Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1-3

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Richard Corben

I've never read a lot of Hellboy. I remember getting the first mini-series or two when they came out, but for whatever reason, I never stuck with the title. I vaguely remember being confused, and not all that intrigued.

When I saw these three comics in a dollar bin, and that the art was by Richard Corben, however, I decided that it was time to get re-acquainted with the character.

The story is a pretty straight-forward one about Hellboy traipsing around on a mountain in Appalachia (I don't know why), and coming across a small community beset upon by witches. He gets there at the same time as some guy who used to live there, who of course, is connected to all that is going down. In other words, the set-up requires a lot of suspension of disbelief.

Once the story gets started, things pick up quite well, as we peer into a fabled part of America, where curses and witchballs are considered a normal part of everyday life. Mignola picks up on stories of Croatan, the devil, haunted mines, and all the other things that make Appalachia so strange.

The art is, of course, incredible. Corben has always been fantastic at handling weirdness (and buxom women), and that continues to be demonstrated in this title.

I don't know if I'm intrigued enough to start buying Hellboy on a regular basis, but I think it might be worth picking up the odd issue (especially if they are available for a dollar).