![]() ![]() It’s one of the stories that exemplifies the versatility of Hellboy and his enduring legacy. ![]() One that can easily be picked up on its own. Hellboy: The Crooked Man from Mignola, Corben, Stewart, and Robins is a tasty bit of backwoods horror. The result is something that I’d say almost feels timeless for adventure or horror stories. The word balloons and text feel just a little bit larger than many other comics. There’s also just something about the lettering from Clem Robins in Hellboy that is unmistakable. It helps make the red of Hellboy stand out more, true, but it also makes the world feel tainted. There’s almost a sickly pallor to it, with Stewart using hues of blue and green for much of the backgrounds that feel awash with grey. It helps give all of his characters and otherworldly feel and really makes the appearance of the Crooked Man himself creepy.ĭave Stewart’s colours beautifully enrich Corben’s linework. The way that Corben approaches shading and texture gives everything a kind of rounded feel through a mixture of shapes, stippling, and solid shadows that you don’t see often in comics. There’s an ineffable quality to it that makes it feel alive. It’s kind of free-flowing in how it plays out, very nicely mixing in some local myths and the kind of evil that is almost always present through affluent wealth. And Hellboy’s set to help a local bury his father and cleanse the evil. The titular Crooked Man is a miser has taken on a demonic bent collecting souls. Set in 1958 and the Appalachian Mountains, Hellboy finds himself in a situation where witches abound. Here he delves into the territory of Manly Wade Wellman and backwoods Americana terror. Mike Mignola takes influences from some of the best of horror and pulp short story writers, like Ambrose Bierce, Sheridan Le Fanu, HP Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, and Robert Chambers. You don’t really need to know anything else to dive in. It makes for a situation where it’s very easy to just pick up this story and go. ![]() The Crooked Man fits in the latter format. And those that often take place at various times in the past, often as standalone tales. There are those that primarily take place in the present, adding to the ongoing saga of the characters. Similar to a television show like The X-Files, there have typically been two tracks of Hellboy stories. This third iteration is set to use one of the greats from the comics series as its inspiration, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, by Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, Dave Stewart, and Clem Robins. While I loved the first version and liked the second, recently there was announced a new kick at the can. The second iteration used source material from the Arthurian trilogy period with Darkness Calls. The first built off of Seed of Destruction and then went off in fantastical directions with the second movie. In the realm of live action, Hellboy has already seen two iterations. From the comics to the novels, the animated to live action movies, the toys to the tabletop roleplaying game, it’s all mostly good or better. There’s an easy, laid back everyman quality to Hellboy himself and an engrossing world that seems rife for endless exploration in numerous spin-offs and formats. Hellboy blends horror, the occult, strange heroes, tall tales, myths, pulp sensibilities, humour, and more. Mike Mignola created something truly special nearly 30 years ago. ![]() I’ll go one further and say that the Hellboy universe is also one of the greatest franchises ever. Hellboy is one of my favourite comics ever. ![]()
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