The Four Horsemen Of The
Apocalypse
Book One: Helldiver
Book One: Helldiver - Official Trailer
Chapter One: Helldiver
Wow,
what a way to start the story off! In this chapter, the story begins
with a BANG. Not a literal one, yet anyway, but it's most definitely
in your face. The first two
pages are a bit confusing at first glance, but from page three onward
it quickly becomes clearer what's begins to make more sense. We're
immediately introduced to the story's protagonist, Adam Cahill,
however at this point we're not sure who, or even what, he is quite
yet. Presented right off, we're shown a scene dated December 21st,
however the year on it is left up to speculation. After the surprise
beginning, we're thrown all the way back to December 15th
of the same year, in Jerusalem. Shown to us is a battle featuring
those who are called the Nicolaitans, Satanic warriors who serve
their dark lord, performing every request presented to them. They're
searching for a specific group of people, from a particular
bloodline, and are hunting them down one by one to kill them and take
certain items from each of them that each is supposed to possess.
It's
not long before we learn the details of who those people are, that
are being hunted, and the importance of those items. The same goes
for Adam, who is a very important member of that group. From
Jerusalem to Dubai, to Kiev and even the USA, it is promptly revealed
that this is a worldwide ordeal, which definitely adds to the depth.
This is increased much more as we are shown where Adam is to travel
next. By now those first two pages should make complete sense to
you, and if not, read them again (and pay attention this time) and
compare.
Chapter
Two: Pestilence
The
second chapter directly continues where we left off in the first,
with best I can tell is an angel speaking to Adam (at first glance it
may appear as though it's God that's speaking to him, but with enough
dialogue from it you'll see otherwise), and guiding him along his
journey. His birthright revealed to him, Adam is now able to see who
he truly is and what his purpose is amongst humanity. This prepares
him for the long journey ahead. He is given his mission and the
tools necessary to complete such a task, and then he is quickly on
his way.
Soon
thereafter, Adam meets up with one Jesse Grace, a woman who has led a
life of self-destruction and whose task now is to come face to face
with her own inner demons. Adam's first assignment, naturally, is
not easy, however the circumstances soon reveal to Jesse the reality
which she's been avoiding. This makes the task a little easier for
Adam, but not a lot. Before she knows it, Jesse is hit with a
mind-shattering reality check, one powerful enough that it's almost
as though she's been cracked in the face with a cocaine-laced
baseball bat. She is shown flashes of the sad excuse for a life that
she led and how it has brought her to this point. A pathway out of
it has been revealed to her, a path with purpose, a destiny.
Naturally,
there are dangers lurking about in every crevice, around every
corner, and amongst the shadows. This begins to make the situation
more interesting for Adam and Jesse, though it is nothing that the
two cannot handle. The best way for me to describe this scene of the
book, I came up with a brief rhyme. Violence,
violence, everywhere. Demons here, bloodbaths there. Hanging
corpses left by demonic forces, and a stench of Pestilence looms in
the air.
December
22nd,
back at the sanctuary, Adam now has a chance to explain to Jesse
about their purpose in what's happening. All the while, it appears
that somebody has been tailing Adam and though keeping their distance
for now, they're watching every move that is being made. Belarios, a
demon who is consistently tormented and controlled by Satan (Lucifer,
though a name is never really mentioned anywhere), is back on Earth
and presents Senator Jordan Osbourne with an ultimatum that doesn't
seem to set too well with him. And after this we are now shown a new
opponent for Adam and Jesse, of whom I shan't reveal quite yet, but a
description I can give appears to be an inspired crossover of the
Frankenstein monster and Trap Jaw from Masters of the Universe.
The
Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse
Book
2: The Chosen
Book Two: The Chosen - Official Trailer
Chapter
Three: War
The
next chapter of this story begins at the sanctuary, the day is
December 22nd.
Adam and Jesse are currently waiting for a sign from Heaven, to
reveal the next “chosen warrior”, who is to join them in this
divine mission. Soon his identity is revealed to them, however it
happens in a manner that it takes Adam a moment before he actually
realizes it. Once he does though, he and Jesse prepare themselves
for what can only be described as a rescue mission.
Meanwhile,
back in Jordan (the country, not the Senator), more of the Nicolaitan
forces are hard at work killing people and taking their seals,
completely unaware of what's going on with Adam and Jesse. Even
Belarios doesn't see what is going on until the blood starts
splattering. Adam, slicing his way through all of the arch-demons,
seems to be just dragging Jesse along for the ride. This, of course,
is only because, for the time being, we don't see her actually doing
anything.
This
point of the story is where we are greeted with the Reverend Lucas
Hand (I'd wager that this character is named after the man of whom
wrote the works that this story is inspired by). Reading this, you
may be wondering if this is a spoiler, and wondering if I'm crazy for
revealing this info, however it is not as I've not actually mentioned
anything yet about who he is or what his role is in the story.
Anyway, soon after this scene follows another redemption sequence,
not much unlike that of Jesse's, and once again purifying yet another
condemned soul. Once again, another lost soul finds purpose.
Soon,
Lucas comes face to face with his own previous spiritual slave
master, his inner-most enemy, who is now taunting him out of anger
for having broken the bonds of which he had placed onto him so long
ago. This is Lucas' wake-up call, his cleansing from sin.
December
23rd,
Washington D.C., the office of Senator Jordan Osbourne. Oh,
would you look at that? Out of nowhere, a mysterious crate has
appeared on his desk. What's this? A-ha! A video conference call
from Belarios, indeed! No Jordan, don't do that, it's a t- Oh,
nevermind, it's too late.
Destiny oftentimes can be a very cruel hag, and so, forth from the
abyss comes yet another who has controlled such a man and many others
like him, this beast which is of
Death, yet is not
Death itself.
Chapter
Four: Famine
It
doesn't take much for a man to go insane when he's been shown his
life's worth of sins, and for hours on end. For Lucas Hand, this
almost appears to be the case. The last of the Chosen is now being
revealed to Adam, who leaves Jesse alone with Lucas, which naturally
freaks her out. This leg of the recruiting process appears to be a
bit more confusing for Adam, and even more puzzling for his targeted
recruit, who seems to feel extremely blessed with surviving the
encounter. By now, one can guess as to what happens next. Yes, that
would be the soul purification process. What I will not reveal,
however, is what happens this time that didn't with the two others.
Soon following this, the new recruit is faced with his “paired
chosen” as the beast so aptly entitles him. This one seems to be
inspired more by the Cat in the Hat and a vampire than anything else,
which is an unusual combination, yet oddly enough seems to work well.
December
24th,
Christmas Eve. We are back at the sanctuary now, presented with a
spiritually intimate bonding moment between Jesse and Lucas. It
appears that he is still trying to grasp the new gift that he's been
given, and in the process reveals to Jesse that he can understand her
hurt. Unfortunately, he also wastes no time with switching from
empathy to judgment, which Jesse naturally doesn't take kindly to,
and which then causes a verbally violent battle of wills amongst the
two.
Beginning
the next phase of his arcane plan, Belarios chooses to this time use
his most trusted and dedicated servant, Father Inimicus, of whom he
issues a new assignment. Another seal is broken, and so we have the
beginning of the end. At first glance, one may be confused by the
appearance of the creature before them, however this isn't Masters of
the Universe, so no that is not Skeletor. Perhaps it's the fact that
it has giant scythes attached to it's arms, I'm not sure, but it
should be pretty obvious who, or what, it is.
Chapter
Five: Death
Father
Inimicus is “home at last”, or at least where he considers to be
his home anyway. I don't know about you, but I sure as heck don't
want to be going there
after I
pass on. You'll understand better when you get the chance to see the
imagery for yourself, you can trust me on that. I believe that to
see such a thing in real life would cause pretty much anyone and
everyone to soil themselves.
Cut
back to Adam, Jesse, Lucas and now... Jordan! Lucas nearly kills
Jordan, having seen what he did that put him there where they're all
at now, and the people who I noted earlier were keeping tabs on Jesse
and Adam have returned, this time contacting someone different than
before. At first thought, it seems that this could end up being a
new danger for the four Chosen, but could it be? Hopefully we'll
soon find out!
Merry
Christmas! Yes, we've made it to December 25th
so far... and the breaking of seal number five. This event also
comes with a grave warning about the sixth day and the breaking of
the sixth seal. Said event is to release the Four Horsemen Of The
Apocalypse from Hell and onto the Earth. Pestilence, War, Famine,
Death. Four riders who are to be loosed upon us to cleanse the Earth
of the disease known as humanity. Lastly we are given a second
warning, this time of day seven and the breaking of the seventh seal,
of which then Satan himself would be loosed from his chains in Hell
to wreak havoc upon the Earth as well.
Once
again, the angel is speaking to Adam, this time warning him of what
is yet to come and shall soon pass. Belarious makes preparations to
lay siege upon the Vatican, in hopes of finding the seventh and final
seal. The Chosen Four are also preparing, though their efforts are
to attempt to battle the Horsemen and prevent them from passing
through the Earth Gate and laying waste to humanity. Further down
the page, we see what appears to be yet another homage to the Masters
of the Universe. Can you spot it? It should be pretty obvious for
anyone who even knows what Masters of the Universe is.
Welcome
to The River Styx. On one end, we have the gateway to Hell, on the
other is the Earth Gate, which is merely an inter-plane portal. This
moment appears as if a 4-on-4 basketball game, except taking place on
a brimstone bridge rather than a basketball court and the only balls
present are the ones that the Chosen seem to have, considering
they're the ones standing up to the Four Horsemen. During the
battle, all seems to be lost and hopes are severely wounded, just as
those of whom they belong to, but our heroes cannot and will not give
in. Not now, not after they've come so far already, that would be
too easy a cop-out for them. Just as it is needed most, Jesse's gift
reveals itself. Of course, as is to be expected, nothing is going to
be too
easy. Enter Father Inimicus and a Judas, exit the victors, and we
are now left wondering “What
in the World (or in this case, literally, Hell) is going on now?!”
The Four Horsemen Of The
Apocalypse
Book Three: The End Of Days
Book Three: The End Of Days - Official Trailer
Chapter Six: Armageddon
It's
December 26th,
and we are in Hell. The bodies of the Chosen are being carried off
while on the Earth, specifically at the Vatican, seal number six is
broken. The Earth quakes furiously as though feeling the pains of a
mother birthing a child, volcanoes erupt, the oceans beget immense
tidal waves, the sun is blackened and the moon is now but a large
pool of blood. Stars fall from the sky and rain upon the Earth as if
balls of Hellfire. Adam, our main protagonist, hears a now-familiar
voice cry out to him.
In
this process of his dying, he sees destruction, the slaughtering of
humanity, and the reaping of man's souls. He realizes that he cannot
just give into this just yet, it wouldn't make any sense, so he
instead chooses to follow the instructions being spoken to him and
finds strength in his newly-revealed purpose. As he awakens, he sees
that he is not alone. He and the rest of the chosen with him are
located in a place reminiscent of particular a WWE wrestling event's
arena.
Only
now, at this time, are we able to see why they were being followed,
by whom and what their followers' roles are in all of this. It is
best summed up by saying that the Chosen have come upon an unlikely
ally in their time of need. It is revealed to us how what was
originally designed as Gehenna (Purgatory), a place of spiritual
cleansing in preparation for the afterlife, became Hell, or rather a
key part of it. We also learn of the true purpose of the Chosen.
It's
Judgment Day on Earth, and the current locale is Vatican City. It is
an other-worldly slaughter fest as the Nicolaitans descend upon
Vatican City. Their given mission is to find Sara Cahill, Adam's
daughter, and take the seventh seal from her, the one that will
ultimately loose Lucifer upon the Earth. During the hunt they are
instructed to kill whoever they can and then crucify the rest.
Father Magister, still with us, is Sara's current sworn protector,
and has taken her to the Vatican's vaults, below ground.
As
Belarios and the Nicolaitans soldiers enter the vaults, slaughtering
everyone opposing them, he reveals why he is there, which is only but
a solid confirmation of what they already know by now. He then
proceeds, to the best of his ability, to coax and convince young Sara
to hand over the seal willingly. Meanwhile in Hell, three of the
Chosen are working alongside their rescuers, devising a plan of
attack against Hell's citadel. The battle of Armageddon has begun,
the war for not only Earth, but also Hell, to return it back to the
Gehenna it originally was. Centuries'-worth of repentant souls are
waging this war against the demons and arch-demons running it.
As
the citadel is in the early phases of destruction, masses of demonic
forces being slain, the Earth Gate on the River Styx begins to
weaken. Lucifer makes contact with Belarios, informing him of the
attack and commanding him to send the Horsemen back so they can
defend the citadel. One can pretty well guess where this is going,
but in doing so, ask yourself “Am I correct, or am I not?”
Well, read on to find out!
Chapter
Seven: Redemption
Another
day has passed, so welcome to December 27th,
and yes we're still in Hell at this point. No, I don't mean the
extremely long-winded review that you're reading, I mean the current
location in the story. Anyway... Adam, Lucas and Jesse are once
again about to face the Horsemen. To make things a little more
interesting, the Horsemen have some “friends” with them and the
three Chosen they're attacking are made to adapt their strategy and
improvise their approach. Having by now figured out how to get War
to lose focus, Adam and Lucas leave Jesse to fend off the arch-demons
while they tag team War. We also see the cowardly Jordan Osbourne
panicking in fear, and given the current circumstances, rightfully
so.
After
their battle with War, Adam and Lucas rejoin with Jesse against the
arch-demon swarm that just keeps pouring in like a never-ending
faucet drip, and out of nowhere Jordan, of all people, does something
absolutely surprising... Back in Vatican City, down in the vaults,
Belarios is now quickly losing patience with Sara and has grown
unappreciative of her determination in stubbornness. Go ahead, say
it, “Well that
escalated quickly.”
Resorting to threats and vulgarity, he now triggers Sara's
connection to her father.
Before
they know it, Pestilence rushes in and ambushes the Chosen, and is
just as determined as the other Horsemen to kill them where they
stand. In comes Famine soon after, whilst the Chosen are reunited
with one another, Jesse tending to their wounds, and finally Jordan
gets to have his spot in the limelight. This is his moment, the one
that will either make him or break him. There's no turning back now.
Rallying the damned, Jordan convinces them that the only
way to find redemption, is to help the Chosen destroy Famine, and to
fight alongside them to return Hell back to Gehenna.
Back
at the Earth Gate, as Adam approaches, determined to return to Earth
and save his daughter, he is cut off at the pass by Death. As can be
expected, Death is the most powerful of all four of the Horsemen. To
prove this, he not only attacks Adam, nearly killing him, but then
he, wait for it... What? You didn't think I'd tel you just yet, did
you? Keep reading. Back at the vaults, Belarios loses his cool,
beats Sara, figures out where the seal is and takes it from her.
What's
that? Okay, alright, I'll tell you already. Death resurrected the
other Horsemen, who are now looking to walk back through the Earth
Gate. With Adam now hanging on by a thread, or in this case a sword
(you'll get it when you read the books), Jordan devises his own way
to attack the Horsemen. As he begins to taunt them from the Hell
side of the bridge, the Horsemen begin to approach him. As they
reach the midpoint, Adam takes one of his swords, lunges it up toward
the arch, causing it to lodge into the brimstone structure. An
explosion follows suit, the arch collapses and takes the Horsemen
down with the bridge. It's also a close call as Adam narrowly is
rescued by Lucas and Jesse, who pull him up, just barely avoiding the
splash of Hellfire that shoots upward.
As
the river erupts, at first it splashes Hellfire everywhere, but it
then quickly turns into ice and snow, finally giving us that
forever-fabled “cold
day in Hell”.
Jordan, stuck on the Hell side of what's left of the bridge, opts to
stay there and instructs the others to go ahead through the Earth
Gate without him, so that they may save what's left of the Earth.
Jesse, Adam and Lucas part ways with Jordan, and as they appear on
the other side of the gate, they are welcomed by what can only be
described as the insidious, blood-soaked genocide and destruction,
that has been left in the wake of the Nicolaitan invasion. From
distorted and gnarled corpses on inverted crucifixes to a very long
rope that is lined with severed human heads, this is an image of
pure, unadulterated horror.
Back
in the vaults, Sara manages to attack Belarios, temporarily
incapacitates him, and then takes off with the last seal that he'd
stolen from her just moments before. Somehow still alive, Father
Magister helps her to escape by attacking the guards who'd taken hold
of him and carried him away from Sara. This happens not a moment too
soon, as Sara then sees her father and runs to him. Belarios, now
fully conscious once more, and able to move again, walks out to greet
Adam, toying with him as though a serpent with it's prey. He then
commands his henchmen to attack Adam, and upon their being slain,
Belarios is nowhere to be found. Seeing as Belarios is a demon, this
type of cowardly behavior is to be expected.
As
our heroes and heroines (you have to include Sara for her immense
acts of bravery in the face of such pure evil and terror) exit the
vault, they are greeted in a much more welcoming fashion as compared
to moments before. The sky is blue, the sun has returned to normal
and is shining bright and bits of clouds here and there. As they
prepare to part ways, Lucas goes to embrace Adam, only to be thrust
into another vision at the mere touch of his arm. Admittedly, this
vision can be a tad confusing at first, but not wholly. Noting this,
I'll leave it at that as it honestly would be a spoiler to say
anything else about it.
These
four people, these redeemed souls, have been given a second chance to
do something righteous and wholesome with their lives. The wisdom
granted to Lucas, by God, allows him to see this and to share it with
the others as a warning, almost a new commandment. Just remember
that the final sequence is a divine vision, or it may end up
confusing you a lot. It even took me
a second go-over to realize what it was saying.
This
three-part series is definitely a good read, a true work of
apocalyptic fantasy art. Due to the nature of the subject matter,
there is a lot
of Satanic imagery, extreme violence, vulgarity, nudity, etc., as I
warned you at the beginning of the article. Taking note of all of
this, if you can read it maturely and as a work of inspired fiction,
then you may just find it to be quite enjoyable indeed. I personally
cannot say as to whether or not I endorse this series, as I myself did
read it, despite being a conservative Christian, so the only way I
can really sum it up is like this: the story and artwork are amazing
and the content is expectant of the subject matter, so if you can
handle that, then by all means take the dive.
If
you cannot or simply do not want to, well I don't exactly see
Belarios holding a knife to your throat. Thank you for visiting and
for reading this quite long review article. If you're subscribed to
this blog, I thank you and welcome you with open arms. If you're
not, then please do. Until next time, keep on reading, I know I
will!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Authors: Michael Mendheim, Mike Kennedy and Sean Jaffe
Series Illustrator: Simon Bisley
Series Covers: Ivan Khivrenko
Series Colors: Chad Fidler
Series Publisher: Heavy MetalTitle: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Helldiver
Retail Price: Trade Paperback $14.95
Trade Paperback (retail) ISBN: 978-1-935351-49-8
Digital ISBN: 978-1-935351-67-2
Pages: 72 - Full Color
Trim Size: 101/4 x 65/8
Release Date: April 2012
Title: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Chosen
Retail Price: Trade Paperback $14.95
Trade Paperback (retail) ISBN: 978-1-935351-55-9
Digital ISBN: 978-1-935351-68-0
Pages: 74 - Full Color
Trim Size: 101/4 x 65/8
Release Date: June 2012
Title: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The End Of Days
Retail Price: Trade Paperback $14.95
Trade Paperback (retail) ISBN: 978-1-935351-57-3
Digital ISBN: 978-1-935351-69-9
Pages: 74 - Full Color
Trim Size: 101/4 x 65/8
Release Date: August 2012
The writings that inspired this work of art: http://www.othnieltrust.com/thetexts.html
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