A WALK THROUGH HELL, THE COMPLETE SERIES (Aftershock Comics, June 2020) Hardcover, 256 pages. Garth Ennis, writer. Goran Sudzuka, artist. Ive Svorcina, colorist. Rob Steen, letters.
Over the years, Ennis has earned a favorable reputation for writing gritty, edgy stories featuring “grounded” characters with depth and complexity. He is the recipient of numerous awards in the comics industry.
Yet for all that he’s accomplished he’s not a writer inclined to go through the motions for a fat paycheck. He puts his heart into his work, and A WALK THROUGH HELL deserves a place in the front lines of his compendium. It may be his finest work.
Some savvy film producer should commission Ennis to write the teleplay for A WALK THROUGH HELL. It would make for the best season of TRUE DETECTIVE on HBO ever.
The oversized hardcover edition of the complete series is the absolute best way to read the series for full appreciation. The first printing, released in June 2020, sold out quickly. A second printing is scheduled to be released in November 2020, and can be pre-ordered through your local comic shop.
The back cover synopsis doesn’t begin to touch on the intensity of what’s inside but does share enough information to entice readers to explore further:
“Special agents Shaw and McGregor handle the routine cases nowadays, which is just the way Shaw likes it She’s pushing 40, a borderline burnout, the ghastly memories of her last investigation still clinging like shadows. McGregor is younger, more dedicated, hanging onto some measure of idealism whatever the world might throw at him.
When two fellow agents go missing inside a Long Beach warehouse, Shaw and McGregor are sent to investigate. But what they find waiting is far from routine, as the local police have already discovered to their cost. Before the night is out, our heroes will encounter terror beyond their most appalling nightmares - - in a place where the night may never end at all.”
I”ve read this story at least four times, beginning with the monthly individual issues and moving onto the two trade paperbacks. There’s quite a bit more here than a simple police procedural. When I read the initial issues with a month or more between readings, it was easy to get confused by the story. There are numerous flashbacks. Some seemed incidental and unimportant at first, while others dripped with relevance. After more readings I realized that there is no filler here and every single scene is important to the full story.
Those employed in law enforcement and involved in homicide investigations enter a world that is darker and more heartless than the one that normal citizens move about in. It’s a form of hell, and the longer agents stay in the profession the more they seem to suffer, from anxiety, to depression, to guilt over the actions they are sometimes forced to take. For the reader, turning the pages of A WALK THROUGH HELL is like taking a walk through those dim corridors in the shoes of the two agents. Indeed, the life of investigation of despicable grisly crimes is a constant walk through hell.
The story opens with a horrific Christmas mass shooting inside a shopping mall. It seems unrelated to the main story until some detective work in the later issues uncovers the connection to a larger investigation. A tactical S.W.A.T. unit that turns their guns on each other also makes more sense when considered a part of the bigger picture.
The FBI investigating team of Shaw and McGregor will remind some of the X-FILES team. Shaw is an aggressive female agent with smarts and skills that don’t get enough respect. Neither does her partner, McGregor, simply because he’s gay. There’s a side story centering on a nasty encounter with a homophobic male chauvinist agent who dislikes both of them, and directs his anger at the female head of the department as well.
Two fellow agents, both associates of Shaw and McGregor, enter a warehouse on an investigative lead and don’t emerge after four hours. A S.W.A.T. team is dispatched and retreats from the warehouse, cowering in fear after only several minutes inside. Shaw and McGregor venture indoors and become lost in a dark labyrinth that leads them down some even darker trails. They find the missing agents; and neither one will be productive workers again. There’s a homeless couple with child inside, huddled together in death. How and why remains unexplained until the final issue ties everything together.
As they search for meaning as well as a a way out, Shaw and McGregor are plagued by deep-seated insecurities and fears. It almost seems like each character entering the warehouse is taking a trip into the confessional booth of a Roman Catholic church. In fact, the story takes on religious overtones as it moves further along.
Shaw even hears the voice of the pedophile serial killer from their last assignment goading her on. That case still troubles the team, none more so than Shaw who unbeknownst to her partner took justice into her own hands to provide both evidence and resolution to that investigation.
The investigation itself reveals a horrible and manipulative predator with a history that goes back farther than current events. A WALK THROUGH HELL can be viewed as an introspective look into current society and the clash between good and evil. Are we trending towards a loss of belief and becoming more inhuman in the 21st century as a result? Has God abandoned Earth, and now it’s the Devil’s turn? Ennis poses the questions, and hints at what he senses happening. The answers are for readers to determine. This one will stay with you. FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS.
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