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Hellboy Animated
Hellboy Animated Volume 2: The Judgement Bell
In "The Judgment Bell," written by Jim Pascoe (Kim Possible, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and drawn by Rick Lacy (Venture Brothers), a figure from Dr. Broom's past wreaks havoc on the children of a small Polish village. And in a backup story written and drawn by Hellboy Animated creator Tad Stones, a young Hellboy is once again stirred to heroism by the radio adventures of Lobster Johnson.
80 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 2, 2015
Two Hellboy stories under one cover. These are stories done in an animated style, and since Hellboy is one of Dark Horse Comics’ top properties, it features contributions from its top comic book creators. The cover is done by Eric Powell (Goon) and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola contributes a pin-up. The stories themselves are done by talent with extensive animation experience. The better to capture that animated vibe. This book is done in a smaller size than the average trade paperback, I assume the target audience for this release is a much younger demographic than the regular comics reader.
The first story The Judgment Bell, which despite the cartoony art, is aimed for older readers because of the blood and violence. It features Hellboy, the Professor and Abe Sapien. It reads and feels like a Hellboy tale from Mignola, so any regular Hellboy reader can enjoy this tale.
The second tale, Mechanical Monsters is a story more appropriate for children, but can still be enjoyed by older readers. It is snippet in to the life of Hellboy when he was a young boy growing up in a military base and raised by Professor Bruttenholm. Like all little boys, Hellboy had a hyperactive imagination while growing up and this often got him into trouble.
Though the book is targeted to young readers, only half the content can be considered appropriate. This is a nice attempt to make more accessible the adventures of Hellboy to non-traditional comic book readers.
Update:
I've added this book to the Culling of 2015.
The first story The Judgment Bell, which despite the cartoony art, is aimed for older readers because of the blood and violence. It features Hellboy, the Professor and Abe Sapien. It reads and feels like a Hellboy tale from Mignola, so any regular Hellboy reader can enjoy this tale.
The second tale, Mechanical Monsters is a story more appropriate for children, but can still be enjoyed by older readers. It is snippet in to the life of Hellboy when he was a young boy growing up in a military base and raised by Professor Bruttenholm. Like all little boys, Hellboy had a hyperactive imagination while growing up and this often got him into trouble.
Though the book is targeted to young readers, only half the content can be considered appropriate. This is a nice attempt to make more accessible the adventures of Hellboy to non-traditional comic book readers.
Update:
I've added this book to the Culling of 2015.
April 13, 2011
I liked the story idea, but I wasn't overly appreciative of the artwork. I think there could have been more prose as well. Nice for a quick read.
June 2, 2017
Again, not my favorite art style, but still a really fun read! I liked the back up feature in this one even more! I swear, there needs to be a Kid Hellboy canon series.
August 7, 2023
If you like those "hellboy and the bprd" one-shots or the two "bprd 1946-1948" short stories then you'll probably like this. It feels similar.
October 3, 2008
it's hard to completely dislike anything involving hellboy because he's such a great character, and this book gets extra points because of the cover by eric powell, but the issue here is that you absolutely shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
the art inside feels a little sloppy, rushed, and confusing, and of the two stories within, the second, much shorter one (involving hellboy's over-active imagination as a child) is also the much better one.
it's still okay, but there's no need to rush to pick it up, even for hellboy completists.
the art inside feels a little sloppy, rushed, and confusing, and of the two stories within, the second, much shorter one (involving hellboy's over-active imagination as a child) is also the much better one.
it's still okay, but there's no need to rush to pick it up, even for hellboy completists.
February 13, 2020
I've always had some trouble with the Hellboy art style. The artist for this series isn't helping matters. The visuals really took away from the enjoyment of the story for me. I can do three stars for the plot, at least.
August 14, 2020
This review is for Judgment Bell and Black Wedding: It's not the same as Mignola's Hellboy stories (which apparently was a part of the agreement) but they weren't terrible. I haven't seen any of the animated movies, but I'm not sure if I'm interested in them or not after reading these.
September 17, 2021
This was cute. I love Hellboy
January 13, 2022
Quick and fun little monster of the week story. Nothing too special but that Mignola Lobster Johnson pinup rules so I'll bump this up to four stars.
July 1, 2007
The art flows far more smoothly than the previous volume, and the plot doesn't seem as disjointed in places. The HellBoy-Boy story at the back is a riot. I still don't believe it's reached its potential just yet, I can see 1 more star missing from a perfect record, but that doesn't matter, because it's still a fun read.
Taking a slightly different direction than any other HellBoy media (which is Mike Mignola's entire intent, as he wants to see for himself what it would be like for HellBoy or anyone else to take a different path), the Animated Volumes seem to follow the cartoons a little more closely.
There's low blood content, and amusingly enough, I believe that Mike Mignola's approved stories (though not written by him) are worth at least a once through.
My favorite series for these Animated Volumes is the mini HellBoy----BOY comics at the back of each volume. Inspired by Lobster Johnson (the claw of justice) HellBoy (at an early age) wanted to be just like him! In his aviator glasses and mini trench coat, he inflicted the justice upon evil doers!
(or so he thinks) lol
They're really amusing Dennis the Menace type stories that just make me laugh. I love 'em. Mike Mignola must love them too, considering he's got Lobster Johnson under lock and key. No LJ story gets printed without his express say so.
Taking a slightly different direction than any other HellBoy media (which is Mike Mignola's entire intent, as he wants to see for himself what it would be like for HellBoy or anyone else to take a different path), the Animated Volumes seem to follow the cartoons a little more closely.
There's low blood content, and amusingly enough, I believe that Mike Mignola's approved stories (though not written by him) are worth at least a once through.
My favorite series for these Animated Volumes is the mini HellBoy----BOY comics at the back of each volume. Inspired by Lobster Johnson (the claw of justice) HellBoy (at an early age) wanted to be just like him! In his aviator glasses and mini trench coat, he inflicted the justice upon evil doers!
(or so he thinks) lol
They're really amusing Dennis the Menace type stories that just make me laugh. I love 'em. Mike Mignola must love them too, considering he's got Lobster Johnson under lock and key. No LJ story gets printed without his express say so.
October 28, 2009
This story is about when Hellboy goes on to a big mystery about finding a man's young daughter who is lost with all the other kids due to the monster and curse that the judgement bell had. The judgement bell lead all the kids under a huge trap which made Hellboy try to find them. As Hellboy keeps looking for them he will need to defeat his enemies to help abe, professor and the children alive from the demon of the judgement bell because since The main key is the bell Hellboy will need to return the bell back to the evil curse in order to escape.
October 14, 2009
this book was what i felt that was a book that made me want to read nonstop.It was about hellboy and the professor try to find the judgment bell and the way they find a circle and a star in it and in the middle is a stone hand that had the five fingers on like a candle.and deeper they find a dead body and find out that the picture was draw with blood. this book was amazing.
October 27, 2010
Just a fun little snippet type story. Reminded me very much of the animated films that were featured on Cartoon Network. Hellboy is such a great character that so many authors and artisits interpret and present in a different way. It is always fun so see what can happen to him next. (But Mike's is still the best!)
May 23, 2016
Another fun, short (and non-canonical) HB adventure. Nothing special, really, but perfectly enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews