The Hellboy Project: Hellboy Vol. 5: Conquerer Worm

by Mike Mignola

As much as I've enjoyed the short-story collections, I was very happy to read an extended narrative with Conqueror Worm.  This volume has Hellboy and Roger trekking through some Austrian mountains to get to Hunte Castle, the original home of the Nazi space program.  It would seem that the entire goal of the Nazis was to send a dead body into space so it could be inhabited by ethereal aliens which will then turn into a worm and destroy the world.

Mignola has always worn his Lovecraftian influences on his sleeve, yet with this story, he dives into space aliens and some of the other things that live in space unknown to mankind.  This volume also features the (sorta) return of Lobster Johnson, and a cyborg ape.  Truly, I'm loving this stuff.

The ending of this book sets up the BPRD series, and explains Hellboy's absence from their adventures.  I've been having a good time working my way through these comics, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Hellboy is like without his entourage and support network.