Review: Satan’s Hollow #1
The setup should be familiar to any fan of horror movies: A beautiful couple—one of whom possesses a tragic past—arrives in a Midwestern town made notorious by its history of devil-worshipping cults and the urban legends of a deadly supernatural presence. Before too long, they’re drawn into the mystery and horror surrounding them—but will they survive the mounting terror?
Welcome to Blue Ash, Ohio, the setting for Satan’s Hollow #1, written by Joe Brusha (Grimm Fairy Tales, Aliens vs. Zombies), illustrated by Allan Otero (Salem’s Daughter: The Haunting, Orion the Hunter), and published by Zenescope Entertainment. It’s a town vaguely familiar to Sandra Ward, who’s returned to her family’s home after a two-decade absence. (She’s the character with the tragic past—her mother, we learn in a flashback, was a victim of the local devil cult.) With Sandra is her husband, John, who wants her to regain the memories she lost when she was a little girl, and help her get her life back on track.
But then a local boy goes missing, the Wards join the community search, and it’s Sandra who wanders into the old cult area called Satan’s Hollow, where she has a fleeting encounter with Blue Ash’s local supernatural presence: a deadly entity known as the Shadow Man (no relation to the Valiant character). It’s only a matter of time before those forgotten memories, the Shadow Man, and the sacrificial altar that stands in the depths of Satan’s Hollow will all come together to put Sandra’s life in some high-octane danger.
Brusha does an excellent job setting up the plot in this first issue, clueing the reader in to what Sandra can’t remember, and hinting that even husband John might have his own reasons for moving to Blue Ash. And the next-issue cover tease presents us with a horned, H.R. Giger-esque queen of hell with whom Sandra will no doubt have to contend—because, honestly, it couldn’t be a Zenescope project without a sexy bad girl, now could it? 😉
Artwise, Otero is a perfect match for the story, bringing the right blend of light and shadow to Brusha’s tale, and constantly finding interesting angles to place his “camera.”
Bottom line? An intriguing story and tone-perfect art make Satan’s Hollow the kind of place you might like to visit—if you don’t mind the human sacrifices—but you certainly wouldn’t want to live there. Be sure to add it to your vacation plans.
Satan’s Hollow #1
Written by Joe Brusha
Art by Allan Otero
Main cover art by Caio Cacau
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
32 pages • full-color
$3.99 U.S.
Now on sale
About the Author
Steven Roman Steven A. Roman is the author of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback novel series and the graphic novels Lorelei: Sects and the City and Sunn, and the bestselling author of the novels X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy and Final Destination: Dead Man’s Hand. Follow his adventures in publishing at StarWarp Concepts.
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