Writer – John Warner
Artist – Jim Mooney, Jim Starlin
Inker – Jim Mooney
Colours – Diane Buscema
Letters – Joe Rosen

To say that Daimon Hellstrom has a bit of a temper is putting it lightly and one can more than likely assume it having everything to do with his lineage more than anything else. Being the Son of Satan is not an easy thing, yet he bears it as best he can and would not wish his forbearance upon anyone else. As it is, when he arrives home to find his belongings gone and the house torn apart, there is but one person that comes to mind when assigning blame and that is none other than his father – Satan. John Warner and Jim Mooney start things off with a bit of a bang as they take Daimon to Hell to learn the truth of things. After a confrontation with some demons, Satan eventually shows himself and much to Daimon’s dismay or perhaps relief, discovers it was no doing of his father. There is an interesting moment that makes little sense, one of those scenes where the villain ruminates to himself as they often do in tales of good guys and bad and this particular one finds Satan vowing to destroy his son but only in a way that will give him glory. As the ruler of Hell, Satan has nobody to impress but himself so it makes little sense, but as the series progresses, perhaps Warner will expound upon this should it come to fruition. Eventually the big bad of the book is revealed and it is a new foe, one who calls himself the Possessor – an apt name considering the two demons which share his body. When first introduced, the Possessor looks like a generic KKK reject, meaning very little thought went into his creation by Mooney and yet not less than a couple of pages later when Hellstrom blasts the villain’s mask off, he changes into a very terrifying foe – a welcome transformation if there ever were one. Despite this being only the first issue, one cannot help but wonder if the foes that Hellstrom will come to face will all follow a similar theme, meaning something to do with Satan or demons or Hell. Partly, one does have to expect it given the title of the book, but hopefully Warner and Mooney can keep things fresh while moving the story forward and not fall into too many clichés along the way. While there is some good action present and a lot of heavy drama amongst a mystery being introduced, splitting the book’s focus between two villains in the first issue was perhaps its only mistake, though having Satan present did provide both context and history for Daimon Hellstrom. Overall, it was written well and looked great and there is no better way to start a new title off than that.

3.5 out of 5