HELL (The Walkthrough) Is Building an Entire Universe, Not Just a Comic

Hellmann Studios founder and Creative Director, Walid “DORO” De Sousa, is building the HELL universe, an original transmedia IP spanning an illustrated comic series, music, and YouTube content. The immersive narrative is built by fully remote teams spread across 2D art, 3D development, music production, and YouTube promotion. Everyone involved is focused on a synchronized multimedia launch only weeks away.

That multimedia launch model is the kind of thing audiences usually associate with massive studios and marketing budgets. Hellmann Studios is bringing its new universe to fans through a model that is creator-led and independent.

What inspired DORO’s indie multimedia studio to launch the Hell Universe

At the center of Hellmann Studios’ ambitious project is “HELL: The Walkthrough.” It’s a narrative spine that connects the whole ecosystem. De Sousa describes it as a big story with a gravitational pull designed to hold a community for years, based on an actual play that DORO created and played with friends for the past four years

“We’re building an expansive universe that I think a lot of people will find themselves in,” De Sousa says. “It has large plots about time travel, space, magic, and destiny. But you encounter them through the perspective of 4 players of a tabletop role-playing game.”

For all its cosmic machinery, the story stays grounded in people. That’s how the universe earns its scale without losing its heart. After all, the most memorable modern fandoms don’t just offer lore. They offer voice through characters who sound like real people and friendships that feel recognizable.

This authenticity is the quality that allows the Hell universe to stretch across media without feeling like scattered content. The point is to tell one story through multiple angles, letting each format do what it does best. The webcomic advances the plot through visual style and pacing. Music strengthens the story arc with emotional memory. And YouTube invigorates it with personality and community.

Similarities between Hellmann Studio’s new universe and “Homestuck”

De Sousa openly cites inspiration from “Homestuck,” Andrew Hussie’s landmark webcomic that helped define what internet-native storytelling could look like. Fans fondly remember this multimedia favorite as self-aware and emotionally sincere.

“I think of HELL as a love letter to ‘Homestuck,’” De Sousa says. “Fans can expect some of the themes and tone of the legendary webcomic. I wanted to offer a style that feels familiar and unique at the same time.”

Hellmann Studios is aiming for what “Homestuck” fandom often craves but rarely finds. The brand is launching a new universe that respects the emotional and tonal complexity of the original internet epic while still being its own thing.

There’s also a clear kinship with the modern wave of creator-driven animation. These indie projects feel like they came from the internet rather than being adapted for it. They make bold style choices and form a direct relationship with fans that traditional studios struggle to replicate.

Hellmann Studios’ approach has that same independent pulse. Audiences aren’t just preparing to watch a show. They are coming to watch the creators build momentum and bring their ideas to life in public.

Hellmann’s creator network as an indie multimedia studio model to watch

Most indie universes hit a ceiling because the creator can only do so much. Hellmann’s answer is a structure that scales identity as well as output.

“Our YouTube team, AKA Team Catabasis, represents the first generation of what we hope will be a long-running creator collaboration platform,” De Sousa says. “The four talented YouTubers include a comedy gaming YouTuber, a competitive gaming YouTuber, a video essayist, and an illustrator. As they lead each associate channel, they create amazing content that is fluidly connected with each other in ways that allow us to do things like weave narratives across multiple channels and videos.”

The four members of Team Catabasis are also the faces fans will find in the webcomic. With Catabasis meaning a descent into the underworld, it’s an appropriate name for the team set to walk with fans on their journey through Hell.

Put simply? Team Catabasis is not made up of hired influencers to promote a product. This team built a creator network that is part of the product. They enable audiences to become invested in personalities. Their in-jokes and crossover content deliver a sense that everything is happening in the same shared space.

“To fans of virtual YouTubers, it’s potentially pretty familiar,” De Sousa adds, “but we hope to expand both the medium and our faces over the course of the next year.”

In a traditional studio, departments can become silos, with art over here and community somewhere else. Hellmann Studios is building a system in which YouTube is alongside the comic. It’s a community bridge that allows the Hell universe to feel present long before launch day.

What fans will find when DORO’s indie multimedia studio launches the Hell Universe

January 31, 2027 won’t be a soft launch. Fans will find multiple entry points into the same universe open simultaneously.

Those who start with the illustrated comic series will meet the characters and hear the voice of the world through art and pacing. Those who begin with YouTube will be pulled in through creator personalities, humor, and narrative-threaded content. And those who start with music will find motifs and themes that make the story feel as if it’s following them.

“I hope fans take away a story they think is worth loving for a long time,” De Sousa says. “A lot of passion is being put into this project, and I think audiences are currently looking for genuine and creative human stories like this one.”

Audiences are tired of hollow franchises and disposable content drops. They’re ready to commit to something that feels interconnected and emotionally real.

That’s why Hellmann Studios isn’t just building a comic. It’s building a universe with enough structure to explore and a team with enough ambition to try something most indie studios don’t even attempt. If it works, January 31, 2027 will prove to be much more than a launch date. It will be the moment a new world becomes