Review: Inferno - Age of Darkness

Just from the cover of this issue, you know you are about to see some bat out of hell action. And then literally you meet Mercy, who just visited hell in order to save her sister. Man what we do for family. Mercy had to get sister out but like any good devil, she had to give something to Lucifer in exchange. Mercy must now work for Lucifer and hunt down demons who have escaped hell. It sounds like a good hook, so I thought I would give the comic try. I have been enjoying Robyn Hood so much that maybe Zenescope could offer me something else. At first, I got hooked. Mercy has that same attitude as Robyn, where she talks to her reader in that funny sarcastic tone.  Chasing down hell ridden people doesn’t sound like fun but hey they deserve to be there, so her job isn’t too bad. I am not going to lie, it got weird when we entered hell though. I really thought the comic would deal with more Lucifer coming to earth instead of the other way around, but mostly focus on Mercy. It is totally opposite. Once I got over the servants horns and tails though, it came together.

Inferno_AOD_OneShot_cover-CSo pretty much Lucifer is a huge part of the story. She and Mercy get along nicely, again not what I thought would be the case. They discuss things and even have some common ground. Lucifer needs Mercy to capture an eye. This eye holds power that not anyone can handle alone. Lucifer’s father, Maleci, wants the eye all to himself to take over all the realms. Now it is Lucifer, Mercy, and another recruit named Masumi job to save him from taking all the power. It sounds so strange having Lucifer be so... responsible. But I like the different view point of her.

Like any Zenescope issue, we get plenty of action. But it is perfectly placed and doesn’t take away from the story. It was fun seeing the girls fly around. I loved the difference in weaponry too. Mercy with her long jacket, reminds me of a Cake song, and  her guns bring in all the rights to bear arms. And then Masumi brings the white jumpsuit and the swords along. The balance of the two make for some jokes in between them and some cool moves for all. As you can see the art gives us lots of costumes as well. Whether it being their character or all part of an act, I love when we get so many changes in characters. It makes it feel like a real mission impossible story.

All and all, this one shot has some benefits to offer. The whole Age of Darkness storyline isn’t really for me, but I wanted to give it a shot. I think the review is though. If you want some hellish things in your life then check this comic out. It offers a solid story with some intertwining action from all sides.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Ralph Tedesco Artist: Sami Kivela Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment Price: $5.99 Release Date: 4/16/14 Format: One-Shot, Print/Digital