About.com Rating

Introduction:

Heavy Metal is synonymous with over the top art, voluptuous women, and massive amounts of violence. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Helldiver: Book One is no exception to this rule and this graphic novel should get Heavy Metal fans salivating over this story of the end of the world.
From the Press Release:
Raised by the Order of Solomon, Adam Cahill is one of a rare handful of highly trained warriors bound by bloodline to guard the Seven Holy Seals that contain the End of Days. But ageless forces have conspired towards a prophetic event foretold by numerous cultures and multiple religions, and when that cryptic date arrives, they strike against the order without mercy! Adam's world is shattered, his family murdered, and he is sent spiraling into Hell itself.

Vitals

Title: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Helldiver: Book One
Writer: Michael Mendheim, Mike Kennedy, and Sean Jaffee
Artist: Simon Bisley
Covers: Ivan Khivrenko
Colors: Chad Fidler
Content: Helldiver is for mature readers and contains gore, violence, nudity, language, horror, and adult situations.
Publisher: Heavy Metal/Four Horsemen Entertainment
Cost: $14.95

Story:

Adam Cahill is an unusual man. He is one that doesn’t claim to believe in God, but he works directly for a secret order that protects the seals that preserve humanity from the end of days. He is devout in the execution of his job, but his faith lies elsewhere, with his beloved wife and daughter.
Dark deals are struck and the powers of evil rise to break the seals and release the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Adam is the last and only one that can prevent their release. He has lived his life for the order, but now he is being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice and become one who goes to hell and prevents the end of the world.

He is the Helldiver.

In the planes of purgatory, between heaven and hell, he seeks others who would aide him in defeating the four riders. The landscape before him is as twisted as the souls of those he is trying to save and all of hells creatures are looking to stop the Helldiver at any cost. With only bullets, brawn, and curve of his blessed blades Adam will stop at nothing to reunite with his family and keep them safe.

Review:

For those not familiar with the Heavy Metal magazine or the movies that came from it, these mature reader epics are filled with scantily clad women, gory violence, and lots of action. Their style will certainly not be for everyone, especially kids, but they have built up a loyal audience over the years.
Fan favorite Simon Bisley is back in the saddle for art chores and one can see what all the fuss is about. Bisley draws quite well, with over exaggerated curves of the female characters coupled with the grisly and grotesque demons makes for an interesting read. His style is a natural fit for the comic and I can see why fans like him so much.

While the concept of the end of days is not new, I really liked the fresh take of how Adam enters into purgatory. Taking his life to “dive” into the realms of hell was pretty a pretty cool concept. Some of the theological aspects were a bit off though, with the main character not even believing in God, stating to a image of Christ, “…You’re not my God, Nazarene.” How one can enter heaven without even having faith is beyond me. Hopefully in further issues they will divulge their big reveal about heaven, hell, and the deity like the series Preacher did.

The first book moves things along at a nice pace, setting up the characters, back drop, theme, and overall concept for the story. The trip through purgatory was very grim and I am interested to see where Mendheim and Co. take us. The content is very gory and graphic and while I thought at times it was a bit much, it did fit right into the Heavy Metal genre.

Conclusion:

I know this comic won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like the horror genre or are a fan of Heavy Metal magazine then you will surely want to check out The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This kind of mag is over the top in just about every area and will surely offend those used to lighter fair. Reader be warned.