Witchfinder, Vol. 1: In the Service of Angels

Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder

by Mike Mignola, Various (Illustrator)

Mike Mignola teams up with artist Ben Stenbeck (B.P.R.D.: The Ectoplasmic Man) for a look into one of the Hellboy universe's greatest enigmas: nineteenth-century occult investigator Edward Grey In one of Grey's first cases as an agent of the queen, he goes from the sparkling echelons of Victorian London to its dark underbelly, facing occult conspiracies, a rampaging monster, and the city's most infamous secret society: the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Mystery

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2008

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

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Witchfinder Volume 1: In the Service of Angels.
Thanks to some idiotic editing going on behind the scenes, the names of graphic novels are being changed to their subtitle only, removing the actual comic title and volume number from the name. So good luck trying to find comics on Goodreads in the future. I suggest you let them know what you think of the change by contacting them via the Contact Us page.

Ok. So I've never had much luck getting into Hellboy comics, but this was a Hoopla Bonus Borrow and I thought I'd give this spin-off series a try.
I liked it!



Edward Grey is a sort of James Bond for the paranormal side of things, and he runs around London sanctioned by the Queen, putting out demon fires and chasing evil witches.
It's not like I couldn't put this down, but I also didn't have a hard time picking it back up again.



I'm not sure the art will ever be 100% to my taste, but it is certainly distinct and fits with the world Mignola's created.
Reading this made me think, that maybe after all these years, I need to give Hellboy another shot.



Recommended for fans of the Hellboy universe.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to the Mignola-verse. Sir Edward Grey has popped up briefly in other Mignola books and finally gets his own series here. Ben Stenbeck's art is perfect for the series. He does a wonderful job of illustrating the streets of London in this Gothic horror.

A group of adventurers are dying off one by one after visiting an abandoned ruin in Egypt. Enter Sir Edward Grey, who is here to help at the behest of the Queen. Mignola does a fantastic job of combining various myths and legends into a gripping story. In this story, we get allusions to Hyboria, the Brotherhood of Ra, witches, mediums, vampires. It's fantastic.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a spin-off or side-story from another series, because it felt very incomplete and inconclusive. Not bad, just not satisfactory as a stand-alone. And I really wish the lady medium hadn't been abruptly murdered, that felt like a waste of an interesting character.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Victorian England, a group of explorers return to London after an expedition to Egypt where they discovered, amongst other things, some bones belonging to a creature they can't identify. Shortly after they set off back home they begin being picked off one by one, dying mysterious and gruesome deaths. Who's responsible? Enter Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder.

As he tracks the demon, he encounters spirits, a 200 year old captain, an actualisation of a real Victorian theory of the "Hollow Earth", and a shadowy secret brotherhood.

The character of Edward Grey has cropped up in lots of Mignola's previous work like Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and BPRD and I've liked the idea of it for a while. So it's great news that Mignola's decided to take the character and develop him into his own series.

Foggy London streets, shadowy Whitechapel alleys, amazing looking Victorian architecture, the artist Ben Stenbeck has done a great job bringing Mike Mignola's great script to life.

As always Mignola's work puts other mainstream comics to shame with the vivid characters and fantastic stories. Gothic horror doesn't get much better than Witchfinder.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. Taking a lot of the trappings of B.P.R.D. storylines and transporting them to Victorian London makes for a refreshing change of pace that still feels very much of a part of the greater Hellboy universe. The atmosphere is perfect for this sort of story, and Sir Edward himself is a great protagonist. The art has some consistency issues, and Stenbeck never really rises above just doing a decent Mignola imitation. But it is a decent imitation, and it serves the story well enough.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading the first Witchfinder collection and now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. I absolutely loved this book! It succeeded in being genuinely creepy and that's not something I can say often about a comicbook.
This is definitely my favourite Hellboy spin-off title and I recommend it to any fans of gothic horror in particular or just supernatural skin-crawlers in general.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been looking forward to this for awhile, and I wasn't disappointed! Mike Mignola's Victorian-era occult detective Sir Edward Grey gets his own series, and its definitely my favorite of the various Hellboy/B.P.R.D. spin-offs to date. The art by Ben Stenbeck is absolutely perfect for the material, and the new characters and additions to Mignola's ever-expanding mythology are great!

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4,2 z 5 pro okultní viktoriánskou detektivku)
Edward Grey je Mignolovo love child podobně jako Hellboy a je to znát. A já tenhle okultismus v kontextu 19./20. století mám moc rád. Sice se v tomto kontextu nejčastěji odehrává ve Viktoriánské Anglii nebo přímo v Londýně (a to je případ i Witchfindera), pořád má co nabídnout a mě se ta atmosféra stále ještě neomrzela. A rozhodně v podání Mika (a jeho vybraných kreslířů, pokud v tom nemá ruce sám) má pořád atmosféru a kouzlo, a když je jejím středobodem švarný gentleman Edward Grey, té chvíle čerstvě sirem, tak je to ještě lepší. Sir Grey a svět okolo něj je totiž koncentrátem všeho, co Mike Mignola nasál z literatury, která mu učarovala. A je to vidět. Vše působí přirozeně, konzistentně, funkčně a decentně (i když je to zrovna daleko za horizontem fantazie). A to mě baví. Navrch fakt, že Grey krásně zapadá do Hellboyversa (takže odkazy lítají tam a zpět), dodává punc kvality a propracovanosti. Jediný pomyslný kaz je to, že tady se nám představí kromě sira Greye několik dalších velmi zajímavých a skvělých postav, které se ale živé nedočkají konce příběhu. Jejich skon je vždy patřičný a "v pořádku", ale i tak zamrzí. Což je smutné, ale svědčí to o tom jak dobrou práci Mignola se Stenbeckem odvedli, když se vám postavy, které mají i jen pár replik, dostanou pod kůži.
České vydání je opět parádní, bonusy a všechno, menší formát zamrzí snad u každého komiksu. Co musím pochválit je překlad, který mě chytl hodně rychle a byl přirozený a krásně mi seděl (pocitově vyzněl i lépe jak anglický originál a to beru ohled i na to že nejsem rodilý mluvčí). Kéž by všechny překlady byly takové, častá prkennost (o dalších neduzích nemluvě) překladů Crwe mě trápí už dlouho, ale u Comics Centra (a dále třeba u Paseky a Zaniru) vím, že když se pustím do "překladového" komiksu, tak trpět nebudu.

[Jakub Polák · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5*/5*
Úžasná misteriózna detektívka v podaní Mikea Mignoly. Kresba Bena Stenbecka je taktiež fantastická a atmosferická, rovnako ako v komiksoch Baltimore.

[Wing Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different and the same all at once (which is a good thing)!

So another character that showed up once in the main HB series now has a series himself, how does Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder fare? Quite good actually, I love the Victorian setting and it actually builds on the Mignolaverse making it both different but more of the same good stuff as the BPRD books:

World: I will be honest with you that I found the art to be a bit hit and miss, most of it is fine, the line work, the character designs and the color scheme fit the tone of the book, however the middle issue changed artists and it did pull me out of the story a bit. Overall the art was good. The world building here is great, it seems like at first it was it's own thing, but slowly as the story progressed and bits and pieces started to fit into place we saw the greater Mignolaverse attach itself to the story, it's a wonderful process (cool call back to Hollow Earth). I like the world, it's fun!

Story: Here is where it lost a star, I found it to be a bit too info dumpy in places, but mostly the story was paced well and the art support the story nicely. I really liked the way that the history and the ties to the Mignolaverse slowly revealed itself. The villain (I won't say who) was cool and there was wonderful set up for future books. Pacing and dialog was great, while as I said above, there were parts that were a bit too info dumpy. Overall a fun story with cool world building.

Characters: Possibly the weakest part of the book, Sir Edward is an interesting character, but we actually don't really learn much about him. There was a lot of world building this arc and I think that it took time and focus away on the characters themselves. I felt that Witchfinder and the rest of the crew ended up being fairly forgettable, something I hope will change with future arcs. The relationship was also completely out of left field, but as with other works of Mignola, writing love stories is not his thing.

Overall a very strong book with a wonderful setting and building towards a denser and richer Mignolaverse. Story was fun but flawed, and character development was thin. However as I said, it was a fun read and Victorian England and monsters is just like ice cream with sprinkles!

Onward to the next book!

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this story in the original monthly comics issues.
This is the first collection featuring Sir Edward Grey, the Witchfinder and occult detective during the Victorian era. Grey travels down the same mysterious paths as Hellboy, the B.P.R.D. and other characters in the Mignolaverse.
Ben Stenbeck alters his art style here to resemble Mignola's Hellboy work, and it helps make this fit right in. Dave Stewart's crafty work on colors really helps set off the moody atmosphere.
While I enjoyed this as a straight-up adventure tale spiced with plenty of horror and supernatural themes, I found the character of Sir Edward Grey to be sort of wooden. He always seems to be so matter-of-fact in his interactions with the other characters and doesn't really emote or show anything other than his disciplined side.
Mignola throws in a slew of disparate horror tropes and makes the blend work: bones of a man-sized animal discovered in the ruins of an ancient civilization, and the subsequent murders of expedition members in ways reminiscent of Poe's Murders In The Rue Morgue; a gargoyle like creature that gains strength and size with each bloody murder; zombie-like corpses; a medium who brings forth an ancient spirt (or agent of the devil?); Acheron and the river Styx; mysterious cabal-like symbols; the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra; the Church of the Inner Word whose pews are occupied by exsanguinated corpses; the ancient garden of Shambhala; the Bedlam asylum; a lunatic sorcerer; and a relic of Jonathan Swift's Lilliput.
Grey emerges from it all with nary a hair displaced. At least, he indulges from time to time in a good tankard of ale.

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

I loved the Victorian atmosphere and Sir Edward is a charismatic lead. I'm not sure I'm in love with the idea of an ancient ape-like species from the Hollow Earth as the main culprit, but this was well done that I enjoyed the story in spite of that. I liked the idea of a secret society that had an agenda towards world domination, and how they make a powerful adversary in Sir Edward. The inclusion of Sir Edward's origin story as the Witchfinder was a nice bonus.

I liked the eerie and creepy elements, excellently drawn by Ben Steinbeck. I thought that one of the characters bore a resemblance to classic horror movie actor Peter Cushing, and sure enough, it was so! The seedy ambience Victorian London blooms in full spectrum, as though through a darkly-lit photographic aperture. Mike Mignola's work excites me because he brings a love of classic horror elements and folklore to everything he writes. It's like being able to read those gems but getting something new in the bargain.

I will definitely read more books with Sir Edward Grey.

Recommended.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice solid first entry in this expansion of Mike Mignola's Hellboy universe. Sir Edward Grey received his knighthood because he saved Victoria from a trio of witches. While he hates being called Witchfinder, it seems it is his destiny to encounter monsters and spirits in the Queen;s service as her special agent. The Hellboy connection, besides Grey's brief appearances in Hellboy itself, is the Heliopic Brothrhood of Ra. In Victorian England, unlike Hellboy's modern time adventures, the Brotherhood wields vast power in English society. We get a few deaths, and I would have like to have seen more of the late Captain and Mr. Salt.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a middle-of-the-road Mignola. The art is done by Ben Stenbeck, but he keeps it in Mignola's style. The story, about a mutant spectre of a pre-human civilization. The 19th century Victorian London is a perfect atmosphere for this kind of story, with a creature beyond the defense of the humans in its path. Grey makes for an interesting hero; he is forthright but not physical. He solves the case through luck and associates. It's good, but not memorable.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine addition to the Hellboy mythos.

The first volume of Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder takes place in 19th century Victorian London, following the adventures of the eponymous character, an occult investigator. Ben Stenbeck delivers some high quality artwork and really captures the essence of the Victorian era. Mike Mignola's writing feels sublime, and so intriguing.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great addition to the Mignolaverse. We have ourselves a crime horror novel. Really different and cool art for the time period. Im a fanboy now.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the mystery and secretive magic of the best Hellboy stories set in the most mysterious (and probably stinky) setting imaginable- 1880s London. The fog, the crime, the 1/2 price cockles, what else do you need for a story about a vampiric pile of bones using ectoplasm and sorcery to reform into a devil?

I love this story and setting- prime stuff!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, great art. Though I can't completely discredit what someone else said about the art being "so-so," but it's a little wrong because the art is not bad at all. There's a certain degree of polish that's present all over other Hellboy books (counting Mignola's and Fegredo's art, alone) and B.P.R.D. (Guy Davis, for the most part) that's not exactly here. There's great style here that suits the imagery of the Hellboy series, with ever-so-small hiccups in what I'll just have to call consistency. While I notice this, it never actually jarred me, I was often impressed, and I felt myself never detracted from the original excitement I betrothed to the series the moment I knew it was coming. Basically, I'll read anything from this Hellboy/B.P.R.D./Abe Sapien/Witchfinder/_______ "universe."

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tale of a Victorian occult investigator, with a little touch of a dark and regrettable past and a serious case of bravery in the face of evils and monsters.

Has a great LXG feel to it - lots of extra touches of Victorian England to it, giving the story a very immersive impression. I like this as much or better than Moore's work - had LXG come after this I might've thought *it* the derivative/homage work.

Great art, great storytelling (just enough hints to keep me intrigued) and great, morose characters. I love how Mignola keeps working in this universe and is able to keep it interesting - much like Eric Powell's Goon, they're both unique, endlessly creative and entertaining. I look forward to even more of "the same".

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Добрий містичний детектив у сетінгу Міньйолаверсівської Вікторіанської доби, що, між іншим, цілком можливий до прочитання і у відриві від решти серійок світу, нехай із тим і втратиться дещиця задоволення від складання хронологічної мозаїки взаємодій та взаємовпливів.
Цікаво, що сама доба, яка виступає тут тлом, диктує об'ємніші, ніж у онґоінґу Червоного, діалоги та значно плинніший розвиток подій, що придає сюжетові власного шарму. Тим більше, що це, нарешті, історія про звичайних смертних, відмінних за фізичною силою від персонажів навіть із серії про БПРО: прості люди вразливіші за квазісуперів Бюро, через що і діяти мають геть іншими методами. Можна сказати, що до лавкрафтівщини у тому "відьмошукач" є ближчим, аніж весь світ Геллбоя загалом.

[Matt Maielli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is kinda boring in this one (you can only draw a foggy London street so many ways), but more than anything else I love how Mignola and Co. can consistently come up with monsters that aren't easily categorized.

[David Msomba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Witch Hunter,Monsters,set on Victorian England and a story written by Mike Mignola......nothing can go wrong.

Such a great series,can't wait to read the next volume.

[Philip Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic supernatural mystery reminiscent of The Murders in the Rue Morgue by way of Lovecraft's The Hound.
Mignola's victorian detective story piles in just about every trope of the genre you could hope for from inhuman monsters to secret societies and immortal adventurers, while subtly tying together many disparate threads from other stories in Mignola's universe.
The art by Ben Stenbeck captures the gothic London streets perfectly while doing a decent job of loosely imitating Mignola's own style (as many of his collaborators do).
Hellboy may be the flagship title for this particular shared universe, but Witchfinder is easily the most entertaining of it's many spinoffs.

[Keith Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can tell they were getting tired of Hellboy, but they weren't tired of the underlying ideas.

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

El dibujo de Mignola sigue quitando el sentido

[Jo Besser · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I like horror, maybe I should stop taking my reading advice from Rue Morgue. (Since this is where I think I got this selection from.)

Maybe I should have read all the Hellboys first, to understand about Sir Edward Grey. I didn't realize that it said "from the pages of Hellboy" right on the cover. So I guess that's on me. But then on the other side of it, I thought as a book #1, I would be better introduced to the characters.

I was indifferent about the story, I don't think it was good or bad. It just was. If anything I feel like I was thrown into the middle of the story and I didn't really have a good understanding of all of these characters. Maybe I needed to read Hellboy, I really don't know.

I don't suggest this one, but if you want something similar. I highly recommend Daphne Byrne.

[Bibliophileverse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful set of graphic novels full of some really weird stories. All the books are amazing. But, my personal favorite would be Hellboy Universe Essentials: Witchfinder. The stories are so creepy and full of horror. Also, the graphics are amazing with some very different characters. Although, we don't see hellboy's character as one of the main in all the books. But, still the books are enjoyable and best for horror lovers. The Witchfinder is superb.

I would like to give the book 5 stars. Thanks to Edelweiss and Dark Horse Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Read more on https://bibliophileverse.blogspot.com...

[Matt Sadorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love losing myself in the worlds that Mike Mignola creates. He has a way of creating a world that the magnificent, the macabre, the magical, and the mythic exist within. All of these things create the reality of his world, and I love taking trips through it. I love his style of art, but I may love his writing even more, especially because he knows how to find the right artists to bring his words to life.

Ben Stenbeck is one of these artists, and he does very well with his realization of Witchfinder's world. Victorian England is brought to life, the clean and the dirty, all of it is there, breathing before you, breathing deeply.

Mignola and Stenbeck are a dream team for this project, and I recommend taking a peak into what they have created.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected this to be good, being a Mignola fan, however it totally exceeded my expectations.
This is a really well written collection, the story is engrossing, the art is simple yet extremely effective and I loved Edward Grey and the accompanying characters.
Mignola has expertly crafted a fascinating universe which has taken in numerous influences and created something original and exciting. This is a graphic novel that both Hellboy fans and newcomers alike could pick up and enjoy.

[Neil McCrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Mignola created Hellboy based on what he wanted to draw. He created Sir Edward Grey based on what he wanted to write. It shows. Mignola wears his influences on his sleeve, echoes of Hodgeson's Carnacki and Blackwood's John Silence are everywhere. Here though, Mignola surpasses those worthy gentlemen in every way.