Heaven and Hell Battle It Out in Warwick in “Hornsby & Halo”

That age-old argument about which matters more, nature or nurture, environment or heredity, is on; the battleground is the stomping ground of Good and Evil. You thought your adolescence was tough…and you were right. But imagine characters who have it really tough — having the duty of withholding the cosmic truce between Heaven and Hell in the small town of Warwick, upstate New York. 

Two teens with no concept of what and who they truly are. How is this possible? Simple: Picture head-on opposing forces of angels and demons; they’ve been going at it, hammer and tongs, for what feels like an eternity — or all of humanity’s existence — while a deal is brokered.

Here it is: A deal trading a baby from Team Angel, Zachary Halo, to a demon family, and Rose Hornsby, a demon infant, to an angel tribe, and perhaps it has as good a chance as any of creating a lasting and forging an everlasting truce so that the balance of power remains stable in a good ol’ mutually assured destruction kinda way. Could it work? Let’s look at the history of these deals.

Who knows? And so the deal is forged, and the two babies grow up in their adoptive households, unknowing of their true natures. And yet, there’s that thing about nature — true nature. It just wants to win out in the end. On the other hand, let’s not sell willpower, determination, and the support system surrounding the individual short. These are power molders of character.

This leads to our moment with Zachary and Rose in Warwick, situated in Upstate New York, where many of those small, sweet, All-American towns are spread out. This is where the great battle will occur. Yes, no one ever said coming of age would be easy. As the comic book universe of Hornsby & Halo proves, it isn’t. And speaking of proving, what about their families? Who trades their innocent, well, anyway, babies to broker a peace deal between the realms of Heaven and Hell? Who does that? Tell me!

Cast of Characters

Peter J. Tomasi: The writer is the proud recipient of the 2018 Inkpot Award for achievement in comics and a New York Times best-selling author.

Peter Snejbjerg: Comic book artist, with work ranging from DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint to working with Neil Gaiman and Garth Ennis, DC Universe’s Starman, and JSA, BPRD for Dark Horse, plus, of course, children’s books.

Rob Leigh: In the world of letterers, the man is a legend. Leigh’s lettering includes the DCU’s Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Justice League, Doomsday Clock, and Batman: Earth One, collaborating with the co-founders of Ghost Machine, Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, and Brad Anderson. Of note: Leigh’s letters for MAD Magazine and SpongeBob SquarePants. Epic!

Heaven and Hell and the Warwich Between

The big question: Can we change our natures? The big answer: Perhaps. Perhaps not. And can we be judged by how far we come and how good or bad our intent is? Or how loud that little angel or devil sitting on our shoulders and giving orders is yelling. Doesn’t that count for anything?

Let’s Get Judgy

Now that the silence has broken, and the realms of Heaven and Hell continue their strife, the battle is down to our world — and this is a lot for two teens who’re just discovering who they are in a complex world where things are even more complicated than they seem. Who will win in the war between nature and nurture and the realms of Heaven and Hell? Enter the Adjudicator. You may never judge things the same way again.