Hellboy: The Midnight Circus

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

There is often a paint-by-numbers quality to Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics.  In recent years, he's tried to stretch the character into new territory by killing him and dumping him in Hell, but the stories are much the same as they were before.  He's also started exploring Hellboy's earlier years a little more, and to me, that's been a more interesting and successful endeavour.

The Midnight Circus is a one-off hardcover graphic novel that came out in 2013 and features art by the amazing Duncan Fegredo.  The story is pretty straight-forward - young Hellboy sneaks out of the BPRD offices one night to try smoking, and ends up visiting a strange circus.

Mignola does not push this into any new directions.  The person running the circus is a demon or something, and is interested in testing the lad, while the woman with him wants to try to kill Hellboy, fearing his prophesied future.

While the story is nothing special, the art is very nice.  Fegredo is always good, and colourist Dave Stewart really knows how to bring out his better qualities.  I like the way the colours help separate the circus-world scenes from the rest of the book.

This is a very quick read, but it's still a decent comic.

Dark Horse Presents #8

Written by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Evan Dorkin, Tony Puryear, Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, Alan Gordon, Brian Wood, Martin Conaghan, Rich Johnston, and MJ Butler
Art by Duncan Fegredo, Jill Thompson, Tony Puryear, Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, Thomas Yeates, Kristian Donaldson, Jimmy Broxton, Simon Rohrmüller, and Mark Wheatley

There are a lot of new things popping up in Dark Horse Presents lately, as some of the inaugural series in this anthology have conclude or gone on hiatus.  With these new stories come some big-name creators, and some people with whom I'm unfamiliar but am very curious to see more from.

This issue starts with a Kate Corrigan story.  Kate is a central character in Mike Mignola's BPRD, and in this story she reacts to the news of Hellboy's death, after meeting his companion Alice in a cemetery in England.  Some of the emotion in this story feels a little forced, and I found myself much more interested in what was happening between Kate and her German boyfriend Bruno than I was in the death of Hellboy.

There is an excellent Beasts of Burden story by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, involving our usual cast of animals meeting a group of strange sheep one day.  Dorkin and Thompson have just about perfected their approach to these horror stories that feature talking animals.  Normally, I'd stay away from something like this, but these two have made these characters so loveable, and their stories so sad and loving, that I can't stay away.  This is one of the best comics being made these days.

I continue to be very interested in Tony Puryear's Concrete Park.  It's a near-future gangster science fiction story, and while he's still really just establishing characters and their relationships to one another, I find it pretty fascinating.  I've always been drawn to strong world-building in comics, and I'm appreciating the level of thought and planning on display in this series.

Howard Chaykin's Marked Man ends well.  I haven't always enjoyed this story of a hired thief and assassin who, after many years of successfully anonymous crime, is exposed, and his family killed.  He gets his revenge in this chapter, and Chaykin makes some interesting choices.

There is a very strange Tarzan story that starts in this issue.  It's set in a future world where most of our world lies in ruin.  Tarzan lives in a series of hidden apartments which are also greenhouses (I think), and gets approached by some people to do something.  Really, I think I need to read this again.  I did enjoy Thomas Yeates's art, which always looks so old school and so great.  This story reminded me a lot of Arvid Nelson's Zero Killer series of a few years back.

Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson's new series The Massive debuts here, although what all it's going to be about is not yet clear.  We do get some very cool visuals of an independent military contractor being the only survivor after an oil rig that has been taken over by eco-terrorists gets buffeted by insanely strong waves.  It's Wood, so I know this is going to be great.

Martin Conaghan (who?) and Jimmy Broxton (who I loved on Knight & Squire, and who has reached some internet notoriety of late over his involvement in the failed Kickstarter sequel to Smoke) give us a very cool done-in-one story about time travel and cloning (two things which should never mix).

Rich Johnston, of Bleeding Cool fame, starts off a new series here, 'The Many Murders of Miss Cranborne.'  This is about a little old British lady who kills men of the cloth who she believes are not pure in their intent.  With Simon Rohrmüller's art, and the doughty speech patterns of the murderess, we are strongly in Agatha Christie meets Rick Geary territory, and I love it.

There are also new chapters of Skultar, which is kind of funny, and Neal Adams's Blood, which is still god-awful.  It's a shame there isn't a new chapter of Finder this month - that would have made this just about perfect.

Thought Bubble #1

Written by Antony Johnston, Duncan Fegredo, Andy Diggle, Robin Furth, Mark Rutter, Mike Carey, Gavin Ross, Sally Jane Thompson, Will Morris, Raymond Mak, Amy Evans, Kristyna Baczynski, Matt Sheret, HP Lovecraft, Stuart Gordon, Alice Summerscales, and Sophie Kamlish
Art by Charlie Adlard, Duncan Fegredo, D'Israeli, Frank Beazante, MD Penman, Gavin Ross, Jally Jane Thompson, Will Morris, Raymond Mak, Amy Evans, Kristyna Baczynski, Julia Scheele, Tula Lotay, Alice Summerscales, and Sophie Kamlish

I'm always a sucker for an inexpensive anthology, but picking this up at the comic store this week led to a nice surprise - this anthology of short stories by a mix of British comics professionals and prize winning-amateurs is printed on newsprint, and is folded over, making each page half the size of a page of Wednesday Comics.  This allows the storytellers more space for their work, and makes reading this a treat.

As is always the case with a project like this, the quality of the comics included ranges quite a bit.  The book starts with a one-page Wasteland strip, drawn by Charlie Adlard.  It's very cool, especially since it's only the second time Wasteland has been in colour.  It's followed by a single page by Duncan Fegredo, looking back at his career.  I also quite enjoyed Andy Diggle and D'Israeli's strip about a cop who believes a murder was committed by time travelers.

Mike Carey gives us a very cool story about Leonardo Da Vinci, outlining some of his lesser-known accomplishments, such as break-dancing and playing for FC Milan.  It's drawn by MD Penman, and is a nice companion to Marvel's SHIELD.  There's also a creepy adaptation of an HP Lovecraft story by Stuart Gordon and Tula Lotay.

Most of the rest of the book is kind of forgettable, but still a decent collection.  It's always a pleasure to be able to support projects like this, even if it ended up being published after the event it was intended to advertise.

Hellboy: The Fury #3

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

I've always liked beginnings better than endings.  In life, as in stories, the start of the journey always seems more exciting, fraught with dangers, and alive with possibilities.  Endings seem kind of final, even when they open the door to something new.

I'm a recent convert to Hellboy, having only started reading the title about two years ago, and quickly getting caught up to the current storyline.  Basically, ten plus years of storytelling culminates in this issue here, as plots that have been running as long as the series more or less get resolved, and Mignola puts his big red hero in a new environment, where he will start his next adventure.

The book is full of massive battles, and tons of gorgeously detailed images of destruction, but I liked the beginning of the whole thing better.  Endings to large sweeping epics always seem a little small and a little like a cop-out.  That said, I do look forward to the next time we see Hellboy, even if it's not going to be for at least six months.  In fact, I kind of need a break from him, which is something that never happens to me with Mignola's other regular title, BPRD.  I expected that this conclusion would bring HB back to his former comrades-in-arms, but that wasn't to be.

I realize that I'm not actually on the fence about this comic; I'm just kind of indifferent to it. 

Hellboy: The Fury #1

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

Is it strange that I usually prefer the various one-shot issues of Hellboy, set in random times throughout the almost seventy years that he's lived on Earth, over the current continuity stories that have been building, for years, to this three-issue mini-series?

It's just that I tend to find that in the "stories that matter", Mignola's writing becomes so wrapped up in grand plots that the characters don't get a lot of room to breathe.  Case in point - Hellboy spends this issue fighting his way up a staircase to battle Nimue, the queen of the witches (who is not really that at all).  He doesn't get much in the way of character moments, and everything seems terribly overwrought.

His girlfriend, Alice Monaghan, however, does get some space, although most of that is taken up with the story of the owner of the pub she and HB have been hanging out in since the last mini-series.

Don't get me wrong - this is a good comic, full of fantastic art.  It's just that I find myself looking more forward to the quick one-offs, done by various artists.  Maybe all that will change though, once Mignola finishes his big story over the next two issues.

Hellboy: The Storm #3

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

This issue wraps up The Storm, which is not really a complete story on its own, but is instead all build up to The Fury, which looks to finish off most, if not all, of the long-running plotlines in this comic.

In this issue, Hellboy turns his back on the army that has congregated around him since he found Excalibur, and takes a walk through the woods, where he comes across most of the characters that have been behind his problems over the last few years, or who have been trying to manipulate him from the beginning.  It's strange how often HB runs into these figures while walking in the woods...

Anyway, it's exciting to be coming to this point in the story.  There are a lot of things that were started years ago and are only now coming to fruition, which is also satisfying.  As well, Hellboy says that when this stuff is over, he plans on returning to the BPRD, which would be very cool, and interesting to see how the characters react to each other after so much time.

As always, Fegredo's art is awesome in this book.

Hellboy: The Storm #2

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

Now that I'm completely caught-up on reading all the old Hellboy and BPRD comics, it's nice to be able to follow all of Mignola's series in 'real-time'.

This issue has Hellboy finish his fight with the guy on the cover, as Merlin tells off the pig demon that's been plaguing our hero for a while now.

Most interesting in this issue is that Hellboy sees Kate Corrigan on TV.  I've wondered how he's managed to remain ignorant of some of the stuff that's been happening in BPRD.  It made sense that he wasn't aware of much when he was hanging out with ghosts, but now that he's back in the real world, and considering the immensity of what's been going on in the sister title, I'm glad to see that addressed.

The last page of this comic is very cool, and makes me look forward to seeing how this arc finishes off next month.

The Hellboy Project: Hellboy: The Storm #1

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

And with this issue, my Hellboy Project comes to a close.  Since April, I've read at the pace of one or two issues a day, every issue of Hellboy, BPRD, Abe Sapien, and Witchfinder, with the exception of one of the Free Comic Book Day issues, and a couple of back-up stories that haven't been collected in a trade yet.  I'll probably put together some kind of posting to discuss my thoughts on the work as a whole sometime soon.

For now, I'd like to talk about this comic.  It feels like much of the story that Mignola started many years ago is coming to a point of resolution, as Hellboy recaps his adventures of the last few years, as he prepares for a major confrontation with his enemies.  Hellboy is not the same character he's been throughout the life of this series.  He has received some news about his parentage and ancestry that has changed everything for him, and now the noble dead are rising out of their graves across England to follow him into battle with  the forces of darkness.  As usual, he's reluctant to to deal with this stuff, but has no choice.

This comic is beautifully drawn by Fegredo, who has quickly become my favourite artist on Hellboy, perhaps even more so than Mignola himself.  It's a hard place to jump into this story, but at the same time, the recapping Hellboy engages in makes the story new-reader friendly.

The Hellboy Project: Hellboy Vol. 9: The Wild Hunt

Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

I think this may be my favourite of all the Hellboy series I've been reading.  This eight-parter brings together so many disparate plot elements and characters from the earliest days of this character's history to the most recent, and reveals how so many things that have seemed random since the story started were actually planned and intentional.

Hellboy learns a great deal about himself in this series, as he is once again informed of his destiny, and decides once again to chart his own path instead.  What makes this interesting is that it's no so much his paternal heritage and destiny that is at the centre of the story, it is his mother's bloodline that has made him more unique than anyone would have guessed.

This volume makes use of a great deal of Arthurian legend, and has an appearance by Morgan LeFay.  I have always enjoyed the way in which Mignola weaves legend and folklore into his stories, but the amount of King Arthur stuff was unexpected.

Fegredo does an amazing job of bringing Mignola's vision to life.  He gives us a faithful rendering of the characters, but there is an element of controlled chaos in his art that I enjoy a lot.

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.