Forgotten Comic gems 01

Hellstorm Prince of lies was a series from Marvel comics that lasted 21 issues. Starting in April 1993 with Rafael Nieves writing and various artists,this series was in my opinion Marvel's attempt at a Vertigoish series. What always puzzled me is even with lots of violence and amoral actions this series still got a CCA seal. Nieves lasted as writer from issue 1 till issue 6. With issue 7 Len Kaminski took over the writing reins. Len lasted a total of 5 issues. The highlight from his run is a storyline where Hellstorm goes to hell and manages to defeat his father,who it turns out isn't Satan but just a high level demon. With this Hellstorm gains control of a region of hell,he is surprised to find souls in this region that to him don't seem to belong. So he takes them on a journey to Heaven. After a couple of adventures they make it to Heaven,where Hellstorm is shocked to learn that once you enter Heaven you loose all individuality and become one with this Borglike ball of light. This makes him realize that maybe Hell isn't as bad as it is made out to be. With issue 12 Warren Ellis takes over the writing chores. IIRC the only other Big 2 work he had did at this time was a stint on Excalibur. He stays on until the final issue,issue 21. Ellis goes balls out and even gives Hellstorm a sidekick of sorts in Cutter Jane. Jane has the ability to change her skin to a nigh-invulnerable state. And carries a gun that can detect and dispose of demons and angels alike. She is also fighting both the agents of Heaven and Hell and does this to keep the world in balance. The book really picks up it's pace under Ellis and you can tell he has a long running storyline running under the surface. Sadly the series was cancelled with issue 21. I assume it was cancelled from low sales. When this series started I was working part-time at a comic shop,and even with all the employees recommending it,it was rare for Hellstorm Prince of lies to sell more than 10 copies each month. And when you consider that this comic shop was the biggest one in a 6 city area that is really sad. Luckily now you can find most of this series in the cheap bins. I managed to put my newest collection,I had had a complete run from when it was first out but a former girlfriend had destroyed it when she burned about 75% of my comic collection,this time I managed to get issues 1-17 for around 99 cents an issue. The last few issues cause of being low ordered cost me more,averaging out at around $1.50 an issue. But even at these prices this series is a great choice for someone who loved vertigo or the 70's Marvel horror stuff. Overall i give the entire run a 8.5 outta 10,it would have scored higher but being it ended early. Also this is a series that had alot of trouble keeping an artist,this also hurt it's rating.