Sometimes I come across a perfect convergence of a multitude of topics I am into – with the subject of today’s review, Bloody Hel by Clay McCormack and Russ Badgett, being a solid combination of a World War I military comic and a story about Norse Mythology rolled into one. It may seem like a random combination, but for many in Europe during the supposed “War to end all Wars”, it may have seemed like Ragnarök itself was upon The Earth. While this is not necessarily a historically accurate depiction of any sort of Norse beliefs, nor does it really try to be, but it respects the old Gods quite a bit, and uses them in an interesting way here.

“Drafted into a war he has no desire to fight, infantryman Private Andersen’s only goal is to make it out of World War I alive – a task made much more difficult when he’s ordered to cross enemy lines on an explosive secret mission. His unit never makes it to their destination. Instead, they unwittingly free a group of ancient Viking Gods, imprisoned for centuries by Loki’s children, Fenrir and Hel. Full of mystical battles, historical detail, and the power of human frailty, ingenuity, and heroism, BLOODY HEL gives new meaning to “the war to end all wars” with a shattering apocalyptic throwdown in the trenches, millennia in the making!”

This book does an amazing job of showing the grotesqueness of World War I in many ways. While other books on the topic have a tendency to focus on tales of heroism, we see the underbelly here. Soldiers are seen eating maggot infested food, rats plague the trenches and cause disease, and people tied up in barbed wire are left to die. Truly the stuff of horrors, and a war that scarred all of the world for many years, both physically and emotionally. I think one of the more “messed up” things conveyed here was a moment where the protagonist, Private Andersen, is digging trenches and finds a wall of hastily buried Frenchmen mummified and entombed in the thick mud, a monument to the futility of the trench system showing that rarely was any ground actually ever gained.

Another strong suit for this comic was the artwork, witch was somewhat monochromatic at times, and made everything seem uneasy and almost post-apocalyptic. During daytime scenes, almost everything is a muted orange hue, as if the sun itself had given up on the world. At Night, everything is draped in green light, especially when anything paranormal starts to creep in. The artwork was pretty awesome and horrific at the same time, and makes me immediately want more of this book, which thankfully was hinted at in the final pages here.

The main story focuses on a band of dead Vikings that are cursed by The Goddess Hel to stay trapped in a rock until Ragnarök, once they come out and start fighting this book gets pretty crazy. Private Andersen seems to be special in some way, as he is a target of Fenrir himself, the gigantic wolf destined to kill Odin and bring about the end of the world itself. He appears to be feeding on the war itself, and is nearing the strength he needs to break his bonds. We never really find out what is going on with Andersen, so I hope the story continues in the next book, even though he would be a bit older (spoiler, it’s set in WWII).

Overall, this was an enjoyable comic, and a VERY interesting use of this setting and the supernatural elements. I usually prefer comics that try to be a more realistic depiction of either war or History, but with this being a horror book, it’s successful nonetheless. I am excited to see what the authors do in future installments, and whether they go past the next book with their story. Not everything was tied up perfectly, and Andersen, as it stands, wasn’t to solid of a main character, but all other factors combined I liked this a lot.

Combining World War One and Ragnarok is an intriguing idea and the art is top-notch, but the plot of <i>Bloody Hel</i> is a bit weak and the characters are particularly well developed. I like it enough to want to see a second volume, but I'm not chomping at the bit for it.

Received via NetGalley.

Set in World War I the only goal of Private Anderson is to get out alive. His team is sent on a secret mission and accidentally set a group of ancient viking gods free.

It is set in Belgium in 1917 already gives you a sense of danger. Combined with Norse myths it really draws you into the story. This is Norse Myths done right.

One of my favorite things about Bloody Hel is the colors. Everything is a bright green which creates this feeling that something other worldly is going on. Knowing how hard life was for soldiers during WWI I found myself holding my breath just waiting for something bad to happen. You turn the page and I found myself unable to read fast enough to satisify my need to find out what is going to happen.

The art is stunning and I love the portrayal of the Norse characters. I cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy of this book.

Creative Team:
Written and Illustrated by Clay McCormack
Colors by Russ Badgett
Letters by Pete Carlsson
Created by Clayton McCormack and Daniel Edelman
Published by A Wave Blue World

Finally! A good book about WW1 that didn't make me want to fall asleep half-way through! I was so excited to keep reading that I felt ridiculously in love with this. Not to mention that the art was GOD-tier, pun intended. And definitely added to the whole motif of the story.

'Bloody Hel' by Clay McCormack with art by Russ Badgett is a graphic novel about a world conflict that may have even bigger implications.

A young infantryman named Andersen during WWI is ordered across no man's land with a team of other men to plant explosives in the German tunnels. What happens instead is that he loses his fellow soldiers and unleashes a group of Ancient Viking gods waiting for Ragnarok. As the body count piles up, will Fenrir start the end of the world?

I liked this bloody look at how awful war can be. I found Andersen to be an interesting character. What I really liked was the art and how colors were used.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, A Wave Blue World, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. But I wasn't able to view it and it was archived.

Private Andersen of the British light infantry is trying to survive the WW I battlefield, but got distracted when he ran into enchanted Vikings, Hel, and Fenrir. Ragnarok is in the offing if Fenrir has his way. Henrik of the Vikings leads the charge in stopping the gods from ending the world. Andersen manages to add to the confusion and blow up the gods' plans. An interesting ending that leads to a sequel.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title.

Bloody Hel, is a gory and violent graphic novel about Loki's children, Fenrir and Hel, becoming plunked down in the middle of WWI and the chaos and power struggle that ensues. The story is mostly told from the perspective of a soldier, who becomes aware that if he tells anyone that he has seen the Norse gods on the battlefield he'll be shipped off and deemed insane, so must find a way to warn other soldiers of the impending danger without revealing the truth. The artwork wonderfully depicts the tone of the changing environment and thoughts of the characters.

As World War I devastates the land and takes thousands of lives in its claws, a group of cursed Vikings get involved as a consecuence of the rage of two vengeful Gods, children of Loki.

The story is really creative, but I wasn't trully convinced by how it developed. Some things happened too fast and felt a little slopy while others were just too slow. A little more insight on the characters (mostly on the Vikings) would have been great.

Last but not least, the artwork is amazing. Every single detail, from the rain falling to the choices of colours, were magnificent.

So... What can I say?
I really was excited to read this book. I mean, an horror graphic novel, with the Great War and Norse Mythology. For me, it was perfect on paper. But as I went through the book, I didn't like it as much excepted. It's not a bad book obviously, but it's not my type.
The story ain't bad... but I have to admit, that I found myself bored at some times, and just wanted to finish it., and it felt kind of rushed...
But, I loved the artwork, especially the colors, it's so beautiful, and it makes the ambiance perfect.
So, helas, not a book for me, but not a bad book too.

Grim and full of bloodshed.
Norse Gods and the trenches of WWI.
I started off uncertain if I could read a comic set in the trenches (the art leaves nothing to the imagination and the colouration implies mud, death, and mustard gas) but the story soon grabbed me and I was invested. It helps that our MC is not a God or hero. Just a man, albeit one who will give away his tin hat to a fellow soldier, everyman.

I'll certainly look out for the next book.

Bloody Hel (Hel is the Norse Goddess of Death) is a unique mash up between The Great War and Norse Mythology.

The story itself is a little bit of a mess, which makes the ending a bloody hell. It was doable at the start, but as it progressed it went to nothing. Luckily other parts make up for it.
Like the art, it captures the feeling and the dark atmosphere of the story perfectly, because it sticks to 2 color pallets, green and yellow. The fight scenes are exciting.

As someone who's interested in mythology, but hasn't had the time yet to dive into Norse mythology much, I probably didn't pick up on everything, but as far as I know characters like Fenrir and Loki were portrayed correctly, instead of playing some weird role, which is always good to see.

I think the author tried to fit in too much and therefore didn't manage to correctly fit in the main elements of the story. All in all it's not bad, but not great either, you must like either one or both topics in order to find reading this interesting.

3/5

Norse mythology, WWI, and amazing art. Are you sold yet?
Hmm ok first of all, the art is phenomenal! I loved the way colors changed whenever the characters changed and the effect that had on the overall experience!
I loved Hel and *not going to say exactly what happened because spoilers* I think what she did was fair and right🤷🏻
The stuff that happened right before the ending was a bit underwhelming but the ending itself was good.
I’m honestly looking forward to reading more about the world this is set in!
If you’re not convinced yet, how about cool fight scenes with axes and stuff? Ok suit yourself

"Bloody Hel" is a book with two of three main elements of a great comic: good writing, stellar artwork and a strong opening. Unfortunately, somewhere along the lines, 'Bloody Hel' becomes unsure what it wants to be.

Bloody Hel is a comic that never quite takes flight. It fumbles at takeoff, trying to move between two different stories that eventually intersect. When the come together, Bloody Hel captures the "shattering apocalyptic throwdown" it promises. Epic battles. Stellar artwork. There are plenty of reasons to give 'Bloody Hell' a chance. Especially those who enjoy Norse mythoogy.

While not exactly a Thor story, Bloody Hel does a great job handling its presentation of Gods and Ragnarok. The scenes in which are characters are forced to make a decision that'll save them at the cost of hurting another are powerful. The artwork captures the uncertainty and fear promised in thee words, while the dialogue is clean, yet loud.

That, of course, isn't to say Bloody Hel isn't a good read. While it does lose itself midway through, the ending is strong and successfully readies readers for more tales from this world.

If you've not seen a book that puts the God of War onto the scene of one of our historical battles, you can easily imagine what they might be like. Here, however, in the trenches of WWI and Europe, we're definitely getting Norse Gods of War. And people with one eye. And ravens. All that means that when it comes to bringing the myth to our history, real life events take a back seat for some supernatural action. So if you thought this was just a metaphorical God of War, there to show the soldiers the error of their ways in a kind of "my god... what have I done?" manner, think again.

That said, the book does try and have its cake and eat it too, and give us something about human nature and pacifism as well as the blood-and-guts fantasy. As a result, however, it's a bit of a mish-mash. There are many times and places for the myth to crossover, and for those characters to use our battlefields as their own, and something with a bit more crispness and cogency would have been better. Still, this has a distinctive look that shows some fine qualities, and with the promise of a sequel set in the Second World War, there is potential there for something interesting. That's not quite achieved this time round, but I was still grateful to see what this offered.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Bloody Hel by Clay McCormack and Russ Badgett is an innovative blend of history and mythology. The story involves a soldier in World War I who crosses paths with a group of ancient Viking Gods. According to the description, "Full of mystical battles, historical detail, and the power of human frailty, ingenuity, and heroism, BLOODY HEL gives new meaning to “the war to end all wars” with a shattering apocalyptic throwdown in the trenches, millennia in the making!"

Overall, Bloody Hel is an interesting graphic novel. It's not often that creators blend historical fact with mythology, and I was so excited to read this book. I had never heard of a mash-up quite like this. I did take off 2 stars, because the book turned out to be too dark for me - both in terms of story as well as the art. That's just a personal preference though. I'm sure there are many graphic novel readers who won't be turned off by the darker content. If you're intrigued by the description, or if you're a fan of action-packed graphic novels, you can check out this book when it comes out in November!