Miss Truesdale and the Rise of Man

The World of Hellboy: Standalone Books

by Mike Mignola, Jesse Lonergan (Illustrator), Clem Robins (Illustrator)

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Comic Book

120 pages, Hardcover

Published August 18, 2026

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

[Chr*s Browning]

I'm never completely sure I fully understand the Hellboy mythos and the ways it connects with Miss Truesdale/Anum Yassa are a bit hard to parse, but sometimes you just have to go with it - Lonergan's artwork and colors are great, so even when the recursion cycles are going crazy, it's always visually interesting, and I can't deny that the Hellboy overlaps, particularly as it reaches the end (of this book and Hellboy's true ending in the last volume of BPRD) do inspire a certain feeling. After all the fighting, life begins again - and again. Good stuff.

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea, Victorian-era Truesdale is still connected to her ancient life as Anum Yassa, a Red Sonja-like gladiator from Hyperborea who is wandering the Earth now that her civilization has collapsed. Anum has run ins with lots of fantasy creatures, including proto-elves and proto-merfolk. The others are egged on by a serpent who claims that Anum will be the downfall of their races. The conflicts mirror later battles that Hellboy has with supernatural creatures, tying her to the greater fate of humanity under the unsympathetic gaze of the Ogdru Jahad, the elder gods of the Hellboy universe (also, the main enemies in that universe).

I didn't like the first volume because the main character was a bit underdeveloped. The same problem is here--Truesdale/Anum is more of a mythological character performing a function in the greater narrative rather than being a person. That said, the art is amazing. The pages showing the parallels with Hellboy are drawn in concentric circles, with each layer alternating between Anum and Hellboy. Those action sequences are so well crafted, it's a joy just to look at them. The rest of the art is good too. The early fairy and sea folk are fascinating and help fill out Mignola's universe. The book is a very enjoyable read and look.

Recommended.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Truesdale is back to explore more of the Mignolaverse's origin story. While the first book felt fairly self contained as far as the rest of the universe goes, this one much more very referential. The story can still be understood as a standalone, but Hellboy takes up a lot of visual space, creating parallels between our hero's fight and his own. Lonergan actually redrew a lot of Mignola's art for this, and it confirmed how perfect of a fit he is for this universe. Once again, the story's mostly a vessel for the art, but it's so damn gorgeous I'll allow it. I think this one's actually an ending, but I'd love to see Lonergan come back to this world at some point for sure

[Zachary Shaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was AWESOME with some of the best paneling I have seen in the medium!!

The story found here reminded me a lot of Everything Everywhere All At Once as we follow the seemingly mundane Miss Truesdale (Tuesday) and her barbarian other self that fights monsters and communes with goddesses!!

This story was excellent!!

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont really follow this writer so tome of the story felt a bit confusing with hellboy showing up. I feel like i was supposed to know some vital part of the story before reading this.

But the story boards were super cool and i always enjoy the art.


3.3✨

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mythopoetic.

[Craig Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little abstract and almost too little to follow at the start, but it ties in by then end. Incredible art that does really enhance the story telling!