Hellhunters, from Marvel

In this alternte 1944, Col. Nick Fury has yet to lose his eye. Sgt.Sal Romero will lose something even greater: his very soul. At least he contracts with a better class of demon. Before Johnny Blaze, Zarathos resurrects Romero as Ghost Rider ’44 in Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s Hellhunters, illustrated by Adam Gorham, which is now on-sale at your local comic shop.

On the brink of death by exposure, a platoon of retreating National Socialists are offered a Faustian bargain by the demons known as the Unhallowed. When their senior Juncker officer hesitates, Captain Felix Bruckner accepts, by putting a bullet in his commander’s head. Transformed into demons, Bruckner’s undead men start turning the tide of the war. Unfortunately, they start with Romero’s squad of paratroopers.

Bruckner is particularly sadistic when killing Romero. That makes the Sergeant amenable to Zarathos offer of vengeance. Technically, he is also a demon, but Zarathos and the Unhallowed are sworn enemies. Romero will be his tool for vengeance, rather than the object his torments, but it was still a pretty lousy deal.

Regardless, what is done is done, so Romero teams up with an elite Allied unit already hunting the Unhallowed. The Howling Commandos currently number only three, but Agent Carter and the mystical Sebastian Szardos (a.k.a. Soldier Supreme), commanded by Col. Nick Fury, have no fear of the supernatural. They are soon joined by a relentless Canadian soldier named Logan and Bucky, Captain America’s teenaged sidekick, who takes macabre pleasure in killing National Socialists and taking trophies. Unfortunately, Eisenhower cannot spare Cap from the Normandy landing.

It is fantastic to see Marvel return to their WWII era characters and timelines. Johnson makes smart use of the Howling Commandos, Logan, and Bucky. Yet, Ghost Rider ’44 emerges as the star of Hellhunters, who deserves his own series. He shares a kinship with Blaze, but also forges his own identity. (Plus, just the idea of a WWII Ghost Rider summons memories of Steve McQueen in The Great Escape).

Johnson successfully fuses sinister demonic horror with gritty scenes of warfighting. It is a great concept, set-up nicely, but some of the original five issues feel like they might have been abruptly truncated during the editorial process. Regardless, this is an intriguing setting for some grabby themes, all of which Marvel should revisit soon.

Without question, Hellhunters is far superior to DC’s recent Creature Commandos limited series, which was quite disappointing, especially in the way it portrayed human military characters. That is not a problem for Hellhunters—quite the contrary. Highly recommended for fans of the original Ghost Rider and Marvel’s WWII heroes, Hellhunters is now on-sale at book and comic retailers.