Obscure Comic of the Month is a column where I take a look at a comic or series that hasn't really been talked about. This covers independent comics, zines, weird spin-offs, webcomics and more.
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No Romance in Hell by Hyena Hell
Contains Mild Spoilers
No Romance in Hell tells the story of an idealistic demonic woman, while unnamed in the comic itself, we do quickly learn of her love for romances and her longing for a similar experience. Having failed to achieve any meaningful relationships in the bowels of hell, she travels to earth and blends in as best she can, with the hopes she can strike up a whirlwind romance there.
The comic is, frankly, the best possible execution of such a premise, in my opinion. As you may or may not know, I am not unfamiliar with writing demonic romances myself, so when I saw Hyena Hell's comic sitting on the shelf of Newcastle's Travelling Man, stereotypical romance novel text above a scantily clad green-skinned woman disintegrating a helpless suitor, I knew I would have to check it out. It was absolutely my jam.
Not an inch of space or time is wasted within the story, which serves as a razor sharp satire of modern dating culture. From the vapidity of online dating apps, appearing here as the fictional 'burner' app, to the insecurities facing the vast majority of of those singles today embarking upon such a chaotic and daunting endeavour, Hell manages to condense perfectly our own anxieties into this lumbering, clueless dolt that we can't help but grow attached to.
Every joke manages to land perfectly. There's visual comedy, as the demonic woman struggles to get dressed by clumsily liberating clothes and a wig from a shop window dummy. There's the classic repetition of her constantly disintegrating people who insult or displease her. There's the aforementioned satire, covering both the fast paced, no strings attached attitude towards modern relationships, as well as the heightened idealism of classic romance comics of yesteryear. The writing is never too overwrought or corny, never spoon feeds the reader, but isn't afraid to go for those easy laughs when the chance arises.
The art too is just wonderful. Every character is eye-catching and full of personality. At all times it manages to be grotesque and vulgar and sexy. Hell is a realm of flimsy boob tubes, thongs, jock straps and codpieces, while Earth is a realm of casual hookups and disappointing sexual encounters. Nudity is presented unceremoniously throughout the story, while the idea of objectively 'beautiful people' exists purely within outdated romance comics, which both fits with the story's themes and helps humanise these characters. In a world where nobody is beautiful, there is beauty in everyone.
If there's a moral to this story, it's very much in line with that way of thinking. In the end our demoness realises that she wouldn't actually enjoy living the happy ever afters of her romance comics anyway, and concludes that actual happiness can come from something more humble. Hell manages to tie the whole story together with the final pages into a nice little bow, fittingly, and still manages to get a good few final gags in there for good measure. If you don't have a smile on the face by the time you get to that final panel then you have no soul.
The adventures of our wayward demoness are not over just yet, as it appears that Hell has more stories to come, if recent art previews online are anything to go by. After No Romance in Hell, I'm really excited to find what existential crises she ends up falling in to next.
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Jack Harvey 2023. No Romance in Hell (c) 2020 Hyena Hell. Images used under Fair Use.
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