The Hellboy Project: Hellboy Vol. 8: Darkness Calls

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

I'm not all that sure how much I enjoyed this volume of Mignola's Hellboy series.  It's a different type of book this time around - it's the longest Hellboy story I've read yet, and it has art by the amazing Duncan Fegredo, who draws in in a style that I think I would describe as shabby-Mignola (I mean that in a good way).

Fegredo uses Mignola's usual aesthetic and panel layout, but then roughs up the characters and figures by making the art more scratchy.  It's very effective, and the whole book looks great.

I think it's the story that doesn't do that much for me.  Basically, the various witches that have shown up at different times in the series - people like Hecate and Baba Yaga - are up to their usual tricks, as the Russian folk character attempts to exact revenge on Hellboy for having stolen her eye.  To do this, she employs another deathless Russian folklore character.  There are also appearances by Bromwich, the creepy character from earlier stories, and the pig-creature from Hellboy's underwater adventures.

Personally, I found the story a little hard to follow, but still full of interesting moments and exciting scenes.