Hellbreak Volume 1

by Cullen Bunn, Brian Churilla (Illustrator), Dave Stewart (Colorist)

There are thousands of Hells, each unique, each terrible. Mega-cities ruled by vicious gangs. Empires where the most perverse are well-respected. Wastelands roamed by prehistoric monstrosities. With the proper tools and know-how, you can infiltrate Hell -- whether you're dead or not -- and break out! Project Kerberos has developed this forbidden technology, and a special forces extraction team is dispatched to rescue lost souls from the infernal realm.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fiction, Fantasy

168 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2015

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Dan]

review -https://youtu.be/3GEv-cyYZJo

[Madi]

Cool concept but the ending left me confused and the art was strange at times.

[Heather Fryling]

A fun book about yanking people out of hell. Looks like it's getting ready to add some interesting layers as the story progresses.

[Relstuart]

I bought this as an inexpensive damaged book from an online company on a whim because it sounded interesting (the book had a little ding to the back cover). The story follows a black-ops tactical team that goes into the underworld, a multi-dimensional place with many different kinds of hell to rescue people from these places. There is also a story thread about the company running things and a priest who helps them but is starting to ask questions about the company and what they are.

The art was ok but the world building was well done. Would buy the second volume to see what happens next.

[James]

Fun read. I didn't care for the art at all, though -- it was too cartoony for this kind of story, IMO. Better art would have escalated this one to 5 stars for me.

[The Geeky Viking]

Hellbreak has a great set up; a team of black ops soldiers are sent into Hell to retrieve possessed souls. The premise is very cool and Cullen Bunn always delivers a great story. The artwork is great, although I would have loved to have seen someone like David Finch take this kind of story on. The first volume is a fun, fast read that leaves you wanting more. I'll certainly be picking up the second volume when it drops.

[Brian Dickerson]

BCDER: 88

Infinite hells, each unique and interesting to explore via a special strike team sent on lost soul rescues. A corruption thread is masterfully introduced near the end of the first arc. A great introduction to a new ongoing that was a corny joke or moment away from a five star book.

[Brannigan]

I really liked this. It’s a different type of story and the characters are fun. Nice mixture of action, humor and horror. I’ll pick up the other issues.

[Skye Kilaen]

I don't love this cover, the interior art is inconsistent, and the writing can be a little heavy-handed, BUT I am loving the plot and worldbuilding here so hard. Project Kerberos, a private organization, has developed technology to send teams into one of the thousands of different Hells, shards of the original Hell, and retrieve souls from possessed bodies so they can be put back in once the demons are kicked out. Our story focuses on Orpheus Team, a group of men and one woman, and their adventure trying to extract one soul... leading to team leader Jenner something disturbing about his employer. Meanwhile, Father Gabriel Lloyd, Kerberos's exorcist, is asking his superiors questions that no one seems willing to answer.

I'm not going to say much more because spoilers, but if this sounds intriguing, it's well worth picking up from your local library, or trying out the first issue digitally to see if it's your thing.

Diversity note: I'm pretty sure Nadia and Joseph, 1/3 of the team, are supposed to be people of color. I'm also pretty sure that Nadia is queer.