Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil

Hellboy

by John Arcudi, Mike Mignola (Illustrator)

A murder in a New York wax museum and a missing corpse lead Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense into ancient Romanian castles on the trail of a sleeping the nobleman vampire, Vladimir Guirescu. Nazi scientists, revived in Seed of Destruction, prepare for the return of Rasputin and the end of the world, and Hellboy confronts his purpose on earth. This 144-page book includes the complete, sell-out Wake the Devil miniseries, plus a new five-page epilogue and pinups by Bruce Timm, P. Craig Russell, Dave Cooper, Jay Stephens, Olivier Vatine, and Derek Thompson.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

117 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 1997

About the author

John Arcudi has made a name for himself by scripting comics that manage to combine long-running subplots with impeccable characterization and action sequences, making for some of the most exciting and consistently good comics out today.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hell better than the first volume!


Creative Team:

Creator, Writer & Illustrator: Mike Mignola

Colors: James Sinclair

Letttering: Pat Brosseau


SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Think. Why burn down the world when we can be its masters?

That dialogue is a great teaching to all those stories where the bad guys are planning to destroy the world...

...where are you gonna live after that, morons?!!!

Conquer the world, I can understand that (it doesn’t mean that I sympathize with the concept) but destroy it? That’s dumb! Sure, there are many dumb suicide evil guys but still there is not point to destroy a planet if you can better conquer it (but certainly the heck of managing that world after conquering can get even the best goody-doody tyrant to nuts!)

This volume, Wake the Devil, is a direct sequel to the events of the TPB Seed of Destruction, in fact, that previous story ended in such epic cliffhanger that you will certainly need to read this volume at hand. But be advised that hardly this thing ends here. Later you will need to read too: Conqueror Worm and Darkness Calls (I know that I will need to do it!).

Wake the Devil is a hell better reading than the previous TPB, Seed of Destruction. The character developing is still almost non-existent (if it wouldn’t for the movies, I wouldn’t have a clear idea of what to think about characters like Abe Sapien or even I wouldn’t realize how relevant are characters like Liz Sherman). There are some characters (specially from the BPRD) that they are basically cannon fodder where you hardly know their names but not even if they have powers or not before they bite the dust.

However, the dialogues are crafty and smart and a delicious experience to read them.

In this book, you are introduced to Dr. Kate Corrigan (BPRD liaison to enhanced field agents), that even with the limited character developing, you will realize how cool she is and wanting to read more about her.

This book also has an introduction written by nothing less than Alan Moore, an additional epilogue that it was published only in this collected edition (not in the single comic book issues) and even you have priceless comments by Mignola himself revealing how was his initial vision of this second storyarc.

So, if you read Seed of Destruction and you weren’t that impressed, I believe that if you give a chance to this second volume, your opinion about Hellboy comics will be in a better light.

Good Tip for Potential Evil Masterminds: Put a plastic cover to any dang facilities’ self-destruct buttons! (You will thank me later! Have a happy world conquering!)


DEVIL’S CHILD

Too long lost among humans. You have nearly lost yourself... ...turned your back on your own kind... ...and worse... ...you are soaked in their blood.

--/--

You had a glorious purpose, but when you denied it you forced me to create your replacement. Now you have no purpose at all... ...and nature hates a purposeless thing.

In this second volume, Wake the Devil, you will learn more about the original purpose for Hellboy, and how he even has denied himself his own “true form” when he started to work for the BPRD.

The most powerful agent of the BPRD can be its own most dangerous menace.

Destiny versus free will.

Also, even the BPRD isn’t aware that they put its trust in a secret enemy, compromising the reliance on its technology and vehicles, and putting at risk the lives of its field agents.

Rasputin, the Mad Monk! Nazis (real ones from WWII, not lame Neo-Nazis)! A Vampire Lord! A Demonic Ancient Goddess! You can’t ask for more threats to fight against!

Hellboy and his teammates from the BPRD will have the hands full on this!

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mignola takes all the great things from volume 1 and expands upon it. We delve more into our weird mad scientist Nazis and Rasputin. Vampires, Hecate, Baba Yaga, and homunculus are all introduced. Even Witchfinder Edward Grey gets a reference. Mignola is the master at taking all of these disparate myths and lore and mixing them together into a brand new tasty broth which I can't get enough of. The scripting and characterization is already better now that John Byrne has been kicked to the curb. Hellboy is evolving into the big palooka he's known to be. There's a lot more humor injected into Hellboy as well. That moment with the horns still gives me chills.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot goes on between the lines in these comics, giving us a history largely unseen and mostly just implied.

Fortunately, it also relies on so many occult sources and mysteries and legends and mythologies and old gods that it's pretty cool just to sit back and see where Hecate or the Sumerian head honcho An or where Rasputin takes us.

Murder mysteries aside, of course, it's great to see the bird women and the dead rise and getting to see a whole damn castle blow up. It's fun for all the kiddies!

But for me, a special place will always lay in my heart for Baba Yaga. Bless her bullet-ridden face.

This comic is "special".

[Jamie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! The the first volume in the Hellboy series, Seed Of Destruction sets up the main characters, mood and mythology with a slow burning pace. Wake The Devil explodes along, providing depth to the volumes villains while Hellboy is thrown from action set piece to action set piece.

The artwork is beautiful and unique in comics. Fans of Lovecraft and Dracula will greatly enjoy this. The artists produces simple elegant panels while translating complex emotion and themes. A reader just stops to admire how powerful they are. It’s due to their power that a reader cares not just for the main characters but everyone. In one particular scene a supporting character is brutally murdered. You feel the loss of that person.

Next please!

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellboy Volume 2:Wake the Devil is one hell of a great story. This is the best, of my admittedly limited experience, of the Hellboy books I've come across. It had a little bit of everything- Nazis, Rasputin, Hecate and Vampires. A motley combination, I shall admit, but like Chop Suey it works well together.

The tale starts with a wealthy businessman named Roderick Zinco. Zinco funds a project to look into an abandoned World War 2 base in the frozen arctic portion of Norway. Once Zinco lands and begins to explore the base he finds that he is not alone. The original Nazi inhabitants are still around. As they are about to kill Mr. Zinco he tells them that he was sent by their own master- Rasputin, the founder of the Ragnarok Program.
Meanwhile, the BPRD is concerned because someone removed the corpse of Vladmir Guirescu from BPRD storage. Guirescu was a Romanian Nobleman soldier who fought during the Napoleonic Wars. The problem is that he is a Vampire. If his corpse is returned to Castle Giurescu then he is completely healed and able to return to unlife.
As Hellboy is on the case and trying to solve the issues, we learn more about his back story. It seems that it was Rasputin who summoned Hellboy. Project Ragnarok was designed for Rasputin, in conjunction with Hellboy's assistance, freeing the Dragon from it's prison beyond the darkness in the stars. The Dragon is a very nice nod to the concepts of Elder Gods in H.P. Lovecraftian mythos. Since Hellboy is unaware as to his origins and his "purpose" this helps to fill in some of the blanks. More than this I will not say-read this book. It's a great story.

There are a variety of villains in this story. From Hecate, the dark Goddess who has revived Giurescu, to Rasputin and Giurescu himself- the variety of miscreants ranges from traditional vampires to the Baba Yaga witch to Hecate herself. I enjoyed how Mignola is able to weave disparate mythologies into one story arc that ties them all together. The best part is that it works. The concepts behind the Nazi's trying to use Giurescu during WWII to create a vampire corps which directly leads him to meeting Ilsa Huptmann and the rest of the Nazi Ragnarok project actually makes sense. Thus, Rasputin, Nazi mad scientists, Romanian vampires and a Greek goddess all manage to occupy the same story line without any conflict.

The artwork is as usual amazing. This style of art that is so uniquely Mignola is a hallmark of his books. Some of the panels are downright striking. All of them are a wonderful representation of the unique visual style that represents that artwork of Mr. Mignola.

If you love a good story starring vampires, Nazi's and dark goddesses, with a supporting cast of Hellboy and the BPRD and Rasputin-this is a must read. One of the best Hellboy books I've read so far and an instant Classic.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wake the Devil is a pretty enjoyable comic book with great artwork by Mike Mignola, but the writing can feel overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume in the Hellboy series is menacing and intensely creepy. People familiar with the first film by Guillermo Del Toro about Hellboy will recognize some elements of the story, but a good bit of the story was also adapted to the animated film "Blood and Iron." I think that as dark as both film adaptations are, the source material is moreso.

Hellboy managed to overcome his origins through sheer force of his self-determined will in Volume 1, Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction. He is challenged yet again, because forces of evil want him to take his role as the bringer of the apocalypse. Back to cause more trouble is the spirit of Rasputin and his cadre of Nazi devotees. In this volume, their plan is to gain control of the remains of notorious vampire Vladimir Giurescu and use his vampiric nature to create a super-army to help bring on Ragnarok. Rasputin has a grander final plan in mind that gets his group even closer to the desired end-time apocalypse. When Giurescu's remains are stolen from a museum in New York after the murder of its curator (a man with past Nazi connections), The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense sends small teams in various directions to investigate and eliminate this threat, with tragic results.

Mignola mixes in a surprising amount of folklore and mythological traditions, from Eastern European vampire lore, to the Greek mythology of Hecate, not to mention some Russian origin Baga Yaga elements. It works very well. Let's not forget a bit of Lovecraft thrown in. I can tell you my stomach was fluttering as I read this story. There is something deeply creepy about the characters who truly believe in their dark plans for humanity and the world, that they would have so many followers who fully ascribed to such perverse beliefs. While intellectually we know that Hellboy is practically invincible, the triumph of good does not feel like a guarantee.

The artwork is beautiful as always, the colors mainly confined to a mix of red, tan, black, and gray. It might seem monochromatic, but it works very well for this book. There is an appreciated harmony between the script and dialogue and the artwork, making for excellent storytelling.

While I found this graphic novel very unnerving, I can't deny its brilliance. Dark folklore with a good dose of horror, classic and cosmic in a congruous final product makes for an appealing graphic novel for fans of these genres.

If you've watched the Hellboy movies, I highly recommend checking out the graphic novels.

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, a much better impression on a second read. This volume is still a bit rough, but at least John Byrne's clunky writing style is gone, and Mignola's doing a much better job writing and drawing his own story. And he will get much better in the later volumes, obviously. And again, there are a lot of super-important story elements in this second book that I totally missed or forgot on my first read.

Also, I have to say, Dark Horse is putting a lot of incredibly interesting extra stuff in these trades. I really enjoy reading Mike Mignola's sketches and notes, and the introductions to these books are great, too — this one features one from Alan Moore, for example. It's just a nice touch, putting a couple of these extra pages in a trade, and it makes a big difference to the reading experience.

Overall, I can't believe how much I enjoy re-reading Hellboy! Not every book can be so much better on a second read. Great stuff.

First read: October 24, 2015
Rating: ★★★・・

Second read: October 11, 2016
Rating: ★★★★・

[Jelena · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what is really great? A tulip of beautiful, rich imperial stout. You know what is even better? Having a second one right after the first, equally beautiful and equally rich.

Well, it’s the same with “Hellboy”.

What you’ll find here is a hidden lair of surviving Nazis, operation Ragna Rok, but also operation Vampir Sturm, and a pissed-off Hellboy who’s against going after a thin case with too much conspiracy theory crap. But there is also a Nazi mistress (also known as the “no-good, crazy Nazi bitch”), who could easily be a dominatrix, though with a knack for reciting English romantic poetry. With an accent, I imagine. (How I read it, that is.) And a skeleton guardian who doesn’t get nearly enough appreciation. Also some major (and fierce) mythological figures. There is village in Romania and a count. And we all know what that means. For good measures, there is also fresh light being shed on characters other than Hellboy himself.

Now, you could argue that all those plot elements and characters are, firstly, already there in Volume 1, and, secondly, already there in so many pulp genre pieces. And you’d be absolutely right. Now… A day may come when readers are bothered by recurring motifs, but it is not this day, and not this reader. I like my stories consistent and appreciate Volume 2 continuing where Volume 1 left off. And I also really, really like my genre trash-show of clichés and one-liners.

Also, I will never get over Mignola’s magnificent, magic touch for just the right balance between depiction and atmosphere. When to go for full detail and bold colours? When to omit even the basic facial expression and let only contours and smudges do the talking? When to go for pictorial information and when to just let only a whiff, the air of something seep out. He knows it all in a way I haven‘t seen often enough in all the heaps of comics and graphic novels I have gone through, and knows both narratively and visually how to take the pulpy and trashy genre basics and transform them into pure art. Art and delight.

I am seriously thinking about making myself a little Hellboy collage. For the living room, you know.

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There sure is a lot of falling through floors in this series.

You bet your biscuits Id be a little more careful in where I step than the peeps in these comics...

[Adam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read for staff book club. - I owe them an apology. I forgot just how dense this one was with exposition compared to later installments. I love it, but booooy howdy is it dense.

[Melissa McShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 7/30/15: See below, plus I'd forgotten how important Baba Yaga is to this series even from the beginning. I love the complexity of her character and how her being the villain of the piece is challenged by seeing her from Rasputin's perspective; she's evil, but that's not all she is. I also find it interesting how blood magic ends up being a part of the story in two directions, both Giurescu's vampirism and Rasputin's demand of Ilsa that she die in order to power something greater. Extremely disturbing, but in a thought-provoking way. There's also Liz's ongoing battle to understand her power that culminates in her giving the homunculus (later known as Roger) the literal spark of life. I think it's a measure of how dense this story is that this event isn't fully explored here, because there's just not enough space. It lays the ground for the later B.P.R.D. series, which takes the world in a different direction.

6/19/12: Wake the Devil completes the story begun in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction--all that Nazi/Rasputin/Lovecraftian stuff that's so gloriously dark and brilliantly redemptive. Speaking of Lovecraft, I think he'd like what Mignola's done in depicting the kind of monsters I'm sure he had nightmares about.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

On paper, this should be one of my favourite series. It's got interesting characters, fantastical adventures rooted in mythological lore, and quirky humour. However, there is something about its execution that doesn't quite work for me. Perhaps it's the rather flat villain wrapped in overly complicated magical nonsense, or the tedious dialogue that rears its head when you least expect it, but it felt largely underwhelming. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this particular volume, but I do want to read the next one as the potential is still managing to shine through the mound of coal that is Vol.2.

[Latasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got confused. They were talking about stuff from book 3 and this is suppose to be book 2? Other than that it was ok. Damn those nazi's! Won't leave Hellboy alone.

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the second volume of Hellboy more than the first. This volume relies a little less on Lovecraftian themes, and it has a stronger connection to the myths and folklore of Europe, which gives this a more grounded feel. Vampires, Hecate, and Baba Yaga make appearances. The art is amazing, as is to be expected from Mignola.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing art, cool mythology and further Mignola world building genius!

The second arc of the Hellboy tale is an interesting one, not only does it build upon the world that the first arc but it also keeps expanding the world wider and wider, full of weird and wonderful creatures:

World: Awesome, if you liked Seed of Destruction you will not be disappointed here. Building on the mythology that was established in that book we get a further glimpse of the world and the characters moving around in it. Baba Yaga and the World Tree are introduced and more of the B.P.R.D. is introduced. Good stuff!

Story: Great, weird and creepy. The mythology of Hecate and Bathory are just two of the myths dipped into but there is so much more. The story is well paced with multiple plot treads moving along. The art is Mignola standard, meaning it's fucking amazing, the shadows the colors and framing are all wonderful, it's art. The only little irksome thing would be the ending which comes at such a pace that it seemed a bit rushed (especially the Abe stuff) but I know they dive deeper into that with subsequent arcs. I can't say enough how much I love Mignola playing with myths and legends that makes me smile.

Characters: Not much character development in this arc, there was a lot of new characters but as with Mignola books you don't know which ones survive the end. I did like the further reveal of Hellboy and his nature which was a nice story. I like Liz but I would have liked a little more of her emotional state and personality before what happened happened, it would have been nice for readers to more clearly understand her motivation (of course this is also dealt with in later arcs). Baba Yaga is a great character and her introduction was good as with the things happening in Norway.

A very solid arc two that builds effectively from arc one. I can't wait for the next book which will be a collection of little tales (Mignola does his best work when doing this format) which will be good.

Onward to the next book!

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, the dark art, the atmosphere, the setting, and Hellboy's personality is a lot better than it was in Seed of Destruction (Vol. 1). More sense of humour: Reanimated corpse coming at him, calling him a beast, and his reply? "Big talk for a guy with no pants." for some reason I found that particularly amusing. Liz and Abe show up here, though in much smaller supporting roles, and a couple other BPRD team members, some not so lucky as others. There's a lot of familiar baddies returning, and a lot more black magic mumbo jumbo that gets a little tedious, which is why it was only a 3 star book for me.
I did enjoy the Hellboy story, and having him learn a little bit more about who/what he is and where he came from, as well as his usual destruction of things in his path. I'll check out the next volume for sure, Mignola's got a good niche for himself here.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes without saying that I love the artwork and the great use of black. Again, a number of panels could be framed.
The evil guys' expectations around Hellboy are hinted at in this volume, and it's nice to see more members of the wider B.P.R.D. team. I liked how many different myths and legends are woven in to the Hellboy stories, and how there are so many different types of evil guys, and how a larger story surrounding Hellboy's responsibilities and actions on earth are slowly being revealed.

[Ctgt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the art! Love the story! If you don't like traditional capes and cowls comics, give this a try.

[Štěpán · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything in this book should be something I adore instantly. Mythological creatures, links to the past, super cool moments, great visuals, colouring top-notch and yet... I am still like - Oh cool. I like it. Please give me more. It may be heresy, but... Mike Mignola does not know how to write characters.

I feel like in the first two books I have the most knowledge of Rasputin and various nazis characters. I like Hellboy because he is cool. I like Abe because he is cool. But what about the other people? I understand that everything may be revealed in time, it is a long series and enormous world... Yet so far I am more on the "it's ok", rather than "this is a masterpiece".

Amazing concepts and art, but the overall feeling is just OK. But I will continue and try to see what Hellboy has to offer because I am hooked.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's something of a rarity for the sophomore return of something to live up to the promise of the debut, perhaps particularly in comics, but Wake the Devil is just as good as Seed of Destruction. The art is a peculiar mix of stark impression and fine detail that adds to the story, as does the transitions from bright and vibrant to gloomy and shadowy. The mix of evil icons from Nazis to vampires to mythological creatures sounds confused but blends perfectly somehow, as does the Gothic tone with the occasionally noir-ish dialog. It's a terrific book; I recommend it highly.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally get to know what those things on his head are! Really like the artwork in this series.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sophomore slump? I don’t know what those two words mean when paired together.” -A thing Mike Mignola probably said maybe, while making this comic.

A huge improvement over the first volume in every measurable way. Is the art better? Yeah, that scene at the crossroads, everything with the iron maiden, the whole thing with the horns, there’s multiple bits here where Mignola shows us why he’s one of the best to ever do it. Is the story better? It’s about how Hellboy wears a jetpack and punches vampires, that’s a better story than the last one, yes. Is this book funnier than Seed of Destruction? I think that grumpy old man vampire that’s just a skeleton with fangs who wanted to complain about his shitty kids instead of fighting was pretty funny, so I’ll say yes.

What really makes this book work is that Mignola nails his entire approach to writing a Hellboy story: he takes literally everything he has ever thought was cool, throws it in to a stew of a story, and adds just enough humor to keep things fun and to prevent the book from collapsing under all the creeping dread, shadowy lighting and spooky monsters. It’s a simple formula, but one that Mignola will go back to again and again over the years and it almost always pays off. It certainly pays off here.

[verbava · Rating 3 out of 5]

винищення людства 101:
• не залишайте великих червоних кнопок у легкому доступі (утім, як показує серіал space force, це правило так само актуальне, якщо ви не хочете знищувати людство; погодьмося на тому, що це загалом корисне правило);
• щоб уникнути криз самоідентифікації, визначтеся, чи справді ви хочете винищити людство, чи, може, вами маніпулює прадавній могутній монстр;
• не піддавайтеся ностальгійним поривам знайти в південноамериканських руїнах голову колишнього товариша й повернути її до життя;
• уникайте залучення у свої підступні плани великих червоних істот, яким подобаються млинчики;
• як видно з попередніх правил, просто будьте уважні й обережні щодо всього великого й червоного.

мій абсолютно улюблений фрагмент із цілого тому:

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Score: 3.75 out of 5
Grade: 75% (B) | Cool and Mysterious

The world-building in this second volume is nothing short of fantastic. There are so many moving parts, and I have so many questions. The art compliments this mysterious story so well. My only issue is how it can be hard to follow sometimes, but I'm sure as I read on the puzzle pieces will all fall into place.

[Eddie B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The debut of that sweet sad tone, that really made Hellboy stories what they are.

[Monsour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe a man can Make himself a god

Atleast this one is more clearer to read rather than the first one. Vol 2 didn't just bring back what I like of the first one and get rid of the clunky writing but add some of it. Combining all myth's into one giant branched story is a really cool concept, that way Its simple for the writers to add every single myths and legends(Urban/Sub) to their story without ruining anything and That's what I like about Hellboy.

featuring Hecate(Greek goddess)


What I really like in this book is that the villains is more likable rather than BPRD characters. Theirs even a dialogue that talks about the stupidity of classics villain plans about ruing the earth rather than taking it over.

Mr. Boy gets evolve in this story too. Choosing his freewill rather following his destiny via pulling off his horns like in the movie.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boy, everyone was down on their luck for this one. I wonder if there was some supernatural explanation to all the misfires and explosions. This one left it up in the air, and I can't recall if it's ever addressed in any other story.

Good show, just the same.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you thought the Hellboy movies were good then you will love the comics. Much more story on the monsters and the history of hellboys origin. Great reads, Very recommended

[Starlight Kid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a 5 star just yet but was better then the first book and hoping the 3rd one will be amazing