Mike's best Hellboy story thus far and why..

[Neil Hill]

I think it's high time we start a thread expressing our individual opinions as to Mike's single best Hellboy story to date. This can include mini-series (as that would be considered a complete story) or it can be a single issue that really touched or struck you in some important way. Also, please explain your reasons for this choice, as it's always interesting to read different perspectives regarding invididual choices.

My personal favorite story thus far is the Wake the Devil mini-series. Some say that a particular time in a person's life and what they may have been going through have heavy influence on how a particular story effects them. I'd say that's very true for me regarding Wake the Devil. I was at a point in my life where comics were more important than ever and Hellboy no less so. I'm not sure why, but comics have always been the ultimate comfort "food" for me during rough times, and that particular era of my life was frought with much soul searching and a sense of loss. Wake the Devil helped fill that void forme in many ways and kept me afloat.

To some the story itself may seem somewhat pedestrian, however, for me I thoroughly enjoyed it on all levels. I also feel that Mike's artwork has never been better than it was on this mini (although admittedly this perspective could be colored by the period of my life in which this mini-series descended into my world- not sure). Granted, he's since refined and altered his artistic style to great effect, but truly, I'll always love his artwork on WTD best. Just my opinion.

OK people, your turn. :D

[Otto66]

I first met Hellboy in 1994. That was the year DarkHorse published
SoD and the second story, and still my favorite,
"The Wolves of Saint August." Told in 4 issues of DarkHorse Presents
starting in issue #88 and since collected in TPB.
In this story we meet Kate and find out that in Hellboy's travels
the befriended a priest. As an occult detective, Hellboy is set to
looking into a matter by the BPRD.
So many cornerstones and reacurring thems are exposed in this
story along with great action scenes. "I HOPE THAT HURT!", still
stands as one of my favorite Mignola phrases for ending a battle.
Wish I had those issues infront of me to pour over the story again
for more details.

[Mike Cross]

Yay! I concur with Otto, Wolves is still my favourite Hellboy story. It mixes my like of werewolf movies with gratuitous violence, yet with subtle underlying themes on family. Still my all time favourite Hellboy cover in there as well.

[hellboyone]

Third time's a charm for Wolves of St. August...still my favorite Hellboy tale to date. It's a beautifully unique werewolf story.

And although I love the continuing evolution of Mike's art, I think this is some of my favorite Hellboy stuff, back when he was still a bit detail obsessed in the inking.

[morna]

I think, for me it's The Corpse. It was the first HB story I ever laid eyes on and it is still really strong and self contained. It explains really well who Hellboy is and what he does and it's beautiful and funny and the pacing is awesome!

and it has that watch/gallows page which is a icon of brilliance in comics

[shonokin]

The Corpse for me too. I think it encapsulates what Hellboy is all about in one short story.

[kid cthulhu]

I know exactly what you mean, Stygian. Whether it's relationship problems, depression, financial issues, or what have you - comics have always been the ultimate comfort for me.

That being said, I would have to chime in and say that "The Third Wish" has to be my favorite story. I've always had a love for the sea and Mike's story here seemed really different than anything he had done before. The coloring completely blew me away as well, and there's something very soothing in it.

[jnapper]

It's a super difficult choice, but my favorite story is Wolves of Saint August--

Story list:
http://www.hellboy.com/_storylist-comics.html

[Neil Hill]

I would have to chime in and say that "The Third Wish" has to be my favorite story.

Really Kid?! Interesting choice. Most people thus far seem to say Wolves or Corpse (both of which my good buddy Michael have also cited as personal favorites), but neither one ever really grabbed me the way Wake the Devil did.

I'm glad you've offered a different choice though. Not one that I'd choose, but it's all about celebrating differences! :D

Also, I agree with you Rick that Mike's work on Wolves was some of his more detailed stuff. However, I personally like his transition to inking with pens versus crowquills (as Wolves was inked with crowquill and WTD with pens), as he started adding little bits and dropping away others. Just a perfect medium period for me where the detail was still there for the most part, but not quite as "minimilist" as it's become of late. Not that I don't like his artwork of late, but...well, you know what I mean. :D

[treden]

This is what immediately came to my mind. This main story in this collection was Box Full of Evil. I love Heads and Pamcakes.

Box Full of Evil has it all including great art, occult artifacts, ancient magic, and out hero smashing his way through it all.

[ADamUnRama]

I like a lot. Favorite. I love Almost Colossus, I like Roger.



Im gonna have to say The Island.


Its like a history lesson. Hellboys jokes make me laugh every time I read them. "I've know some people that can talk but you - -". And the art, Mignola's Thoth is great.

[Sparky]

The Corpse, for pretty much the same reasons Morna and Shonokin said upthread.

[Monty Props]

The Corpse was the first Hellboy story I ever read. While I love everything Mike has done, I really like the Third Wish and The Island as one huge story. Africa, the sea, Hellboy on his own...brilliant.

[InAdia]

Probably Almost Collosus for me.

The Real Inadia

[Neil Hill]

I like a lot. Favorite. I love Almost Colossus, I like Roger.

If you like both Roger and Almost Colossus Adam, then you'll appreciate this (hopefully):

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=127502

[Neil Hill]

Probably Almost Collosus for me.

The Real Inadia

OK, but why? No offense intended, but just saying here's my like doesn't explain what about it appeals to you on a personal level. :D Details sister, it's all about the details. :p

[Myron L]

Hate to sound like a broken record, but "Wolves of St. August" is still my fav, too...

[Cyber_Ghost]

Tough..but either BFoE or Third Wish. I like the exchanges Mignola writes between his characters, and both were a lot of fun..hm..you're not gonna make me pick are you? :p

[InAdia]

OK, but why? No offense intended, but just saying here's my like doesn't explain what about it appeals to you on a personal level. :D Details sister, it's all about the details. :p

Roger's ugly, just like me. The only one that sees the beauty in him is his own insane older brother, exactly like me. Roger doesn't have any parents, same here. Roger isn't really alive. I'm deadalive. Roger shares the spark of life with Liz. My girlfriend's name is Elizabeth and she's more than welcome to my flame. Roger walks around naked...you get the point. Despite his hideous nature he is simply the most lovable person to ever grace the obscure. Again, very much like me. But of course that is just my perspective.

The Real Inadia

[Nick W]

Another vote for the Corpse. It's not just my favorite Hellboy story, but up there with my fav all-time comic stories in general (Superman: For the Man Who has Everything, Batman: The Killing Joke, X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga & Days of Future Past... man Claremont & Byrne rocked on the book). But I digress... The Corpse is simply a perfect story. There is absolutely zero fat on it. No matter how many times I read it, it still draws me in and makes me laugh.... What do babies like? Babies like-- IRON!... You're like my old granny!... Honor the beast. Honor the deal. Though by the doing we die a little more... I'll be back for you, you horrible thing. I would love to have any page from it, but I would do just about anything for the watch/gallows page. I could go on & on, but I must sleep. To sum up in one word... Ideal.

Oh, & Wolves ain't bad either. :D

N

BTW... Thanks for starting this thread, Styg ol buddy, ol pal

[Gary_B]

The Corpse and Wolves of Saint August are both excellent choices but my favourite Hellboy story is Wake the Devil. It has so much greatness in the story. We get introduced to ZINCo, there is a sense that BPRD is a big organization, there are vampires, Nazis, Liz's first encounter with Roger, Rasputin, Hecate, Hellboy choosing door number three and more. There are also some of my favourite Hellboy lines including "New and improved, my ass" and "No matter how hard you hit them, horses don't usually explode..."

Hellboys smart ass comments are a big part of why I love the character. Conqueror Worm almost gets my vote just because Hellboy says to Von Klempt "How often do you have to change the water in there".

[Otto66]

Another vote for the Corpse. It's not just my favorite Hellboy story, but up there with my fav all-time comic stories in general (Superman: For the Man Who has Everything, Batman: The Killing Joke, X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga & Days of Future Past...
Gezz, Nick. Have ya read anything this century? (KIDDING):D
As to art-wishes... well we may have to start a new thread.;)

[Nick W]

What can I say? I'm a child of the Eighties. :p

N

[Neil Hill]

The Corpse and Wolves of Saint August are both excellent choices but my favourite Hellboy story is Wake the Devil. It has so much greatness in the story. We get introduced to ZINCo, there is a sense that BPRD is a big organization, there are vampires, Nazis, Liz's first encounter with Roger, Rasputin, Hecate, Hellboy choosing door number three and more. There are also some of my favourite Hellboy lines including "New and improved, my ass" and "No matter how hard you hit them, horses don't usually explode..."

Thank you Gary! Someone who finally agrees that Wake was a very tight and nicely done mini. :D

Although, I agree with you Nick that Corpse is an almost "zero fat" little story. I remember being quite enamored with it when Mike turned it out back in the late 90's. I just think that he's created better since then. Just an opinion.

[Neil Hill]

Roger's ugly, just like me. The only one that sees the beauty in him is his own insane older brother, exactly like me. Roger doesn't have any parents, same here. Roger isn't really alive. I'm deadalive. Roger shares the spark of life with Liz. My girlfriend's name is Elizabeth and she's more than welcome to my flame. Roger walks around naked...you get the point. Despite his hideous nature he is simply the most lovable person to ever grace the obscure. Again, very much like me. But of course that is just my perspective.

The Real Inadia

So in other words you identify with the character/s and that engenders a sense of cathartic release via their adventures? Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, and that's entirely possible. I do find it interesting that you feel you identify so completely with a character who isn't really even alive, but that's another story. :D Thanks for sharing InAdia.

[InAdia]

So in other words you identify with the character/s and that engenders a sense of cathartic release via their adventures? Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, and that's entirely possible. I do find it interesting that you feel you identify so completely with a character who isn't really even alive, but that's another story. :D Thanks for sharing InAdia.

I apologize for my overall poor grammar as its early where I am, and I haven't had my coffee yet.

I think everyone can identify with a character or two from the HB universe, Mike is just that diverse of a writer. My younger brother (who you may have heard of and despise) got into Hellboy because he has a crooked right hand and he saw a personal connection with the character. I couldn't comprehend this myself until I saw the Chained Coffin trade paperback lying on the coffee table one day when I was parked in front of the telly. I gave it a looksee and it really captivated me. Though I thought the art work was so so (I have grown to love it) it was the characters, the writing, the involvment of folklore and myth that I really intrigued me. I was enthralled by the time I reached Almost Colossus. That two issue story arc roped me in big time.

The scene where roger steals the cross and confesses in front of it was burned into my cranium as I had thrown myself in front of Jesus on the cross many at time and asked why did I have these feelings for my best friend, who was female, a big no no. With my brother being the semi-bitter, agressive, and mostly anti-social person that he is, I started reading and acquiring my own Hellboy books and comics instead of sneaking them out of his room.

I think I might have acquire thousands of dollars worth of Hellboy merchandise in a little over a year. I collected EVERYTHING, figures, books, comics, I have two HB lunch boxes, and a custom made laptop case, I had jewelry made, a right hand of doom replicated from the comics (one normal and the other in flames) I have a glow in the dark BPRD ring, a collection of 1 inch buttons that I have made myself, my entire mail carrier book bag is covered in buttons and patches and you can guess which character has the most representation(Hellboy in case you haven't figured it out, just edging out Bettie Page and Thin Lizzy). I have totally pulled my personal clothing style from Liz Sherman and just the overall gothic nature of the world of Hellboy. I even PURCHASED Asylum Seeker, and forced myself to play through it and complete it.

You can only imagine how geeked I am for Roger to finally be added to my figure collection. Doesn't help that my brother bitches every other day about how he can't wait until September. I think he might have even been kicked off of the Mezco message board for being way too "passionate" about his demand for these wonderul peices of plastic. Me on the other hand, I plan on buying several rogers, mostly as gifts for near and dear mates of mine, and several other purposes.

The Real Inadia

[Neil Hill]

Well Inadia, I'm glad that you connected with the material in some form, and have since branched out to fully embrace the unique world that Mike has created.

I guess in another sense, Mike has also created another world (although this one inadvertently) by fostering a large fan community via this wonderful website! In fact I'm sure Jonell could never have predicted that this community would spring forth from her interest in Mike's titular character. :)

As hinted at in Tad's Wizard magazine Mignola interview Thread; there's Guillermo's Hellboy, Tad's Hellboy, Mike's Hellboy, and now Jonell's Hellboy community!

[hollow18]

I would say- GN Wake the Devil hands down. That to me is when Hellboy clicked. Everything in that book just works. And my favorite scene is the one with the horse turning into the skeleton! But short story there are so many but one that I always return to is The Nature of the Beast. Nothing like Hellboy's blood turning into Lilies.

Runners up would be, The Chained Coffin, The Corpse, and The Wolf's of St. August.

m

[Neil Hill]

Nothing like Hellboy's blood turning into Lilies.

Yeah, that was a very interesting little moment for the character. We have yet to find out what it truly means, but it still made for something completely out of left field- an element of nearly every Hellboy story that just makes things that much more enjoyable and unique.

[Boston Style]

I cant belive that no one mentions The Conquerer Worm!!!!! It pulls together EVERYTHING that Mike uses in various stories, not to mention the fact that he dedicates the TPB to Doc Savage, The Spider and The Shadow. I cant get enough of it. I do agree that wake the Devil is great, but..........lets all take a re-read and come together in 24 hours, after we've all cleared our heads

[drone]

Either The Corpse or Wake the Devil.

[Neil Hill]

Either The Corpse or Wake the Devil.

Annnnnndddddd? In other words, what about those stories make then tops for you Drone? Anything in particular, other than the artwork? :)

[Hellcow]

I cant belive that no one mentions The Conquerer Worm!!!!! It pulls together EVERYTHING that Mike uses in various stories, not to mention the fact that he dedicates the TPB to Doc Savage, The Spider and The Shadow. I cant get enough of it. I do agree that wake the Devil is great, but..........lets all take a re-read and come together in 24 hours, after we've all cleared our heads


I think its too tough a choice for me to make. There's so much to like in each story.

[Neil Hill]

I cant belive that no one mentions The Conquerer Worm!!!!! It pulls together EVERYTHING that Mike uses in various stories, not to mention the fact that he dedicates the TPB to Doc Savage, The Spider and The Shadow. I cant get enough of it. I do agree that wake the Devil is great, but..........lets all take a re-read and come together in 24 hours, after we've all cleared our heads

I think the only slight downfall that Conqueror Worm may have had, is the fact that Mike had already done that type of storyline (although with a different tempo and overall story thrust) before- mad scientists, Nazi's, etc. Many of the same trappings of past Mignola stories were creeping up perhaps one too many times for some readers (not me of course, but some I'm sure).

Still a great overall story I agree, however, I liked The Third Wish and The Island much better, as they brought things back to more of that fairy tale atmosphere that some of the best Hellboy stories have had.

[drone]

Annnnnndddddd? In other words, what about those stories make then tops for you Drone? Anything in particular, other than the artwork? :)

I liked how The Corpse was based on old Irish folklore. That was really interesting to me. I also found the conversations between Hellboy and the corpse as they were walking from church to church to be very amusing.

I'm not exactly sure with Wake the Devil. I really liked how grim it was and how Hellboy finally got insight on his purpose for existing.

[Neil Hill]

I'm not exactly sure with Wake the Devil. I really liked how grim it was

I agree with you Drone. I liked how Mike was unflinchingly killing of characters left and right! Granted, he didn't exactly kill off one per issue, but the deaths that were there were portrayed shockingly (at least to me) and with poignancy.

I remember seeing Mike at a Portland convention years ago before Wake the Devil premiered. He said that WTD was going to be the worst mission in the history of the BPRD. I wonder if it's truly lived up to that. I'd say the more recent death of Roger had more depth and meaning for me on that level, however, Mike didn't have Black Flame to compare Wake to at the time. :D

[Otto66]

.......lets all take a re-read and come together in 24 hours, after we've all cleared our heads
Head clear. (Well, as clear as my head gets anyway)
Still Wolves.

[Neil Hill]

I wonder if any of you Wolves of St. August fans out there could attempt to elucidate further for me, regarding what magic formula seems to have made that one work moreso than any of the other stories thus far?

Granted, I enjoyed the story also, but it seemed like much more of a straight fight story (at least torwards the end, but aren't many HB stories), with some psuedo-historical stuff thrown in to grant it legitimacy. Good story yes, but lacking in true greatness status for me.

Was it the tighter narrative, level of detail in Mike's artwork at that period in his development, your mood at the time you read it, etc.? I'm just trying to get to the heart of it here, as I'm kind of lost as to why so many seem to like this story best. :D

Thanks in advance folks-

[6are54]

For me it's Box Full Of Evil story wise.
The Corpse illustration wise.
and The Nature Of The Beast has a special place in my heart.

[Mike Cross]

Stygian, I don't really have a good insightful answer for you, though i know you were requesting one. For me, it's the gut shot story, weird as it sounds about the extent of evilness a family or patriarch will bestow towards itself. Plus, as opposed to the more folkloreishness of other stories (which i do enjoy..Heads), it's more of a Hellboy take no guff story...down and dirty to the point.."you killed my friend, now you take this...", which we really hadn't had from Hellboy before or since in my mind.

Mike

[Neil Hill]

Stygian, I don't really have a good insightful answer for you, though i know you were requesting one. For me, it's the gut shot story, weird as it sounds about the extent of evilness a family or patriarch will bestow towards itself. Plus, as opposed to the more folkloreishness of other stories (which i do enjoy..Heads), it's more of a Hellboy take no guff story...down and dirty to the point.."you killed my friend, now you take this...", which we really hadn't had from Hellboy before or since in my mind.

Mike

Interesting insights Skinny. Even though you mentioned that you weren't going to provide an insightful answer, you did so none the less. :)

The tighter narrative can be useful in all kinds of ways. Sometimes writers (or writer/artists) can get lazy if given too much space or too many issues in which to tell a story. However, a tighter narrative with less pages/issues in which to express a point, requires an economy of word and deed which often makes for a more enjoyable story. Perhaps that's what happened with Wolves. Mike had to get his point across with less pages, but also had plenty of action at the tale end to satisfy the action fans.

[Tad]

I think Wolves of St. August and Box Full of Evil are great, self contained stories. Box especially has a nice build, poetic moments and shows that the world of Faerie takes a special interest in Hellboy. Plus it has a monkey with a gun.

I think Wake the Devil is the most traditional comic story that Mike has done. A team gets assigned a mission, they divide up to have their own adventures. This is the story that establishes the Hellboy/BPRD franchise. But the story starts getting a little wonky when Hecate is thrown in because she's part of a much bigger story than the fight with the vampire. Don't get me wrong, I love that stuff, I'm just saying that as a single story it's unwieldy and the incredibly dramatic Liz Sherman story is left unresolved. Wake the Devil worked best for me when it came out as individual issues because the bumpiness was less apparent.

I can't pick out a favorite. It's all part of a tapestry with the later stories depending on themes established earlier. Conqueror Worm has much more impact if you read the TPBs in order than if you read it first.

[Neil Hill]

Great insights Mr. Stones! You see, now that you're a famous creator and all (and have your own Hellboy universe named after you), I have to be more formal. :p (kidding)

I guess I never looked at Wake the Devil as being "bumpy" in places, as Mike's stories tend to all have multiple elements which seem to come from a much larger tapestry that any single story (mini series or single issue) could ever encompass. However, I see your point and it's well made.

Thanks for dropping your knowledge, Tad! :D

[Tofer]

My favourite Hellboy story's gotta be 'Heads', which I believe is one of Mike's favourites too. I love it for the sheer simplicity of its story, style and dialogue. In my view it was the perfect period in Mike's career, as he had found the perfect balance between an over-detailed and an over-stylised style. Also, it happens to be the adaptation of a japanese folklore tale and I was massively into Japanese culture at the time.

[Neil Hill]

My favourite Hellboy story's gotta be 'Heads', which I believe is one of Mike's favourites too.

Mike seems to have a rotating roster of favorites depending on what his most recent story is. However, I do believe you're correct in that Heads has been mentioned as one of his all-time fav's. :D

For me, Heads was a really nice attempt by Mike at tackling Asian mythology. For the most part up to that point he'd stuck with European and Greek/Roman mythology. His willingness to wrap his imagination around other world mythologies shows just how versatile he is and how fresh he wants to keep the material.

[Mikolaj]

Huh... Seems I'm joining the discusion preety late... First I have to confess one thing. I consider the Wolfs of Saint August one, if not THE worst hellboy stories ever. Not becouse of the enormous creepyness, not becouse of the fine story telling, or the wonderfull DHP covers-> I just can't stand those hidious colors! Why is Kate purple? Why does everything has colors as If it was made out of some kids clay set? And no matter how much i like the story I just... I just hate these collors so much that I never read it again (well I gave it another chance once- It was a big fiasco.). Next time I visit Germany I'm gonna get me one of these fancy B & W mini harcovers and see how it changes thing for me.
Anyways- were here to discuss our favorite stories and I have to say that I'm preaty shaken that I'm the only one who considers The Troll Witch the best. I'll try to explain why I love it so much. The thing I love the most about Mike recent developmet in his drawing stylke is the fact that he tends to focus more and more on the beautifull details of the interiors- and the inside of the witch hut is a great example of that. He shows as so much in this short,little story. He tells us a great climatic fairy tale and makes us wait till we finally get to see the big red guy go and kick the other trolls ass. He toys with us just to show us that the ending is nothing of what we expected. And the last two pages? The pre-ending one with the square shape-lik presentation of what happens to the trolls and the las lonesome panel of HB with "and I wonder what will you think about that"? M-----HM!!! Ok... That's it- I'm off to give it a read once again! :o

[Tad]

I think Troll Witch is a great story but it's no surprise that people don't put it high on their list of favorite Hellboy stories. The Troll Witch is telling her story to Hellboy. He's just listening. That doesn't take anything away from the quality of what's there, it's just the reason I assume it's not rated higher.

Of course Conqueror Worm isn't a Hellboy-centric tale either, even though it contains some of the most dramatic moments in his life.

[Petersen]

I have a hard time with 'best'

but two that I really like...even moreso that I think I should are Nature of the Beast and King Vold

Nature of the Beast I feel is some of Mike's best pacing and minimalist storytelling. The intro has just enough info to get the story going (only a few panels of the Osiris club, iirc) Then the memorable bird singing and then not singing when the dragon comes. I also like that it is resolved not because Hellboy really was able to defeat the dragon (although is tougher than rock constitution allowed it) but rather through 'luck'

King Vold is similar to me, easy set-up, fun progression of events, but what really gets me on this one, is the last page where we see what happens to Buttenholm's old friend (his name escapes me at the moment) the panels on that last page strike me as brilliant.

Now niether of these stories have the sweep or grandure of Conquerer Worm or Wake the Devil. I like those stories too, I want to know more about the RHoD and Hellboy's nature and what he decides or if it's decided for him. I want to more more about the fairy folk...that is why I said I like these stories more than I think I should..but I do...so there

[jnapper]

I loved the "Troll Witch" too-- it made me cry when I first read it. Sigh, now I have to rethink my favorite.

(Hmmm-- I realized that "WoSA" made me cry to when Kate was talking to the Wolf Girl. Maybe that's the trigger for me.)




.
.
.
Later--
Okay, just reread "Troll Witch', and have thought some more. I have a tie now--

[morna]

me too David. I first read the corpse sitting on my bed with (almost) all the Hellboy comics in existence up to that point surrounding me in their little piles of two and three and four and so on. I had no idea what was about to happen to me... but as I read the corpse I imagined that all these books would be full of stories of hellboy and various types of fairy folk ... and actually there were quite a few dealing with myths and ledgends and folk tales and those are my favorites: The corpse (as I mentioned in a previous post) Heads, Nature of the beast, Box full of Evil, Christmas Underground, King Vold... there are lots.... ya Troll Witch too Tad and definitely the Third Wish! The evil Nazi ones don't get me going as much (Wake the Devil being the exception)


edit forgot third wish on my list!

[Maija]

I'm sort of with Tad on this: it's hard to pick an absolute favourite when I regard all the stories as part of a continuity. However, Pancakes is a pick for sentimental reasons: it's the first Hellboy story I read in print, in the theatre, just before the Hellboy movie started (a friend had brought his TPB for me to read). It's just so damned cute and short and perfect. :)

Similarly, for sentimental reasons, I'd pick The Corpse. It was the first Hellboy story I ever read, period, but I read the online Flash version, which is a weird way to read a comic (and not a way I'd recommend!) However, in spite of the ways that the Flash method might have diminished the comic, a lot still came through, and reading The Corpse I still read it and re-live my first experiences with comic book Hellboy. Chief among them: "Wow, everybody seems to know him and treats him like he's the plumber, here to fix the toilet. Weird!"

But overall, for art, story, colour, character development and magic, I'd pick Third Wish. It's a beautiful story with storytelling and artwork matured beyond Mignola's earlier work.

I love the magic play of imagery in this story with Mohlomi, his artifacts, the birds, death, endings and beginning again. I love the dark, watery silence of the underwater realm. I love the beauty and horror of it, not just the immediate horrors of being under water and chopped up tentacles, but the horror of doom to an existence in a dark, lonely depth with no hope of release as light above the water, just a fading as foam upon a wave.

This story is so rich and runs so deep for a comic book story about a demon guy who bashes monsters for a living. There's something new to be taken from it on each reading. There is no single storyline; there are several threads weaving together for one end. Both Hellboy and the mermaid have two heroic tales intertwined, but the mermaid is the one who must make a selfless sacrifice and doom herself so that Hellboy can be free to choose his own fate.

It's pretty hard to top those freed spirits of doomed sailors, and the mermaid's doom, though the spirit of her dead father will keep her company in dark eternity.

Earlier stories read as Hellboy inserted into other mythologies, with his own mythology sometimes gumming up the works. Those are great, but Hellboy is mostly a muscly, somewhat paranormally-abled Fox Mulder in many of those. This one is solidly Hellboy mythology, with other mythologies tying into it. This is really Hellboy's story.

By extension, then, The Island ought to be greatest of all! But although it is great, I'm afraid it does have the feel of being laboured over for a long time and so it becomes overwrought towards the end, unfortunately. The secret history of the world is interesting and revelatory, but it gets rather wordy and mind-boggling and a lot of it is a rehashing of things that have gone before. I think it was necessary, but there was so much that had to be jammed in there that the more I think about it, the more this maybe needed to be a three-parter with more breathing room to allow for stuff that was not just the secret history of the world. There was not enough room for Mohlomi's magic to happen.

It does have the distinction of having my favourite cover ever, though on The Island #1 and the drinking with pirates scene is one of the best scenes ever! :)

[6are54]

You know, Christmas Underground really creeped me out.
I consider it Mike's creepiest story. There's just something about it that makes me anxious.

But yeah, The Nature Of The Beast is one heck of a beautiful story. I especially love the concept of lilies growing out of his blood..like it or not, it's kinda romantic.

[Mikolaj]

Seems we have a conclusion somewhere in this thread (or everywhere on this forum) and that would be <ekhm!> Mike is god! ;) One guy who realy can't screw anything up- a true master!

[Neil Hill]

I consider the Wolves of St August one, if not THE worst hellboy story ever. Not becouse of the enormous creepiness, or fine storytelling, or the wonderfull DHP covers- I just can't stand those hideous colors!

What's interesting to me regarding your comment above, is that I actually made an attempt to color a few of the pages from Wolves of St August before the book was officially colored and bound as one volume. I labored over those pages in colored pencil, water color, and several other media before feeling that I'd made a somewhat sophmoric effort, but still worth showing to Mike at a convention. I was so nervous about what he'd say and how he'd receive my version, that I almost tripped over myself trying to get the pages out. As a side note, I'd even gone the extra mile and mounted the pages side-by-side with the b/w version, just so Mike could compare and contrast.

His informed comment was; "So, I see you went with the tooty-fruity colors approach here." :D That totally sucked the wind right out of my sails, but I stayed to hear the rest rather than shut down because I'd been (as I perceived it then) slammed. Overall he liked what he saw, but it wasn't the way he would normally like color applied in a Hellboy comic. Incidentally, I just want to state that Mike was totally respectful and kind in his review, but I could just tell that it was about a million times different than the more "flat" colors of the regular comic, and that he wasn't digging my stuff the way I'd hoped.

OK, fast forward to the release of the colored and bound Wolves TPB. I looked at those same pages as colored by Mike's regular colorist. My first thought was how washed out and devoid of life the colors made the artwork look. Boring, bland, and uninteresting were also in my vocab. at that moment. I'm sure some of you might be thinking it was just sour grapes talking, but I wasn't disgruntled or miffed at all (seriously). It just seemed like such a half effort when compared to the more labored colors that I put together.

I finally realized over time that less is more with Hellboy- across the board. To some the colors may seem minimalistic and bland, but upon further inspection they are anything but. The colors are actually quite genious in their application.

By far I feel that Hellboy has never been colored better than under the careful hands of Dave Stewart, but the colors have always meant something and were never there just for the sake of splash or dash. Color to Mike is like penciling and inking are- another means of telling the story. If he's taken the time to apply a color (or have a color applied in this case), it's because there is absolutely no other color that will do the job as well or have the same intent. You've just got to admire that on some level.

BTW, great solliquay there Ruta! You sure can examine a story in depth and move the reader right along with you wherever you're headed. :)

[hellboyone]

Huh... Seems I'm joining the discusion preety late... First I have to confess one thing. I consider the Wolfs of Saint August one, if not THE worst hellboy stories ever. Not becouse of the enormous creepyness, not becouse of the fine story telling, or the wonderfull DHP covers-> I just can't stand those hidious colors!

I first read it in black & white and serialized in Dark Horse Presents if I'm not mistaken so that's how I remember reading it, even though I've probably read the color version more times by now. Then again, the colors in Seeds were kinda wacky too and I didn't mind 'em then either. Dave Stewart's still the master when it comes to coloring Mignola.

[Boston Style]

but I still feel that WoSA isnt that good. I take great umbridge with the comment that Conquerer Worm isnt a Hellboy-centric story, not to beat the dead horse even more than it already has been.

[Petersen]

I take great umbridge with the comment that Conquerer Worm isnt a Hellboy-centric story

It is more about crazy Nazis, promise of a utopia, Roger dealing with sacrifice and Lobster Johnson than it has to do with hellboy himself. Mignola talked about wanting to do a book that he could do all the fun stuff he wanted to do, folklore, evil scientists, mythology, vampires, etc....he needed a character he could shoehorn in almost to be the readers vehicle through the stories. The cgaracter Hellboy ended up being more than that initial plan though, and he now has a backstory and dilema that rivals the very folklore/sci-fi/myth legends Mignola was trying to retell. The 'Hellboy-centric' stories deal more with his own origin/destiny stuff.

[...]

May I second, or perhaps third (Jonell?), 'The Troll-witch' as Mister Mignola's best thus far. However, where I would differ from Mikolaj is in his description of it as a fairy tale, to quote from the story: "A FAIRY TALE. SHE LIVED AND DIED A COW... HER BONES LIE THERE." . What is being told here is not a fairy tale in the spirit of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, polished and sanitised for the nursery, but rather something of the darker rougher hewn realms of folklore - the beautiful sister does not become a person again and marry a prince ... quite the contrary. The ugly sister fights the trolls with a fury, perhaps, because she sees in them, the thing monstrous in herself. The parallel is clearly there - how does Hellboy feel "NO BLOW STRUCK. NO DROP OF BLOOD SPILLED"? But, what is at the emotional heart of the story is the love between the sisters, the beautiful, and the ugly girl, shown with sentiment but without sentimentality. The Troll-witch is a dark twilit tale, a sad story told beside a fire, from which we emerge blinking at last to a day sky and a ring of standing stones on a hill.

[Neil Hill]

I love the Grimm's Fairy Tale aspect of Troll Witch also, quite a bit in fact. When the story first came out I was overjoyed, as it seemed to signal more of a return to the creepy sing-songish straight fairy tale type of story that Mike seems to do so well, but now that I've had a few years to live with the story, it's not remained a favorite. Perhaps there just wasn't enough space to give the tale a proper telling, flesh it out with that elusive "more" quality, that keeps it from greatness for me? I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it just doesn't have that longevity factor (probably more closely associated with memories and feelings that surround the events going on my life when I read the story- or lack thereof- than anything else). Beautiful artwork to be sure and I wouldn't turn down a single page of it if any were offered for sale, but the story itself just didn't stick. :o

[Neil Hill]

Mignola talked about wanting to do a book that he could do all the fun stuff he wanted to do, folklore, evil scientists, mythology, vampires, etc....he needed a character he could shoehorn in almost to be the readers vehicle through the stories.

Mike has said this yes, but it seems like you're implying that Hellboy was somehow intended to be a cypher representing the reader somehow (although I could be completely off point here Petersen, so my apologies in advance). I suppose most hero characters (or perhaps even villians- depending on the readers prediliction) ARE cyphers for whoever wishes to identify with them, but I think Hellboy was always intended to be his own fully fleshed out thing, rather than just a cracked mirror reflection of his influenced roots- Doc Savage, vintage GI Joe's, pulp era crime fighters, etc.

Again, I might be way off regarding what you meant to say Petersen, so feel free to pick me up and set me straight. :)

[Petersen]

I did mean that, but not to the extent you say. Moreso that I think Mike wanted a cool character to tell other stories with and in making that character ended up having stories that belong soley to the character. It's like the idea of the Beast of the apocalypse and RHoD stuff kinda took over what was a 'paranormal decective' set-up.

I'm not complaining at all!! I love the development and glad that mike ended up making his own mythos, but through interviews, I get the feeling that it's a bit like the doctor's creation now has a life of it's own and it is, in some way, dictating the story

[...]

I love the Grimm's Fairy Tale aspect of Troll Witch also, quite a bit in fact. When the story first came out I was overjoyed, as it seemed to signal more of a return to the creepy sing-songish straight fairy tale type of story that Mike seems to do so well, but now that I've had a few years to live with the story, it's not remained a favorite. Perhaps there just wasn't enough space to give the tale a proper telling, flesh it out with that elusive "more" quality, that keeps it from greatness for me?
My point was that the Troll-witch's 'sad story' was in it own terms not a fairy tale, but rather a folk tale (or an old wives' tale)(often bloody and/or bawdy), and specificly an oral rather than literary form. The brevity of the story reflects the sparse forms of folk tale story-telling traditions. But here characters that in a retelling might at first seem romanticized archetypes twist into the hard but beautiful form of an oral history.

[Mikolaj]

Huh... The original version of the Wolfes was black and white- now i didn't know that! I second to Stygian's first impression on the colors of Wolfes-> they are too pale and too well... unhuman? The work that Dave does on the HB and on his every other book is just amazing! The collors in his HB works are as minimalistic as they can but in the same time they make the world of hb look alive and somewhat juicy- a thing that is missing in Saint August story. As to the fairy tale aspec of the Witch. I guess it depends on what we grew on refering as to the fairy tales. Here in slovian countries or at least from where I come from these a the fairy tales you hear as a child. One of my favorites and a story that is known to, i guess all kids here is a story of the Cracovian's castle's dragon, who made a deal with the folk of the medival Cracov so that he won't destroy the city. It demanded a virgin for an every days meal. And yeah... As a kid I had no idea whatsoever what the hell is a virgin but the fact that the big lizzard ate them alive makes it one hell of a scairy bed time story. And this is no exceptional story. Most of our tales are grim or at least dark and somewhat bloody. I even got to hear the Baba Yaga story (with the jolly counting spoons variant) when I was a small lad. As to other "happy" tales well- I'v never heard most of them before disney or some other animational studio adapted them and I got to see them in the cinema in my early years.

[Weapon Ick]

The one about pancakes.

Reason: It is just freakin adorable.