Even if you are the most casual comic book reader, you’re probably aware of the Hellboy. You might have heard of Hellboy if you don’t like comic books at all. With two movies out now and all, he has become part of popular culture.
I recently read the newest Hellboy graphic novel “The Crooked Man and Others“, and a somewhat related title called “Witchfinder“. Both are really good and reminded me how much I like these stories. Even though I am reading comics again, I pretty much gave up buying them throughout most of the ’90s. Hellboy was one comic I’d still pick up whenever I saw it, even if creator and artist Mike Mignola was very slow to put out new issues back then.
The story begins with the infant Demon of the Apocalypse being brought to earth by Nazi occultists. Allied forces were able to capture Hellboy and raised him as a normal kid. He grew to become a large demon, with hooves, a tail, a huge right hand made of stone (the Right Hand of Doom!), and horns that he grinds down to look more human. Hellboy was granted the title of “Honorary Human” and, athough he regularly struggles with his demonic nature, his humanity always wins out. He is also the world’s greatest paranormal investigator and regularly fights crazy Russian monks, Nazi scientists, secret government agencies, and other dimensional beings. The blend of horror and science is perfect.
Mike Mignola weaves folk lore, pulp, and mythology into each story. Great stuff! I can’t say enough about how much I like the way Mignola draws. He is famous for saying that all he wanted to do as a kid was draw monsters, and he does is perfectly. Mignola’s art is very unique and beautiful.
Hellboy is published by Dark Horse comics, and you can find more of Mike Mignola’s work on darkhorse.com and artofmikemignola.com. Another series that I recommend very highly is B.P.R.D., and I also liked Mignola’s work on DC Comic’s Cosmic Odyssey.