Reign in Hell question

[Phantom Druid]

Is this title worth picking up ? I almost bought the first 2 issues but my budget was kinda tight this week, and I opted for my usual GL and Final Crisis titles. I was a fan of the Shadowpact team, so this seems like it might be interesting.

[titanfan]

For me, it's too early to tell. It's still in the set-up stage. If you are a fan of Shadowpact, the team is featured heavily, so it might be worth a look-see.

[FanboyStranger]

I'd say it's a toss-up-- the first two issues have been fairly uneventful beyond the idea that Purgatory has declared war on Hell, but it seems (to me, at least) that there is still some promise in the storyline. Plus, every now and then someone at DC gets the idea of a pairing a really clean artist with Billy the Sink, and somehow it just works. I find Derenick to be an adequate-at-best, generic-at-worst artist, but his pencils actually look very nice with Sink's rough inks. (They did this a few years ago with Dan Jurgens on a Batman storyline during No Man's Land, and it also looked great. There was also a tenth anniversary Superman/Doomsday mini that they did together that I never read but heard was terrible.)

The Dr. Occult back-up in RIH has been mediocre, but then I'm probably the one guy who has been looking forward to the Dr. Occult project that Peter Gross announced he was going to both write and draw back in the day.

[JCAll]

Well, the book is good enough. The art is weird but nice, and the story is good if not what I expected or maybe just not in the swing of things yet.
But when you look at the little things it gets to me. Like Linda Danvers going crazy on Shadowpact for no reason or Etrigan not rhyming. I would probably have bought the series just for those two, but they seem to be slightly off. Not that it matters, because they're probably not important characters, but as I said the little things are off.

[Phantom Druid]

Thanks everyone, sounds intriguing. I might pick the first ish up next time I get to the shop.

[Sean Walsh]

Plus, every now and then someone at DC gets the idea of a pairing a really clean artist with Billy the Sink, and somehow it just works. I find Derenick to be an adequate-at-best, generic-at-worst artist, but his pencils actually look very nice with Sink's rough inks.

In absolute agreement over this.

I was disappointed when Denerick was announced as replacing Matt Clark as artist on this series - I think have similar complaints about Clark, but (a) I was glad to see his recent health problems were apparently under control (not sure, now that he's off the series) and (b) his art would've suited the dark/hellish aspects of this story really well - but seeing Sienkiewicz's inks on his line art makes Denerick's usually average work look very above-average.

However my real concern for RiH - for some reason - is with Giffen's script. It seems like it wants to do too much, and that he's not really fleshing characters out. A lot of complaints that he's just tossing characters in there without introducing them to newer readers - something I normally balk at, since I'm a reader who tends to know who these obscure people are - seem more potent than usual. Plus the concept of magic always confuses me, and with DC's editorial tomfoolery of late I have a feeling it might confuse even them, the ones who mandated the big upheaval of change in how magic works in the DCU in the first place.

[Phantom Druid]

Doesn't the new Marvel ( formerly Captain Marvel ) make an appearance in this ?

[Desaad]

I'd say it's a toss-up-- the first two issues have been fairly uneventful beyond the idea that Purgatory has declared war on Hell, but it seems (to me, at least) that there is still some promise in the storyline. Plus, every now and then someone at DC gets the idea of a pairing a really clean artist with Billy the Sink, and somehow it just works. I find Derenick to be an adequate-at-best, generic-at-worst artist, but his pencils actually look very nice with Sink's rough inks. (They did this a few years ago with Dan Jurgens on a Batman storyline during No Man's Land, and it also looked great. There was also a tenth anniversary Superman/Doomsday mini that they did together that I never read but heard was terrible.)

The Dr. Occult back-up in RIH has been mediocre, but then I'm probably the one guy who has been looking forward to the Dr. Occult project that Peter Gross announced he was going to both write and draw back in the day.

Uh, when was THIS said? I'm intrigued!

[Desaad]

I'd say it's a toss-up-- the first two issues have been fairly uneventful beyond the idea that Purgatory has declared war on Hell, but it seems (to me, at least) that there is still some promise in the storyline. Plus, every now and then someone at DC gets the idea of a pairing a really clean artist with Billy the Sink, and somehow it just works. I find Derenick to be an adequate-at-best, generic-at-worst artist, but his pencils actually look very nice with Sink's rough inks. (They did this a few years ago with Dan Jurgens on a Batman storyline during No Man's Land, and it also looked great. There was also a tenth anniversary Superman/Doomsday mini that they did together that I never read but heard was terrible.)

The Dr. Occult back-up in RIH has been mediocre, but then I'm probably the one guy who has been looking forward to the Dr. Occult project that Peter Gross announced he was going to both write and draw back in the day.

Uh, when was THIS said? I'm intrigued!

[FanboyStranger]

Uh, when was THIS said? I'm intrigued!

Years ago... in between his run on Books of Magic and his start on Lucifer. He did a short story featuring Dr. Occult in the Golden Age 80-Page Giant, and mentioned that he had an Occult series that was in the planning stage.