‘Hillbilly: Volume 2’ – Eric Powell (Albatross Funnybooks)



I feel like I’ve been reading a little too much horror recently so needed a little change, not much of a change though. The great thing about Eric Powell’s books is that while there’s still a vein of horror running through it all, his work is so many other things at the same time; just what I needed then. I’m well behind on his ‘Hillbilly’ series (read the first volume back in December, where did the time go…) so thought it was time to do some catching up…

With the Devil’s Cleaver in hand, Rondel still walks the wooded hills and valleys of a fairytale world that is hauntingly familiar. If you have a problem with a sprite or troll, it may be that Rondel is the man to help but don’t cross him… He will always have the last laugh.

Powell is really taking his time setting this series up and that’s a brilliant thing if you’re a fan, or even if you just like a well told story. If you’re after something to get stuck right into though… Well, you’re going to need to give ‘Hillbilly’ a little while longer to get going. The foundations of the story are being build on but it looks like the house itself is going to be massive if you get what I mean…
What you are left with, in the meantime, is a series of short tales; some of which start to hint at something larger but are all fairly self contained. I like this approach as it gives you room to duck out, if the book isn’t doing it for you, and not worry that you haven’t had the full story. It pretty much goes without saying that I’m not ducking out. Rondel is fast proving to be a character that I want to spend more time with and the story of how he met Lucille just made me feel that all the more. Powell really has his finger right on the pulse of this story and I’m in awe of how he switches gear so effortlessly. One minute, we’re in the middle of some weird horror and the next minute it’s all about the touching friendship between a man and a bear. And it’s so easy to get caught up in it all and just let the story take you wherever it’s going. It’s still very much early days but I think Powell has another great story on his hands.

This volume of ‘HillBilly’ sees Powell share out the art duties and the result really feeds into the whole feel of this ‘slightly weird and very dangerous’ fairytale. Powell is the highlight for me, of course, but I would love to see more of Steve Mannion and Simone Di Meo’s work, in future volumes, as it’s really clear that not only do they ‘get’ what Rondel’s world is all about, they’re both amazing at drawing that world and depositing the reader right in the middle of it.

Once you get your head round the fact the ‘Hillbilly’ is a slowburner, in terms of the story, then there is plenty to get to grips with and enjoy. I’m not going to lie, I want things to start moving now but Volume 2 really works as a continued introduction to this beautiful but dangerous world and the people who live there.  I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the Iron Child as well but that’s another story…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Day of Ascension’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Black Library)

Image
Page Count – 196 Pages There isn’t a lot that’s good about moving house (especially when it slowly dawns on you just how much the new place is going to cost to run, I need to get another job…) but there are some good bits if you look for them. For me, it was mostly around getting all my books unpacked and back on shelves around me again, not stuffed up in the loft where I couldn’t see them. Old favourites were back within easy reach, along with a whole load of new books that I really should have read ages ago. You can probably guess what my main New Year’s resolution will be… ;o) ‘Day of Ascension’ was one of those new books and I figured it was as good a place as any to start over in making a dent in the ol’ TBR Pile. And I’m really glad I did. On the forge world of Morod, the machines never stop and the work never ends. The population toils in the mines and factoria to protect humanity from the monsters in the void, while the Adeptus Mechanicus enjoy lives of palatial comfort. Gene
Read more

‘Worms of the Earth’ – Robert E. Howard.

Image
Page Count: 27 Pages I have a copy of this on my shelf and the plan was to pick it up for a read on the way into work this morning. Well, that was the plan but I was half asleep, leaving the house, and totally forgot… No matter though, that’s what the Kindle app is for (although if I’d been a little more awake, I’d have read it off Project Gutenberg instead, you can find ‘Worms of the Earth’ Here ). 99p later and my ‘commute reading’ was secured 😉 I always seem to fall into the trap of just reading ‘Conan’ stuff whenever I fancy reading a little Howard. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just that there’s a lot of his other stories out there that are more than worth your time when you come across them. ‘Worms of the Earth’ is very much one of those tales but you knew that already, didn’t you? You didn’t? You should do something about that, take it from me… After witnessing one of his subjects die at the hands of Roman governor Titus Sulla, Bran Mak Morn vows vengeance on Sulla but at w
Read more

‘Deathworlder’ – Victoria Hayward (Black Library)

Image
Before I get into the review proper, thank you Black Library for sending me a copy of ‘Deathworlder’ in return for a fair and honest review. Talking of ‘fair and honest’… There will be loads of the latter but I enjoyed the hell out of ‘Deathworlder’ so… We’ll see how being fair goes ;o) That’s your only warning, lets talk ‘Deathworlder’… Lazulai is a world beyond the brink, its battle against the tyranids all but lost. Once-magnificent cities lie in ruin. The seas boil. The skies crack. Horrific alien bioforms devour. In mere days the planet will be consumed. The 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’ defend one of the last fortresses still standing. Led by Major Wulf Khan, to die fighting is all that is expected of them… until she is given one last mission: to lead a squad through the apocalypse and recover a piece of archeotech that may doom or deliver the entire Lazulai System. Facing insurmountable odds and zero hope for aid, the major must hold her squad together as they pick their way
Read more