Comics
Review: Hellraiser #9
Oh, how the tables have turned. The mighty have, indeed, fallen, and yet a new monarch is set to rise with the chains of the Configuration. One of the most majestic and notable leaders once more craves flesh, senses, and a conscience. So, a new superior must take over, with dozens of tiny crowns fitted upon her head. Read on for the skinny…
WRITTEN BY: Clive Barker and Anthony Diblasi
ILLUSTRATIONS BY: Stephen Thompson and Janusz Ordon
PUBLISHER: BOOM!
RELEASE: Available Now
In the first issue of the new arc, the Lead Cenobite has grown tired of his position in Hell, and of the agonizing ways of the puzzle box. In order to live in flesh and bone once more, he had to find a suitable replacement, so he offered it to the only woman to conquer it: Kirsty Cotton. After pilfering her family and friends, he promised that she could see them all again if she accepted his offer. She “could have them all back.” As Kirsty had nothing on earth to lose, she accepted. Now, her reign in Hell is set to commence, and the “former” Elliot Spencer can now endulge the senses on a different plane.
Once again, Hellraiser does not disappoint. The new arc is a perfect introduction to an entirely different set of rules, now that the characters have essentially switched places. The story contains a powerful and action-packed opening sequence, with undertones of battling for flesh and blood, and the internal conflict taking place within Spencer. Religious references are, as usual, omnipresent, but ancient ritual is referenced in the issue, as well. There is also a comedic element near the middle; the imaginative (and, at points, downright hysterical) dialogue is highly demonstrated in these scenes.
Stephen Thompson does a fantastic job on the opening sequence with a mainly blue-on-red color palette. The contrast contributes to the overall conflict and chaos (try saying that three times fast). The remainder of the issue, illustrated by Janusz Ordon, uses a subdued color palette of predominately neutrals and very detailed (yet still subtle and lifelike) line work. There’s no particular trend in line sizing; thin lines are used to capture smaller details and accentuate the eyes, and thicker lines are used to capture bodies and shapes. Speaking of eyes, though, look at them throughout the comic; they’re bright, vibrant, and full of life. I smell symbolism.
This Hellraiser series is a gem among comics. The stories and character development are consistently well-paced. Although the artists have changed a few times in this series, the art has never been close to sub-par. This issue proves that the new arc is going to be just as magnificent as the previous arcs, if not more so. I always look forward to the next issue after finishing Hellraiser #9, it is absolutely no exception.
To find out more about the Hellraiser series, be sure to visit the BOOM! Studios website. Also, look forward to the full graphic novel, Hellraiser Vol. 2, which drops next week. Get stoked!
Comics
[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream
Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.
“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”
Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.
Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.
Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.
Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.
Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.
Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.
Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.
Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion.
Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.
‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.
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