Welcome to Hell, Briggy Bundy!

Hellicious #1

by Mina Elwell, Alan C. Medina, Kit Wallis (Artist)

Cherry, the Devil's prankster granddaughter and the cutest grim reaper in Hell, is honestly just trying to have fun and make new friends. She loves everything about Hell - its burning landscapes, its horrific inhabitants, and especially her demonic mother and grandfather - but she's lonely. There's nobody to play with, and anyone who tries ends up being defenestrated or digested or otherwise destroyed.

There's only one mortal who Cherry thinks might be a good playmate: rock star and goth icon Briggy Bundy. The bad news is, he isn't dead...Yet.

"Hell as seen through the eyes of a mischievous child, and despite all of the fire and torture, it's super adorable."

- Russ Pirozek, Fanbase Press

"The 'I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas' song if you swapped 'human pet' in for 'hippopotamus."

- Rachel Bellwoar, Comicon.com

Collects Hellicious #1-3

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Adult

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd]

“Cherry, I hate falling into this role all the time, but you know I used to be kinda like you. Always running off to have my own adventures and things like that.”

“So?”

“So now I’m a head on a spike!”

“So?”

Cherry just wants to have fun but the damned are so squishy! She knows she’s not supposed to make friends with dead people but as the granddaughter of Satan she doesn’t have a lot of viable playmates. Cherry sets out to prove to her mother that she’s responsible enough to be allowed to have a pet human but Sin isn’t sure her daughter is ready for all of the hard work required to take care of a dead thing.

“Things can get weird if you grow too close, sweetie. A kind of weird even your grandfather wouldn’t enjoy. Dangerously weird.”

Cherry decides that she wants the coolest rock star, Briggy Bundy, as her new friend/pet (think early Ozzy Osbourne) but he’s not quite as excited as she thought he’d be about sliding down the doom slope or the blood-splodies or even the ghoulnado!

The only thing cuter in this graphic novel than Cherry, the little blonde reaper, are the adorable bone demons. There’s so much to look at, including a game show host that is suspiciously Trump-esque. I loved the humour and adored the vibrant colours used in the illustrations. This collection includes the first three parts of the series and ends, predictably, with a cliffhanger.

Thank you to NetGalley, Starburns Industries Press and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’m looking forward to finding out how the story ends.

[Chad]

A weaker version of I Hate Fairyland set in Hell. Cherry is Satan's granddaughter and is just looking for someone to play with. She likes to play a little rough though. The jokes just fell flat to me and I was quickly bored with it. I don't know that I would have finished if it had been more than 72 pages.

Received a review copy from Star burn Industries and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Diane Hernandez]

Hell is for Children in Hellicious TP Vol 1.

Cherry is seven and mischievous. Her grandfather is Satan, literally. Cherry lives in Hell with her mom, Sin, the chief torturer. And she is bored, really bored. She is also the #1 fan of the famous death metal rocker Briggy Bones (think Ozzy in his bat eating days). After getting permission from her reluctant mom and permissive grandfather, Briggy becomes Cherry’s very first reaping.

The plot is intriguing. The art is colorful and innovative. Cherry is cute as a bug, if the bug is a brown recluse spider. A demon who looks suspiciously like our President appears as the chief torturer set in a fake game show. The fake advertisements for the publisher are true throwbacks to the 70s. I think middle school kids and adults who have a wry sense of humor would enjoy Hellicious TP Vol 1. The next volume comes out in March and I can’t wait for Cherry and Briggy’s next adventure. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to Starburns Industries Press and NetGalley for an advance copy.

[Dev]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

So this is basically an off-brand version of I Hate Fairyland except it's demons instead of fairies, but considering that IHFL was a 5 star series that is over now anyway, there is still plenty of room for this to be fairly enjoyable. It was a little bit short but the art was cute and the story is entertaining enough for me to want to see what happens next.

[Molly]

I like the premise for this -- that a little demon girl, a heavy metal fan, is incredibly excited when her favorite metal star dies and she's certain that when he joins her in hell, she can convince her parents to let her keep him as a pet. Things don't go quite as planned, however, as her rock star idol was much more mild-mannered in his offstage persona... and I'm curious to see where the story goes.

[El]

*got a free copy from diamond book distributors*

This was hilarious, gory & adorable (just trust me on this one!)
What happens when the devil’s granddaughter wants a playmate? Well, she obvs goes & kills someone for it 😈

Great illustrations - I loved all the designs for the characters & animals! Very sweet and...scary.

[Laly 〰️ Riddle ⚡]

The monsters here remind me of the cartoon aaahh Real Monsters!

[Kelly Van Damme]

Nice look, loved the colours, but a bit messy sometimes and a bit of a flimsy story. Overall fun and entertaining.

[Dawn-Lorraine]

Cherry is the precocious (to say the least) daughter of Hell’s primary demon (who happens to be the daughter of a semi-retired Satan). Though a “child”, she is still tasked with reaping souls and getting them into Hell. She tends to have a little too much fun with the damned along the way, but her mother doesn’t mind since they’re all going to be tormented anyway.

When Cherry decides she wants a more permanent playmate, she hits on the idea of getting her favorite goth musician. First thing is to get him killed… and that’s apparently the easy bit. Once he’s in Hell, Cherry needs to keep him hidden because whether he’s supposed to be there might not be all that straightforward. And so, shenanigans ensue… in Hell.

This is a pretty fun read, reminiscent of I Hate Fairyland. I liked the vibrant art too.

[Wayne McCoy]

'Hellicious Vol. 1' by Mina Elwell, Alan C. Medina, Kit Wallis, and Jio Butler is a comic about the devil's prankster granddaughter.

Cherry lives in hell and she's bored. She tries torturing people, but that doesn't seem to make her happy. She finds out her favorite rock star, Briggy Bundy, is about to die, so she decides to give him a guided tour of his new home. The problem is that he isn't meant to be there, and now it's up to Cherry to keep him from being found out.

It was a weird kind of gross out story. The subject of a cute child living in hell was odd. It didn't really work for me, but the art was ok.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Starburns Industries Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Robert Bussie]

The plot of this story is unique. The devils grand daughter, Cherry who is about age 8-10, is a grim reaper. She is bored and wants a playmate. So, she brings a famous death metal rock star to hell. However, his stage act is faux. He does not belong in hell and does not want to play with her. He also does not belong their, so Cherry has to hide him from her grandfather, certain demons, and her mother who is the chief torture of hell.

I liked the original plot. Some of the jokes work and others fall flat. This story would work better in an animated cartoon format. The sight gags and odd humor would fit the cartoon format very well.

The art work is fantastic. It is in an exaggerated cartoon style. Similar to a Ren and Stimpy cartoon.

The humor and art style is similar to "I Hate Fairyland" by Skottie Young. If you enjoyed that book you will enjoy this one.

[Andreea]

I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The granddaughter of the devil is the biggest fan of a rock musician who is about to die. That is the premise of this comic book and tell me if it does not sound like a lot of fun?

I did expect myself to be really entertained by this book, because from the look of its cover it reminded me of "I Hate Fairyland", which is just as gorey and cute at the same time. However, I did not have fun reading it.

I am sure there are readers who will enjoy this, but I found it too bland. But there is a lot of room for improvement, and although I was expecting that ending, it made me interested in the next volume.

[Claudio Rodrigo]

I received this as a token of appreciation by a publisher that approached me to join their newsletter.

I didn't like anything about this novel. From the whiny child to the social justice, there was nothing that didn't frustrate me in this novel. First of all, we follow Cherry who's a 7 year old living in hell and is supposedly the grand daughter of Satan. Cherry's also obsessed with the artist Briggy Bundy. SHe thinks that she's this satanist who does seances for fun when in reality he's just a hipster with emo clothes and an emo facade. Also didn't like the art style.

[Nikki]

2.5 stars

I was getting total “I Hate Fairyland” vibes when I first picked up “Hellicious,” but it’s like getting the generic version of something that never quite lives up to the brand name. And that’s super disappointing. I would say, in style, “Hellicious” is there—the art is amazing and exactly what I wanted—absurd, graphic, cutesiness. It was the tone and story specifically that didn’t quite meet my expectations.

[Beth Younge]

I found this slightly disappointing to read. It reminded me too much of I Hate Fairyland and was just a weaker version of it. It was just okay to read and even though Cherry was a fun protagonist,I just did not want to continue to her story. It is a fun read but can feel samey after a while.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Theediscerning]

Think Skottie Young, as we read this childish-looking, but also gory, drama starring the devil's grand-daughter who wants a pet in hell, and chooses her favourite earthly celebrity. Although actually that should read 'half a drama' as there needed to be a lot more to this. It's not even a full arc. But what we get is reasonable enough.

[Raizy]

Every once in a while I'll stumble across a book that reminds me why I fell in love with comics in the first place. This is one of them. The whimsical art, the engaging story line, the humor and endearing characters- all brilliant. My library doesn't have the next book but I may buy it. Extra points for the monsters, which bridge the chasm between disgusting and cute.

[Eli]

This was actually a really fun read. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as i did.
The rating for this is based on the graphic novels that I've read so far ( which aren't that much) but still I don't feel like I'm the best critic of graphic novel since I'm basically new.

[Malina Righter]

This comic is a wonderfully creepy-cute. I can't wait to read the next issue! ❤️☠️❤️

[Stephanie (Gorelenore) Cover2CoverBlog]

coming soon

[Brittany]

Good fun! Along the same lines as I Hate Fairyland.

[Jenna Davis]

Meh. It was too choppy and didn’t flow that well. Plus, it’s a total I Hate Fairyland knockoff.

[Randi | altid.laesende]

Overall I like the concept and I like the style of drawing, but the story is just a bit too all over the place for me.

[Imogene]

Ridiculously cute and quirky. For fans of Slave Labour Graphics and I Hate Fairyland

[Samantha Scheer]

Very interesting story line and concept with talented drawings. I will be interested to see what Volume 2 brings..

[Jess]

cute. not gonna lie i picked up issue 1 specifically because it had a variant cover that looked like an old Castlevania game.

[momo]

"I mean, where else would the coolest rock star go, but hell, right?"

Cherry is a young reaper, the daughter of Sin and the granddaughter of the Devil himself. Her one job is to pick up damned souls to take to the afterlife (she's never late), and her one flaw is the youthful playfulness she possesses that often results in various states of mutilation for her charges.

For beyond her duties, she really is just a girl who wants to have fun and craves for a playmate tough enough to keep up with her. So when she does have a chance to pick one, she goes and takes her favorite rock star's soul. Except that Briggy Bundy isn't supposed to be in hell. ^^

I like the quirky artwork, which matches the playful nature of both Cherry and the storyline. Briggy breaks every impression Cherry has ever had about rock stars and seems to have been brought to a position to cause some significant changes in the girl (if not the entire hell), granted that those staples could hold his body together long enough to keep him decent (yes, staples. the super glue failed the first time XD) and the bone demons (those cutesy little creatures hounding strays) don't get to him first.

And as if that isn't bad enough, an agent from The Other Place has also just appeared at the door claiming ownership of Briggy's soul! I guess I will have to hunt for the next volume then~♥

I received a digital review copy of this graphic novel by subscribing to the
BookShelf Community's e-newsletter.

[Meghan]

I received this book as an advanced reader's copy due to our expansion of our J Graphic novel collection and this one in particular caught our attention because it is something we've haven't seen before and the concept is very out of the box. I love the doodle-like illustrations that corresponded with the story and it really brought life to the characters and their intentions. This book also exemplifies how many rock stars befriend children of the devil and its hysterical how cherry wants a rock star to be her friend and it was entertaining to see what measures she goes through to make that happen. This would definitely be a good fit for our J Graphic novel collection and that is why we are giving this book 5 stars!

[Brittany Smith]

This graphic novel is weirdly adorable, considering it is about a young grim reaper who just wants a friend, but keeps underestimating how frail the dead people are and keeps accidentally “breaking” them.



I love the artwork! It can be both slightly gross and incredibly cute all at the same time! This is my favorite picture of the whole book! Its so randomly cute with her eating Pizza in Hell, instead of the normal squirmy weird foods. (There are other scenes where she eats the weird food!) It reminds me of my brother who is super picky and loves pizza.



One thing that bothered me throughout the whole story was that Cherry (the little girl) looks like a human child. Her Grandpa (the devil) looks like a demon gorilla and her mom looks like a quintessential female comic book devil. So why is she white and human shaped?



The only thing that kept me from giving Hellicious 5 stars, was that it was hard to follow at times. I would have to re-read sections, and really study the frames to figure out what was going on. This would ruin the flow of the story, but if I tried to barrel through it I would be completely lost.



Once I figured out the plot, I really enjoyed the story! It did end on a cliff hanger but I expect that from comics. I really want to know what happens next so I will most likely pick up the second volume when it is released!

[The Book Badger]

Hellicious is the story of Cherry, “the Devil's prankster granddaughter and the cutest grim reaper in Hell”. This comics is weird, and gory and gross. Cherry wants to find herself a friend, and choses the newly departed soul of her favourite musician, who she plans to keep as a sort of pet. The comics visuals are the star of the book. The drawings are colourful, cute and gross and Cherry is very much adorable, even if she is sadistic and totally, utterly nuts. The story is a little odd, I mean the main plot is pretty straightforward but there is this little bit in the middle where Cherry goes a bit nuts about the cultural appropriation of hell which came out of nowhere, and left just as quickly. Should be interesting to see what happens in the next volume though!