Satanic Hell #3 Review: Plot-Thickening

The plot continues to thicken in the third issue of Satanic Hell, but after all the bubbles and boil, the final concoction isn’t a clear one. An issue that continues the story development, there isn’t anything resembling a climax here. Still in the growing process, the story is intriguing, but those who have read the first two issues may find themselves getting impatient.

If “Josie and the Pussycats” could make love to a Rage Against the Machine video, you’d have something awfully close to this series. A band with a mission, they find themselves stuck in a religious state Americans used to know as Texas. With the calling of their fans and promises of glory, they head to the area and now find themselves in a war of sorts. The situation was a departure from reality for the band at first- enough so that they found a way to have fun in it. But now things are about to get serious. After two issues of debauchery and silliness, the reader begins to see how organized the oppressors are. It’s a scary and twisted sight.

Can the band help their fans protect their right to freedom of expression? After the third issue, it’s a tough one to call. While the band has help, it appears they are in a fight that will end up killing off their hopes and dreams. This dire situation is something comic books fans love; to see if the seemingly regular joes can turn the impossible into the possible. If you’ve invested the time into the series already, this seems like the worst time to give up on it. Things appear to be at their tipping point.

However, after three issues, none of the main characters have made themselves worthy of standing out. Even the band’s frontman lacks the charisma needed to enthrall. As a whole, the concept is there and the band works well off each other in conversation to induce a snicker and smile, but it may not be enough. At this point, the most enjoyable and deep characters are the baddies. In order for the comic’s message to truly be delivered, Satanic Hell needs more than catchy punk and metal lyrics and an intense opposition.

It needs the rebels to be cool.

At the same time, with solid art and an easy to read story, the third issue of Satanic Hell isn’t mediocre. It’s just more of a clarification of premise than an addition to the journey it needs to be.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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