Review: INFERNO GIRL RED is a fiery and heartfelt story with Tokusatsu Action

In 2021, Groom Mat AND Erica D’Urso launched a Kickstarter campaign for their tokusatsu-inspired graphic novel Hell Redhead Girl. I backed it up so quickly and put in enough effort to get the nice hardcover copy of the book. Then earlier this year they were able to fulfill backer orders and I got my copy and it was great. Sadly, I only recently got around to reading the graphic novel and it’s amazing. If you missed the Kickstarter, don’t worry. Hell Redhead Girl has been published in three parts with issue 1 already out and available in local comic shops, with all three collected in paperback this July.

I argued Hell Redhead Girl for some reasons. First, I love the character design and art in general for the comic. D’Urso has done an incredible job in both departments as well IgorMonti killed with colors. Second, it was part of the Massive-Verse, a comic book universe that I’ve come to love. It all started with Radiant black from Kyle Higginsbut it has become much more and Hell Redhead Girl it’s a fantastic addition. Third, I’m a sucker for anything inspired by tokusatsu.

Hell Redhead Girl tells a really great story about a girl named Cássia and her mother who come back to the big city to go to school after the same city basically kicked her mother out of town. The reason? Her mother reported about the hero Inferno Girl Red, but no one believed that Inferno Girl Red was real. Well, after some crazy events, the whole city is lifted off the ground and one thing leads to another with Cássia becoming the new Inferno Girl Red and having to stop the bad guys. I’m doing my best not to screw anything up, I promise.

The way this story is told is very entertaining. We have moments of genuine character everywhere. We meet great characters who seem to exist in this world. It’s a brisk pace that keeps you engaged for longer and is divided into three parts which I could see easily adapted into a 3 part animated mini-series. It feels like you are reading a TV show and love it. I have to admit there isn’t much mystery to the story. The little mysteries that establish such as the identity of the villain are pretty obvious. However, I don’t hate it. In fact, I don’t mind at all. It doesn’t need to try to have some crazy twist to be good.

At the end of the day, Hell Redhead Girl it’s a story about faith and believing in yourself and it’s so well done. Maybe it’s just where I am right now, but it’s so important right now to hear this message and see such wonderful people supporting their friends.

Whether it’s the art, writing, or character design, I can’t find any faults Hell Redhead Girl but one. There is more of the story announced at the moment. The book ends on a rather important footnote clearly showing what the next two arcs are likely to be, but there have been no announcements regarding a second book. In fact, on Twitter, Groom answered my cries for a second book with this:

Thanks Tommy! Nothing to announce yet, other than our strong hope that we can make another one in the not too distant time!

— Mat Groom (@MathewGroom) March 6, 2023

I hope we won’t have to wait too long to find out more Hell Redhead Girl. I love these characters and the stories they tell. The art is amazing. If you are interested in reading Hell Redhead Girl, go ahead and read it. If you’re concerned because you haven’t read any other part of the Massive-Verse, don’t be. The stories are specially written so that they are 100% independent of each other, even the crossover comics are independent of everything else.