Hellbreak #5
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Brian Churilla
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Crank!
Cover by Brian Churilla
Oni Press
Release Date: July 22, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

What a wild ride this has been! Hellbreak #5 continues a tale that seems to have more twists and turns than a theme park roller coaster. We’ve known for a while that there are a seemingly endless amount of hells out there, most being tailored to the individual soul being tormented. But this issue presents the reader with far more than a straight forward search and recovery style mission.

For the past four issues we have borne witness to the special forces teams of Project Kerberos, as they have infiltrated a variety of hells, seeking the souls of the possessed or the demented. This time, though, things were slightly different. A sense of fatalism and concern had swept over the team, making them less confident. While the priests at home base continued an exorcism on the bedeviled Javier Romero, our crack extraction team tried to get their bearings, and find the tortured incarnation of their client.

This was not to be an easy trip, unfortunately. Both the environment and the denizens were stacked against them, but help was not as far away as you might think. Allies from an unexpected source reveal themselves, and some dangerous information to boot. But to top it all off, one of the crew might be putting themselves ahead of the team. But if you want details, you know the drill. You’ve got to pick up this comic at your local comic shop!

As per the norm, writer Cullen Bunn does a spectacular job in keeping the reader interested and intrigued throughout the story. We’ve seen the outer workings of Project Kerberos thus far, and with the events in this issue, the tale is about to get far more complicated as we delve into the inner details of the group. Brian Churilla continues to deliver his signature artwork for the series, really giving life to the monstrous creatures in each of the hells. His use of negative space gives a sense of depth to the panels, that other artists might not have created. In fact, these two guys work so extraordinarily well together, that the results speak for themselves.

The premise behind the Hellbreak series may not be completely original, but the delivery certainly is. You won’t regret picking this series up if you are in any way a science fiction fan. Anyone who likes Bunn or Churilla is already buying this, so I won’t even speak to that as a reason to buy this. Picking this comic up is just the right thing to do. Go on, you know you want to do what’s right.