Hell Baby- Graphic Novel Review

To start my inaugural retro graphic novel reviews, I thought I’d revisit one of my first ever if not the first graphic novel I ever owned. I may be misremembering but I believe I got this for free with a copy of Manga Mania. It was in a sealed poly bag alongside the comic and at the time I remember being very excited. That would place it around the time I was about 11 years old and boy, at the time did I find it disturbing and edgy.

Hell Baby by Hideshi Hino

The cover is pretty horrific but wait until you see the art inside. The black and white images really pop.

This one-and-done horror story tells the simple tale of a demonic baby, who is abandoned by her father at birth due to her horrific appearance and lust for blood. She is forced to grow up in the Junkyard of the World, struggling against other scavengers. When she dies soon after, a mysterious force resurrects her and guides her on a path of vengeance. Upon reaching the age of seven, she makes her way back into the bright lights of the big city to cause terror and mayhem.

The story is slight, but in a world of never ending manga its quite nice to have a complete story told as a one shot. The entire tale reminds me of The Simpsons Tree House of Horror VII where Bart discovers he had an evil twin, Hugo, living in the attic as his parents realised that he was the 'evil' twin.

Having grown up a bit since its first reading, I have to say that I really like the simplicity of the story. Hideshi Hino's art is simple but this is powerful as the tale of revenge and redemption is vividly brought to life with the gushes of geyser like blood spray interspersed with the innocence of the 'good' twin. Re-reading this after nearly 30 years I was transported to when I first read it in my home in Barking all those years ago, shocked yet thrilled by the emotive, bittersweet tale.

Whilst not a masterpiece by any means, Hino's Hell Baby is a worthwhile read for the tale it tells in a quick bitesize way; some of the images will stick with you for a long time and isn't that the mark of a horror story?