Hell Baby

A horror manga about a hideous newborn who is thrown away by the father. After spirits possess her dead body she revives as a monster who must constantly feed on blood and flesh to survive.

This is another out-of-print book by Hideshi Hino. I continue to be impressed by Hino’s distinct character designs and surprisingly beautiful backgrounds. When the hell baby travels into the city the buildings are dark rectangles with bright windows on them. The stark contrast really caught my eye.

I think the story here is more melancholy then some of the disturbing themes in The Panorama of Hell. The hell baby eventually finds her family and beautiful twin sister but is unable to bring herself to take revenge. This is a great sympathetic monster story and a real shame that it’s not available in English anymore.

~dakazu