orleans PD badges. Demons who work for someone - or something - that's descended on the Big Easy and doesn't give a damn who Hellstorm or his father is. Something that's harvesting body parts in a furious race toward unspeakable purposes. This is the Son of Satan as you've never seen him before, brought to you by acclaimed novelist Alexander Irvine (The Narrows), with searing art by Russell Braun (Animal Man) and Klaus Janson. Collects Son of Satan #1-5.
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2007
4 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Alexander C. Irvine
189 books199 followersAlexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. He also writes under the pseudonym Alex Irvine. He first gained attention with his novel A Scattering of Jades and the stories that would form the collection Unintended Consequences. He has also published the Grail quest novel One King, One Soldier, and the World War II-era historical fantasy The Narrows.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 6, 2014
I was reluctant to pick this book up. I love the Son of Satan comics from the seventies, and the character's subsequent appearances in the Defenders. Daimon's appearances since then have been amusing, even if the character was watered down a little. The Hellstorm series of the nineties started out on a fairly strong note, but got muddled before too long and lost my interest. Seeing the character turn up under Marvel's Max imprint didn't get me excited. I have very little Max in my collection for a reason. But, seeing the name "Son of Satan" back in the title, I thought, "Well, that's a step in the right direction." I was miffed at comics through the eighties and nineties saying that he wasn't "really" the son of Satan but instead: some other demon, the Babylonian god Marduk, Satannish . . . Phooey!
Rarely have I been so pleasantly surprised by a book I was reluctant to read. Alexander Irvine did something that no other writer really did for Daimon Hellstrom: he gave him a believable personality. I said that I loved the seventies comics with the character, but I have to be honest. As much fun as they are, Daimon is so busy griping about his fight between his light and dark sides that we never get to know him. Later writers have played up his good or bad self to make things simple, but the result was never convincing for me. Here, Irvine strikes a near perfect balance. Hellstorm isn't exactly a hero, nor a villain. He becomes a sort of bad boy with principles, if not actual morals.
The story was a real eye opener. Comparative religion is something of a passion of mine. A story featuring Satan's son that draws parallels between Christian and Egyptian myth is something I never even conceived of. It even cast a little light on a small mystery that I never realized was a mystery. Why was it always golden ankhs and not crosses?
The artwork by Braun, Janson, and Brusco was superb. Crisp, clean, and even a little experimental.
I would like to see more of this incarnation of Hellstorm, rather than the flame-headed version that's been skulking around Marvel lately.
Rarely have I been so pleasantly surprised by a book I was reluctant to read. Alexander Irvine did something that no other writer really did for Daimon Hellstrom: he gave him a believable personality. I said that I loved the seventies comics with the character, but I have to be honest. As much fun as they are, Daimon is so busy griping about his fight between his light and dark sides that we never get to know him. Later writers have played up his good or bad self to make things simple, but the result was never convincing for me. Here, Irvine strikes a near perfect balance. Hellstorm isn't exactly a hero, nor a villain. He becomes a sort of bad boy with principles, if not actual morals.
The story was a real eye opener. Comparative religion is something of a passion of mine. A story featuring Satan's son that draws parallels between Christian and Egyptian myth is something I never even conceived of. It even cast a little light on a small mystery that I never realized was a mystery. Why was it always golden ankhs and not crosses?
The artwork by Braun, Janson, and Brusco was superb. Crisp, clean, and even a little experimental.
I would like to see more of this incarnation of Hellstorm, rather than the flame-headed version that's been skulking around Marvel lately.
June 1, 2017
Irvine ai testi, Braun ai disegni e Klaus Janson alle chine.
Partiamo da Janson, artista quasi completo (ai testi non si è mai visto a mia memoria) di innegabile bravura che anche qui fa un gran lavoro. In effetti Braun non sarà poi male come disegnatore, ma qui è ancora alle prime armi e si vede nettamente la mano di Janson alla guida.
Irvine è uno scrittore letterario che a un certo punto ha iniziato a fare fumetti. Di lui ho letto poco, praticamente solo questa miniserie. Si vede subito che ha un paio di ottime idee, e le sfrutta molto bene. La sua caratterizzazione di Hellstorm è ottima, migliore di quella del tanto ingiustamente osannato Warren Ellis. Il tema trattato è quello della religione come racconto, e di come i racconti siano ciò che organizzano il mondo. In effetti, il mito di Osiride e Iside è una delle forme più antiche del racconto di morte e rinascita. La ricostruzione dell'aldilà Egizio, e la rappresentazione di Anubis, Thot, del Demone padre di Diamond e delle loro motivazioni sono ottime e chiariscono quanto Irvine ha ben compreso sia le dinamiche Marvel sia quelle dei miti in se stessi.
Per me 4 stelle e mezzo ci stanno tutte.
Partiamo da Janson, artista quasi completo (ai testi non si è mai visto a mia memoria) di innegabile bravura che anche qui fa un gran lavoro. In effetti Braun non sarà poi male come disegnatore, ma qui è ancora alle prime armi e si vede nettamente la mano di Janson alla guida.
Irvine è uno scrittore letterario che a un certo punto ha iniziato a fare fumetti. Di lui ho letto poco, praticamente solo questa miniserie. Si vede subito che ha un paio di ottime idee, e le sfrutta molto bene. La sua caratterizzazione di Hellstorm è ottima, migliore di quella del tanto ingiustamente osannato Warren Ellis. Il tema trattato è quello della religione come racconto, e di come i racconti siano ciò che organizzano il mondo. In effetti, il mito di Osiride e Iside è una delle forme più antiche del racconto di morte e rinascita. La ricostruzione dell'aldilà Egizio, e la rappresentazione di Anubis, Thot, del Demone padre di Diamond e delle loro motivazioni sono ottime e chiariscono quanto Irvine ha ben compreso sia le dinamiche Marvel sia quelle dei miti in se stessi.
Per me 4 stelle e mezzo ci stanno tutte.
September 20, 2019
Interesting synopsis, poor execution.
Hellstorm builds up to a climax that never arrives. What arrives is a twist that in another novel you find early on in your reading: minor & barely changes a thing.
There is an interesting utilization the tale of Anubis, the god of death in ancient Egyptian religion, but even that is rather flat & poorly done.
Most of the lines in this graphic novel are the monologue of the main character, who is an extremely generic "handsome & mysterious" kind of guy. Feels initially that he'll be interesting but gets boring very quick. Plain & forgettable!
The cover art is the best thing about this novel. The comic art is up to the standards you'd expect from a Marvel release: really well done but nothing amazing.
In short, Hellstorm is the work of someone who had an interesting idea & tried his best to make it into a story but it came out forced & boring.
Hellstorm builds up to a climax that never arrives. What arrives is a twist that in another novel you find early on in your reading: minor & barely changes a thing.
There is an interesting utilization the tale of Anubis, the god of death in ancient Egyptian religion, but even that is rather flat & poorly done.
Most of the lines in this graphic novel are the monologue of the main character, who is an extremely generic "handsome & mysterious" kind of guy. Feels initially that he'll be interesting but gets boring very quick. Plain & forgettable!
The cover art is the best thing about this novel. The comic art is up to the standards you'd expect from a Marvel release: really well done but nothing amazing.
In short, Hellstorm is the work of someone who had an interesting idea & tried his best to make it into a story but it came out forced & boring.
October 25, 2022
A small book with big ideas. This story doesn't really follow Helstrom by Warren Ellis, but it is the follow up book (outside of any Avengers or Secret Defenders or wherever else Hellstrom shows up.
The problem is that it was the kind Damian, the one still fighting his father. Although Patsy is gone in this book, unlike in Ellis's story, Hellstrom is not Satan and Satan and Damian are still in opposition.
His hair is shorter, less red and as I said, he is more like his earlier comics.
The story, basically of Osiris and Isis versus Satan and Damian is caught in the middle trying to figure out who and what side he should be on in this story.
Narrated by Damian, this is a clever story that harkens back to the earlier Damian.
Although I like the earlier Hellstrom, I kind of missed the darker, Hellstorm.
The problem is that it was the kind Damian, the one still fighting his father. Although Patsy is gone in this book, unlike in Ellis's story, Hellstrom is not Satan and Satan and Damian are still in opposition.
His hair is shorter, less red and as I said, he is more like his earlier comics.
The story, basically of Osiris and Isis versus Satan and Damian is caught in the middle trying to figure out who and what side he should be on in this story.
Narrated by Damian, this is a clever story that harkens back to the earlier Damian.
Although I like the earlier Hellstrom, I kind of missed the darker, Hellstorm.
August 8, 2021
...well. Um. I knew nothing about Marvel's Maximum off-shoots until AFTER I got through this, so I was just a wee bit surprised by full-blown nudity and references to much worse. (And not remotely veiled. If you know the story of Osiris, I'm sure you can, ahem, put the pieces together.) I LIKE the plot. Quite a bit, actually. Hellstorm+Egyptian deities+catastrophic setting+decent art=happy me. I had the misfortune to start my Hellstorm reading on Prince of Lies, in which Daimon is much more an anti-hero than anything else, so seeing him be an actual hero was nice. I'm glad I read it...equally glad I didn't spend money on it.
September 17, 2021
Of all the Son of Satan/Hellstorm/Helstrom comics, this one I enjoyed the most. It was a nice cohesive story with good artwork. If you are going to read just one graphic novel, this may be the one to read.
February 22, 2024
I really enjoyed this - I loved seeing Daimon deal with his father and all his demons. Then the Egyptian Gods storyline was also great fun.
TW for mentions of natural disasters, religious themes, hell/the devil imagery, blood, gore, sex, nudity, death, murder, swearing, alcohol.
TW for mentions of natural disasters, religious themes, hell/the devil imagery, blood, gore, sex, nudity, death, murder, swearing, alcohol.
March 18, 2021
Good art, good writing, great Shakespeare quotings. The story is just about to go bizarre, when it all of a sudden comes right and thence to a proper ending.
December 4, 2025
Meh, this story was mildly boring and plain. I don't understand why because it has mythology in it as well as the son of Satan and an interesting setting. But it doesn't work for me.
I was disappointed by my reading, I expected better.
I was disappointed by my reading, I expected better.
August 26, 2022
This is always a great read for any and all comic book collector
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews