Satanic Hell #2 Review: Everything’s Better in Dallas

A few missteps can’t ruin the story in the second issue of Satanic Hell from Zeno Telos Press. Between the introduction of a few new characters, the band’s first gig in Dallas and the anticipation of what’s next, the plot still has our complete attention.

Grigoris Douros has crafted a well-rounded story that is smart, sexy and surreal. Issue two simply continues the trek. This issue is all about building. It shows the reader who the real enemies of the band are, their intentions and what’s at stake. It leaves the reader with questions, intriguing ones that are similar to the pondering left by issue one. Will this band risk their lives to play their music? Is the political and religious force in Dallas really prepared to kill Satanic Hell? How will these two forces collide?

Regardless of that, this issue does have an almost completely different feel from the first at times.

The pop culture nods (the Kreator albums being burned) and hi-jinx in this issue (mention of gay religious pornography) are a nice diversion considering the political force behind the book. Douros’ ability to pace the comic and still entertain and tease are a main attraction in the book. The same goes for the solid art of Jimmy Kerast and Kevin Enhart. As gritty as the best thrash metal around, the book has a unique look that is ultimately appealing and in its own way, beautiful.

The problems lie in a few sloppy story transitions. A sex scene between a reporter and one of the band members happens out of nowhere, while a conversation they have in bed is even more strange. Before you know it, the scene is over and the band is off to the next part of their adventure. While Douros’ pace is extremely solid, it feels like he and his team tried to jam too much into this issue. Considering how solid the first issue was, this could have been the “fun” look at the characters with the added background missed in the first issue.

Even though it accomplishes this feat, there are a few situations you feel deserved more time than others.

As from those small quibbles, the latest issue of Satanic Hell still manages to shred, rip and finger-pick your imagination’s heart strings.

To pick up a copy of issue #2 head to SatanicHell.com. Issue #1 will be available for free August 18.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 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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