KOSHCHEI EN EL INFIERNO

Mike Mignola's Koshchei #2

by Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck, Dave Stewart

The world above may be over, and Hellboy gone with it, but Koshchei is still in Hell content with his wine and his books--until an old face arrives and brings Koshchei a critical task.

An old and powerful foe is returning, and Koshchei must take up his sword and defend the city from destruction.

Mignola returns to Hell to reunite with one of his favorite collaborators, Ben Stenbeck (Frankenstein Underground, Witchfinder In The Service of Angels, Baltimore, Koshchei the Deathless).

Collects Koshchei in Hell #1-#4, Sir Edward Grey: Acheron one-shot, and bonus material.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Adventure, Witches, Mythology

152 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2023

About the author

Mike 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.

Reviews

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey! This is one of the best Hellboy-related/Mignola comics in years.

The first chapter, the one-shot Sir Edward Grey - Acheron, is drawn by Mignola and shows Edward Grey roaming around Hell. I really enjoy Mignola's chill version of Hell, mostly just empty streets and darkness with a few odd demons roaming around (well now it's pretty empty after the events of Hellboy in Hell).

After we get the four issue series Koshchei in Hell drawn by Ben Stenbeck who does a great job balancing the Mignola style with his own. The first two issues continue to enigmatic atmospheric storytelling from Acheron, then the plot kicks in a bit more and we get to see Koshchei go through a pretty important psychological journey.

The drawing throughout is great. I love the poetic nature of the whole thing. I think Acheron and the first two chapters of Koschei in Hell are 5-star comics. The final two chapters are great as well, but don't quite have that magic feeling as it mostly just shows Koschei fighting.

[Wouter Dhondt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all the Mignola hell stuff, and Koshchei is a great character. Amazing atmosphere in this book. Epilogue of an epilogue.

[Matt Maielli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rad. Mostlh an excuse to revisit Mignola’s Hell, but also ties up a few loose ends in a fun way. Archeron prologue is maybe one of his best.

[Etain · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Oh you hateful gods!"

This book is so good it retroactively makes the devil you know better. Hellboy has always been slow paced and this book carries on that tradition, spending it's ~140 pages to provide a small piece of closure for only a dozen characters. I would be happy if this was the last we say of hell but I also really hope it isn't (the hell books are my favourites)

[Sol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quiz: A monster created from corpse parts, animated by energies beyond the mortal ken, who has committed heinous crimes, goes on a journey into the underworld, undergoes a sort of redemption, becomes host to a golden feminine spirit, and ultimately paves the way for the underworld to be transformed into a paradise. Am I describing Frankenstein Underground or Koshchei in Hell?

It's funny reading this coming straight off of Frankenstein New World. If my complaint about that was "just let this end already", my takeaway from this is that even Mignola, consciously or otherwise, wants me to let it go. This world/story is done, on every level. Edward Grey is even invited to join the rivers of Hell on some kind of unimaginable new undertaking, and his response amounts to "nah".



Koshchei himself is seemingly motivated solely by boredom, and some unconscious desire to seek an end. His inability to find such is portrayed as a curse, and in a hilarious visual gag after Edward Grey tells him to never stop seeking his soul, he later walks past a goat that likely contains it without even noticing. He is fucked. Edward Grey gets a much better ending, though with with an apparent implication that more could conceivably come. Pluto is seemingly closed off as a threat.



Though the opening and ending are poetic, the middle leaves much to be desired. We already did the "minor randos reappear because this is Hell" bit in Hellboy in Hell, and it's even worse because several of these are the very same randos. What is gained, narratively by having Koshchei meet Bromhead? I don't think they even interacted in Darkness Calls. Maybe having Koshchei meet and interact with some of the people he met in life would have some more impact, but there's no space for that when he has to fight Gamori, twin leviathans, and five billion witches. With the exception of B.P.R.D., I would never have said the action is a primary reason that I read Hellboy. I read it for the strange folkloric/pulpy/lovecraftian brew that is its mythology, and to a lesser extent the art and characters. "The lore" basically. Koschei the Deathless was absolutely dripping in that, Hellboy in Hell served up quite a bit, Koshchei in Hell is meagre in comparison.



On the plus side, Alice appears as a naked giantess. (Am I supposed to understand that the dream of England and post-Hellboy Hell are the same place? They both have a world tree and Edward Grey goes right there? lol?)



Did I forget Koshchei killing the mermaid king from Strange Places? Is that not who this is? I think Baba Yaga and the Bog Roosh had some thing as ultra-powerful god-witches going on, but I have zero memory of Koshchei being involved with that at all.

[Maciej · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Koshchei in Hell" to najnowsze dzieło Mike'a Mignoli, które kontynuuje fascynującą sagę o Koshcheiu Nieśmiertelnym w piekle, ilustrowane przez Bena Stenbecka. Komiks ten jest epilogiem do wydarzeń z "B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know" i "Hellboy in Hell" oraz kontynuacją "Koshchei the Deathless".

W świecie, gdzie Ziemia została oczyszczona, a piekło opustoszałe po wydarzeniach związanych z Hellboyem, Koshchei żyje w spokoju, ciesząc się winem i książkami. Jego spokojne życie zostaje jednak przerwane przez niespodziewaną wizytę starego znajomego, Sir Edwarda Greya, który przynosi wieści o powrocie Plutona – boga podziemi. Koshchei, niechętny bohater, musi ponownie chwycić za miecz i stanąć do walki w obronie miasta przed zniszczeniem.

Narracja Mignoli, charakterystyczna dla jego stylu, jest prosta, ale pełna głębi. Dialogi są bezpośrednie, a akcja przejrzysta, co sprawia, że historia ma niemalże baśniowy charakter. Mignola mistrzowsko wplata elementy innych opowieści i mitów w dziwaczny krajobraz piekła, tworząc unikalną atmosferę. Stenbeck, z kolei, doskonale balansuje między swoim własnym stylem a estetyką Mignoli, co czyni ilustracje wyjątkowymi i pełnymi życia.

Pierwszy rozdział, "Sir Edward Grey - Acheron", narysowany przez samego Mignolę, wprowadza nas w pustkę piekła po wydarzeniach z "Hellboy in Hell". Ulice są puste, ciemność jest wszechobecna, a nieliczne demony dodają klimatu tej enigmatycznej przestrzeni. Kolejne cztery numery serii, zilustrowane przez Stenbecka, kontynuują tę atmosferyczną narrację, zanim fabuła nabiera tempa, a Koshchei przechodzi ważną podróż psychologiczną.

Mimo że nowi czytelnicy mogą mieć trudności z pełnym zrozumieniem fabuły bez znajomości wcześniejszych komiksów, Mignola stara się wprowadzić kluczowe tło i wydarzenia potrzebne do zrozumienia dramatu. Komiks jest pełen poetyckiej natury i tajemnicy, co sprawia, że jest to prawdziwa uczta dla fanów Hellboya i twórczości Mignoli.

"Koshchei in Hell" to opowieść o zakończeniu i nowym początku. Zaskakujące zakończenie komiksu oferuje nowy kierunek dla tego świata, pozostawiając czytelników w oczekiwaniu na dalsze historie. Mimo że ostatnie dwa rozdziały koncentrują się głównie na walce, nie tracą one swojej magii, a całość jest godnym zakończeniem historii Kościeja.

Przyjemność 4,2/5
Styl: 4,4/5
Historia: 4,4/5

Ocena: 4,33/5
goodreads - 4/5
thestorygraph - 4,25/5
lubimyczytac - 8/10

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Edward Grey, while a ghost in Hell, goes in search of Koshchei the Deathless, another former living person who is a denizen of Hell. He wants to warn Koshchei that Pluto, god of the underworld banished before Satan took over, is coming back to reduce everything to chaos. Koshchei has found a house with dozens of libraries and a mile-long wine cellar (how did that wind up in Hell?) and is taking it easy. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes he does want to do something about the situation. Grey's strange odyssey through Hell's geography to Koshchei is just a warm up for the even stranger travels of Koshchei as he returns to the ruins of Pandemonium (the capital city of Hell) to seal up the hole through which Pluto will come.

The book is dominated by Mignola's narrative and visual style. He weaves in a lot of other stories and myths in the strange landscape of Hell. Koshchei is a reluctant hero, typical of Mignola. When he gets suited up for action, Koshchei is visually arresting, especially in fight scenes. The muted colors with lots of black suit the landscape. Mignola's stark characters and simple lines let the reader drink in the atmosphere. I enjoy Mignola's work a lot and this is a great example of it.

Recommended, highly for Hellboy and Mignola fans.

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Koshchei in Hell returns us to the post-Hellboy in Hell version of Mignola's Hell. (Did I say Hell enough times in that opening sentence?) I am continuing to enjoy these pseudo-standalone stories from the Hellboy universe that feature other excellent characters from the World. Koshchei in Hell is no different. I enjoyed the previous series featuring him and will continue to enjoy any tales with him as it looks like the next phase of storytelling is being hinted at here. I won't spoil any details, but it's just such an excellent mix of writing and art, whether it be Mignola himself or Ben Steinbeck, it all fits the world perfectly. I will continue to come back time and time again for these stories.

Special Thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Edelweiss Plus for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a good book in the Hellboy universe! This feels like a remarkable return to form for Mignola, particularly in the sections he both writes and draws. You can feel his joy for writing Koshchei come off the page, and his panels look moodier and more sharply-drawn than ever. It's so funny to me that he seemingly ran out of steam with Hellboy himself and then poured all of this heart into a character like Koshchei, who is, for all intents and purposes, just doing Hellboy stuff.

The second part of this story, which Mignola doesn't draw, is also exceptional. I love Ben Stenbeck's art so much. Very detailed and expressive without feeling like it doesn't belong in the Hellboy oeuvre. If Mignola and company can keep telling stories like this, they might just bring me fully back into the fold after the disastrous slog of the final BPRD arcs.

[Kormak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a redemption story? And in this case, not just a good one - a great one.

Koshchei, poor wretched soul, has suffered more than most damned things that still walk and speak. So there’s a quiet, almost defiant joy in seeing the possibility of change glimmer on his horizon. Not absolution, perhaps, but something like grace - a different kind of burden to carry. And with Pluto coming back to claim Hell as his domain (again), there’s no doubt we’ve not seen the last of him. The dead don’t stay buried long in the "Hellboyverse" - especially not the interesting ones.

And as a final blessing: a brand-new tale, drawn by Mignola himself. Hell (if you’ll forgive the inevitable pun) yes!

[Adan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! And we even got some Mignola pages in the beginning and at the end! I liked seeing a bunch of legacy characters be cool and interesting, and even remembered most of them, which isn’t always the case. I would very much like to see Dean and Jenn’s History of Hell, as well as Amelia Dunn’s True Secret History of the World as their own comics at some point. That would be boss.

But yes, we now have Frankenstein and Koschei running around the end of the world, and I want to see more of both of them.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Having a Mike Mignola-drawn story would be enough to make this cool. But it's also a strange, gloriously weird story about what happens in Hell after Hellboy destroyed everything.
Koschei the Deathless is perfectly happy resting in a near-empty Hell, then the ghost of Sir Edward Grey convinces him to take a stand against Hellboy's sister, hoping to revive the monstrous Pluto as the underworld's 0ld/new ruler. Stranger things happen after that.
Loved this.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This serves as a meandering epilogue to the Hellboy series, as Koshchei the deathless explores the remnants of Hell after Hellboy's finale, and cleans up some minor messes. There's some sense of finality and melancholy to it, as loose threads are pulled and turned into short sequences but resolve into not a whole lot of anything. It was enjoyable enough, but not something that's going to stick with me for a long time.

[Alejandro Dodds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Generally speaking when you write an amazing series, like Hellboy, you stop adding to the story because it won't be as good as the original series. But if you're a genius like Mignola, that isn't true. So of course this book is just as amazing as anything in the Hellboy universe.

[M.i. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, this is Mignola at his best.

The way he can take a tragic character, saddle said character with incredible odds and exploits, and take them through the most arduous of ordeals, to elevate them into mythic status ... is perfectly summized in book.

[Julian]

A dark gothy romp in Hell. Mignola and team did well to put the framing/Acheron story up front to add some context to the four-part Koschei story. First chapter art by Mignola, later parts by Stenbeck. All in all, a satisfactory diversion.

[Sudip Dasgupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Mignolaverse comic since BPRD The Devil You Know. Koshchei The Deathless had been one of the best comics of the year it came out, and the sequel delivers. A worthy follow up to Hellboy's legacy.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better recent stories in the Hellboy universe. The setting of a post-apocalyptic Hell that was mostly empty was very interesting.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó, sobretodo el cierre para Koschei y Sir Edward

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate; the Mignola drawn material is 4.5 star material, but that's maybe a fifth of the book, and the rest is decidedly mid.

[Craig Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always fun returning to Mignola’s mind and world! Loved seeing how far these characters have come. And Mignola drew some of it!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know that I fully understood this, but I always like seeing my man Grey

[Morgan Garratt]

This was beautiful and I'm happy I read it

...I'm happy that England Claimed Edward
I'm bittersweet about poor Koshchei and the goat at the end

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comic books rule. I would give this 6 stars if I could.

[Paul Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The missing piece of the puzzle read at last. What an arc for Edward Grey and Koshchei with superb art.

[Justin Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be by far and away my favourite of the Hellboy extended universe. Mikes writing paired with Ben’s art really makes this something special