Hellboy Universe: The Secret Histories

The World of Hellboy: Standalone Books #Rasputin, Sledgehammer, Visitor

by Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson, John Arcudi

Longstanding mysteries from the Mignolaverse, finally solved in this collection of standalone stories!

When did Rasputin find his calling to bring about Ragna Rok? How did the Visitor stay hidden on Earth for so long? And where did the legendary Sledgehammer armor really come from? These questions and more are answered in this new collection from the world of Hellboy! Three stories of instrumental side characters are explored in full, collected for the first time in a handsome hardcover perfect for any Hellboy fan's library.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is joined by John Arcudi, Chris Roberson, Laurence Campbell, Christopher Mitten, Dave Stewart, and others to bring these hidden corners of the Mignolaverse to light.

Collects Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon TPB; Sledgehammer 44 TPB; The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed TPB.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction

432 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2021

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

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

These spinoffs from Hellboy answer some small questions that were left open. None of them are essential reading. Rasputin is mainly about Professor Bruttenholm's first mission but it does answer how Rasputin got hooked up with the Elder Gods. Sledgehammer '44 is two solo stories featuring the character that first appeared in Lobster Johnson: Iron Prometheus. The Visitor extrapolates what the dead alien who appeared in Hellboy: Conqueror Worm was doing here on Earth.

Below are my reviews for each story in this Omnibus.
Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon ★★★★
Sledgehammer 44 ★★★
The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed ★★

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Mignola's Hellboy comics. Found this HC at the comic store and decided to add it to my collection. For the most part? It's good. I think huge fans of the entire Mignola world will appreciate it.
This HC collects three stories. "Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon"; "Sledgehammer 44"; and "The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed". Each story, respectively, answers some key questions. Firstly, how did Rasputin find his way to Ragnarok? This story is, by far, the best one. Great artwork and a wonderful story show how Rasputin made the choice to seek his destiny and, at the same time, we see Dr. Broom start working for the British government. A 5/5 story.

The second story asks, how did the Visitor stay hidden on Earth for so long? Well, I am going to be honest and say I have no idea who the Visitor is and thus his story wasn't all that exciting to me. But it was a good overall story about the development of Hellboy from child to adult. 4/5

The third question revolves around where did the Sledgehammer armor come from? This also is a concept I am not very familiar with. I did not like this story that much. The art and plot weren't very good. 2/10

Then there is a random Hellboy fights Santa filler issue. 2/10

But the final part with the sketchbooks and random art is quite nice. 4/5

Overall? This is a good addition to my Hellboy collection. It is a shame that the entire series didn't hold up to the quality of the Rasputin story, but it's still a nice addition for any Mignola fan.+

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hardcover does contain some short stories that take place before and or around the life and adventures of Hellboy. But mostly they concern his "father" and his adventures in the B.P.R.D.. It is fun reading these collected stories as they all lead to one Hellboy as well as the likes of Rasputin and some serious nutty Nazis who want to create the fourth Reich through supernatural means, and these are actually quite fun to read outside under A Sunscreen enjoying the silence of the Ardennes in Belgium where my summer place can be found.

If you enjoy the tales of Hellboy and those connected the content of this hardcover is a hoot and a half.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything Mignola and HELLBOY is a guaranteed good read, but...Holy mackerel, THE VISITOR was a tough one. Who would have expected the backstory of a bit-part alien from one of the oldest HELLBOY stories to be so gut-wrenching and touching...? As always, highly recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its been a while since I have read any of the world of Mignolas works (or as the book refers to is Mignolaverse) and I have to say I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

So here we have a collection of the one-off tales that are set in and around the major storylines (Hellboy, Lobster Jones etc.). So even though they do not directly interact with any of the major storylines they are present or contribute to the big events.

However what they do is add extra depth and colour - which for me is their appeal. After not content with just writing a story that links the major events together you have here a rich tapestry where one storyline intersects another and you slowly get to see a larger picture form.

And all the way through you have that unique style and presentation which makes this (to me at least) so much fun to read.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Começando pelo final, as histórias de O Visitante são bem insossas e são de uma leitura rapidíssima, já que existem poucos quadros por páginas aliados a pouco texto. Se fosse uma história indie teria se dado muito melhor do que uma trama aliada ao Universo de Hellboy. A origem de Rasputin e de como ele ficou sabendo que deveria invocar Hellboy é interessante, mas não é a melhor do encadernado Omnibus, talvez seja, sim, a com os melhores desenhos e arte. Para mim, a melhor parte do encadernado Universo Hellboy Omnibus: As Histórias Secretas é a minissérie sobre a armadura secreta desenvolvida para enfrentar os nazistas e que ao mesmo tempo possui um piloto/hospedeiro e ao mesmo tempo não. Dessa forma, poderia dar 3,5 estrelas para esse encadernado já que ele tem 1/3 de aproveitamento.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent collection of one-off stories filling in a lot of backstory we didn't really need filled in, but are fun to read nonetheless. Well-paced, good art. Sometimes it's nice to just hang in the Hellboy world, y'know?

[Frank McGirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am rarely let down by Mignolia. This collection made me want to make sure I’ve read it all.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of stories that lands the one-two punch of writing AND art. It seems that comics are often weighted more heavily in one aspect or the other; to find both equally balanced—and both great—makes for a perfect graphic novel.

Lore-wise, these stories reveal more of the bigger picture of what else was happening in the Hellboy universe adjacent to its titular hero. Here, Hellboy is in the margins, a guest appearance, but the world is made more broad by focusing on characters who were in the periphery in other tales.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
The disappointing slop compromising the Hellboy extended universe continues at pace. Honestly, the apathy for everything non Hellboy proper has set in so definitively that I can barely even bother my ass to come up with something funny or incisive to say about it. Only the Sledgehammer 44 story showed anything approaching promise, and that is only as Lawrence Campbell's art is the only thing to approach the dark atmosphere that the writers intimate at wanting, but usually fall well short of. The art on every other story was various other shades of who gives a shit, and the last one... just no. I would rather blank pages with word bubbles floating amidst empty space. Even Dave Stewart's usually rock solid colours couldn't save most of this. Very disappointing, but what else is new. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Carl Grider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid background stories. Love Paul Grist's work on the Visitor series in particular.

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hardback volume contains several storylines that were previously published as individual comics and later as graphic novels. They are set in the Hellboy universe but deal with side characters. Most are new to me.

Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon--I had read this before, and even reviewed it on a previous post. What I wrote last time still holds:
The mad monk Rasputin (who made such a mess of the Russian royal family's life in the lead-up to the 1917 Revolution) is back from the dead and joins forces with the Nazis so he can get resources for his projects. He's promised the Nazis to help in their war effort, but they are only a means to his own ends. In this story, Rasputin seeks to raise one of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, an occult group very active during the Victorian era but brought to heal by Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder, around the turn of the twentieth century. The Brotherhood was devoted to the Ogdru Jahad, the Lovecraftian elder gods of the Hellboy universe. Rasputin wants to return the Ogdru Jahad to our dimension. That would be a catastrophe. Luckily Trevor Bruttenholm is working for British Military Intelligence and he puts together various intercepted messages that puts him on Rasputin's trail. Can he figure things out and stop Rasputin in time?

The story is very well plotted. Various elements from different Hellboy stories (including side stories like those of Edward Grey or of the Black Flame) are united without it feeling forced. Enough background is given that new readers won't be lost. The story isn't all exposition, either. There are plenty of moments of horror and action as the two sides find out more about each other and come into conflict.

Recommended.

Sledgehammer 44--The Allies have developed a special suit of armor to fight against the Nazis. On its test run in Normandy, the suit gets damaged in a battle with what seems like the German equivalent. The German is eliminated but the Allied support team, a band of five soldiers, have to take the armor and its pilot back to friendly territory in a wheelbarrow. Pretty soon they are being pursued by other Nazis so escape is not certain.

The steampunk start of the story quickly morphs into a supernatural mystery as one of the Allies finds out more about the armor as he and the armor-pilot share a near-death experience. The armor tries not to look like Iron-Man Mark I but it's hard not to see similarities. The suit uses "Vril energy" for power, which lets in the supernatural element. The story is interesting but not outstanding.

Mildly recommended.

Sledgehammer 44: Lightning Warfare--The armor's pilot is very uncooperative and uncommunicative as the war proceeds. The armor's handlers (including Trevor Bruttenholm) convince him to go and save a pilot from an experimental airplane that has been captured by the Nazis. When Sledgehammer is brought to the front he has to confront another Nazi menace--the Black Flame! The story is interesting but not as compelling as it could be.

Mildly recommended.

The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed--Remember those aliens that showed up in Seed of Destruction and Conqueror Worm? Their unexplained cameos 30 years ago are finally explained in this story. An alien (the titular "Visitor") is sent to Earth to kill Hellboy when he is summoned in December 1944. The alien sees something in the boy, his innocence and his ability to choose his own path, i.e. his humanity. Instead of assassinating, the alien says he will observe Hellboy from a distance to see how he develops. If he does become a danger to humanity, the Visitor will kill him. Hellboy grows more and more human, more and more good. Meanwhile, the Visitor has married a human woman and develops a whole new side of himself as he keeps an eye on Hellboy. The parallel stories help to reinforce each other as well as connect the two cameos in a meaningful and satisfying way.

Recommended.

God Rest Ye Merry--Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. crew take on a sidewalk Santa who has become possessed by a magical amulet. The Visitor happens to be nearby and tips of Professor Bruttenholm about the amulet, getting Hellboy to solve the problem with his wits more than his Right Hand of Doom. It's an entertaining little story.

Mildly recommended.

[Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Overall while I do like the three individual volumes contained within this bind up, none of them truly blow me away or raise the bar in the mignolaverse.

First up: Rasputin Voice of the Dragon. So let’s get the main issue out of the way. This is not about rasputin. Sure, he’s there, but even amongst his own regular squad he isn’t even the most relevant to the story. So it already fails to deliver on its basic promise just from title alone, but that’s not a dealbreaker. Really this is a story about Trevor Bruttenholm and how he got involved with the paranormal during WWII which would lead him to be the man we knew later on. And that’s all fine, he and his teammate Sandhu are a fun duo, seeing more Kroenen is neat. But all in all, after reading that, I much would have preferred an actual story about rasputin, so it doesn’t do much for me.

Next was Sledgehammer 44. I enjoyed this one more than the previous. It’s two smaller stories both focused on the sledgehammer 44 suit and a more in the field look at hellboys version of WWII. The first story is a smaller scale mission that tells a very tight story, while the next was super cool with the battle between Sledgehammer and the Black Flame. Plus the second story reminded me a lot of alien X from Ben 10 with some of the stuff private Redding was going through.

The last was the visitor, and why he stayed. And look, I actually like this one, it’s grown on me a lot since my first read. But I just don’t think it fits here as a cohesive part of this volume. The first two are both WWII focused stories, and there are two other volumes that don’t appear in this collection, but would have fit the criteria. On top of that, of those two volumes, one of them, Rose of the Black Flame, has characters that are directly relevant to the events of both of the other two stories here, so it’s lack of inclusion honestly just baffles me.

For all 3 of the stories the art wasn’t quite my style. None of them really matched my favorite looks across the mignolaverse.

For my final verdict, I would say that, while there’s good stuff here, it is also only really for people who want to read everything Hellboy and mignola, otherwise it’s pretty safe to skip.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delve into some unexplored fates in the Hellboy story. Background and motivations are explained in regards to Rasputin, random alien guy (that gives Hellboy the glowing green cube in Hellboy: Conqueror Worm), and also Sledgehammer.

Do you need this in order to sleep sound knowing you read the whole Hellboy story? No, not really. They could release a new Secret book declaring that everything that happened to Hellboy is really taking place inside of a snowglobe. That wouldn't change much about the original story anyway.
While I'm not as enthusiastic, I have yet to be tired of the Hellboy universe and will probably read much of what is to come about it for a while still.
That said, nothing I've read since the original Hellboy story (besides Abe Sapien, Vol. 1: The Drowning, and some of Abe Sapiens personal stories) felt like it truly connects with it. Nothing is on the same wavelength so to speak. They can be entertaining of course, and have been, but I see them as seperate from that universe to a certain extent - so they don't taint and diminish the original for the masterpiece it is. This one falls into that category. It's good, but feels a bit out of context. It's difficult to remember and put yourself in the state of mind of where each story is taking place in the grand scheme of things. Some attempts are made to connect them in time and place to the original ones, but I would have liked the context to be more properly established. It's strange that they expect the reader to have a perfect map of the Hellboy universe in their head at any given time, and that all of them just recently read the whole lore from beginning to end

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I put this on my hold list a while ago at the library. Every summer, I try to dig through some of my older holds and this one came up. It turns out to be a collected edition of three rather tangential Hellboy series, two of which I'd already read on their own. I really liked the first one, which features Professor Bruttenholm on his first mission in the field, facing off against Rasputin, Kroenen, and other assorted Nazi jerks. Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon is a 5-star read all the way. Unfortunately, the other two stories collected here are less important. Sledgehammer '44 is not terrible, but focuses on an unnamed individual in Iron Man-like armor battling Nazis in WWII. His connection to Hellboy is pretty tenuous. The third story, The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed, is easily the least significant story of all. This one focuses on the most minor of characters, with only a tangential connection to Hellboy, and his story is not a compelling one. This collection is for Hellboy completists only.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most delightful qualities about the Hellboy Universe is how expansive it is, and how rewarding it makes a complete read through it. This volume - part of a larger effort to collect and curate all things Hellboy into a more easily gathered and read format - takes four stories that cover aspects of the Hellboy marginalia, introducing or developing concepts which would never quite take center stage, but which inform the action all the same. This collection is well worth it, as its stories are great reading (The Visotor: How and Why He Stayed is a favorite of mine). But reading all this content in one blast kind of reduces it a little. It's better to enjoy these things in the volumes in which they were originally presented. That said, for the sake of efficiency, this volume is a worthy addition, and very well done, indeed.

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very hit or miss for me (more miss)

The first story I didn’t care for. It just felt drawn out and kind of boring.

The second story was fun. Black flame is a great villain. He has the perfect amount of cool abilities and humorous, but dark personality. The sledgehammer character was fine, but nothing super interesting to me at least.

The 3rd story was so so for me. At first the art was distracting because it’s so far removed from the normal Hellboy vibe, but after a bit I enjoyed it. The story was interesting enough

The Christmas story was fine also, but nothing worth re reading

Overall this was fine and gave some solid background for the Hellboy universe

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well you had me with Hellboy Universe...
I just love everything Hellboy related, or as it is called the Mignolaverse. In this hardcover some mysteries gets resolved in a collection of standalone stories, like how did Rasputin find out about Ragna Rok, or where they legendary Sledgehammer armor comes from and more insight info about this ever increasing world. Its Mike Mignola so there is always great talent attached, Chris Robertson, Jason Latour, John Arcudi and Laurence Campbell and two of the best colorists in the game, Bill Crabtree and the legendary Dave Stewart.
3.5 stars

[Luan Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei muito desse omnibus! Todas as 3 narrativas aqui são muito boas - a minha favorita é a do Marreta 44 -; apenas a terceira não me agradou muito devido à arte, pois esse é um detalhe importante que não agrega - ao meu ver - na construção da interessante e sutil história do Visitante. Ademais, as histórias aqui não impactam tanto em relação à mitologia do personagem que dá título a esse universo: Hellboy, mas nada que diminua qualidade de tudo que está inserido nesse omnibus, que ao final deixa um gostinho de quero saber/ler mais sobre esse universo.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, normally I hate when comics do a modge podge of stories from different writers and illustrators. They are normally mid at best. But this... This was excellent.

This volume goes into the history Trevor Bruttenholm and his involvement in WWII. Lots of other characters, both natural and supernatural, are introduced or further explored. It really helps to establish a long-standing conflict between Bruttenholm/the BPRD and the many foes they face like Rasputin and Karl Kroenen.

Overall, a very solid and intersting collection of stories!

[Nick Bianco · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one gave most backstory to the series. it had a story with hellboy's father which was good. then a suit with a soul called sledgehammer which was really good. the artwork on the villain was crazy. the last section was about the alien that hellboy finds. it was a cute and sad story about how the alien lived a human life and how he dealt with it.

[Jack Reickel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great addition to the AMAZING story of Hellboy and the BPRD and that world. I didn't know what to expect other than the concluding part about the alien, and that was my favorite, but I liked it all. I'm nearing the end of the BPRD's age of man now and it is a great narrative gift to our world.

[John Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love everything to spawn forth from the crazy mind of Mike Mignola.
These stories are continuations of ideas left dangling as plot points in the various Hellboy comics.
Some answer questions we all had while others close up gaps we never even noticed.
Whatever the story Mignola is always brilliant.

[C. Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rasputin - 3.5/5
Sledgehammer 44 - 4.5/5
The Visitor - 3/5

An essential addition to the mythos, if only for the Sledgehammer stories and where they lead in BPRD. But the extra stories are enjoyable enough to the worth the cover price.

3.5/5 stars, rounded to 4.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Evalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic addition to the Hellboy universe. Absolutely adored it; "The Alien and Why He Stayed" arc was my favorite of these short stories.

[Brannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great omnibus of some of the short lived series and on off stories.

[Naik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this collection. Filed in a few gaps in my collection. For me the sledgehammer 44 + Visitor stories were the best.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read the Sledgehammer TPB before, but the other 2 parts were new. Kind of fills in gaps, or plays in the worlds of Hellboy. Not essential material, but definitely fun.