Building Horror In A Walk Through Hell #5
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
We finally see Agent Goss, who is wandering the bowels of the warehouse and in fear of the potential monsters that lie within. Goss has always been afraid of monsters. Meanwhile, Shaw confesses what really went down with Carnahan to McGregor, and it may break their trust and partnership.
A Walk Through Hell #5 reveals why Shaw believes she and McGregor are in this surreal nightmare-scape. The devoted reader probably could have guessed what had happened, but it still packs a punch.
Every issue of A Walk Through Hell so far has had a big “oh shit” moment, from a SWAT team coordinating a mass suicide to large men swallowing their own fist to choke themselves to death. A Walk Through Hell #5 doesn’t have a big moment like that, but it does have a handful of smaller “oh shit” moments. They’re unnerving but not so surprising or shocking as to leave you paused.
It’s as unnerving and creepy as it should be for sure. Garth Ennis’ body of work is made up of numerous comics both intending and succeeding to create dread, both existential and instinctual. A Walk Through Hell #5 is no different.
As an aside, I’ve been reading through the entirety of both Preacher and Punisher MAX lately, and I quickly fell in love with both.
Goran Sudzuka once again provides the understated art aesthetic that makes the proceedings even more chilling. The more bizarre moments are made more powerful by the relative normality of the rest of the comic. Ive Svorcina’s colorwork is similarly effective in its restrained aesthetic.
A Walk Through Hell #5 is another effective and unnerving chapter in this brilliant horror series by one of comics’ greatest writers. It makes revelations both expected and shocking, and the visual work of Sudzuka and Svorcina is great. This one earns a strong recommendation. I definitely suggest giving it a read.
A Walk Through Hell #5 comes to us from writer Garth Ennis, artist Goran Sudzuka, color artist Ive Svorcina, letterer Rob Steen, and cover artists Andy Clarke with Jose Villarrubia.