{"id":34217,"date":"2025-11-07T12:18:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=34217"},"modified":"2025-11-07T12:18:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:18:33","slug":"to-hell-you-ride-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/11\/07\/to-hell-you-ride-2\/","title":{"rendered":"To Hell You Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Lance Henriksen<\/strong>, Joseph Maddrey<\/strong>, Tom Mandrake<\/strong> & various (Dark Horse Books)
\nISBN: 978-1-61655-2893 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-62115-870-7<\/p>\n

This book contains Discriminatory Content<\/strong> included for dramatic effect.<\/em><\/p>\n

With all the chaos and kerfuffle besetting the world, it\u2019s undoubtedly therapeutic to dip into fantasy and experience disaster that we can control to some extent. In that spirit, here\u2019s a good old-fashioned horror yarn to curl your toes in these eco-geopolitical end times…<\/p>\n

Originally released as a 5-part miniseries between December 2012 & July 2013, To Hell You Ride<\/strong> was a lifelong dream project for actor Lance Henriksen (Aliens<\/strong>, Millennium<\/strong>, Near Dark<\/strong>) and one inspired by a visit to the town of Telluride, Colorado way in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

He saw his idea as a movie, but eventually, after working with screenwriter\/documentarian Joseph Maddrey (Nightmares in Red, White and Blue<\/strong>), shifted his notions to sequential narrative, enlisting comic book horror veteran Tom Mandrake (Swamp Thing<\/strong>, Grimjack<\/strong>, Martian Manhunter<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong>) to render the project into stunning creepy visuals. Finishing the package were colourists Cris Peter & Mat Lopes and letterer Nate Piekos of Blambot\u00ae.\"\"<\/p>\n

Told in parallel time periods and trenchant flashbacks, the drama begins in the snow-swamped Colorado Mountains of 1880 where a greedy trapper plunders Indian graves and finds gold. A year later, the sacred ground is utterly defiled, turned into a pit of depravity by dozens of prospectors ripping up the terrain in search of yellow metal.<\/p>\n

The tribe\u2019s only response is to begin a ritual of atonement. However, undertaken by their holiest warriors – \u201cthe Old Ones\u201d – even this act of pious desperation is despoiled. Interrupted by miners, four celebrant warriors are killed, Thus, their derailed devotions slowly poison the environment, becoming a curse for future generations and another prime example of \u2018White Man\u2019s Guilt\u2019<\/em>. That is, of course, none at all…<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the ritual is not done, and continues unfolding at its own pace…<\/p>\n

More than a century later, drunk, lost and perpetually angry Native American Seven George<\/em> (his true name is Two Dogs<\/em>…) continues being a pain in the ass to everybody. Yet again, sheriff Jim Shipps<\/em> gives the kid a pass, but by the time the young man reaches his desolate, dilapidated shack, he\u2019s become aware that something\u2019s changed: an unnatural alteration that\u2019s killing all the birds. Thankfully, he knows the history and takes steps to protect himself from an interrupted ritual that\u2019s coming back and coming to a close…
\n\"\"
\nThe never-ending wounds to the region had affected both his grandfather Five George<\/em> and dad Six George<\/em> in their own times, bringing trouble and death to those who could least risk it, and now, as Two Dogs sits in a jail cell at Christmas waiting for his own fate to unfold, the unnatural takes over. Soon the mountain town is buried in a wall of white, courtesy of \u2018The Alchemy of Snow\u2019<\/em> but greedy town officials like Cubby Boyer<\/em> only see another way to make money. Snow tourists flood in, but the joy and profits freeze once this year\u2019s visitors start dying: victims of a bloody, explosive \u2018Metamorphosis\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

All of the region\u2019s wildlife is frightened and aware of a big change coming. With chaos growing and a news blackout exacerbating the crisis, Two Dogs and Shipps must work together, but certainly never with the same ends in mind…<\/p>\n

As the death toll mounts government spooks move in, setting up a quarantine line to keep America safe from \u201cplague carriers\u201d and \u201ccontaminated snow\u201d… And they\u2019re not really genuine Feds either…<\/p>\n

Although the land\u2019s original occupiers feel their time is returning, they can\u2019t quite hold a solid front, and are divided into factions based on ancient spirits. With the Spider<\/em> and the Trickster<\/em> apparently walking the land, somehow, only Two Dogs knows what\u2019s really needed. He begins his personal \u2018Ghost Dance\u2019<\/em> to the ever-present Watchers<\/em> from the Spirit World<\/em>, seeking to save who he can of the terrified human beings but, ultimately all that\u2019s left is to accept fate and ready himself for his \u2018Death Song\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Perhaps here is the solution he\u2019s been searching for?<\/p>\n

Deftly blending contemporary horror themes with judiciously cherrypicked – or just plain cod – First Nations mythology, To Hell You Ride<\/strong> is not as spiritually astute as it would like, but is far more fun than you can possibly imagine: a superbly chilling race against doom with epic undertones and potent symbology.<\/p>\n

Adding to the experience is text feature \u2018Origins\u2019<\/em>, detailing how the story evolved over decades, all stoutly supplemented with character studies, commentary, notes & developmental drawings of Two Dogs<\/em>, The Watchers<\/em>, Jim Shipps<\/em>, Mary Ambrose<\/em>, Cubby Boyer<\/em> & the Town<\/em>, The Spider<\/em>, The Trickster<\/em>, Smokin\u2019 Bones<\/em>, and recurring key image The Appeal to the Great Spirit<\/em> (as derived from Cyrus E. Dallin\u2019s sculpture of the same name).<\/p>\n

Sheer, unalloyed spooky delight, this is a magical yarn that truly would make a magnificent moody movie. So why hasn\u2019t anybody thought of it?<\/p>\n

To Hell You Ride\u2122 & \u00a9 2012, 2013 Lance Henriksen, Joseph Maddrey & Tom Mandrake. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Today in 1902 US cartoon stalwart Ed Dodd<\/strong> was born. You probably haven\u2019t seen his Mark Trail<\/strong> comics, but you should if you can.<\/p>\n

In 1963 Pilote <\/em><\/strong>debuted Greg<\/strong>\u2019s Gallic action ace Achile Talon<\/em><\/strong>. As soon as anyone translates that stuff we\u2019ll be right in there. Three years later Vince Locke<\/strong> (Deadworld<\/strong>, A History of Violence<\/a><\/strong>, Judge Dredd<\/strong>) was born. In 1991 Finnish cartoon eroticist Tom of Finland<\/strong> died. We haven\u2019t done any of his books yet but keep your eyes peeled (ooh, kinky…)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lance Henriksen, Joseph Maddrey, Tom Mandrake & various (Dark Horse Books) ISBN: 978-1-61655-2893 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-62115-870-7 This book contains Discriminatory Content included for dramatic effect. With all the chaos and kerfuffle besetting the world, it\u2019s undoubtedly therapeutic to dip into fantasy and experience disaster that we can control to some extent. In that spirit, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “To Hell You Ride”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,75,66,225,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-crime-comics","category-horror-stories","category-mystery","category-westerns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8TT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34217"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34223,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34217\/revisions\/34223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}