Alastor the Radio Demon

Conception and creation

Alastor was created by Medrano during her time at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, first appearing unnamed on her DeviantArt page around 2008. He was formally created in 2011 and planned as a supporting character in a planned Angels and Demons story arc for her webcomic ZooPhobia; after the arc's cancellation in 2016 and redevelopment as Hazbin Hotel, his full ZooPhobia design was not published. In the unpublished arc, Alastor was a black-and-red demonic deer able to transform into a humanoid form, described as enjoying making deals and tricking mortals into service, and was a member of the 'Demon Misfit Gang'.

Short comics showed him attempting to take the place of fellow deer-boy Autumn and convincing Damian, the Prince of Hell, to make a deal, while being in love with an all-powerful being named KayCee. In the Hazbin Hotel pilot, Alastor was entirely human except for deer-like hooves and antlers, wore a red suitcoat, and had an eternal smile of sharp teeth. Medrano confirmed him as asexual on Twitter, which was alluded to in the series episode 'Hello Rosie!'.

Voice actor Amir Talai described the character as embodying the 'Tumblr sexyman'. Alastor was a radio show host in life and died in the 1930s; upon arriving in Hell, he gained power quickly, overthrowing long-dominant overlords. His voice carries a radio static effect, with occasional sound effects from 1930s radio shows. Medrano described him as a mixed-race Creole from New Orleans and an only child.

In the pilot, Edward Bosco provided the speaking voice and Gabriel C. Brown the singing voice; both were replaced by Amir Talai for the series.

Fictional character biography

Alastor first fully appears in the Hazbin Hotel pilot episode 'That's Entertainment'. As an overlord of Hell, he visits the Happy Hotel after seeing Charlie Morningstar's televised interview, offering to help run it while stating he believes redemption is impossible and is there for his own entertainment. He summons Niffty and Husk to serve as maid and bartender, renovates the hotel in a musical number, fends off an attack by Sir Pentious, and renames it the Hazbin Hotel.

In the official webcomic 'A Day in the Afterlife' (also titled 'The Radio Demon'), published October 19, 2020, Alastor attempts to buy venison from a butcher, witnesses the butcher trying to kill a sinner, saves her, and consumes the butcher. In the series, one week after the pilot, Alastor notes it has been 'some time' since he was active in Hell. In 'Radio Killed the Video Star', after fending off another attack by Sir Pentious, his rival Vox learns Alastor has returned after a seven-year absence.

Following a lost broadcast debate, Vox and the other Vees (Velvette and Valentino) try to prevent Alastor from making a deal with Charlie and send Sir Pentious to spy on him. In 'Scrambled Eggs', Vaggie asks Alastor to look after Sir Pentious' egg minions; he allows them to accompany him to a meeting of overlords. After Velvette insinuates that Carmilla Carmine killed an angel during the last Extermination, Alastor orders an egg minion to spy on Carmilla, and the egg returns with confirmation.

Promotion and reception

Since 2018, Shark Robot LLC has periodically released official clothing and other merchandise featuring Alastor and the rest of the Hazbin Hotel cast, all designed by Medrano. In 2024, Fortnite added an emote called "Reaper's Showtime" that shows the player character dancing with a scythe colored like Alastor's, set to the fan song "Insane." That song is performed by Black Gryph0n, who provided Alastor's singing voice in the pilot episode. Critics responded well to Alastor in the pilot.

Esther Liberman of BeLatina called him a "caricaturesque, impossibly rotten and flatter, like a perverse version of a third-generation descendant." Dan Short of Animated Views labeled him a "show-stealer," praising his "charismatic and extravagant with smile-inducing flare while making it subtly clear he is as evil as he's feared to be" and complimenting Edward Bosco's vocal work and Gabriel C. Brown's singing. Sean Cubillas of CBR saw him as "dark humor at its quietest and best."

The series version also earned praise. Hope Mullinax of Collider described him as "the most delightful enigma that keeps the audience guessing if he's a friend or an antagonist waiting in the wings. Or both!" and highlighted the sound design for Alastor and Vox. Mae Abdulbaki of ScreenRant called him "a particularly intriguing character," noting his "mysterious and seemingly dangerous, yet protective and snarky" attitude. MXDWN commended the "incredible chemistry" between Jeremy Jordan as Lucifer and Talai as Alastor.

Appearances in other media

Gabriel C. Brown, who sang as Alastor in the pilot, lent his voice to fan-made music videos like "Insane," released in June 2021. That track was called the "second-favorite song of 2023" by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. On June 19, 2026, Brown posted an animated music video for the song, created by Helluva Boss animator Luximus; Amazon MGM Studios filed a copyright removal request, and YouTube took it down on June 27. Sam Haft, a songwriter for Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, released "Alastor's Game" in 2020 and voiced the character himself. Between 2019 and 2023, Bosco and Brown reprised their Alastor roles in skits on HuniCast, a livestreamed podcast co-hosted by Angel Dust's pilot voice actor Michael Kovach and Hazbin Hotel pilot animator Ashley Nichols. The show often featured guests from the Hazbin Hotel and SpindleHorse Toons crews.