This was so good!

I think you have to watch the movies first otherwise you are going to be left in the dark about who the players are in this graphic novel.

 

We have Pinhead, the rest of his crew, Kristy Cotton, and of course, the box.

 

 

In this volume 1, we have a Pinhead that is bored with the sights and torture he has seen. He wants something more..he wants to be human.

 

 

We get a gruesome opening scene of a woman torn apart by Pinhead and the Cenobites, and than Pinhead being all, well I have seen all that Hell has to show me. I am ready for something more. It appears he needs someone to take his place, and than we move to Kristy Cotton who it appears is still haunted by Pinhead and what she experienced while institutionalized. 

 

I liked the writing and the panels a lot. The panels be warned are kind of explicit. So if you have a weak stomach, I suggest skipping over this.

 

 

I don't want to get too spoilery, but Kristy seems to be on the hunt for Pinead and his friends and it looks like she has some sidekicks to help her out.

Aside: Who the heck tries to go up against some demons? Are you all crazy? FYI none of the characters doing this are black. I just want to restate that, none of the characters who are all, let's throw down on some demons are black.

 

 

I would have been out like a shot.

 

I will eventually go and get volume 2. Maybe in the month of October to finish off my second card! I really did like this. Gruesome as anything, but I have to say, I really do enjoy Clive Barker. 

 

 

 

 

 

Look. I know it's weird. But I have a weird fascination with the Hellraiser movies. I love Pinhead (it's the voice).

Loved this graphic novel and thought the color/panels were done really well. A bit gruesome though so if you have a weak stomach I suggest skipping. 

 

I have a confession. Before reading this book, I had no clue who Paul Kane was. Apparently, to the people in the know, he is the leading guru on Clive Barker's Hellraiser films and mythos (outside of Barker, of course). So you'll have to excuse me for being late to the party. What I do know is that I love Clive Barker's Hellraiser films and I enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories. So when I stumbled across the title of this book, I was instantly intrigued. In what seems upon first glance as a farce, started sounding pretty damn full of possibilities the more I thought about it. After jumping head first into Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell, I am pleased to announce that the possibilities were right on the money and Kane delivered one hell of a fun read.

 

Sherlock Holmes is moping around since he defeated his archenemy, Moriaty. Cases don't seem to be that intriguing or challenging and Holmes is apparently a ball of irritability if his mind isn't challenged. Dr. Watson is worried about his dear friend, especially since he's had a tangle with the opium demon from time to time. Then a missing person case comes in. Apparently, a Francis Cotton went inside his attic room, locked the door, and never came out. Disappeared. Holmes and Watson take the case and are stumped. Other missing person cases come trickling in with the same descriptions. Holmes is convinced that they are tied together. But how? When investigating one of the other disappearances, the duo discover a secret society that focuses on the forbidden pleasures of the flesh and a pillar that contained a small box. Sound familiar?

 

Kane's tale weaves in and out of tie-ins with previous Sherlock Holmes stories and the Hellraiser films. And it works. Very well, I might add. The story is told Arthur Conan Doyle-style through a re-telling by Dr Watson. We also get a nice perspective from it rotating back and forth from Watson to Holmes POV and back again. Who would've thought that the marriage of Sherlock Holmes and Clive Barker would work so well? You know what? Don't question a good thing and Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell is a good thing.

 

 

5 Elementary, My Dear Watsons out of 5

 

This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

 

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

 

http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com

 

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5919799-ken-mckinley

 

This was part of a Humble Bundle some time ago and that's basically why I picked it up even though I was completely unfamiliar with the Hellraiser franchise.

 

At the beginning it was very confusing since I didn't know who everyone was and what was happening, however I was able to immediately see it was a very interesting story. I certainly wanted to know more about it. It has been said that it brings quite a few changes to the existing Hellraiser universe, about which I'm not able to judge of course, but either way I liked it a lot. I found this to be one of the most engaging graphic novels I've read to date.

Peter O'Toole: Hellraiser, Sexual Outlaw... This book got its second star only because I'm a completist for all things O'Toole and T.E. Lawrence. When I ordered it I knew full well from the title it wouldn't be "the" biography - I sure hope that's being written out there somewhere with the assistance of his surviving family and friends. This is the gossipy-dude version of O'Toole's life, with emphasis on the alcohol, the outrageous public behaviour, and the sex life. There is no apparent understanding of the nature or effect of his acting, nor any interest in relating his role choices and acting choices to the events of his life. The book is large and heavy, but its production values are not top-notch by any stretch; the illustrations are small, in-text, black and white reproductions, and there are blaring, space-wasting headlines throughout. Most of all, the text is largely made up of that most objectionable tabloid habit of made up "reported speech", presenting the author's speculation about what may have been said at a particular event or meeting as if it were a true transcript. It undermines any lingering inclination the reader may have to put faith in the accuracy of the text.

As to sources, there is of course none of the apparatus of more reputable biographies: notes, bibliography, not even an acknowledgment page for major interview sources. However, based on the tone and the subjects covered, my best guess is that a very large number of the more salacious anecdotes and personality assessments of O'Toole's inner circle came from his long-time associate Kenneth Griffith, who is referenced a few times. However, Porter appears to have approached most of O'Toole's surviving associates (especially the male ones - the female voice is decidedly underrepresented) and they have trotted out their favourite O'Toole stories for him.

There's probably more than a grain of truth in most of those stories, but it's hard to know exactly where it is, and it's certainly hard to be sure that the overall picture of the man that emerges is one that anyone who actually knew him would recognize.

As I said, I'm a completist.