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Hellboy
Hellboy, Vol. 6: Strange Places
Mike Mignola returns with his first new Hellboy collection since 2002's Conqueror Worm. After leaving the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy's travels take him briefly to Africa, then for a two-year stint at the bottom of the ocean. An ancient witch doctor, a giant fish woman and keeper of the secret history of the universe force Hellboy to either accept his role in the coming apocalypse, or have that role stolen from him. Weird undersea creatures and talking lions populate this turning-point adventure, which reveals secrets buried since Hellboy's very creation. This volume collects Harvey-and-Eisner-award winner Mike Mignola's Hellboy series The Third Wish and The Island with over a dozen unused pages and a new epilogue.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
27 people are currently reading
1658 people want to read
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,865 books2,527 followersMike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.
In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.
In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.
Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.
Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.
In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.
In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.
Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.
Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
September 14, 2017
I think this is quite good but its strength is all in the reveals about Hellboy's real creation all the way back through time as a vision quest.
If you don't mind just having him question his motives or reaffirm his chosen destiny versus being the bringer of the apocalypse, this volume is just fine. The art's interesting and the twists aren't unexpected, but it's still very satisfying.
If you don't mind just having him question his motives or reaffirm his chosen destiny versus being the bringer of the apocalypse, this volume is just fine. The art's interesting and the twists aren't unexpected, but it's still very satisfying.
July 21, 2025
This was my first 'Hellboy' experience and I enjoyed it. I have never read anything by artist Mike Mignola and I enjoyed his artwork. His artwork is dark and very unique. The simplicity behind the artwork carries the story well and effectively.
This volume contains two stories: The Third Wish and The Island. Both I enjoyed even though I have not read the previous five volumes in this series. Hellboy still has his witty sense of humor that pays out in his dialogue and interactions with the villains for the story.
I've never read other Hellboy graphic novels and I liked this one. I'm sure backstory from the previous volumes would have been nice and this volume probably sets up arcs to come. I would recommend this to anyone for the artwork and the storylines. Thanks!
This volume contains two stories: The Third Wish and The Island. Both I enjoyed even though I have not read the previous five volumes in this series. Hellboy still has his witty sense of humor that pays out in his dialogue and interactions with the villains for the story.
I've never read other Hellboy graphic novels and I liked this one. I'm sure backstory from the previous volumes would have been nice and this volume probably sets up arcs to come. I would recommend this to anyone for the artwork and the storylines. Thanks!
January 28, 2019
The Third Wish contains everything that's great about Hellboy. A badass villain in the Bog Roosh, Hellboy denying his destiny, his compassion for others, even those who've harmed him, and his wit.
I love how The Island starts out. Hellboy out drinking is great and done in such a Hellboy way. It does get bogged down in an infodump later on but still worth a read.
I love how The Island starts out. Hellboy out drinking is great and done in such a Hellboy way. It does get bogged down in an infodump later on but still worth a read.
October 5, 2017
A quieter, more serene volume compared to the previous one. Strange Places collects two stories, The Third Wish and The Island. The first one is just a really good story all around, with a very solid structure and great payoff. The Island, on the other hand, could have been handled better. Mignola himself admits that he had a lot of trouble with this story, completely redrawing and rewriting the entire thing three times before ending up with the final result. And it shows — what started as a pretty cool adventure turned out to be a boring exposition dump that basically discloses the entire mythos of the Hellboy universe. As a result, the story itself is hard to follow, especially near the middle, where I couldn't even understand what was going on half the time. Fortunately, The Island wraps up well enough and sets up the next big story arc, which I remember to be the best in the entire series: Darkness Calls/The Wild Hunt. I can't wait to delve into that epic event once again and see how it holds up!
First read: October 26, 2015
Rating: ★★★★・
Second read: October 5, 2017
Rating: ★★★★・
First read: October 26, 2015
Rating: ★★★★・
Second read: October 5, 2017
Rating: ★★★★・
August 23, 2009
What's the best way to kill off a quirky, mysterious, unsettling world? How about explaining it all in a neat, tidy manner through an extremely long and convenient bit of exposition from a previously unknown character?
Mignola's art is still great and the first story ('The Third Wish') is solid, if not as focused and uncanny as the short tales in 'The Chained Coffin and Other Stories'.
But why does Mignola suddenly feel the need to wrap up his expansive, eccentric, esoteric cosmology in one unheralded spurt of Blavatskian gnostic pap? There are a few reasons, and both Mignola and his introducer, Gary Gianni, suggest them in the TPB extras.
For Gianni, Mignola's "literary references . . . acknowledge his influences without being pedantic or ostentatious", which is usually true. However, our author must strike a careful balance between this and the fact that he "never met a Pulp idea he didn't like".
His willingness to pull in many different sources is often a strength; it gives his stories a certain learned depth that is moody and enticing. The problem is that, though he continues to draw on various sources here, he now seems infected with a desire to explain them, to connect them, and to make them sensible.
While providing the reader with a readily explicable world is often desirable, this is less useful in horror and mystery, both of which present characters out of their elements. The greatest failing of the collective authors who took up Lovecraft's mythos was that they tried to make his world comprehensible, which betrays everything that made his stories remarkable and unsettling in the first place.
More than that, these kinds of all-encompassing explanations are entirely artificial. Myths may try to explicate the world, but in the end the answers they gave are more puzzling than the original questions. In the cracks between the various espoused truths lies the incomprehensible world of the Fey, the Demons, the ancient Gods.
Likewise, every answer Science gives us opens up more unknowns, forcing us to come to terms with the fact that we weren't even asking the right questions in the first place. The universe is far too strange for a holistic view. Though many scientists have sought the 'holy grail' of a unified theory, the idea of a unified theory is itself a flawed hypothesis: if every discovery we make has caused science to diverge into yet more fields, yet more seemingly incompatible specialties, why should we assume that this trend won't simply continue, ad infinatum?
By providing not only answers but a sort of 'Grand Purpose', Mignola takes a step away from a mythological presentation of human foibles and towards an allegorical symbology of morality.
Hellboy himself seems out of place in the story. Usually, his sardonic quips make a humorous contrast to the traditional modes and palpable strangeness in the stories. In 'The Island', they just make him seem stupid.
The grand explanation he dismisses is so overpowering that he seems to be denying the story itself. Writers sometimes say that characters have a life of their own, so perhaps Hellboy was simply expressing his disgust at this grandly overwrought piece of exposition. Anyone who gives you a simple explanation is trying to sell you something, and Hellboy is too canny to fall for his author's 'big reveal'.
If the explanation were simply the half-formed obsession of a zealot, then it wouldn't be incongruous. Mignola has shown an able hand at subversion before, and myths often present these sorts of stories--these explanations of creation and purpose--but their simplicity cannot survive the world unscathed.
Unfortunately, Mignola doesn't write it as a 'puzzle piece': a possible aspect of the world. Neither Hellboy nor the world can poke a hole in it. It's not a study of myth or a satire, its just a convenient 'magic plot point'.
In the epilogue, Mignola tells us that the stories went through many drafts, and that he found himself unable to complete them satisfactorily. He was also fresh from working on the film adaptation, and it shows. This is the story that most resembles the style of the film, in that it lays down a rather simple track for a plot and then marks off the intervals with visuals that, while interesting, prove thematically irrelevant.
The starkness of 'The Island' was often surprisingly breathtaking, but conflicted with the constant barrage of dialogues, soliloquy, and flashbacks required to tell such a vast story in such a small space. This often shows in abrupt and confusing panel transitions. I've never known Mignola's stories to slip off-track like that before, but it isn't surprising that such a suddenly grand piece of exposition would trouble even his skilled draughtsmanship.
In the epilogue, Mignola tells us why he suddenly felt the need to tell this demystifying story: with the movie coming out soon, depicting a simplified world where mythical elements peppered an action plot, Mignola felt a need to explain those elements fully before they became film fodder.
He wanted to pre-empt the movie's explanation with his own, which is a natural urge for an artist who wants control of his intellectual property, but instead of maintaining a world of depth to shore up the film's brief treatment, he created a little story bible to wrap up the loose ends.
Mignola also mentions that these stories represent his return to Hellboy after a long break, which explains their tone. Mignola himself is trying to return to Hellboy's world, one he is no longer ensconced in, but is seeking to understand and inhabit again.
When returning to such a grand and complex project, it is tempting to try to encapsulate it in shorthand. Hellboy thus becomes something of a caricature of himself: his quips no longer stubborn and insightful but annoyed and contrary. The world also becomes caricatured: no longer a varied collection of stories and myths but a specific, grounded setting.
Some readers find comfort in that kind of closure. The monomyth remains a perennial favorite, but Hellboy's story had often been a refutation, a satire, and a subversion of that kind of moralizing heroism. The closer Mignola plays it, the more it simply becomes another morality play: no longer strange, no longer a mystery, no longer horrifying or unsettling. In short, it is without magic.
Mignola's world becomes more sympathetic, more of a fantasy; another comic book tale of power and the ethics of power. As the character becomes more of a symbol, he becomes less of a person, and as the world becomes a stage, the story becomes a romance. This will appeal to readers looking for something digestible, but will disenfranchise readers who enjoy the book because its winding, layered nature causes them to pause and think.
What is gained by turning an elusive, fanciful world into another power fantasy? (besides money). The opening story is perfectly good, and the collection is still strong--a good comic, the art a pleasure to behold, and mostly entertaining--but is this Hellboy?
Mignola ought to learn from the poor examples set by George Lucas or Grant Morrison: when something weird happens, don't try to explain it, let it stand on its own. When Lucas invented 'midichlorians' (tiny bacteria that lived in your cells and determined how much 'force power' you have) he was roundly ridiculed.
Likewise, no one wanted to hear when one Superman author tried to explain that the Man of Steel could pick up buildings with one hand without piercing them because he had 'tactile telekinesis'.
Grant Morrison's magnum opus 'The Invisibles' is just one long, indulgent attempt to combine and explain every myth and conspiracy theory he could lay his hands on, like 'The Illuminatus! Trilogy', but without a sense of humor.
Readers can find meanings in stories without being led by the nose; some of us even enjoy it. I'll probably finish Hellboy either way, but it will be disappointing if this thoughtful, moody book fails to recover from the retcon bombshell Mignola has dropped. If nothing else, this has given me a lasting lesson on how not to procure a satisfying ending for a story.
It's not fair to pull it all over your reader in the latter act, and even if it is neat and tidy, it will destroy the tone and thematic motifs you've spent so much time and energy developing. That's not a tradeoff I would be willing to make, though from Battlestar Galactica to Harry Potter, it's proven a popular route.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
Mignola's art is still great and the first story ('The Third Wish') is solid, if not as focused and uncanny as the short tales in 'The Chained Coffin and Other Stories'.
But why does Mignola suddenly feel the need to wrap up his expansive, eccentric, esoteric cosmology in one unheralded spurt of Blavatskian gnostic pap? There are a few reasons, and both Mignola and his introducer, Gary Gianni, suggest them in the TPB extras.
For Gianni, Mignola's "literary references . . . acknowledge his influences without being pedantic or ostentatious", which is usually true. However, our author must strike a careful balance between this and the fact that he "never met a Pulp idea he didn't like".
His willingness to pull in many different sources is often a strength; it gives his stories a certain learned depth that is moody and enticing. The problem is that, though he continues to draw on various sources here, he now seems infected with a desire to explain them, to connect them, and to make them sensible.
While providing the reader with a readily explicable world is often desirable, this is less useful in horror and mystery, both of which present characters out of their elements. The greatest failing of the collective authors who took up Lovecraft's mythos was that they tried to make his world comprehensible, which betrays everything that made his stories remarkable and unsettling in the first place.
More than that, these kinds of all-encompassing explanations are entirely artificial. Myths may try to explicate the world, but in the end the answers they gave are more puzzling than the original questions. In the cracks between the various espoused truths lies the incomprehensible world of the Fey, the Demons, the ancient Gods.
Likewise, every answer Science gives us opens up more unknowns, forcing us to come to terms with the fact that we weren't even asking the right questions in the first place. The universe is far too strange for a holistic view. Though many scientists have sought the 'holy grail' of a unified theory, the idea of a unified theory is itself a flawed hypothesis: if every discovery we make has caused science to diverge into yet more fields, yet more seemingly incompatible specialties, why should we assume that this trend won't simply continue, ad infinatum?
By providing not only answers but a sort of 'Grand Purpose', Mignola takes a step away from a mythological presentation of human foibles and towards an allegorical symbology of morality.
Hellboy himself seems out of place in the story. Usually, his sardonic quips make a humorous contrast to the traditional modes and palpable strangeness in the stories. In 'The Island', they just make him seem stupid.
The grand explanation he dismisses is so overpowering that he seems to be denying the story itself. Writers sometimes say that characters have a life of their own, so perhaps Hellboy was simply expressing his disgust at this grandly overwrought piece of exposition. Anyone who gives you a simple explanation is trying to sell you something, and Hellboy is too canny to fall for his author's 'big reveal'.
If the explanation were simply the half-formed obsession of a zealot, then it wouldn't be incongruous. Mignola has shown an able hand at subversion before, and myths often present these sorts of stories--these explanations of creation and purpose--but their simplicity cannot survive the world unscathed.
Unfortunately, Mignola doesn't write it as a 'puzzle piece': a possible aspect of the world. Neither Hellboy nor the world can poke a hole in it. It's not a study of myth or a satire, its just a convenient 'magic plot point'.
In the epilogue, Mignola tells us that the stories went through many drafts, and that he found himself unable to complete them satisfactorily. He was also fresh from working on the film adaptation, and it shows. This is the story that most resembles the style of the film, in that it lays down a rather simple track for a plot and then marks off the intervals with visuals that, while interesting, prove thematically irrelevant.
The starkness of 'The Island' was often surprisingly breathtaking, but conflicted with the constant barrage of dialogues, soliloquy, and flashbacks required to tell such a vast story in such a small space. This often shows in abrupt and confusing panel transitions. I've never known Mignola's stories to slip off-track like that before, but it isn't surprising that such a suddenly grand piece of exposition would trouble even his skilled draughtsmanship.
In the epilogue, Mignola tells us why he suddenly felt the need to tell this demystifying story: with the movie coming out soon, depicting a simplified world where mythical elements peppered an action plot, Mignola felt a need to explain those elements fully before they became film fodder.
He wanted to pre-empt the movie's explanation with his own, which is a natural urge for an artist who wants control of his intellectual property, but instead of maintaining a world of depth to shore up the film's brief treatment, he created a little story bible to wrap up the loose ends.
Mignola also mentions that these stories represent his return to Hellboy after a long break, which explains their tone. Mignola himself is trying to return to Hellboy's world, one he is no longer ensconced in, but is seeking to understand and inhabit again.
When returning to such a grand and complex project, it is tempting to try to encapsulate it in shorthand. Hellboy thus becomes something of a caricature of himself: his quips no longer stubborn and insightful but annoyed and contrary. The world also becomes caricatured: no longer a varied collection of stories and myths but a specific, grounded setting.
Some readers find comfort in that kind of closure. The monomyth remains a perennial favorite, but Hellboy's story had often been a refutation, a satire, and a subversion of that kind of moralizing heroism. The closer Mignola plays it, the more it simply becomes another morality play: no longer strange, no longer a mystery, no longer horrifying or unsettling. In short, it is without magic.
Mignola's world becomes more sympathetic, more of a fantasy; another comic book tale of power and the ethics of power. As the character becomes more of a symbol, he becomes less of a person, and as the world becomes a stage, the story becomes a romance. This will appeal to readers looking for something digestible, but will disenfranchise readers who enjoy the book because its winding, layered nature causes them to pause and think.
What is gained by turning an elusive, fanciful world into another power fantasy? (besides money). The opening story is perfectly good, and the collection is still strong--a good comic, the art a pleasure to behold, and mostly entertaining--but is this Hellboy?
Mignola ought to learn from the poor examples set by George Lucas or Grant Morrison: when something weird happens, don't try to explain it, let it stand on its own. When Lucas invented 'midichlorians' (tiny bacteria that lived in your cells and determined how much 'force power' you have) he was roundly ridiculed.
Likewise, no one wanted to hear when one Superman author tried to explain that the Man of Steel could pick up buildings with one hand without piercing them because he had 'tactile telekinesis'.
Grant Morrison's magnum opus 'The Invisibles' is just one long, indulgent attempt to combine and explain every myth and conspiracy theory he could lay his hands on, like 'The Illuminatus! Trilogy', but without a sense of humor.
Readers can find meanings in stories without being led by the nose; some of us even enjoy it. I'll probably finish Hellboy either way, but it will be disappointing if this thoughtful, moody book fails to recover from the retcon bombshell Mignola has dropped. If nothing else, this has given me a lasting lesson on how not to procure a satisfying ending for a story.
It's not fair to pull it all over your reader in the latter act, and even if it is neat and tidy, it will destroy the tone and thematic motifs you've spent so much time and energy developing. That's not a tradeoff I would be willing to make, though from Battlestar Galactica to Harry Potter, it's proven a popular route.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
March 6, 2016
Africa. The tinkling of bells. Doomed mermaids. The Bog Roosh. Hecate. Davy Jones' Locker. Blasphemy and Inquisition. Atlantis, Lemuria, and Urr. The Watchers. The 32 words. Ogdru Jahad. The 369 Ogdru Hem. The Golden People. Hyperboria. Thoth. The Black Goddess. The Right Hand. The secret history of the world. And that's before we get to the eight pages of the original version of The Island, which is an homage to William Hope Hodgson.
Any nod, no matter how small, to WHH has my immediate attention. When Mike Mignola does it, declaring his love of fungus people and throwing in rough sketches of the same, I'm totally on board, with big round red hearts for eyes.
An excellent one-two-three punch of myth, mayhem, and Hellboy greatness.
Any nod, no matter how small, to WHH has my immediate attention. When Mike Mignola does it, declaring his love of fungus people and throwing in rough sketches of the same, I'm totally on board, with big round red hearts for eyes.
An excellent one-two-three punch of myth, mayhem, and Hellboy greatness.
November 17, 2020
As the title suggests, the book takes the readers to strange places indeed. And although the journey may seem confusing at times, it is very entertaining.
August 27, 2015
I've finished my re-read of the first five volumes and am moving on into new material--I've read a few scattered later volumes in the series, but this one was new to me. Two stories pick up where we left off in Conqueror Worm, with Hellboy leaving the B.P.R.D. and going off in search of...even he's not sure what, but it begins with him heading to Africa. I like the first story better than the second, mainly because the triad of the three mermaids' wishes is so poignant and so perfectly fairy-tale-like (the original fairy tales, not the children's versions that are famous now). Even so, both are excellent, and Mignola's description of the failed story "The Island" makes me hope he'll figure out a way to tell it someday.
January 23, 2025
Score: 3.50 out of 5
Grade: 70% (B-) | Mixed Feelings
This is a hard one to rate, considering "The Third Wish" was amazing and "The Island" was not...
Starting with "The Third Wish", it has everything you want in a dark fantasy type tale, including an interesting antagonist, incredible art, and a satisfying conclusion.
As for "The Island", it felt like the story was just spinning its wheels. A bunch of nonsense, high-concept crap that went on for too long and was exposition-heavy. The epilogue sheds enough light to make it at least somewhat interesting (I guess).
Grade: 70% (B-) | Mixed Feelings
This is a hard one to rate, considering "The Third Wish" was amazing and "The Island" was not...
Starting with "The Third Wish", it has everything you want in a dark fantasy type tale, including an interesting antagonist, incredible art, and a satisfying conclusion.
As for "The Island", it felt like the story was just spinning its wheels. A bunch of nonsense, high-concept crap that went on for too long and was exposition-heavy. The epilogue sheds enough light to make it at least somewhat interesting (I guess).
July 6, 2015
Awesomeness in world building and questions answered.
After the wonderful Conqueror Worm story line and (no spoilers) HB making his choice, I was wondering where his story would go. Sure the rest of the crew continue on in the excellent B.P.R.D. series but what about Big Red? Well read this trade and you will see where, it's bloody amazing:
World: I don't need to get into Mignola's art, it's moody, it's distinct, it's bloody brilliant. The new locals this time around were pretty amazing illustrated, yeah that's all for the art. The world building for this trade is brilliant. This is the main focus of this trade and it's fantastic. I won't go into details here or below because it needs to be read and experienced. Answers are given, worlds are built and stakes are made even higher. World and story cannot be separated in this trade.
Story: 2 wonderful stories that build upon what has been happening pretty much Seed of Destruction. Answers are given, context is clarified, yeah a lot of world building and revelations will be found here. Of course the pacing and plotting in which above things is revealed in an fun and monstertastic manner. No spoilers, if you've made it this far with HB this next plunge will be amazing!
Characters: Well there is HB and his journey and his mythology which is focused here. There are also some familiar faces and new ones which will amuse and entertain. The development is more in terms of world building and less so on a personal journey. It's still good and the things we learn about HB and the others is quite, no, very interesting.
This trade is amazing, it's what I love best about Mignola, a wonder weird, strange and creative world that's simply an adventure to explore.
Onward to the next book!
After the wonderful Conqueror Worm story line and (no spoilers) HB making his choice, I was wondering where his story would go. Sure the rest of the crew continue on in the excellent B.P.R.D. series but what about Big Red? Well read this trade and you will see where, it's bloody amazing:
World: I don't need to get into Mignola's art, it's moody, it's distinct, it's bloody brilliant. The new locals this time around were pretty amazing illustrated, yeah that's all for the art. The world building for this trade is brilliant. This is the main focus of this trade and it's fantastic. I won't go into details here or below because it needs to be read and experienced. Answers are given, worlds are built and stakes are made even higher. World and story cannot be separated in this trade.
Story: 2 wonderful stories that build upon what has been happening pretty much Seed of Destruction. Answers are given, context is clarified, yeah a lot of world building and revelations will be found here. Of course the pacing and plotting in which above things is revealed in an fun and monstertastic manner. No spoilers, if you've made it this far with HB this next plunge will be amazing!
Characters: Well there is HB and his journey and his mythology which is focused here. There are also some familiar faces and new ones which will amuse and entertain. The development is more in terms of world building and less so on a personal journey. It's still good and the things we learn about HB and the others is quite, no, very interesting.
This trade is amazing, it's what I love best about Mignola, a wonder weird, strange and creative world that's simply an adventure to explore.
Onward to the next book!
July 18, 2012
I've been making my way through the Hellboy trade paperbacks this week, and while I've really been enjoying them, this is the first one that I've felt the need to write a review for. I'm such a Negative Nelly that I'm speaking up because this is the first volume I've been disappointed in.
In the intro to one of the two 2-parters that are in this volume, Mike Mignola promises that he's going to provide some origin stories for the Hellboy universe. I was looking forward to this, but the execution left much to be desired. This volume had Hellboy off on his own, having left the BPRD to do some investigation into himself. The downside of this is that it's left him without anyone to really talk to, and therefore all of the information is learned through a monologue of exposition. I would have preferred to have Abe or Liz or Kate or someone else there that Hellboy has emotional attachment to. The way that it was done, it just feels empty. The volume ends with him headed back to London, so hopefully that's the end of this complaint.
I'm also a little fatigued from the many scenes where Hellboy is being knocked through the air and through walls and floors, but that's a minor complaint. I often want to offer him an aspirin, though.
In the intro to one of the two 2-parters that are in this volume, Mike Mignola promises that he's going to provide some origin stories for the Hellboy universe. I was looking forward to this, but the execution left much to be desired. This volume had Hellboy off on his own, having left the BPRD to do some investigation into himself. The downside of this is that it's left him without anyone to really talk to, and therefore all of the information is learned through a monologue of exposition. I would have preferred to have Abe or Liz or Kate or someone else there that Hellboy has emotional attachment to. The way that it was done, it just feels empty. The volume ends with him headed back to London, so hopefully that's the end of this complaint.
I'm also a little fatigued from the many scenes where Hellboy is being knocked through the air and through walls and floors, but that's a minor complaint. I often want to offer him an aspirin, though.
October 16, 2019
"He has seen the face of the creature he was meant to be."
I feel these are now getting a bit repetitive, maybe I shouldn't binge them. Hellboy wonders about, bumps into some folklore spirit, they tell him how he is the fall of all mankind, shed a little light on his hand, the end. I will continue as I am 6 deep now and would like to know what his hand is really for...2🌟
I feel these are now getting a bit repetitive, maybe I shouldn't binge them. Hellboy wonders about, bumps into some folklore spirit, they tell him how he is the fall of all mankind, shed a little light on his hand, the end. I will continue as I am 6 deep now and would like to know what his hand is really for...2🌟
September 27, 2017
A return to the mysteries of Hellboy's origins and destiny, as Hellboy wanders after his departure from the BPRD. Hellboy's plain-speaking, cursing, and world weariness are present, as well as his adamant refusal to play by the rules of various gods and spirits and other beings.
December 26, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 4.75/5
A fucking masterpiece, not to put too finer point on it. Kicking things off with The Third Wish, which may just be one of, if not my favourite single issue (Ok, it's actually two) of the year. Coming in clutch with a few days to go.
It's probably not the first time I've said this in my short time with Hellboy, but superlatives are really failing me. Finding new ways to praise this series is getting more and more difficult, and continually heaping the same fawning praise upon it is starting to get a tad tiresome. I should really leave a little longer in between books to allow me to repeat my affections without it being too obvious, even for me. But then, I would have to deprive myself of this greatness. Surely you don't want me to do that to myself, do you? Don't be cruel. 4.75/5
OmniBen.
A fucking masterpiece, not to put too finer point on it. Kicking things off with The Third Wish, which may just be one of, if not my favourite single issue (Ok, it's actually two) of the year. Coming in clutch with a few days to go.
It's probably not the first time I've said this in my short time with Hellboy, but superlatives are really failing me. Finding new ways to praise this series is getting more and more difficult, and continually heaping the same fawning praise upon it is starting to get a tad tiresome. I should really leave a little longer in between books to allow me to repeat my affections without it being too obvious, even for me. But then, I would have to deprive myself of this greatness. Surely you don't want me to do that to myself, do you? Don't be cruel. 4.75/5
OmniBen.
November 2, 2025
This collects two storylines, The Third Wish and The Island. The Third Wish is the superior of the two. The stuff with Hellboy in Africa is great, some really lovely imagery, particularly that dream with the lions and Hellboy and Mohlomi by the ocean. It’s got some funny bits too (the haunted banana tree might be my favorite gag in a Hellboy comic).
The underwater stuff is also top notch, and really shows off Mignola’s versatility. Yes of course his fish monsters and shadowy fae and colossal whales swimming through the darkest depths of the oceans all look as great as you would expect, but he can also draw a mermaid that while completely inhuman still looks sad enough to tug on the heartstrings.
The opening bits of The Island, the stuff with Hellboy wandering around a dead beach full of shipwrecks, getting drunk with olde timey sailors, and even talking to Hecate are all great. There’s a big monster fight though that feels a little by the numbers and then ends a little confusingly due to some inconsistent, poorly laid out art. In the intro to The Island Mignola mentions really struggling with this story, needing multiple rewrites and taking a couple false starts on it. I think that shows in a few places here, the conclusion to this fight being one of them.
Then we get to the meat of The Island, a colossal lore dump where Mignola details the creation of the world, explains what the Ogdru Jahad and Ogdru Hem are, what the deal is with Hellboy’s hand, and gives an entire secret history of the earth, all in like half an issue. I feel like I should be annoyed by this stuff. This is a very well presented lore dump and it looks incredible, Mignola does some really eye catching stuff here, but a well presented lore dump is still a lore dump and there’s got to be better, more artful ways to present all this info than to just plop it all out on the page like this.
On the other hand there’s a part of me that enjoys Tolkien’s Legendarium and who reads 40k lore wikis sometimes for fun, who just wants to know the entire in universe history of a fictional world and that guy loves this stuff. It’s full of people saying absolute nonsense like “The watcher spoke the thirty two words and formed the great dragon Ogdru Jahad who birthed the Ogdru Hem of the air and earth and the First Men of Hyperborea knew fear” and yes please give me all that goofy shit, the more make believe words and proper nouns the better. So I’m of two minds about The Island I guess.
Four stars overall though, because if nothing else this is a damn good looking book.
The underwater stuff is also top notch, and really shows off Mignola’s versatility. Yes of course his fish monsters and shadowy fae and colossal whales swimming through the darkest depths of the oceans all look as great as you would expect, but he can also draw a mermaid that while completely inhuman still looks sad enough to tug on the heartstrings.
The opening bits of The Island, the stuff with Hellboy wandering around a dead beach full of shipwrecks, getting drunk with olde timey sailors, and even talking to Hecate are all great. There’s a big monster fight though that feels a little by the numbers and then ends a little confusingly due to some inconsistent, poorly laid out art. In the intro to The Island Mignola mentions really struggling with this story, needing multiple rewrites and taking a couple false starts on it. I think that shows in a few places here, the conclusion to this fight being one of them.
Then we get to the meat of The Island, a colossal lore dump where Mignola details the creation of the world, explains what the Ogdru Jahad and Ogdru Hem are, what the deal is with Hellboy’s hand, and gives an entire secret history of the earth, all in like half an issue. I feel like I should be annoyed by this stuff. This is a very well presented lore dump and it looks incredible, Mignola does some really eye catching stuff here, but a well presented lore dump is still a lore dump and there’s got to be better, more artful ways to present all this info than to just plop it all out on the page like this.
On the other hand there’s a part of me that enjoys Tolkien’s Legendarium and who reads 40k lore wikis sometimes for fun, who just wants to know the entire in universe history of a fictional world and that guy loves this stuff. It’s full of people saying absolute nonsense like “The watcher spoke the thirty two words and formed the great dragon Ogdru Jahad who birthed the Ogdru Hem of the air and earth and the First Men of Hyperborea knew fear” and yes please give me all that goofy shit, the more make believe words and proper nouns the better. So I’m of two minds about The Island I guess.
Four stars overall though, because if nothing else this is a damn good looking book.
October 23, 2020
Strange Places contain the stories The Third Wish and The Island.
After the events in Conqueror Worm, Hellboy has quit the BPRD and gone on a walkabout of sorts. The Third Wish finds him in Africa, searching for an ancient witch doctor named Mohlomi. He informs Hellboy that the ocean is calling him and he must go. Meanwhile, three mermaid sisters seeking wishes have come to see the Bog Roosh, a giant fish woman with magical powers. She promises to grant the wishes if they can hammer her magical nail into her enemy's head. Guess who that is.
There isn't the humor that one would normally find in a Hellboy story. In fact, it turns rather melancholic by the end. This one was written shortly after 9/11, and Mignola admits that it may have colored his mood a bit.
After this adventure, Hellboy surfaces for The Island. It is here that a resurrected prophet, reborn from Hellboy's blood, tells him of the origin of the world and his right hand.
Mignola admits to struggling with the story here. The first Hellboy movie was coming out, and he wanted to tell a proper origin story before Hollywood did.
After knocking it out of the park with Conqueror Worm, these two come up a bit short. In The Third Wish we once again have someone trying to kill Hellboy because his destiny is to bring about the end of the world. The Island sees someone trying to force Hellboy to accept his destiny, but if he won't, that someone will do it for him. And there's lots of monologuing, but I'm not sure how else this vast infodump could be presented. But did it need to be done? Couldn't Mignola have just teased out a little here and a little there? Mystery has always a been an important element in this series and now that a huge chunk of it has been revealed, where does this series go?
The artwork for The Third Wish was disappointing. Africa looked dull, and the color palette for the undersea scenes didn't work for me. The Island was better, particularly the color palette, but some of the panels looked a little sloppy. What light you choose to read this by matters a lot. I'd definitely recommend a blue or bluish-white light. Yellow light doesn't work well here.
After the events in Conqueror Worm, Hellboy has quit the BPRD and gone on a walkabout of sorts. The Third Wish finds him in Africa, searching for an ancient witch doctor named Mohlomi. He informs Hellboy that the ocean is calling him and he must go. Meanwhile, three mermaid sisters seeking wishes have come to see the Bog Roosh, a giant fish woman with magical powers. She promises to grant the wishes if they can hammer her magical nail into her enemy's head. Guess who that is.
There isn't the humor that one would normally find in a Hellboy story. In fact, it turns rather melancholic by the end. This one was written shortly after 9/11, and Mignola admits that it may have colored his mood a bit.
After this adventure, Hellboy surfaces for The Island. It is here that a resurrected prophet, reborn from Hellboy's blood, tells him of the origin of the world and his right hand.
Mignola admits to struggling with the story here. The first Hellboy movie was coming out, and he wanted to tell a proper origin story before Hollywood did.
After knocking it out of the park with Conqueror Worm, these two come up a bit short. In The Third Wish we once again have someone trying to kill Hellboy because his destiny is to bring about the end of the world. The Island sees someone trying to force Hellboy to accept his destiny, but if he won't, that someone will do it for him. And there's lots of monologuing, but I'm not sure how else this vast infodump could be presented. But did it need to be done? Couldn't Mignola have just teased out a little here and a little there? Mystery has always a been an important element in this series and now that a huge chunk of it has been revealed, where does this series go?
The artwork for The Third Wish was disappointing. Africa looked dull, and the color palette for the undersea scenes didn't work for me. The Island was better, particularly the color palette, but some of the panels looked a little sloppy. What light you choose to read this by matters a lot. I'd definitely recommend a blue or bluish-white light. Yellow light doesn't work well here.
June 4, 2021
There’s something very entertaining in the fact that every time I look up one of these title on GR, the system autocorrects it to bellboy. Are there a lot of bellboy books out there? At any rate, how can they possibly compare to the whatever excellence Mike Mignola comes up with. This was a lovely surprise from our library, which has previously seemed to believe the first five books in the series were enough. It isn’t enough, not ever going to be enough. Because it’s just so freaking good. Every time.
I’ve been reading so many graphic novels lately and Mignola’s work still stands out, effortlessly so. The deliciously dark tales he weaves, the stunning art. The colors too, though that’s the colorist, but the colors in these comics are so iconic, you can recognize them instantly, especially the reds and the blacks. Gorgeous.
And then of course there’s the main guy. Possibly the only person ever to combine male pattern boldness, trench coat over no shirt and short pants and make that look good. Oh bellboy (you like that, you weird algorithm?), you’re the one.
Anyway, when you look that good and you’re written by a madman like Mignola, all roads will lead you to strange places. This book features two of those. Once again, terror beneath the waves, tentacles and all, enough to put you off seafood for good. Bonus art materials included.
Another great read in the epic series. Just waiting for library to get more of this awesomeness. Recommended.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
I’ve been reading so many graphic novels lately and Mignola’s work still stands out, effortlessly so. The deliciously dark tales he weaves, the stunning art. The colors too, though that’s the colorist, but the colors in these comics are so iconic, you can recognize them instantly, especially the reds and the blacks. Gorgeous.
And then of course there’s the main guy. Possibly the only person ever to combine male pattern boldness, trench coat over no shirt and short pants and make that look good. Oh bellboy (you like that, you weird algorithm?), you’re the one.
Anyway, when you look that good and you’re written by a madman like Mignola, all roads will lead you to strange places. This book features two of those. Once again, terror beneath the waves, tentacles and all, enough to put you off seafood for good. Bonus art materials included.
Another great read in the epic series. Just waiting for library to get more of this awesomeness. Recommended.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
October 30, 2020
4.5 stars!
My favorite volume so far! I loved the Third Wish. It's your classic fairytale with creepy vibes and evil grandmothers. It's a classic formula that works SO WELL in the Hellboy world. Loved it!
As for The Island, I was loving it, I was planning to give the volume and overall 5, but the ending had me a bit confused. Wish it would have explained better some details at the end. That being said, Hellboy's lore is expanding and I love the mythology of it all and how many urban myths and folktales are real in Mignola's world.
Such a fun series! Now there are a bunch of characters and new enemies, can't wait to keep going!
ALSO, I'm loving the artwork with every new volume. The simplicity in the colouring and the religious imagery that are always around Hellboy keeps the tone so well and it's just a staple in the story.
My favorite volume so far! I loved the Third Wish. It's your classic fairytale with creepy vibes and evil grandmothers. It's a classic formula that works SO WELL in the Hellboy world. Loved it!
As for The Island, I was loving it, I was planning to give the volume and overall 5, but the ending had me a bit confused. Wish it would have explained better some details at the end. That being said, Hellboy's lore is expanding and I love the mythology of it all and how many urban myths and folktales are real in Mignola's world.
Such a fun series! Now there are a bunch of characters and new enemies, can't wait to keep going!
ALSO, I'm loving the artwork with every new volume. The simplicity in the colouring and the religious imagery that are always around Hellboy keeps the tone so well and it's just a staple in the story.
March 10, 2019
Titul "Podivná místa" je trefný. Ač jde tak trochu dějově o zvláštní kombinaci afrických povídek a celkem slušně vykreslené Malé mořské víly od Hanse Ch. Andersena... nemám s tím takový problém. Načež je vidět, že Mignola se totálně zabouchnul do podmořského světa, a do všeho cpe chaluhy, mořské houby, kraby a jiné rybí potvory, dokážu mu spojení tohohle s Hellboyem odpustit.
Líbí se mi citace z básní nebo filmů, zasazená do dějové linky komiksu, tak např. citování kapitána Achaba z film. verze Moby Dick "Bílá velryba" z r. 1956).
Líbí se mi citace z básní nebo filmů, zasazená do dějové linky komiksu, tak např. citování kapitána Achaba z film. verze Moby Dick "Bílá velryba" z r. 1956).
July 26, 2021
Volumen 6 que cierra el primer capítulo de la serie del detective paranormal. Edición cuidada, papel de calidad, incluye bocetos y cometarios del autor. Dibujo y entintado estilizados, diálogos e historia que navegan entre el horror y la poesía. Recuerda de algún modo el mundo del Sandman y las historietas originales de Conan, el bárbaro. Recomendable.
July 20, 2025
Now you are standing at the very crossroads of your life. And all your roads lead to strange places.
Hellboy makes me feel comfortable in my own life- things do not always work out but we must follow our path and try to do the best we can (and occasionally kill evil mermaids, drink with skeletons and deal with witches).
A great collection of stories that pair with the film and help create a clearer version of the origin of the BIG BAD of the Hellboy universe, Ogdru Jahad.
Hellboy makes me feel comfortable in my own life- things do not always work out but we must follow our path and try to do the best we can (and occasionally kill evil mermaids, drink with skeletons and deal with witches).
A great collection of stories that pair with the film and help create a clearer version of the origin of the BIG BAD of the Hellboy universe, Ogdru Jahad.
October 14, 2018
3.5 stars
This is still a great series, but this story felt more of the same
This is still a great series, but this story felt more of the same
January 2, 2021
Zatiaľ najlepší book tejto série.
July 6, 2015
My favourite Hellboy collection so far. Loved this from start to finish.
The first story, The Third Wish was just so sad, the ending is the closets to tears I have ever been reading a Hellboy story. Other than the emotional impact this story just had a lot going for it. It was fun seeing the African spirits reacting so violently to having the bringer of the apocalypses on their continent. And it was nice seeing the monsters of the world wanting Hellboy dead because they don't want the utter annihilation of the world. Yeah, they're horrible things that go bump in the night, but this is their world too, and they want it to stick around just as much as humanity does.
The second story in this collection is The Island, which I enjoyed but found a bit confusing in some places. I liked that we get more back story to the creation of the Ogdru Jahad and why Hellboy's right hand is the only thing that can set them free. But there were some bits about Hellboy's blood I didn't get, and I have no idea how the big bad was killed, apart from the fact that Hellboy's blood had something to do with it (I think?). But even when I was confused, I was enjoying the story.
The first story, The Third Wish was just so sad, the ending is the closets to tears I have ever been reading a Hellboy story. Other than the emotional impact this story just had a lot going for it. It was fun seeing the African spirits reacting so violently to having the bringer of the apocalypses on their continent. And it was nice seeing the monsters of the world wanting Hellboy dead because they don't want the utter annihilation of the world. Yeah, they're horrible things that go bump in the night, but this is their world too, and they want it to stick around just as much as humanity does.
The second story in this collection is The Island, which I enjoyed but found a bit confusing in some places. I liked that we get more back story to the creation of the Ogdru Jahad and why Hellboy's right hand is the only thing that can set them free. But there were some bits about Hellboy's blood I didn't get, and I have no idea how the big bad was killed, apart from the fact that Hellboy's blood had something to do with it (I think?). But even when I was confused, I was enjoying the story.
March 24, 2011
My least favorite of the Hellboy series. Some of the art was too dark to figure out what action was occurring. The story was a little convoluted, particularly in the origins of the earth and the Ograd Jahad. The Mermaids tale was wonderful.
November 18, 2021
Oceans of haunting beauty!
November 13, 2014
Hellboy starts his journey of self-discovery and life re-evaluation after quitting the B.P.R.D., wandering to far-off lands to... well, to have more Hellboy adventures. But they are more deeply personal Hellboy stories than ever, once more focusing on Hellboy and his role in the foreseen apocalypse of which he, supposedly, will be the harbinger.
Okay, so, this book is fantastic, from start to finish. From Mignola's deeply revealing introductions, to Hellboy's ever-so-charming "wisecracks" (if blurting out "son of a- !" and "geez!" can be said to be cracking wise), to the pages and pages of abandoned panels and concept sketches, this is classic Hellboy, with only a minute change in perspective providing a fresh narrative hook. There are two stories in this volume, a story taking liberal cues from Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, and one that focuses predominantly on the origin of Hellboy's "right hand of doom," the world-burning ancient dragon Ogdru Jahad, and, weirdly (though perhaps fittingly), the universe itself.
The first story is "The Third Wish," and, as stated, takes liberal cues from The Little Mermaid. Hellboy is wandering Africa, basically seeing where the winds take him, until he is taken in by a wise and very, very old witch-doctor, who soon ushers him into the sea, where he is kidnapped by a trio of mermaids and taken in by the Bog Roosh - a powerful sea witch, who plans to torture Hellboy, before cutting him asunder, and spreading his pieces over the globe, finally dissolving his right hand from existence, thus avoiding the predicted end of all things. Hellboy, trapped and helpless, is, of course, pretty grumpy about it.
The key narrative focus of this piece is between the Bog Roosh and one of the three mermaids who assists in Hellboy's capture. She, as her sisters, makes a wish of the Bog Roosh in return for Hellboy, and she wishes for a blade that once belonged to her father, so she may honour his death. His father scolds her (as a phantasm, cos he's dead), deriding her decision to honour him, as he is dead, while Hellboy himself is alive - for Hellboy's life, she has chosen to "honour" the dead, and this is no honour. Hellboy is basically incapacitated and sweary the entire story, being told his inevitable fate as he grumbles a bunch, so the story is carried by the mermaid, as she struggles with the choice of what to do - save Hellboy, redeeming herself in the eyes of her father? Don't save Hellboy, and risk bringing forth the destruction of earth? She does, of course, opt to save Hellboy, but anyone who's read a Mignola story will understand that the tragic, sacrificial nature of her conclusion is all but foregone.
The art is absolutely stunning, but, while this really doesn't have to be mentioned in regards to Mignola, there is an interesting visual hook which sets this story apart from even the most beautiful of those before it. The majority of the story takes place completely underwater, and the colours and shadows are so masterfully applied to empty, swirling vortexes of nothingness - it certainly creates a crushing atmosphere that is all at once claustrophobic and infinite in scope. And the Bog Roosh herself is stunningly portrayed, a creature of beauty and horror, one with absolute power and yet, in the face of Hellboy, hardly any at all - fearful and vengeful. She is so assured of her devotion to preventing damnation, Hellboy's escape is almost bittersweet, and it seems even Hellboy doubts whether he deserves release. It's a uniquely powerful take on a classic, dark fairytale, and I think it will be intimately familiar in tone to those who have followed Hellboy for this long.
The next story is called The Island. Seemingly created in reaction to the Hellboy film, which was filming at the time this story was written (and features the Ogdru Jahad as a key monster), it focuses more intimately on Hellboy's role in the apocalypse - in particular the origins of the power that would see it through. Hellboy is drinking on a mysterious island, with a couple of newfound chums, as he recalls his close escape from The Third Wish. Soon, however, he is visited by the ghoulish presence of Hecate, the Queen of Witches, who beckons Hellboy to usher forth the End, as is his destiny. He refuses, of course. Oh, and it is revealed that he had been drinking with skeletons the whole time, which, naturally, pisses him off (though that doesn't stop him from skulling down another bottle of rum).
This is a dense story; it has a lot of reveals, and it wraps up a lot of prior plot threads while opening up doors to new ones. Hellboy lore is heavy, but so much of it is based in actual mythology and folklore, and existing pulp literature, that it all seems to be almost excepted and common knowledge by this point. The origins of Hellboy's seemingly inescapable fate are detailed, in excruciating detail, in that specifically poetic prose of which Mignola is the modern master of; against his art's muted details and powerful blacks, the story is not so much grandiose as it is intimate. Add to that some bizarre and powerful imagery, such as the specter of a long dead priest reformed from Hellboy's own leaking blood, to the visage of the terrible dragon Ogdru Jahad itself, a hideous and fabulous beast which is rendered in all the magnificent and unholy horror the story implies of it. Questions are answered and asked equally, with the story ending, aptly, with a "The End...?" Considering it, on balance, is one of the least eventful Hellboy stories, its impact is spectacular - and its implications for our fearless hero are endless.
To be honest, I thought Hellboy striking it out on his own for a whole volume would be dull, or perhaps outright boring. I should not have doubted Mike Mignola. The man remains to be one of the greatest living artists today, with clearly self-indulgent explorations of the elements of classical literature somehow coming together to make a new classic, a unique, if bleak, tale of a single man fighting against his future seemingly already written. Mignola always assures entertaining, humorous pulp roots and stylish, bombastic comic action cross paths with the prose of the 19th century masters, and this isn't a formula that has lost any of its steam yet - and probably won't for some time.
Also, Hellboy tells of the time he ate "a banana from a haunted banana tree" and a ghost "hurled garbage" at him. Which, while an actual Cambodian folk tale, is made so very amusing from the fittingly dry and deadpan reaction it elicits from Hellboy. "Oh, geez," indeed.
Okay, so, this book is fantastic, from start to finish. From Mignola's deeply revealing introductions, to Hellboy's ever-so-charming "wisecracks" (if blurting out "son of a- !" and "geez!" can be said to be cracking wise), to the pages and pages of abandoned panels and concept sketches, this is classic Hellboy, with only a minute change in perspective providing a fresh narrative hook. There are two stories in this volume, a story taking liberal cues from Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, and one that focuses predominantly on the origin of Hellboy's "right hand of doom," the world-burning ancient dragon Ogdru Jahad, and, weirdly (though perhaps fittingly), the universe itself.
The first story is "The Third Wish," and, as stated, takes liberal cues from The Little Mermaid. Hellboy is wandering Africa, basically seeing where the winds take him, until he is taken in by a wise and very, very old witch-doctor, who soon ushers him into the sea, where he is kidnapped by a trio of mermaids and taken in by the Bog Roosh - a powerful sea witch, who plans to torture Hellboy, before cutting him asunder, and spreading his pieces over the globe, finally dissolving his right hand from existence, thus avoiding the predicted end of all things. Hellboy, trapped and helpless, is, of course, pretty grumpy about it.
The key narrative focus of this piece is between the Bog Roosh and one of the three mermaids who assists in Hellboy's capture. She, as her sisters, makes a wish of the Bog Roosh in return for Hellboy, and she wishes for a blade that once belonged to her father, so she may honour his death. His father scolds her (as a phantasm, cos he's dead), deriding her decision to honour him, as he is dead, while Hellboy himself is alive - for Hellboy's life, she has chosen to "honour" the dead, and this is no honour. Hellboy is basically incapacitated and sweary the entire story, being told his inevitable fate as he grumbles a bunch, so the story is carried by the mermaid, as she struggles with the choice of what to do - save Hellboy, redeeming herself in the eyes of her father? Don't save Hellboy, and risk bringing forth the destruction of earth? She does, of course, opt to save Hellboy, but anyone who's read a Mignola story will understand that the tragic, sacrificial nature of her conclusion is all but foregone.
The art is absolutely stunning, but, while this really doesn't have to be mentioned in regards to Mignola, there is an interesting visual hook which sets this story apart from even the most beautiful of those before it. The majority of the story takes place completely underwater, and the colours and shadows are so masterfully applied to empty, swirling vortexes of nothingness - it certainly creates a crushing atmosphere that is all at once claustrophobic and infinite in scope. And the Bog Roosh herself is stunningly portrayed, a creature of beauty and horror, one with absolute power and yet, in the face of Hellboy, hardly any at all - fearful and vengeful. She is so assured of her devotion to preventing damnation, Hellboy's escape is almost bittersweet, and it seems even Hellboy doubts whether he deserves release. It's a uniquely powerful take on a classic, dark fairytale, and I think it will be intimately familiar in tone to those who have followed Hellboy for this long.
The next story is called The Island. Seemingly created in reaction to the Hellboy film, which was filming at the time this story was written (and features the Ogdru Jahad as a key monster), it focuses more intimately on Hellboy's role in the apocalypse - in particular the origins of the power that would see it through. Hellboy is drinking on a mysterious island, with a couple of newfound chums, as he recalls his close escape from The Third Wish. Soon, however, he is visited by the ghoulish presence of Hecate, the Queen of Witches, who beckons Hellboy to usher forth the End, as is his destiny. He refuses, of course. Oh, and it is revealed that he had been drinking with skeletons the whole time, which, naturally, pisses him off (though that doesn't stop him from skulling down another bottle of rum).
This is a dense story; it has a lot of reveals, and it wraps up a lot of prior plot threads while opening up doors to new ones. Hellboy lore is heavy, but so much of it is based in actual mythology and folklore, and existing pulp literature, that it all seems to be almost excepted and common knowledge by this point. The origins of Hellboy's seemingly inescapable fate are detailed, in excruciating detail, in that specifically poetic prose of which Mignola is the modern master of; against his art's muted details and powerful blacks, the story is not so much grandiose as it is intimate. Add to that some bizarre and powerful imagery, such as the specter of a long dead priest reformed from Hellboy's own leaking blood, to the visage of the terrible dragon Ogdru Jahad itself, a hideous and fabulous beast which is rendered in all the magnificent and unholy horror the story implies of it. Questions are answered and asked equally, with the story ending, aptly, with a "The End...?" Considering it, on balance, is one of the least eventful Hellboy stories, its impact is spectacular - and its implications for our fearless hero are endless.
To be honest, I thought Hellboy striking it out on his own for a whole volume would be dull, or perhaps outright boring. I should not have doubted Mike Mignola. The man remains to be one of the greatest living artists today, with clearly self-indulgent explorations of the elements of classical literature somehow coming together to make a new classic, a unique, if bleak, tale of a single man fighting against his future seemingly already written. Mignola always assures entertaining, humorous pulp roots and stylish, bombastic comic action cross paths with the prose of the 19th century masters, and this isn't a formula that has lost any of its steam yet - and probably won't for some time.
Also, Hellboy tells of the time he ate "a banana from a haunted banana tree" and a ghost "hurled garbage" at him. Which, while an actual Cambodian folk tale, is made so very amusing from the fittingly dry and deadpan reaction it elicits from Hellboy. "Oh, geez," indeed.
February 27, 2019
Оце вже ОГО!
Повністю цілісний сюжет, все із акцентом на глобальну лінію, із купою пояснень, із класною міфологією (драстє, згадування ґейманозвісного Анансі) та із Геллбоєм, який на два роки засідає під воду, даючи дорогу серії про БПРО.
І ось вам незацікавленість ГГ у своєму походженні насуває та підминає його під себе: прямо таки його зв’язують, підбивають, перебивають його коментарі зразку "оооо, ну скільки вже можна розповідати" у пояснюючих діалогах та буквально тичуть писком у вготовану йому долею подобу. І саме через таке Геллбой здається людянішим, живішим, чи що.
Далі "Жаб’яча чума", багатотомна БПРОвщина. Побачимо, що там із розвитком інших персонажів. Якщо вони хоч наблизяться до Геллбоя, то весь Міньйолавьорс буде просто бомбою.
Повністю цілісний сюжет, все із акцентом на глобальну лінію, із купою пояснень, із класною міфологією (драстє, згадування ґейманозвісного Анансі) та із Геллбоєм, який на два роки засідає під воду, даючи дорогу серії про БПРО.
І ось вам незацікавленість ГГ у своєму походженні насуває та підминає його під себе: прямо таки його зв’язують, підбивають, перебивають його коментарі зразку "оооо, ну скільки вже можна розповідати" у пояснюючих діалогах та буквально тичуть писком у вготовану йому долею подобу. І саме через таке Геллбой здається людянішим, живішим, чи що.
Далі "Жаб’яча чума", багатотомна БПРОвщина. Побачимо, що там із розвитком інших персонажів. Якщо вони хоч наблизяться до Геллбоя, то весь Міньйолавьорс буде просто бомбою.
November 8, 2024
Giusto qualche piccola inconsistenza trascurabile, ma per il resto rimane una grande storia.
Le visioni si amalgano e diventano più importanti, la creatura continua a scappare dalla sua leggenda ma qualunque percorso Hellboy intraprenda è impossibile per lui scappare da se stesso. Perfino la morte gli propone uno specchio che lui si ostina a non riconoscere.
Hellboy vede se stesso tra i fantasmi e i mostri e i demoni eppure il suo cuore gli ha imposto di andare in Africa, culla dell'umanità dove ancora una volta ha dovuto affrontare la verità da cui fugge.
Forse la Storia e le leggende sono andate un tantino oltre in questo volume; carica di significato spaventoso la verità tenta faticosamente di emergere. Rimane costante un rivolgersi alla grande letteratura, che non si pensi che Hellboy non possa sedere accanto a protagonisti da nomi di ampia rilevanza. Non vale meno di un uomo ossessionato da enormi creature bianche.
Le visioni si amalgano e diventano più importanti, la creatura continua a scappare dalla sua leggenda ma qualunque percorso Hellboy intraprenda è impossibile per lui scappare da se stesso. Perfino la morte gli propone uno specchio che lui si ostina a non riconoscere.
Hellboy vede se stesso tra i fantasmi e i mostri e i demoni eppure il suo cuore gli ha imposto di andare in Africa, culla dell'umanità dove ancora una volta ha dovuto affrontare la verità da cui fugge.
Forse la Storia e le leggende sono andate un tantino oltre in questo volume; carica di significato spaventoso la verità tenta faticosamente di emergere. Rimane costante un rivolgersi alla grande letteratura, che non si pensi che Hellboy non possa sedere accanto a protagonisti da nomi di ampia rilevanza. Non vale meno di un uomo ossessionato da enormi creature bianche.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2023
[3.75/5]
This book is cool bc it mixes the narrative story w the anthology feel. There’s one central plot line throughout, but the way it’s told and the way the timeline fits makes it feel like you’re reading an anthology, and I think it really works in this books favor. It was a bit of a lore dump book, but that’s okay bc I think this universe’s lore is really unique.
This book is cool bc it mixes the narrative story w the anthology feel. There’s one central plot line throughout, but the way it’s told and the way the timeline fits makes it feel like you’re reading an anthology, and I think it really works in this books favor. It was a bit of a lore dump book, but that’s okay bc I think this universe’s lore is really unique.
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