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Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder #1-3
Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder Omnibus, Volume 1
The collected adventures of England’s greatest occult investigator!
When the man called the Witchfinder becomes an agent of the Queen, he is led from the sparkling echelons of Victorian London to its dark underbelly, through the American West, and to explore the mysteries of Unland! Throughout his adventures, he’ll face occult conspiracies, rampaging monsters, and London’s most infamous secret the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra!
This first omnibus edition collects Sir Edward Witchfinder volumes 1-3, complete with extensive sketchbook section, now in paperback!
When the man called the Witchfinder becomes an agent of the Queen, he is led from the sparkling echelons of Victorian London to its dark underbelly, through the American West, and to explore the mysteries of Unland! Throughout his adventures, he’ll face occult conspiracies, rampaging monsters, and London’s most infamous secret the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra!
This first omnibus edition collects Sir Edward Witchfinder volumes 1-3, complete with extensive sketchbook section, now in paperback!
440 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2024
51 people are currently reading
293 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
February 16, 2020
I'd imagine any fan of Hellboy would want to check this out. Sir Edward Grey is a Victorian era occult detective. The stories loosely pull threads from the larger Mignolaverse. I really like how each volume tackles a different genre: occult detective, supernatural western, and Lovecraftian horror. The stories are diverse but yet they all fit. This Omnibus edition brings all the sketches and notes you've come to expect from Dark Horse with over 50 pages of backmatter. If you like Hellboy, you can't really go wrong with this offshoot.
March 28, 2021
Sir Edward Grey is known as the "Witchfinder". Grey serves Queen Victoria and investigates unsusal matters for the British Crown.
Mignola had always wanted to do a "normal human" character. Grey fits that bill. He is a deeply religious and tough person, but merely human. The stories contained inside this volume are very good and if the art had been Mignolas then this might have been a 5 star. The art is by no means bad, just not as good a Mignola's own trademark style.
"Murderous Intent" is an "origin" story of sorts and explains Grey being awarded the title "Sir"
"In the Service of Angels" was a very good story about Witchfinder hunting down a strange creature.
"Lost and Gone Forever" takes Sir Grey to the Wild West where he helps Native Americans against a witch.
"Beware the Ape" was strange and the ending seemed far too short. By far the worst story, but even this one isn't bad just abrupt.
"The Mysteries of Unland" takes Sir Grey to an English town where he fights against an ancient evil within the land itself.
"The Burial Of Katherine Baker" is the tale of Sir Grey's ancestor Henry Hood, the first Witchfinder from the 1600s.
A good collection of stories about Sir Grey. Having a human as the main character is a little bit of a change from the myriad supernatural characters. While the artwork is quite good it isn't up to the standards of Mignola and had he inked it as well, then this would likely have been 5 stars. Don't let the 4 star rating mislead you, if you are a Mignola fan then the Witchfinder is right up your alley.
Mignola had always wanted to do a "normal human" character. Grey fits that bill. He is a deeply religious and tough person, but merely human. The stories contained inside this volume are very good and if the art had been Mignolas then this might have been a 5 star. The art is by no means bad, just not as good a Mignola's own trademark style.
"Murderous Intent" is an "origin" story of sorts and explains Grey being awarded the title "Sir"
"In the Service of Angels" was a very good story about Witchfinder hunting down a strange creature.
"Lost and Gone Forever" takes Sir Grey to the Wild West where he helps Native Americans against a witch.
"Beware the Ape" was strange and the ending seemed far too short. By far the worst story, but even this one isn't bad just abrupt.
"The Mysteries of Unland" takes Sir Grey to an English town where he fights against an ancient evil within the land itself.
"The Burial Of Katherine Baker" is the tale of Sir Grey's ancestor Henry Hood, the first Witchfinder from the 1600s.
A good collection of stories about Sir Grey. Having a human as the main character is a little bit of a change from the myriad supernatural characters. While the artwork is quite good it isn't up to the standards of Mignola and had he inked it as well, then this would likely have been 5 stars. Don't let the 4 star rating mislead you, if you are a Mignola fan then the Witchfinder is right up your alley.
January 28, 2020
This collects the first three volumes of Witchfinder, a Hellboy spin-off focused on the adventures of sir Edward Grey, the agent of her majesty Queen Victoria tasked with handling various supernatural occurrences. Each volume collected in this omnibus tells a separate standalone story, and they all vary from good to great. Unlike other Hellboy spin-offs, Witchfinder seems more open to tackle different genres, from conspiracy thriller to western to Lovecraftian horror, and they all work surprisingly well. The book is absolutely gorgeous, starting with the usual well-crafted, special features-filled hardcover presentation that's always been a Dark Horse signature, and ending with absolutely luscious interior art — Ben Stenbeck, John Severin and Tyler Crook drew the hell out of each of their respective stories, and I loved how perfectly each artist set the mood and the tone for the very different genres each story arc tackled. Overall, this omnibus was a delightful read and would be an excellent addition to any Mignola fan's collection.
August 15, 2022
Читаючи різноманітні комікси про Геллбоя, як лімітовані серії чи ваншоти, що входять у бібліотечні видання від Dark Horse Comics, в одінй з історій була згадка такого собі сера Едварда Ґрея або ж, як його називають у народі — Відьмолов. Майк Міньола завжди хотів створити персонажа, який би був звичайною людиною та створити навколо нього свій маленький світ у межах цілого Геллбойверсу. Адже зазвичай ми маємо в центрі уваги самого Геллбоя, Ейба Сапіенса чи Лобстера. Едвард Ґрей чудово підходить на цю роль. Він глибоко релігійна й жорстка людина, але водночас просто людина. Сер Едвард служить королеві Вікторії та розслідує незвичайні справи для британської корони. Багато хто може провести аналогію із голандцем Абраамом ван Гелсінґом, доктором, філософом-метафізиком та фахівцем з окультизму, який був персонажем роману «Дракула» Брема Стокера. Думаю це не безпідставно, адже для мене цей зв’язок занадто явний. Давайте тепер трішки пройдемося по коміксах, які зібранні в першому бібліотченому виданні «Сер Едвард Ґрей — Відьмолов».
«Вбивчий умисел»
6 грудня, 1879 рік.
Невідомий нікому пан Едвард Ґрей знищує лігво Мері й Елізабет Вошбрук та Сари Вебб, відьм Фарнгема. Це ванштона історія від сценариста Майка Міньйоли та художника Бена Стенбека, яка займає тільки вісім сторінок, але водночас розповідає нам, хто ж такий є персонаж, про якого буде іти мова в збірці. Цей короткий комікс є своєрідною історією походження головного героя й пояснює присвоєння Ґрею титулу «сер» королевою Вікторією 11 березня 1979 року. Він отримав лицарське звання, прізвисько та дозвіл на розслідування різного роду окультних злочинів.
Я дивуюся, як коротко й легко можна познайомити із новим пероснажем. Та ще і зробити історію цікавою.
«На службі ангелів» #1–5
Лондон, 1879 рік.
Майк Міньйола разом із тим самим художником Беном Стенбоком розказує про учасників археологічної експедиції до місця, яке, як вважалося, було прихованим містом Атлантида, розташоване на місці покинутих руїн у Єгипті. Після відкриття цих руїн усі причетні починають вмирати, а їхні тіла знаходять знекровленими. Та деяким із них вдається повернутися до Лондона з дивним скелетом, який, як вони, зрештою, вважають проклятим. Невдовзі після цього Едвард Ґрей стикається з дивною дикою істотою, яку йому не вдалося впіймати і знищити. Далі за королівським наказом головному герою потрібно буде розібратися в цій справі, де перемішані відьми, медіуми, вампіри, релігія та таємниче братство.
Малюнок Стенбека, чи то за бажанням, чи за вказівками, не надто відрізняється від власного Міньоли. А це враження тільки посилюється від кольорів незамінного Дейва Стюарта. Стенбек добре відчуває іконографію епохи, яка в його руках гарно відображається в інтер’єрі будівель, одязі та архітектурі міст. Тим самим, створюючи гротескну та тамєничу атмосферу для цієї історії.
Мені сподобалися ця вікторіанська атмосфера, харизма головного героя, навіть не нова ідея із певним таємним товариством.
«Втрачені та зниклі назавжди» #1–5
Юта, 1880 рік.
Лімітована серія «Втрачені та зниклі назавжди» від сценаристів Майка Міньйоли та Джона Аркуді не є прямим продовженням попередньої історії «На службі ангелів», але продовжує розповідати про подвиги сера Едварда Ґрея. Цього разу події відбуваються під час його подорожі на Захід Америки.
Сер Едвард Ґрей, перетнувши океан, потрапляє в центр готичного вестерну, де окрім атмосфери Дикого Заходу нас оточують зомбі, лікантропи та відьми. Маленьке містечко, у якому він опинився, пережило важкі часи. Їхня церква згоріла разом із вірянами всередині, і деякі кажуть, що сам диявол прийшов, щоби забрати громаду в пекло. Ґрей переходить дорогу злій відьмі, яка повертає мертвих до життя й маніпулює міфологією корінних американців, щоби використати цих людей для своїх цілей. Тепер він має розібратися із цією мітичною катавасією на просторах рівнин Старого Заходу.
Попри ліниві фони на кадрах, малюнок Джона Северіна в його такому грубому стилі та з цікавим штрихуванням мені сподобався. Попри те, що місцями малюнок художника нагадує Браяна Телбота (через штрихування, хоча до деталізації цього художника Северіну далеко) та Річарда Корбена (через оцей брудний стиль малюнку), можна виділити його вміння створювати виразні обличчя та настрої, а нещільне штрихування додає глибини та атмосфери розповіді. Звісно без здібностей до фарбування Дейва Стюарта, який використовує обмежену палітру, для правильно ефекту, малюнок не виглядав би добре. Адже цей часто пустий задній фон без великої кількості деталей виглядав би дуже й дуже бідно.
Можна доколупуватися до клішованості вестерну, до малюнку зі зрозумілих причин, навіть до діалогів. Але ось цей хід із вестерновим антаружем мені дуже зайшов. Не скажу, що я був сильно в захваті від історії через те, що автори за сильно покладалися на обраний основний жанр, але читати комікс було цікаво.
«Остерігайтеся мавпи»
Лондон, 1880 рік.
Це короткий ваншот на десятку сторінок від Майка Міньйоли, який малював Бен Стенбек. Сер Едвард Ґрей відвідує в Лондоні Жерома Баґсбі, щоби поговорити про інцидент із професором Вернером у його клубі минулого вечора. Під час розмови Ґрей помічає викрадену міфологічну статуетку професора. Але Баґсбі пояснює, що це не він, а мавпа. І в той час Ґрей атакований мавпою, яка в минулому знайшла місце поклоніння давньому божеству.
Ще одна коротка історія, яка вміло структурована Міньйолою. У результаті вона також є цікавою.
«Таємниці Неземлі» #1–5
Галлам, округ Сомерсет, 1881 рік.
Автори Кім Н’юман і Маура МакГаґ відправляють сера Едварда Ґрея до Галлама, щоби розслідувати смерть призначеного короною чиновника. Жертва була втоплена у ванні з єдиною продукцією міста, еліксиром Пула, й отримала таємничі електричні опіки на шкірі. Опинившись там, він чує чутки про таємничу Неземлю — заболочені території навколо міста — й істот, які їх населяють. Скептицизм Ґрея зникає, коли він стикається з монстрами Неземлі, і він розуміє, що Галлам — місце таємниць та певних внутрішніх правил, за якими тут усі проживають.
Таємниця вбивства в цьому коміксі чудова в тому, що все має сенс. Але історію не завжди дуже захопливо читати, оскільки оповідь розгортається повільно та неп��мітно. Наймовірніше це зроблено свідомо, щоби створити такий містичний таємничий детектив, яким має нагнітаючу атмосферу. Та це, на мою думку, не дуже добре зіграло в сюжетному плані. Не вдаючись до спойлерів, мотиви вбивці виявляються дуже явними. Але в самому коміксі не пояснюється, чому вони, тобто люди із Неземлі, повинні робити те, що вони роблять. Також утворення самого міста є загадкою для нас і невідомо, чому воно стало таким. Хотілося б зануритися в передісторію Галлама, щоби дізнатися ці деталі.
Художником коміксу є Тайлер Крук, стиль якого мене захопив у свої мацаки ще з прочитання першої арки серії коміксів «Округ Герроу» Каллена Банна. Адже його акварель у тому мальописі — це щось дивовижне. Малюнок Тайлера Крука тут теж гарний. Це мене ще раз переконало, що його стиль підходить жанру жахів. Та в мене був певний дисонанс, адже фарбував малюнок зірковий гість цього відгуку — Дейв Стюарт. А все тому, що була тільки акварель для самого малюнку, контурів, а не було для кольорів накладених аквареллю. Я не кажу, що Дейв Стюарт справився погано, навпаки дуже добре. А те, що колір паперу, на якому були надруковані сторінки коміксу є жовтим — узагалі додало так сильно до глибини атмосфери цієї «лавкрафтіанської» історії.
«Поховання Кетрін Бейкер»
Завершується ця збірка коміксом «Поховання Кетрін Бейкер», ще одним коротким коміксом від сценаристів Майка Міньйоли та Скотта Еллі, який малював Патрік Рейнольдс.
У 1646 році молоду жінку Кетрін Бейкер звинуватили у відьмацтві. Її визнали винною й повісили. Сім’я просила, щоби дівчину поховали разом із рідними, а не в неглибокій ямі. Але приїхавши до місця її нинішнього спочинку вони побачили, що там уже був бородатий чоловік, який витягав її з землі. Чоловік сказав, що він її батько, який прийшов, щоби забрати її додому. Та справжній батько дівчини запротестував, щоби тіло повернулося з ним. І той чоловік точно не він.
Історія сама по собі непогана, але відчувається, як якась передісторія більшого сюжету в майбтньому. Цікаво дізнатися чи справді це так.
*******
Якщо розглядати три лімітовані серії, зібрані в цій збірці, то я б розподілив їх у такому порядку: «На службі ангелів», «Таємниці Неземлі» і «Втрачені та зниклі назавжди». Але загалом кожна історія чимось унікальна й цікава, як мінімум різними художниками в коміксах. Що дає змогу порівняти їхю роботу в розрізі світу сера Едварда Ґрея.
Світ сера Едварда Ґрея — це світ вікторіанської містики та духовної віри. Де є місце спілкуванню з духами, ворожкам, відьмам, привидам, вампірам та іншим мітичним створінням. Майк Міньйола наповнює цей світ персонажами, які будуть знайомі читачам інших серій цього всесвіту, створюючи цілісне і правдиве минуле, ще до часу, коли на світ земний ступила нога Червного Диявола. Я обожнюю такі речі, тому посмакував цими історіями (і ще виданням), як ніколи.
«Вбивчий умисел»
6 грудня, 1879 рік.
Невідомий нікому пан Едвард Ґрей знищує лігво Мері й Елізабет Вошбрук та Сари Вебб, відьм Фарнгема. Це ванштона історія від сценариста Майка Міньйоли та художника Бена Стенбека, яка займає тільки вісім сторінок, але водночас розповідає нам, хто ж такий є персонаж, про якого буде іти мова в збірці. Цей короткий комікс є своєрідною історією походження головного героя й пояснює присвоєння Ґрею титулу «сер» королевою Вікторією 11 березня 1979 року. Він отримав лицарське звання, прізвисько та дозвіл на розслідування різного роду окультних злочинів.
Я дивуюся, як коротко й легко можна познайомити із новим пероснажем. Та ще і зробити історію цікавою.
«На службі ангелів» #1–5
Лондон, 1879 рік.
Майк Міньйола разом із тим самим художником Беном Стенбоком розказує про учасників археологічної експедиції до місця, яке, як вважалося, було прихованим містом Атлантида, розташоване на місці покинутих руїн у Єгипті. Після відкриття цих руїн усі причетні починають вмирати, а їхні тіла знаходять знекровленими. Та деяким із них вдається повернутися до Лондона з дивним скелетом, який, як вони, зрештою, вважають проклятим. Невдовзі після цього Едвард Ґрей стикається з дивною дикою істотою, яку йому не вдалося впіймати і знищити. Далі за королівським наказом головному герою потрібно буде розібратися в цій справі, де перемішані відьми, медіуми, вампіри, релігія та таємниче братство.
Малюнок Стенбека, чи то за бажанням, чи за вказівками, не надто відрізняється від власного Міньоли. А це враження тільки посилюється від кольорів незамінного Дейва Стюарта. Стенбек добре відчуває іконографію епохи, яка в його руках гарно відображається в інтер’єрі будівель, одязі та архітектурі міст. Тим самим, створюючи гротескну та тамєничу атмосферу для цієї історії.
Мені сподобалися ця вікторіанська атмосфера, харизма головного героя, навіть не нова ідея із певним таємним товариством.
«Втрачені та зниклі назавжди» #1–5
Юта, 1880 рік.
Лімітована серія «Втрачені та зниклі назавжди» від сценаристів Майка Міньйоли та Джона Аркуді не є прямим продовженням попередньої історії «На службі ангелів», але продовжує розповідати про подвиги сера Едварда Ґрея. Цього разу події відбуваються під час його подорожі на Захід Америки.
Сер Едвард Ґрей, перетнувши океан, потрапляє в центр готичного вестерну, де окрім атмосфери Дикого Заходу нас оточують зомбі, лікантропи та відьми. Маленьке містечко, у якому він опинився, пережило важкі часи. Їхня церква згоріла разом із вірянами всередині, і деякі кажуть, що сам диявол прийшов, щоби забрати громаду в пекло. Ґрей переходить дорогу злій відьмі, яка повертає мертвих до життя й маніпулює міфологією корінних американців, щоби використати цих людей для своїх цілей. Тепер він має розібратися із цією мітичною катавасією на просторах рівнин Старого Заходу.
Попри ліниві фони на кадрах, малюнок Джона Северіна в його такому грубому стилі та з цікавим штрихуванням мені сподобався. Попри те, що місцями малюнок художника нагадує Браяна Телбота (через штрихування, хоча до деталізації цього художника Северіну далеко) та Річарда Корбена (через оцей брудний стиль малюнку), можна виділити його вміння створювати виразні обличчя та настрої, а нещільне штрихування додає глибини та атмосфери розповіді. Звісно без здібностей до фарбування Дейва Стюарта, який використовує обмежену палітру, для правильно ефекту, малюнок не виглядав би добре. Адже цей часто пустий задній фон без великої кількості деталей виглядав би дуже й дуже бідно.
Можна доколупуватися до клішованості вестерну, до малюнку зі зрозумілих причин, навіть до діалогів. Але ось цей хід із вестерновим антаружем мені дуже зайшов. Не скажу, що я був сильно в захваті від історії через те, що автори за сильно покладалися на обраний основний жанр, але читати комікс було цікаво.
«Остерігайтеся мавпи»
Лондон, 1880 рік.
Це короткий ваншот на десятку сторінок від Майка Міньйоли, який малював Бен Стенбек. Сер Едвард Ґрей відвідує в Лондоні Жерома Баґсбі, щоби поговорити про інцидент із професором Вернером у його клубі минулого вечора. Під час розмови Ґрей помічає викрадену міфологічну статуетку професора. Але Баґсбі пояснює, що це не він, а мавпа. І в той час Ґрей атакований мавпою, яка в минулому знайшла місце поклоніння давньому божеству.
Ще одна коротка історія, яка вміло структурована Міньйолою. У результаті вона також є цікавою.
«Таємниці Неземлі» #1–5
Галлам, округ Сомерсет, 1881 рік.
Автори Кім Н’юман і Маура МакГаґ відправляють сера Едварда Ґрея до Галлама, щоби розслідувати смерть призначеного короною чиновника. Жертва була втоплена у ванні з єдиною продукцією міста, еліксиром Пула, й отримала таємничі електричні опіки на шкірі. Опинившись там, він чує чутки про таємничу Неземлю — заболочені території навколо міста — й істот, які їх населяють. Скептицизм Ґрея зникає, коли він стикається з монстрами Неземлі, і він розуміє, що Галлам — місце таємниць та певних внутрішніх правил, за якими тут усі проживають.
Таємниця вбивства в цьому коміксі чудова в тому, що все має сенс. Але історію не завжди дуже захопливо читати, оскільки оповідь розгортається повільно та неп��мітно. Наймовірніше це зроблено свідомо, щоби створити такий містичний таємничий детектив, яким має нагнітаючу атмосферу. Та це, на мою думку, не дуже добре зіграло в сюжетному плані. Не вдаючись до спойлерів, мотиви вбивці виявляються дуже явними. Але в самому коміксі не пояснюється, чому вони, тобто люди із Неземлі, повинні робити те, що вони роблять. Також утворення самого міста є загадкою для нас і невідомо, чому воно стало таким. Хотілося б зануритися в передісторію Галлама, щоби дізнатися ці деталі.
Художником коміксу є Тайлер Крук, стиль якого мене захопив у свої мацаки ще з прочитання першої арки серії коміксів «Округ Герроу» Каллена Банна. Адже його акварель у тому мальописі — це щось дивовижне. Малюнок Тайлера Крука тут теж гарний. Це мене ще раз переконало, що його стиль підходить жанру жахів. Та в мене був певний дисонанс, адже фарбував малюнок зірковий гість цього відгуку — Дейв Стюарт. А все тому, що була тільки акварель для самого малюнку, контурів, а не було для кольорів накладених аквареллю. Я не кажу, що Дейв Стюарт справився погано, навпаки дуже добре. А те, що колір паперу, на якому були надруковані сторінки коміксу є жовтим — узагалі додало так сильно до глибини атмосфери цієї «лавкрафтіанської» історії.
«Поховання Кетрін Бейкер»
Завершується ця збірка коміксом «Поховання Кетрін Бейкер», ще одним коротким коміксом від сценаристів Майка Міньйоли та Скотта Еллі, який малював Патрік Рейнольдс.
У 1646 році молоду жінку Кетрін Бейкер звинуватили у відьмацтві. Її визнали винною й повісили. Сім’я просила, щоби дівчину поховали разом із рідними, а не в неглибокій ямі. Але приїхавши до місця її нинішнього спочинку вони побачили, що там уже був бородатий чоловік, який витягав її з землі. Чоловік сказав, що він її батько, який прийшов, щоби забрати її додому. Та справжній батько дівчини запротестував, щоби тіло повернулося з ним. І той чоловік точно не він.
Історія сама по собі непогана, але відчувається, як якась передісторія більшого сюжету в майбтньому. Цікаво дізнатися чи справді це так.
*******
Якщо розглядати три лімітовані серії, зібрані в цій збірці, то я б розподілив їх у такому порядку: «На службі ангелів», «Таємниці Неземлі» і «Втрачені та зниклі назавжди». Але загалом кожна історія чимось унікальна й цікава, як мінімум різними художниками в коміксах. Що дає змогу порівняти їхю роботу в розрізі світу сера Едварда Ґрея.
Світ сера Едварда Ґрея — це світ вікторіанської містики та духовної віри. Де є місце спілкуванню з духами, ворожкам, відьмам, привидам, вампірам та іншим мітичним створінням. Майк Міньйола наповнює цей світ персонажами, які будуть знайомі читачам інших серій цього всесвіту, створюючи цілісне і правдиве минуле, ще до часу, коли на світ земний ступила нога Червного Диявола. Я обожнюю такі речі, тому посмакував цими історіями (і ще виданням), як ніколи.
February 9, 2021
Okay, I’ve heard a good helping of hype for this. Gotta say it is pretty good!
What’s it about?
There’s this guy in Victorian England that saved the queen from witches at one point. After that he gets knighted, becomes an agent of some royal order shit (I don’t know how exactly all of it works, I’m from America where we don’t use the metric system and know that soccer isn’t football) and now he investigates supernatural stuff and kills monsters.
Pros:
The stories here are pretty cool. My description was in all honesty not great but pretty much if you like stories about monster hunter type characters you will most likely think that this book is pretty cool.
There’s some very good action throughout. I certainly can’t complain of any boredom, this book delivers a very good serving of intense monster-killin’ action!
This book is mostly unpredictable. Okay, so I did actually see most of it coming in the last story arc but the first 2 were very suspenseful and twisty so 2 out of 3 is a win I’d say.
This book has a slight bit of mildly humorous comic relief that works.
The horror elements are very well done. The monsters are often creepy and usually look pretty bad-ass throughout! The Victorian setting works pretty well for it. There’s also a decent amount of gore that I think works pretty well (I don’t think it would be too much to put readers who dislike gore off reading it too much but readers who do like gore will still likely be satisfied so it probably works for almost everybody).
Cons:
The characters are sorta meh. I will especially note our main character. Sir Edward Grey is a very typical monster hunter and there’s little else to him. I would have preferred to see characters that felt less like storytelling devices and more like people.
The dialogue is fairly iffy, especially in the final arc (which is just terrible, stereotypical “small town kinda folk” dialogue that is (probably) purposefully riddled with bad grammar and honestly annoying as fuck to read).
Despite how good some more actiony and exciting parts of this are, there are some anticlimactic bits. Notable example would be the end of the second arc, was loving it and then that happened.
The final short story in this collection, while not terrible, wasn’t particularly well done IMO and I was somewhat confused why it was even here.
Mixed thoughts:
The art is a mixed bag. Sometimes it’s very good and fits the setting super well, other times it isn’t good. I don’t know if there were multiple artists on the same story or something but there really were pages with some good panels and then some other panels that were less-than-great.
Overall:
This is a pretty cool comic. I don’t necessarily consider it the masterpiece in comics that some people do but it entertained me very well.
It has it’s issues but overall is a very intense, interesting and creepy story of a monster slayer and that’s the main thing I wanted so overall it works and I’ll add the next addition to my reading list.
4/5
What’s it about?
There’s this guy in Victorian England that saved the queen from witches at one point. After that he gets knighted, becomes an agent of some royal order shit (I don’t know how exactly all of it works, I’m from America where we don’t use the metric system and know that soccer isn’t football) and now he investigates supernatural stuff and kills monsters.
Pros:
The stories here are pretty cool. My description was in all honesty not great but pretty much if you like stories about monster hunter type characters you will most likely think that this book is pretty cool.
There’s some very good action throughout. I certainly can’t complain of any boredom, this book delivers a very good serving of intense monster-killin’ action!
This book is mostly unpredictable. Okay, so I did actually see most of it coming in the last story arc but the first 2 were very suspenseful and twisty so 2 out of 3 is a win I’d say.
This book has a slight bit of mildly humorous comic relief that works.
The horror elements are very well done. The monsters are often creepy and usually look pretty bad-ass throughout! The Victorian setting works pretty well for it. There’s also a decent amount of gore that I think works pretty well (I don’t think it would be too much to put readers who dislike gore off reading it too much but readers who do like gore will still likely be satisfied so it probably works for almost everybody).
Cons:
The characters are sorta meh. I will especially note our main character. Sir Edward Grey is a very typical monster hunter and there’s little else to him. I would have preferred to see characters that felt less like storytelling devices and more like people.
The dialogue is fairly iffy, especially in the final arc (which is just terrible, stereotypical “small town kinda folk” dialogue that is (probably) purposefully riddled with bad grammar and honestly annoying as fuck to read).
Despite how good some more actiony and exciting parts of this are, there are some anticlimactic bits. Notable example would be the end of the second arc, was loving it and then that happened.
The final short story in this collection, while not terrible, wasn’t particularly well done IMO and I was somewhat confused why it was even here.
Mixed thoughts:
The art is a mixed bag. Sometimes it’s very good and fits the setting super well, other times it isn’t good. I don’t know if there were multiple artists on the same story or something but there really were pages with some good panels and then some other panels that were less-than-great.
Overall:
This is a pretty cool comic. I don’t necessarily consider it the masterpiece in comics that some people do but it entertained me very well.
It has it’s issues but overall is a very intense, interesting and creepy story of a monster slayer and that’s the main thing I wanted so overall it works and I’ll add the next addition to my reading list.
4/5
July 19, 2020
Six different stories of horror Inc Kim Newman this brilliant graphic adult novel from the Hellboy universe from Victorian London to the Wild West to Newman's Undeland jelly ells
April 14, 2023
Originally I started reading these stories as individual issues while they were being published, but over the intervening years I’ve had to cut back (and cut back again and again) the comic titles I’ve purchased. Still, I’ve always known I wanted to return to this series. And I’m glad I did. This is classic dark fantasy, horror. It’s filled with Lovecraft inspired themes and a sensibility that would make Poe dance with glee. I highly Rickommend this series and collection.
May 10, 2025
4.5 Stars
I'm slowly working my way through the Hellboy Universe, and so far I've liked pretty much all of it. Now i"m on Witchfinder, and I was very pleased with this first omnibus.
Edward Grey is basically a supernatural detective working for the English Queen and Government set during the late 1800s. One of my favorite characters of all time is Kolchak, the Night Stalker, and I see echoes of that character here.
We also get a weird western story set in the United States, and I'm a sucker for weird west stories seeing as I'm the author of my own weird west series, Brackett Hollister. The Werewolf Pack (Why yes, that was a shameless plug!)
There's also a story featuring eels that reminded me a little of Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Overall a very strong volume, and I'll be reading the next volume immediately.
I'm slowly working my way through the Hellboy Universe, and so far I've liked pretty much all of it. Now i"m on Witchfinder, and I was very pleased with this first omnibus.
Edward Grey is basically a supernatural detective working for the English Queen and Government set during the late 1800s. One of my favorite characters of all time is Kolchak, the Night Stalker, and I see echoes of that character here.
We also get a weird western story set in the United States, and I'm a sucker for weird west stories seeing as I'm the author of my own weird west series, Brackett Hollister. The Werewolf Pack (Why yes, that was a shameless plug!)
There's also a story featuring eels that reminded me a little of Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Overall a very strong volume, and I'll be reading the next volume immediately.
October 7, 2023
Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder. It’s a good title, that. And you know, it’s pretty accurate. We start with witchfinding, and we end with witchfinding in two rather short stories that bookend it all. But this here is a review of 3 different stories, so let’s get to breaking all that up.
Volume 1 in the service of angels is definitely my favorite of this lot. When I first read it on its own some years ago, it didn’t quite stand out to me, but this time around it did. The art was great, the story and mystery were interesting, and the side cast was all solid. Really the issue with this first volume, and honestly an issue with all of them in my mind is Edward Grey himself. And that’s a shame, because in the pages of Hellboy itself, Grey is fascinating, but in here he’s mostly just kind of a guy, and as such I didn’t find myself ever interested in him as a character.
Volume 2 was probably my least favorite of these three because of the art. It just was not for me at all. But there are some nice points, Edward definitely grows a bit as a character here. Not much, but it’s nice to see how his experiences have started to change him, which is also true of the next volume. It’s all subtle stuff, but it gives him a bit more besides guy who is religious and examines mysteries. You can clearly see the threads being laid for the story that’s to come. The actual plot of this volume has some good in it, some bad, and like the previous the side characters are a nice addition.
Volume 3 lands in the middle for me overall. It has some small stories that don’t really do a whole lot, but aren’t necessarily bad. The ape story has some fun stuff connecting to the wider Hellboy mythos, though I wasn’t a fan of the Henry Hood story since the character did not need any redemptive traits at all. The main story of the volume is conceptually the most interesting by a long shot which is what puts it in my number 2 position. The actual storytelling itself and the art once again didn’t do it for me, but the ideas on display were very unique, and as mentioned we get just a hint more of edwards growth as a character.
After those three, I do wish more were like the first. I never truly dislike any of the stories told, but the first provided the best the series had to offer so far by a long shot, so the latter feel a bit like missed potential
Volume 1 in the service of angels is definitely my favorite of this lot. When I first read it on its own some years ago, it didn’t quite stand out to me, but this time around it did. The art was great, the story and mystery were interesting, and the side cast was all solid. Really the issue with this first volume, and honestly an issue with all of them in my mind is Edward Grey himself. And that’s a shame, because in the pages of Hellboy itself, Grey is fascinating, but in here he’s mostly just kind of a guy, and as such I didn’t find myself ever interested in him as a character.
Volume 2 was probably my least favorite of these three because of the art. It just was not for me at all. But there are some nice points, Edward definitely grows a bit as a character here. Not much, but it’s nice to see how his experiences have started to change him, which is also true of the next volume. It’s all subtle stuff, but it gives him a bit more besides guy who is religious and examines mysteries. You can clearly see the threads being laid for the story that’s to come. The actual plot of this volume has some good in it, some bad, and like the previous the side characters are a nice addition.
Volume 3 lands in the middle for me overall. It has some small stories that don’t really do a whole lot, but aren’t necessarily bad. The ape story has some fun stuff connecting to the wider Hellboy mythos, though I wasn’t a fan of the Henry Hood story since the character did not need any redemptive traits at all. The main story of the volume is conceptually the most interesting by a long shot which is what puts it in my number 2 position. The actual storytelling itself and the art once again didn’t do it for me, but the ideas on display were very unique, and as mentioned we get just a hint more of edwards growth as a character.
After those three, I do wish more were like the first. I never truly dislike any of the stories told, but the first provided the best the series had to offer so far by a long shot, so the latter feel a bit like missed potential
September 17, 2024
Muy entretenido, y con algún dibujante más que notable, como el histórico Severin, al que yo leía en los viejos cómics de Vampus y Rufus.
January 6, 2021
This feels like more of a detective book than Mignola's other works. I especially enjoyed the eel story.
October 18, 2022
This collection started off strong, but the various authors who followed Mignola’s foundation failed miserably.
July 11, 2022
I am unashamedly an enormous Mignola fan, and I had yet to get around to Witchfinder for some reason.
This omnibus collects the first few volumes of Witchfinder and it started off really strongly with the Hyperborian ape man guy trying to get his bones. That’s exactly what I expected this series to be like. Just atmospherey Victorian mystery with some nice action sequences. Unfortunately after that strong start each entry got a bit weaker.
The Western volume was surprising and while I enjoyed the overall story the art was wonky. For something so scratchy and realistic it could also be really goofy and hard to look at sometimes. But I liked the story so I chugged on.
The last story though. Yeeeesh. I knew I was in trouble when I saw Kim Newman was writing it. I read an anthology a few months back where he had quite a few stories and maaaaaan I disliked his stuff so much. The eel story had some interesting ideas but it was just so mediocre overall. So much talking but nothing really interesting was ever said. Meanwhile, I liked the art style but didn’t think it suited a horror story at all.
Anyway, I’ll probably wait awhile before trying the second omnibus out, if at all.
BTW: There were some single story interstitials peppered about and they were all pretty good, for what it’s worth.
This omnibus collects the first few volumes of Witchfinder and it started off really strongly with the Hyperborian ape man guy trying to get his bones. That’s exactly what I expected this series to be like. Just atmospherey Victorian mystery with some nice action sequences. Unfortunately after that strong start each entry got a bit weaker.
The Western volume was surprising and while I enjoyed the overall story the art was wonky. For something so scratchy and realistic it could also be really goofy and hard to look at sometimes. But I liked the story so I chugged on.
The last story though. Yeeeesh. I knew I was in trouble when I saw Kim Newman was writing it. I read an anthology a few months back where he had quite a few stories and maaaaaan I disliked his stuff so much. The eel story had some interesting ideas but it was just so mediocre overall. So much talking but nothing really interesting was ever said. Meanwhile, I liked the art style but didn’t think it suited a horror story at all.
Anyway, I’ll probably wait awhile before trying the second omnibus out, if at all.
BTW: There were some single story interstitials peppered about and they were all pretty good, for what it’s worth.
January 17, 2022
In an interesting expansion of his Hellboy universe, Mike Mignola creates a Victorian-era supernatural investigator named Sir Edward Grey. Grey deals with a lot of problems and monsters similar to what Hellboy faces over a hundred years later. Grey is much more scholarly and reserved than Hellboy, giving him a different approach. Six stories fill this volume...
Murderous Intent--Three English witches want to kill Queen Victoria in 1879. Edward Grey has been appointed by Her Majesty to investigate occult occurrences, so it's his job to stop them. The story is very short and explains why he's called "Witchfinder." The art by Mignola is his classic style which I enjoy a lot.
In the Service of Angels--Investigating some truly bizarre deaths, Sir Edward comes in contact with some of the Mignolaverse mythology. An expedition in Egypt uncovered a subterranean passageway that might lead to Hyperborea, the ancient lost civilization that lived inside of the Earth. The members of the expedition have been dying off, the last few in London. They brought some strange bones back with them. The bones belonged to some demon-type being that has been hunting them on their return to England. The Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra (a weird pseudo-religious, pseudo-scientific cult) is also interested in the bones and wants Edward to hand them over. The plot is a slow-burn horror that reveals more of the bleak truth as it moves along. The art is gray and dismal, following the tone of the story and the environment of late 1800s England.
Lost and Gone Forever--Grey pursues a fellow Englishman to Utah in 1880. The trail disappears in a small town that's lost its Christian church and any sense of morals. Grey is pulled out of town by Morg, who has another bigger problem to deal with. A lot of local natives are following a young white woman who claims to be in touch with their gods and is using them for some unexplained purpose. Their investigation turns up some weird details. The sinister character of the story is well matched with a washed-out color palate. The art is more focused on the horror than the Old West, making the area more bleak and desolate, like the situation for the characters.
Beware the Ape--Back in London, Grey is called in to to confront Jerome Bagsby, a gentleman who, while at his club, beat another man for an archeological treasure. Bagsby denies responsibility and puts the blame on an ape in his home. Being weird fiction, this explanation turns out to be true as Grey confronts the beast. The story is very short but does the job.
The Mysteries of Unland--The town of Hallam has been reclaimed from English swamplands by industrialist Sir Horace Poole. He is trying to get approval for his health elixir made from the local waters. One of the queen's men has died mysteriously while inspecting the elixir-works to see if it meets royal approval (which would certainly boost sales). Grey is sent, though he thinks it is a common enough case. Poole is ill, so Grey is led around by underlings, including the local constable who does not seem very competent. Grey is ready to leave when his hotel room is attacked by giant eels who tell him to go back to London. Since the case does seem to have a supernatural element, Grey stays. The story moves methodically, building up the revelations and the horror as it goes. The art isn't as good as the other stories but the creepy eel people are very creepy.
The Burial of Katharine Baker--A short story about Henry Hood, a "witchfinder" from the 17th century. Katharine Baker was accused of witchcraft after ever other family's crops failed except hers. Also, she visits her boyfriend in a graveyard...the boyfriend who died several month ago! When Henry Hood hangs her, her family comes to give her a good burial. Another group shows up claiming to be her family, causing a lot of consternation and a chance for Hood to show off his skills. The story was interesting but very short.
Overall, I found the stories entertaining. Grey is an interesting character but sometimes he seems like he's more "along for the ride" than figuring things out on his own. The horror has a good variety and the different locations are used creatively.
Recommended--highly for Hellboy/Mignola fans.
Murderous Intent--Three English witches want to kill Queen Victoria in 1879. Edward Grey has been appointed by Her Majesty to investigate occult occurrences, so it's his job to stop them. The story is very short and explains why he's called "Witchfinder." The art by Mignola is his classic style which I enjoy a lot.
In the Service of Angels--Investigating some truly bizarre deaths, Sir Edward comes in contact with some of the Mignolaverse mythology. An expedition in Egypt uncovered a subterranean passageway that might lead to Hyperborea, the ancient lost civilization that lived inside of the Earth. The members of the expedition have been dying off, the last few in London. They brought some strange bones back with them. The bones belonged to some demon-type being that has been hunting them on their return to England. The Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra (a weird pseudo-religious, pseudo-scientific cult) is also interested in the bones and wants Edward to hand them over. The plot is a slow-burn horror that reveals more of the bleak truth as it moves along. The art is gray and dismal, following the tone of the story and the environment of late 1800s England.
Lost and Gone Forever--Grey pursues a fellow Englishman to Utah in 1880. The trail disappears in a small town that's lost its Christian church and any sense of morals. Grey is pulled out of town by Morg, who has another bigger problem to deal with. A lot of local natives are following a young white woman who claims to be in touch with their gods and is using them for some unexplained purpose. Their investigation turns up some weird details. The sinister character of the story is well matched with a washed-out color palate. The art is more focused on the horror than the Old West, making the area more bleak and desolate, like the situation for the characters.
Beware the Ape--Back in London, Grey is called in to to confront Jerome Bagsby, a gentleman who, while at his club, beat another man for an archeological treasure. Bagsby denies responsibility and puts the blame on an ape in his home. Being weird fiction, this explanation turns out to be true as Grey confronts the beast. The story is very short but does the job.
The Mysteries of Unland--The town of Hallam has been reclaimed from English swamplands by industrialist Sir Horace Poole. He is trying to get approval for his health elixir made from the local waters. One of the queen's men has died mysteriously while inspecting the elixir-works to see if it meets royal approval (which would certainly boost sales). Grey is sent, though he thinks it is a common enough case. Poole is ill, so Grey is led around by underlings, including the local constable who does not seem very competent. Grey is ready to leave when his hotel room is attacked by giant eels who tell him to go back to London. Since the case does seem to have a supernatural element, Grey stays. The story moves methodically, building up the revelations and the horror as it goes. The art isn't as good as the other stories but the creepy eel people are very creepy.
The Burial of Katharine Baker--A short story about Henry Hood, a "witchfinder" from the 17th century. Katharine Baker was accused of witchcraft after ever other family's crops failed except hers. Also, she visits her boyfriend in a graveyard...the boyfriend who died several month ago! When Henry Hood hangs her, her family comes to give her a good burial. Another group shows up claiming to be her family, causing a lot of consternation and a chance for Hood to show off his skills. The story was interesting but very short.
Overall, I found the stories entertaining. Grey is an interesting character but sometimes he seems like he's more "along for the ride" than figuring things out on his own. The horror has a good variety and the different locations are used creatively.
Recommended--highly for Hellboy/Mignola fans.
March 5, 2023
I remember picking up some issues of Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder at a comic book store in Lawrence about a decade ago, reading them and wanting more, then forgetting all about it until about a week ago. I don't know what prompted me to sit down and revisit, but I'm glad I did.
This omnibus collects 3 Witchfinder trade paperbacks. All three are very different, but each one is united in that they're about a British guy named Edward Grey who lived in the Victorian era and solved paranormal mysteries. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Mike Mignola was involved in some of the writing of these neat little stories, he doesn't do any of the artwork. (Except for some of the covers.) The other artists do a fine job, though: and I can find things I like about each one. I have my definite favorites, though.
"Part 1 - In the Service of Angels," is far and away my favorite of the three stories. It's the most classic-feeling, being set in smoggy Victorian England, and featuring Eastern mythology, occultism, séances and demons. There's even a character who looks suspiciously like Peter Cushing! It manages to stay mysterious and exciting throughout, but the climax is really where things take off and go insane. If you seek any of these individual stories out to read them, this is the one to pick.
"Part 2 - Lost and Gone Forever," is my least favorite. It's not bad, it's just... Not interesting, to me personally. In this story, Sir Edward Grey goes to the wild west, and is rendered totally useless for the entire story. The surrogate main character is a cowboy dude, who does a fine job, but ultimately isn't as interesting as our usual protagonist. The story also seemed a bit convoluted and I had trouble following it. I get the appeal of having Grey in a western setting, and it makes use of cowboys and Native Americans without being offensive. It just didn't spark my interest.
"Part 3 - The Mysteries of Unland," is just a comic book retelling of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but with eels instead of fishmen. That's an uncharitable reduction, but that's the basic gist of it. If you're familiar with the Lovecraft tale, you'll know where it's going after the first three pages. Despite this, I still enjoyed the story because I happen to absolutely love H.P. Lovecraft, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth is probably my favorite story he wrote. I guess this one had the least to do with Mike Mignola, and was written by Kim Newman, who wrote Anno Dracula. If you aren't familiar with the material it's emulating, this one should be really fun. Otherwise you'll either hate it for being derivative, or just enjoy it for being similar to something you like.
Oh, it should also be mentioned that you don't have to know jack shit about Hellboy to read these. You could pick any of these up and read them in any order and come away feeling satisfied. Recommended if you like horror mystery novels or Hammer films.
This omnibus collects 3 Witchfinder trade paperbacks. All three are very different, but each one is united in that they're about a British guy named Edward Grey who lived in the Victorian era and solved paranormal mysteries. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Mike Mignola was involved in some of the writing of these neat little stories, he doesn't do any of the artwork. (Except for some of the covers.) The other artists do a fine job, though: and I can find things I like about each one. I have my definite favorites, though.
"Part 1 - In the Service of Angels," is far and away my favorite of the three stories. It's the most classic-feeling, being set in smoggy Victorian England, and featuring Eastern mythology, occultism, séances and demons. There's even a character who looks suspiciously like Peter Cushing! It manages to stay mysterious and exciting throughout, but the climax is really where things take off and go insane. If you seek any of these individual stories out to read them, this is the one to pick.
"Part 2 - Lost and Gone Forever," is my least favorite. It's not bad, it's just... Not interesting, to me personally. In this story, Sir Edward Grey goes to the wild west, and is rendered totally useless for the entire story. The surrogate main character is a cowboy dude, who does a fine job, but ultimately isn't as interesting as our usual protagonist. The story also seemed a bit convoluted and I had trouble following it. I get the appeal of having Grey in a western setting, and it makes use of cowboys and Native Americans without being offensive. It just didn't spark my interest.
"Part 3 - The Mysteries of Unland," is just a comic book retelling of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but with eels instead of fishmen. That's an uncharitable reduction, but that's the basic gist of it. If you're familiar with the Lovecraft tale, you'll know where it's going after the first three pages. Despite this, I still enjoyed the story because I happen to absolutely love H.P. Lovecraft, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth is probably my favorite story he wrote. I guess this one had the least to do with Mike Mignola, and was written by Kim Newman, who wrote Anno Dracula. If you aren't familiar with the material it's emulating, this one should be really fun. Otherwise you'll either hate it for being derivative, or just enjoy it for being similar to something you like.
Oh, it should also be mentioned that you don't have to know jack shit about Hellboy to read these. You could pick any of these up and read them in any order and come away feeling satisfied. Recommended if you like horror mystery novels or Hammer films.
May 6, 2022
Witchfinder is a series that's been on my periphery as a while since I'm a big fan of everything Hellboy. While it has some ties to Hellboy, it really is its own thing at the same time and I think that is a good thing. Sir Edward Grey is an occult investigator and there is definitely a Victorian influence in the setting and writing, though thankfully, this is not as verbose as literature from that period is. Here is a look at the three volumes contained within this omnibus.
The first volume explores a unique vampiric creature haunting the bowels of industrial London. It was surprisingly fun and made me glad I bought this on a whim. This is the type of story and setting you would think most Witchfinder stories would be like but that is not the case in this volume.
The second story is very different and is a Weird West story with some elements of folklore on top. Even though this was completely different than the first volume, it was quite enjoyable. I thought the art fit the style of story well and the plot was a fresh take on the American West which is not so easy to do.
The third volume was by far the creepiest of the three though Tyler Crook's more cartooning style was a surprising, though not completely welcome art change for this story. I won't give away too much of what happens but there is definitely some creepy use of eels! I would say that Edward Grey seems a little different in personality in this volume and the different writing team is likely the cause of this. Even with some inconsistencies, I still found this to be a fun read.
Overall, Sir Edward Gray stands on its own and offers something different than other Mike Mignola titles. I can't say that I enjoy it more then Hellboy or B.P.R.D. but I will be happy to read more of Witchfinder and I think its a nice addition to what is already a rich and varied literary universe.
The first volume explores a unique vampiric creature haunting the bowels of industrial London. It was surprisingly fun and made me glad I bought this on a whim. This is the type of story and setting you would think most Witchfinder stories would be like but that is not the case in this volume.
The second story is very different and is a Weird West story with some elements of folklore on top. Even though this was completely different than the first volume, it was quite enjoyable. I thought the art fit the style of story well and the plot was a fresh take on the American West which is not so easy to do.
The third volume was by far the creepiest of the three though Tyler Crook's more cartooning style was a surprising, though not completely welcome art change for this story. I won't give away too much of what happens but there is definitely some creepy use of eels! I would say that Edward Grey seems a little different in personality in this volume and the different writing team is likely the cause of this. Even with some inconsistencies, I still found this to be a fun read.
Overall, Sir Edward Gray stands on its own and offers something different than other Mike Mignola titles. I can't say that I enjoy it more then Hellboy or B.P.R.D. but I will be happy to read more of Witchfinder and I think its a nice addition to what is already a rich and varied literary universe.
May 20, 2024
I really do enjoy the Hellboy universe, it's full of mystery, suspense, spookiness/creepiness, and, of course, horrors of an occult nature to send those delicious shivers down one's spine. This collection is no exception: it delves into some of the history of the Hellboy universe (though I believe one could read this without being familiar with that universe and still enjoy it), giving those familiar with the world some background of later events while providing those unfamiliar with this world some ripping yarns. Here we see three of Sir Edward Grey's early cases as a newly minted Agent of the Crown. He has already seen plenty of supernatural goings-on, and can get a bit salty with people. Not gonna lie, I wanted to call him on that several times! I'll give him, though, that he admits to his mistakes after he learns that they were indeed mistakes. The first story, Murderous Intent, tells of the case that caused Sir Edward to be knighted and made an Agent, and his first case in his new role; in Lost and Gone Forever, Grey visits the Wild West in search of another Agent of the Crown who hasn't been heard from in quite a while, and it's kinda fun seeing him out of his element; the third story, The Mysteries of Unland, is my favorite of the bunch. Sir Edward goes to investigate the murder of an official of the Crown, and gets wrapped up in some delightfully creepy local folklore pitting the Old Ways against the New Ways. Also included are some short stories, and a sketch and cover gallery. Overall I found this a satisfying read, and I'm looking forward to the next omnibus!
July 7, 2021
Series: Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder #1-3
Rating: 4 stars - It was really good
Sir Edward Grey is an agent for Queen Victoria. He faces the monsters that threaten the Queen and country and makes new enemies along the way.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this comic. Sir Edward Grey is a Victorian era occult detective who deals with occult activity, Lovecraftian monsters, and supernatural beings in the West. Sir Edward is a serious man who is dedicated to his job, which I found I really liked. A lot of the stories in this volume have things that are linked to Hellboy and B.P.R.D. series. Technically, in the timeline of the Mignolaverse, Edward would be the first person to interact with someone of these items that become important in the others series.
Of the stories in this volume, I found The Mysteries of Unland to be my favorite. It was fascinating but also horrifying. I didn’t realize eels freaked me out so much but apparently they do. The artwork was so vivid for that story it could give you nightmares. I did enjoy the other stories as well and really want to see how Grey deals with the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra in future volumes.
Overall, I highly recommend this series if you are a fan of Mignola’s work. It is a wonderful blend of detective story and Lovecraftian horror.
You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
Rating: 4 stars - It was really good
Sir Edward Grey is an agent for Queen Victoria. He faces the monsters that threaten the Queen and country and makes new enemies along the way.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this comic. Sir Edward Grey is a Victorian era occult detective who deals with occult activity, Lovecraftian monsters, and supernatural beings in the West. Sir Edward is a serious man who is dedicated to his job, which I found I really liked. A lot of the stories in this volume have things that are linked to Hellboy and B.P.R.D. series. Technically, in the timeline of the Mignolaverse, Edward would be the first person to interact with someone of these items that become important in the others series.
Of the stories in this volume, I found The Mysteries of Unland to be my favorite. It was fascinating but also horrifying. I didn’t realize eels freaked me out so much but apparently they do. The artwork was so vivid for that story it could give you nightmares. I did enjoy the other stories as well and really want to see how Grey deals with the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra in future volumes.
Overall, I highly recommend this series if you are a fan of Mignola’s work. It is a wonderful blend of detective story and Lovecraftian horror.
You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
Read
June 5, 2020Collects the first three Sir Edward Grey stories plus a few shorts. Sir Edward Grey is a paranormal investigator working as an agent for Queen Victoria. I’m making my way through Hellboy and I’ve seen him pop up here and there, either in passing reference or brief cameos. Mignola says in the introduction that Grey is his favorite character other than Hellboy, which makes sense given Mignola’s love of all things gothic. The stories, while nothing amazing, are all pretty fun. I like that each one occupies a different genre - the first is urban occult mystery, the second a supernatural Western, and the third a Lovectaftian saga. The best part of this collection, though, is the art. Every story looks fantastic, with lots of atmosphere and awesome monsters. Ben Stenbeck, John Severin, and Tyler Crook were great choices for this series, even if their styles are all slightly different.
While this series so far is largely independent of the larger Hellboy saga, the stories do subtly tie in to certain Hellboy arcs. There’s Grey himself of course, plus the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, Henry Hood, and Hypoborea making appearances. This series only expands to scope of the Hellboy universe more. I love that Mignola set it up so he can visit virtually any genre or bring in any type of occult history.
While this series so far is largely independent of the larger Hellboy saga, the stories do subtly tie in to certain Hellboy arcs. There’s Grey himself of course, plus the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, Henry Hood, and Hypoborea making appearances. This series only expands to scope of the Hellboy universe more. I love that Mignola set it up so he can visit virtually any genre or bring in any type of occult history.
December 7, 2021
Inject this kind of literature straight into my veins. Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder is basically Victorian B.P.R.D., minus Hellboy's big fist. Through three story arcs and a trio of one-shots, Sir Edward Grey battles Hollow Earth monsters, witches raising the dead, and an Unland of eel people. Terrifically compelling, the lot.
Mike Mignola often shares writing duties and tackles almost none of the art, but Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder is still firmly of Hellboy quality. The art style changes pretty radically between story arcs, but the new artist is always surprisingly well suited to the topic. Tyler Crook, for example, tackles the exceedingly wet and gross Unland story. It's the perfect combination.
I suppose the Unland story is a tad hard to follow - I'd mark it four stars as a standalone. Hollow Earth is an easy fiver. The American West arc isn't as fascinating as Hollow Earth, but the cowboy sidekick for Sir Edward Grey offers a lovely foil - probably four stars as well, but leaning higher. The one-shots are decent palate cleansers, though generally skippable. Five stars for the omnibus because it's just so satisfying overall. Looking forward to the imminent release of the next omnibus.
Mike Mignola often shares writing duties and tackles almost none of the art, but Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder is still firmly of Hellboy quality. The art style changes pretty radically between story arcs, but the new artist is always surprisingly well suited to the topic. Tyler Crook, for example, tackles the exceedingly wet and gross Unland story. It's the perfect combination.
I suppose the Unland story is a tad hard to follow - I'd mark it four stars as a standalone. Hollow Earth is an easy fiver. The American West arc isn't as fascinating as Hollow Earth, but the cowboy sidekick for Sir Edward Grey offers a lovely foil - probably four stars as well, but leaning higher. The one-shots are decent palate cleansers, though generally skippable. Five stars for the omnibus because it's just so satisfying overall. Looking forward to the imminent release of the next omnibus.
April 16, 2023
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 to The Witchfinder: Volume 1 by Mike Mignalo.
Keen to explore the Hellboy universe some more I thought it I’d try The Witchfinder series which is the story of Sir Edward Grey, a character made reference throughout Hellboy’s story. In this collection there are four stories set in Victorian era.
The first known as In The Service of Angels is a gothic tale set in the fog choked streets of London. It drips ghostly atmosphere as the righteous Grey must uncover the mystery behind several brutal murders.
The second story is called Lost and Gone Forever is set in Utah and takes Grey into a western setting as he’s on the hunt for a dangerous individual. It’s here that storytelling highlights Grey’s bias against the occult, something that conforms to the culture of the time period but also shows his narrow-mindedness as an investigator.
The third story is called The Mysterious of Unland, a Shadow of Innsmouth like tale set in rural England. Again Grey must investigate another murder set in a place that used to be swampland and has seen been developed. This time Grey’s bias leads him to the wrong conclusions.
These are the main stories collection here and I really enjoyed how Grey was portrayed, he’s not perfect. He’s flawed and doesn’t know everything about his craft.
Keen to explore the Hellboy universe some more I thought it I’d try The Witchfinder series which is the story of Sir Edward Grey, a character made reference throughout Hellboy’s story. In this collection there are four stories set in Victorian era.
The first known as In The Service of Angels is a gothic tale set in the fog choked streets of London. It drips ghostly atmosphere as the righteous Grey must uncover the mystery behind several brutal murders.
The second story is called Lost and Gone Forever is set in Utah and takes Grey into a western setting as he’s on the hunt for a dangerous individual. It’s here that storytelling highlights Grey’s bias against the occult, something that conforms to the culture of the time period but also shows his narrow-mindedness as an investigator.
The third story is called The Mysterious of Unland, a Shadow of Innsmouth like tale set in rural England. Again Grey must investigate another murder set in a place that used to be swampland and has seen been developed. This time Grey’s bias leads him to the wrong conclusions.
These are the main stories collection here and I really enjoyed how Grey was portrayed, he’s not perfect. He’s flawed and doesn’t know everything about his craft.
February 27, 2023
A historical horror/adventure/mystery story set in the Hellboy Universe. Sir Edward Grey travels through Victorian England (and expansionist America) investigating paranormal activities on behalf of the Crown. The events peripherally relate to the events in Hellboy and the BPRD series.
These stories are standard self-contained mysteries that are mostly adventure driven with little in the way of character development. Each story has a new writer and artist, though all were produced with guidance from Mike Mignola. I enjoyed the writing and art of some more than others. Overall I had a hard time feeling invested in the characters, and felt that stylistically this series was trying to do too many different things (paranormal-investigator/Sherlock-Holmes/Occult-horror/historical-fantasy/etc.) If I were not a completionist in reading the Hellboy stories, I would probably skip this series. That being said, there are a lot of great individual moments in the stories, and I found a new artist I really like (Tyler Crook).
These stories are standard self-contained mysteries that are mostly adventure driven with little in the way of character development. Each story has a new writer and artist, though all were produced with guidance from Mike Mignola. I enjoyed the writing and art of some more than others. Overall I had a hard time feeling invested in the characters, and felt that stylistically this series was trying to do too many different things (paranormal-investigator/Sherlock-Holmes/Occult-horror/historical-fantasy/etc.) If I were not a completionist in reading the Hellboy stories, I would probably skip this series. That being said, there are a lot of great individual moments in the stories, and I found a new artist I really like (Tyler Crook).
January 8, 2025
Not a bad book, but nothing spectacular.
Edward Grey is Her Majesty's witchfinder and agent that investigates and handles supernatural occurances and threats.
Naturally, he has a tough life facing off against witches, monsters, and the denizens of Hell, not to mention the typical tragic hero stuff (girl he love dies, people are scared of him, etc.). It's pretty sterotypical stuff honestly, and it's not bad or anything, I just felt it lacked a lot of the luster that many of the other volumes have. I know this volume had a lot of guest writers and illustrators on it like the last one did, and maybe it's just that they don't do it for me the way Mignola does.
There was one really good story, "Lost and Gone Forever," where he goes to America and has an adventure in the Old West with a cowboy who has faced off with the occult. I did really like that one, but the others just kind of fell flat for me.
Edward Grey is Her Majesty's witchfinder and agent that investigates and handles supernatural occurances and threats.
Naturally, he has a tough life facing off against witches, monsters, and the denizens of Hell, not to mention the typical tragic hero stuff (girl he love dies, people are scared of him, etc.). It's pretty sterotypical stuff honestly, and it's not bad or anything, I just felt it lacked a lot of the luster that many of the other volumes have. I know this volume had a lot of guest writers and illustrators on it like the last one did, and maybe it's just that they don't do it for me the way Mignola does.
There was one really good story, "Lost and Gone Forever," where he goes to America and has an adventure in the Old West with a cowboy who has faced off with the occult. I did really like that one, but the others just kind of fell flat for me.
January 9, 2023
Кілька пригод Едварда, який у трохи іншому образі з’являвся на сторінках коміксів про Хеллбоя у ключові моменти.
19 сторіччя, Едвард знищує відьом, які хотіли вчинити замах на Королеву. А раз ти такий вправний, то ось тобі справа про археологів-невдах, які приперли з собою на острів незвичні (навіть надзвичайні) кістки, і почалося… Тут і кровожерливий монстр на вулицях Лондона (з такими поганцями потім буде розбиратися БРПД, причому в глобальному плані), і буцання з Геліоптичним Братством Ра (це поганці, які світяться і в інших книжках Хеллбойверсу), і медіум-напівмрець, і таємничий Капітан, який стверджував, що Свіфт з нього “Пригоди Гулівера” написав - багато всього.
А далі вестерн про відьму та зомбі. А далі історія про мавпу, яка під дією містичної радіації від ідола Давньому богу пустилася берега… А далі ще одна історія, також майже лавкрафтіанська (там навіть один з персонажів схожий на Говарда), про жителів британських боліт, з дуже яскравою “сценою після титрів”.
Коротше, рекомендую та тисну тентаклі тим, хто вже прочитав. Це одна з найліпших містичних пригод, на мою, звичайно ж, думку.
19 сторіччя, Едвард знищує відьом, які хотіли вчинити замах на Королеву. А раз ти такий вправний, то ось тобі справа про археологів-невдах, які приперли з собою на острів незвичні (навіть надзвичайні) кістки, і почалося… Тут і кровожерливий монстр на вулицях Лондона (з такими поганцями потім буде розбиратися БРПД, причому в глобальному плані), і буцання з Геліоптичним Братством Ра (це поганці, які світяться і в інших книжках Хеллбойверсу), і медіум-напівмрець, і таємничий Капітан, який стверджував, що Свіфт з нього “Пригоди Гулівера” написав - багато всього.
А далі вестерн про відьму та зомбі. А далі історія про мавпу, яка під дією містичної радіації від ідола Давньому богу пустилася берега… А далі ще одна історія, також майже лавкрафтіанська (там навіть один з персонажів схожий на Говарда), про жителів британських боліт, з дуже яскравою “сценою після титрів”.
Коротше, рекомендую та тисну тентаклі тим, хто вже прочитав. Це одна з найліпших містичних пригод, на мою, звичайно ж, думку.
October 31, 2023
A great read for October, and created by the same person who made Hellboy, Witchfinder is a great series of different stories, a mixture of both long and short term, that showcase Sir Edward's work as a paranormal detective during the 1800's. The artwork is great, even by the many different artists, though I will say I loved the art by Ben Stenbeck the most, with his great illustrative shapes and thick ink lines, it seemed to have the most powerful art style of the bunch. But the bar of quality between all these stories are all top-notched and its hard to pick one to stand out above the others.
If you're a fan of eldritch fantasy or dark fantasy in general, and enjoy a bit of supernatural mystery mixed in, this omnibus collection is definitely worth checking out. I know I'll definitely be reading the second volume.
If you're a fan of eldritch fantasy or dark fantasy in general, and enjoy a bit of supernatural mystery mixed in, this omnibus collection is definitely worth checking out. I know I'll definitely be reading the second volume.
March 8, 2024
Серед всього Геллбойверсу в мене є три улюблені персонажі : Ейб Сапіен, Едвард Ґрей (Відьмолов, Ахерон) і Геллбой.
В цьому омнібасі зібрано 400 з гаком сторінок пригод вікторіанського Ван Гелсінґа. Найбільше мені подобається історія "На службі у янголів" - тут ідеально все і посилання до майбутньої долі Едварда і поява Геліопічного братства Ра і загадковий гіперборейський підземельний вампір. Ну і не обійшлося без божественного малюнка Стенбека.
Наступні дів історії вже слабші. Одна про подорож Ґрея на дикий захід і наступна - пастиш Лавкрафтіанського "Мороку над Інсмутом". Тим не менш, сам комікс окрім приємно проведеного часу рясніє специфічними англійський сленгом та дивовижними мовними зворотами і сталими виразами, ому був для мене і наукою (виписав близько 20 слів та виразів). Звісно, що відразу ж беруся за наступний том!
В цьому омнібасі зібрано 400 з гаком сторінок пригод вікторіанського Ван Гелсінґа. Найбільше мені подобається історія "На службі у янголів" - тут ідеально все і посилання до майбутньої долі Едварда і поява Геліопічного братства Ра і загадковий гіперборейський підземельний вампір. Ну і не обійшлося без божественного малюнка Стенбека.
Наступні дів історії вже слабші. Одна про подорож Ґрея на дикий захід і наступна - пастиш Лавкрафтіанського "Мороку над Інсмутом". Тим не менш, сам комікс окрім приємно проведеного часу рясніє специфічними англійський сленгом та дивовижними мовними зворотами і сталими виразами, ому був для мене і наукою (виписав близько 20 слів та виразів). Звісно, що відразу ж беруся за наступний том!
April 6, 2021
Sir Edward Grey salvo a la reina de un ataque de brujas, de ahi su apodo de WITCHFINDER !!!
LO BUENO: Una historia que se adhiere al Universo de Hellboy y lo hace sin forzarse, se siente natural y distinto, me gusta la melancolia de Grey, sus historias llenas de sucesos que no se detienen y como ataca al mal, además el arte de un Ben Stenbeck oscuro, un cumplidor John Severin y ( todos de pie, por favor) un inmensisimo Tyler Crook, nos regalan una obra potente. Preciosas portadas de Mignola y un oscuro y hermoso Julian Totino Tedesco.
LO MALO: En la primera miniserie se vendio mucho, personajes potentes que prometian y...zas, todo se acabo muy rapido, ¿que paso hay Mignola?, y en ocasiones, todo pasa muy rapido y podria ser mas lento y cadencioso.
LO BUENO: Una historia que se adhiere al Universo de Hellboy y lo hace sin forzarse, se siente natural y distinto, me gusta la melancolia de Grey, sus historias llenas de sucesos que no se detienen y como ataca al mal, además el arte de un Ben Stenbeck oscuro, un cumplidor John Severin y ( todos de pie, por favor) un inmensisimo Tyler Crook, nos regalan una obra potente. Preciosas portadas de Mignola y un oscuro y hermoso Julian Totino Tedesco.
LO MALO: En la primera miniserie se vendio mucho, personajes potentes que prometian y...zas, todo se acabo muy rapido, ¿que paso hay Mignola?, y en ocasiones, todo pasa muy rapido y podria ser mas lento y cadencioso.
January 25, 2025
Pretty aight. One of my least favourite things about the hellboy world is how large it seems being contradicted by how all the important events are almost always set in motion by boring Victorian era Europeans. So I wasn't excited to read a collection of all Victorian era stories, but they're actually pretty fun, the wild western story being a highlight but maybe iffy with the indigenous representation.
The eel story was good too but had a rushed ending, with the extra Abe sapien lore seeming cool but not for me knowing how anticlimactic abe's solo adventures are. The first story seemed to lean too much on BPRD sideplots like the Hollow earth slaves and Memnan Saa, despite still introducing and characterizing edward grey well.
The eel story was good too but had a rushed ending, with the extra Abe sapien lore seeming cool but not for me knowing how anticlimactic abe's solo adventures are. The first story seemed to lean too much on BPRD sideplots like the Hollow earth slaves and Memnan Saa, despite still introducing and characterizing edward grey well.
October 2, 2023
An omnibus filled with detective mysteries that Sir Edward Grey has to solve, all in Mike Mignola style.
What has a monkey, eels and a restless spirit has to do with all of this, you've got to find out in these intriguing stories that has been bundled in the nice looking omnibus.
Every story has his own artist and drawer and that gives each story their unique feel, some feel better then others but that depends on your personal taste.
I very much enjoyed each story and I can recommend this omnibus if you are a fan of the Mike Mignola world.
What has a monkey, eels and a restless spirit has to do with all of this, you've got to find out in these intriguing stories that has been bundled in the nice looking omnibus.
Every story has his own artist and drawer and that gives each story their unique feel, some feel better then others but that depends on your personal taste.
I very much enjoyed each story and I can recommend this omnibus if you are a fan of the Mike Mignola world.
August 25, 2020
Three separate stories and a couple of one shots. The first story is the strongest. It's decent entry into the Hell Boy series but to be honest it's just not comparable with the easier stories, i.e. those which actually feature Hell Boy. Another let down is the absence of Mignola's art, other than some excellent covers, which was the primary reason for my getting into the series in the first place.
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