Hellboy. The Storm and The Fury. Mike Mignola (Writer), Duncan Fegredo (Artist), Dave Stewart (Colours), Clem Robbins (Letters) Scott Allie (Editor). Dark Horse Comics (2012)

                                                                                                                                                        

A breathtaking comic that pulls together some many carefully laid plot threads into a stunning climax that clears the way for a new route for the story. Hellboy is in England where the Queen of Blood has gathered her army to start the a final war on all humanity. The drumbeat of the war is very loud, loud enough to literally wake the dead and a rival army starts to assemble. Hellboy has reached the end of his wandering and decided that the time has come to stop hiding in a bottle and to accept the weight that has been put on him. This finally leads him to striking a very hard bargain with an old enemy to get closer to a new one. The reveals mount up at a carefully controlled speed and the titanic clashes between the massed hordes and the real battle in the tower are  a joy. The climax is brutal, unexpected and wholly fitting, a true measure of the depth and breath of the creativity that has infused the whole Hellboy story from the start.

This is volume 12 of the Hellboy series and would be a completely confusing story to anyone not familiar with the back story. There is a series of interlocking conclusions for cast members from all over as they move towards a dreadful possibility, they come face to face with the real consequences of their actions. No one is spared, there is blood, malice and destruction enough for everyone. As ever in the Hellboy stories the consequences are here to stay, they do not fade away with the morning light. The whole Hellboy cycle is an extraordinary piece of extended,disciplined creativity. Mike Mignola has developed a comic that uses the form in a very traditional way, serial sequential storytelling with a light-handed mastery that is an enduring pleasure to behold.

Duncan Fegredo's art is bold, subtle and intensely moving. He can give depth and life to a small moment and energy and drama to a fearsome confrontation. The cast occupy the space with clarity and physical presence, the body language is consistently eloquent.  Hellboy has stopped drinking and the time to be serious has arrived, he seems smaller, not diminished, more focused. Each fight has a desperate edge to it that is beautifully shown. Never has bitter, fruitless regret been stamped so clearly on every cell of a creatures body as on the pawn who set the events in motion. In particular there is a single panel that picks a detail from a previous one, a detail of a wall hanging, that should by rights should be overkill and instead shot me to the heart.

Dave Stewart's colours are just so much part of the warp and weave of the story and the art that they are nearly invisible. They convey the mood and sharpen the detail at every turn, never simply decorating they reveal and and reinforce the story. Clem Robbins simply shows how lettering is an essential aspect to making a successful comic, with variety, clever emphasis and unerring judgement he gives a voices to the cast that are clear and resonant. A fantastic comic with a punch to the heart like a blow from the Right Hand of Doom itself.

Hellboy. Oddest Jobs. Christopher Golden.(Editor). Dark Horse Books. (2008)

This is a collection of short stories by a wide variety of authors featuring Hellboy, the stories are uniformly excellent with a couple that stand out. Setting the scene and the standard for the remainder is "Jiving with Shadows and Dragons and Long, Black Trains" by Joe R. Lansdale. Towns in Arizona are being visited by a long black train and all the inhabitants are swept up by black dragons. Hellboy and the Reverend Jim Jeff investigate and find that frustration and obsession are powerful forces. The action is clever and forceful, the sliding viewpoints give the story depth and flavour, it packs a mighty punch.
"In Cupboards and Bookshelves" by Gary A. Braunbeck, Hellboy is asked to take on a job which involve harsh choices. It is very far from the usual Hellboy stories while capturing something essential about who Hellboy is. It is written with care and skill and leaves sad echos with the reader. "Second Honeymoon" by John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow is the closest in spirit and action to the Hellboy stories in the comics. A eco terrorist group decide to save Earth from humanity by releasing some of the Titans from Greek mythology. The action is both absurd and with a genuine emotional depth.
The two stories that stood out, even from such an excellent selection are "Repossession" by Barbara Hambly and "A Room of One's Own" by China Mieville. "Repossession" develops in a most unexpected fashion from a classic Hellboy opening. As the Aswan dam in Egypt is being built, lots of spirits are being disturbed and Hellboy is on the trail of a man who trades in such things. The story moves seamlessly to become about oppression and possession, how they intersect and how they infect the living. "A Room of One's Own" is a wonderfully playful story about the entirely unexpected dangers of interior decorating. From the title onward it plays with references to other stories that are cunning woven into a very clever knot as well as carrying off a more serious intent. Overall a great collection, a pleasure to read.

Hellboy. Masks and Monsters. Dark Horse Books (2010)

Two very enjoyable cross over stories featuring Hellboy, Batman, Starman and Ghost. The first story, Batman/Hellboy/Starman written by James Robinson, art by Mike Mignola, colours by Matt Hollingsworth and lettered by Willie Schubert is a Hellboy story with a different cast.In Gotham City, Ted Knight, the original Starman is kidnapped by a mysterious group. This draws the attention of Batman and Hellboy and they combine to discover that it is a secret Nazi group that have kidnapped Ted Knight and taken him to their South American base. While Batman has problems in Gotham to deal with, the current Starman, Ted Knight's son, fly out to rescue him. The story unfolds wonderfully, with a great Hellboy Nazi/Elder God plot bubbling away, plenty of smart dialogue and action. The reveals are clever, the art is glorious and the whole package tremendous fun.
The second story Ghost/Hellboy written by Mike Mignola,pencilled by Scott Benefiel, inked by Jasen Rodriguez, coloured by Pamela Rambo, lettered by Sean Konot takes a different tack. Ghost is the vengeful spirit of reporter Elisa Cameron, who deals out death to criminals. Ghost enters a netherworld and in pursuit of peace of heart pulls Hellboy into a netherworld ruled by a wearing a metal mask. The reveals are sharp and unexpected, the action is excellent and the conclusion sour and satisfying.
The contrast between the two stories is interesting, James Robinson writes a very straightforward Hellboy story, in essence substituting Batman and Starman for some of the regular Hellboy cast. Their presence does not fundamentally make any difference to the dynamic of the story. The presence of Ghost in the other story is central to whole structure and tone of the story, she is much more significant. To an extent it is a Ghost story with Hellboy as the guest star, one who does have a vital part to play. It is very noticeable how Mike Mignola takes Ghost, who is a signal example of the sleazy coyness that infects comics, and gives her a personality that is bigger than her breasts. She is very much a character, a clear individual voice that plays strongly against Hellboy and drives the story. A very enjoyable collection with more punch than may be anticipated.

Hellboy. The Crooked Man and Others. Dark Horse Books (2010)

A great collection of short Hellboy stories, all written by Mike Mignola with art by different artists, Dave Stewart does the colouring for all the stories and Clem Robins the lettering. A nicely varied collection that all have the strong ideas and clever inventiveness that are typical of Hellboy stories.
The title story, The Crooked Man, has striking art from Richard Corben and a wonderful setting in the Appalachian mountains. In 1958 and Hellboy meets Tom Ferrell who has returned to the area after twenty years. They travel together to find a local witch and when they do they find themselves entangled with The Crooked Man, a man returned from Hell to do evil in the area. The plot is straightforward, the details of the narrative are superb. There is a siege of a church by The Crooked Man as his band of witches that is horrifying and astonishing in how it creates a logical and utterly unexpected assault. The conclusion is sourly satisfying. Richard Corben's art draws the atmosphere tightly around the story, the locations are grim and hard, the cast look like they belong and the The Crooked Man himself is grasping and malignant.
"They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships" co written by Joshua Dysart has art by Jason Shawn Alexander is a great pirate ghost story. Blackbeard was decapitated and his body tossed overboard. When the skull is stolen from an antique store the story of a very strange reunion unfolds. The threads of the story are very nicely woven together and the conclusion is superbly staged. The art is dark toned and dramatic, it captures the flavour of the story perfectly, mixing the romance and fierce reality of pirates in just the right way.
"In the Chapel of Moloch" has art by Mike Mignola and is a nice little story, it is a very distilled Hellboy story. The way that the supernatural lays hold of someone, who the supernatural force is are both done with economy and outstanding skill. How a hidden history of the world is suggested is a joy, the sheer mater-of-fact way Hellboy acts are all reminders of why Hellboy is such a pleasure to read.
The final story "The Mole" with art by Duncan Fegredo answers a most interesting question, if Hellboy had a nightmare what might it be like? Creating a credible dream for a creature like Hellboy, whose business is dealing with nightmares is a tricky task and this story does it with a sharp wit. For once having someone realise that it was a dream is not an easy exit from a narrative trap, it extends the character instead.
A really enjoyable collection requiring no knowledge of Hellboy continuity to read with pleasure.

Hellboy. Odd Jobs. Christopher Golden (Editor), Mike Mignola (Illustrations) Titan Books (2003)

This is an anthology of short prose stories featuring Hellboy and other cast members from the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comics. While it is unlikely that anyone who is unfamiliar with Hellboy would pick it up there is no specific need for any previous knowledge to enjoy these excellent stories. The emphasis in the stories is on the activities of Hellboy as a paranormal investigator, so Hellboy is usually presented as an established fact and the action is allowed to unfold. Within the tight constraints imposed by the subject matter and the form the writers have presented a very enjoyable variety of content and narrative choices. The standard is uniformly high, there is no stand out story due to the overall excellence, none of the stories is a dud, they all sharp and flavourful.
Jigsaw by Stephen R. Bissette is a beautifully structured story that packs an impressive amount of story into a short space. The human cast caught in the coils of the paranormal plot are sympathetically drawn and the terrible price they pay is deeply felt. Folie a Deux by Nancy Holder set in Vietnam during the Vietnam War is spiky and seething with rage at the multifaceted destruction caused by war. The sharp writing and bleak context frame the dark aspects to the Hellboy story very well.
On the other hand, Delivered by Greg Rucka plays a smart and humorous game with the readers expectations while perhaps finally revealing the story behind one of Sherlock Holmes' most famous unrecorded cases. Medusa's Revenge by Yvonne Navarro is the story most reminiscent of the comics, the story is clever and the action fast and loud. The other stories in the collection are equally thoughtful and varied. The illustrations by Mike Mignola are as beautiful and evocative as could be expected. This is a great collection of stories by very talented writers, a pleasure to read.

Hellboy. The Companion. Stephen Weiner, Jason Hall, Victoria Blake. Dark Horse Books (2008)

Given the facts that only committed Hellboy fans are likely to buy this book and committed Hellboy fans would buy it pretty much regardless of the quality, this is accessible, entertaining and a treat for any Hellboy fan. In keeping with the quality control exercised throughout the franchise, this is thoughtful, well produced and literate. It does a very nice job of both extending and explaining the literary roots and context of Hellboy and diving headfirst into the details and revelling in them.

The core of the book are the character profiles by Victoria Blake and Rachel Edidin, these cover just about every character who cross any page in any Hellboy or B.P.R.D. book. This should be inaccessible to anyone but a committed fan and possibly even a step too far for a lot of them. Thanks to fine writing by Victoria Blake and Rachel Edidin this is a series of intriguing micro biographies of a wonderfully assorted cast of characters. There is a notable absence of referential defensiveness in the writing, the reader does not have to possess a degree of prior knowledge to enjoy the profiles. They are informative and comprehensive, the various illustrations, old and new, from Mike Mignola, has been chosen with care.

The Official Timeline by Jason Hall is really for committed fans only, it is also just fantastic. It has the correct level of detail, catches all the highways and byways that are explicit and implicit in the stories and creates a breathtaking view of the world of Hellboy. The Literary Heritage of Hellboy, an essay by Stephen Weiner, and the Further Reading section round of the volume in fine style with the essay showing the breath and depth of the influences and sources that Mike Mignola lovingly draws upon for his work.

I read this book straight through, I appreciated and enjoyed the authors care, attention and talent and they have increased my enjoyment of the various Hellboy comics and films greatly.

B.P.R.D. 9: 1946. Writers :Mike Mignola and Joshua Dysart, Art: Paul Azaceta, Clolours: Nick Filardi, Letters: Clem Robins. 2008 (Dark Horse)

This is the first time we get a story about Professor Trevor Bruttenholm ( pronounced Broom), the man who rescued and raised Hellboy and died in the opening pages of the first Hellboy book. We get to see Professor Bruttenholm in his prime in the post war years and get a sense of what kind of man he was.
Bruttenholm is in post war Berlin to investigate Nazi occult activities and really to find out more about the origins of Hellboy. He is given the assistance of a group of soldiers who are waiting to go home and resentful of further duty. Most of the information Bruttenholm really wants is in the Soviet sector and tensions between the Soviets and the Americans are already rising making access difficult at best.
Bruttenholm goes directly to the Soviet sector to try and get information and meets Varvara, the little girl who is the head of the Soviet version of the B.P.R.D. She is not all she appears to be, the explanation of who she really is is a nice part of the story and shows how far Mike Mignola ranges for his sources and inspirations.
Bruttenholm discovers, much by accident a Nazi project called Vampire Sturm, a plan to create a vampire army that would be unleashed in the dying days of the war. This ties explicitly back to the Hellboy book Wake the Devil, it is not necessary to have read it however. The story moves in a happily unexpected direction, a mad scientist who is a head in a bottle with spider like mechanical legs and his krieggaffe, which have to be seen to be believed.
Amid the adventures, mad science and occult happenings,the victims of Vampire Sturm, the poor unfortunates who were the subject of the exponents to be turned into vampires are not forgotten.They are treated with care and sympathy and this adds greatly to the book.
The characters are well differentiated and the mood is sombre throughout the book. The work of all the creative team is very coherent and effective without any part unduly calling attention to itself,they flow together very naturally to provide an excellent story and comic.