Hell In Stalingrad – Comic Preview
I’ve just had a look at the first two chapters (20 pages) of Hell In Stalingrad, a collaborative effort between writers Robin Jones (Madius Comics) and Matt Hardy (Mad Robot Comics) with art from the incomparable Russell MacEwan (Horrere) and inks by Will McLaughlan. I’ve seen snippets of this project in development on social media. It intrigued me enough from the art without knowing much more than that so it was great to finally dive in.
Synopsis
Set in the middle of the Battle of Stalingrad – with the Soviet Kessel slowly engulfing the German forces. We follow the story of a German soldier, Ernst, and Vassily, his Russian counterpart as they must set aside vast ideological differences in a bid to thwart an otherworldly threat.
Can these two men from such radically different backgrounds, caught up in one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War prevent a demonic force from crossing over into our world and plunging the entire world into the fires of Hell?
Hell In Stalingrad
As I said above I’ve only seen the first 20 pages. That was more than enough to establish the main characters and give a great sense of where this tale is going. I’m kind of a sucker for stories that incorporate the occult into Second World War stuff and if anyone was ever going to nail that combination it’s this team.
The set up in the first chapter drew me in so quickly that when I reached that “End of Chapter One.” caption I was suddenly immensely grateful that this is being released in one go and not as individual chapters. I couldn’t stand the wait! Chapter two is where things really start to heat up as we are plunged into the midst of the war.
The art (as shown in a few preview panels below) is so perfectly suited to conveying both the horrors of war and the occult. Like Commando Comics, but viewed through a blood-smeared lens.
Kickstarter
PJ Holden’s cover art
Russell MacEwan’s Variant Cover
Hell In Stalingrad is funding now on Kickstarter. It’s already over 250% funded and charging towards stretch goals.
Backer perks include variant cover options (one by interior artist Russell MacEwan and one by 2000AD artist PJ Holden), pin-up prints by the likes of Lucy Sullivan and Iain Laurie, as well as digital back catalogues.
Knowing the team behind this one I am sure there are more goodies in store for further stretch goals. I did mention something on twitter about personal unicorns so hopefully they are working on that one.
The kickstarter runs until July 18th 2020.
