What Mignola said in Toronto.

[Otto66]

Props to Matt Brady and Vaneta Rogers.
Over at Newsarama is a rundown of the Mignola panel. Great Stuff.
Hope that whoever was there will comment on this thread.
Lots to new info and some that has been mentioned in the past.
My favorite is that an artist has been found for the Lobster Johnson
mini and maybe some novels. (Hmmm... Petersen was in San Diego...)
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=82794

[jackups]

Thanks for that otto good interview with some juicey tibbits ,Cheers


especially intrested at the info of the game and films at the mo,Ive only recently got into HB so its gonna take mea while to collect all the novels and tpb's and mezco toys,......Man Im gonna have to do some saving,!:D

[PoprocksAndCoke]

Thanks for the info, although lots of stuff in there disappointed me. Guillermo doesn't like Kate, so she's out. The game will almost certainly be terrible. Even though it was new back at Wonder Con, the thought of an end to Hellboy really sucks. Mike won't be drawing anything major right now, maybe not ever. It doesn't sound like Sci-Fi knows what they're doing with Screw-On Head. A science fiction story - but not drawn by Mignola (although I do still like Guy Davis). All disappointing.

However, the Abe and Lobster Johnson mini-series sound awesome, as does Baltimore.

[Otto66]

The TPBs are the place to start. Knowing that Mignola hasn't the time to devote writing and drawing time to big story arcs makes the early works that much more precious. I always envy new fans reading the Hellboy stories for the first time in great big TPB gulps. Lucky, lucky.
The novels and toys and sundry are just bonus.
Enjoy the stories.

[parrish]

My favorite is that an artist has been found for the Lobster Johnson mini and maybe some novels.

WOO HOO!

I noticed on Newarama they have him bolded as "Lobster Jones."

[Neil Hill]

The information provided in that article sounds both hopeful and depressing. Depressing because Mike almost sounds like he's winding down his career (although that's probably not the appropriate phrase) in some ways, and hopeful because of all the projects spinning out of the world that Mike's created with Hellboy.

I know has mentioned several times that he's slowing down when it comes to drawing, but his imagination has never been more furtile and his ability never better (although some might disagree). Personally I can't wait to see what Mike cooks up next! To that end, I remain hopeful regardless of what Mike says. :D

[CBM]

like he's winding down his career :D
????????
Maybe it's more like he's trying to take some time to enjoy his career...it's kind of like stopping to smell the roses!

[David Glassey]

132 illustrations for a novel he's penning himself doesn't sound like a wind down of a career. To me it sounds like drawing The Third Wish and The Island was not a great deal of fun for Mike (even though I think they are very good) and he would like to do other things, which it sounds like he is doing. He isn't retired yet.

[CBM]

132 illustrations for a novel he's penning himself doesn't sound like a wind down of a career. To me it sounds like drawing The Third Wish and The Island was not a great deal of fun for Mike (even though I think they are very good) and he would like to do other things, which it sounds like he is doing. He isn't retired yet.
Thank you!!!

[Petersen]

My favorite is that an artist has been found for the Lobster Johnson
mini and maybe some novels. (Hmmm... Petersen was in San Diego...)

Hahaha! Nope, not me.

Hope that whoever was there will comment on this thread.

This was a great pannel. Last time I heard Mike at a pannel was at SDCC in '05. So much of that panel focused on the movie stuff and the recent announcement of a new Hellboy Artist. This panel was refreshing because it was like a conversation with Mike. The questions were insightful or interesting and they led to Mike talking about his thought process. Instead of getting bogged down in "when is this coming out?" type questions, Mike talked about drawing and stories and how he approaches stories and themes.

I dunno if it was Mike's mood, the size of the audience, or the audience themselves, but this was a good panel!

[kid cthulhu]

Disappointing about Kate not being in the film.

Personally, I don't mind if Mike takes a big step away from HB for a while. I just hope he continues to do what he loves. Whatever he does is gonna be incredible and I'm gonna pick it up. The man deserves to take it easy for however long he wants even though we'll miss him dearly.

[Myron L]

Disappointing about Kate not being in the film.

Personally, I don't mind if Mike takes a step away from HB for a while. I just hope he continues to do what he loves. Whatever he does is gonna be incredible and I'm gonna pick it up. The man deserves to take it easy for however long he wants even though we'll miss him dearly.

I have to agree...I don't mind him backing up a bit as long as he continues to be a presence in comics. I have learned to enjoy the different visions and takes on Mike's stuff and I think Arcudi and Davis have done admirable jobs in their rendition of BPRD. I have had mixed reviews of some of the novels, but will still continue to read them because of my love of Hellboy. I think Fegredo will do a great job on the next series, as well. He has a passion for it.You can hear it in his interviews.

I'm sure after 12+ years, Mike is probably burnt out on Hellboy, especially since the advent of the movie ,which enamoured another whole group of fans to the character and greatly increased the demand. I would rather it be a year or two between projects ( yeah, yeah, I know)and get the quality, amazing tales we have loved from the start. It ain't easy giving birth to a whole canon of characters and then keeping it fresh, not only for the reader, but for yourself is even more difficult.

Keep, going, Mike, and I'll still be here...I have been right from the start, back when Hellboy was just a back-up thing in "Next Men" by that guy, what's his name ?... (JUST KIDDING !!I love Byrne, too...)

[Mikolaj]

Mike is just humans as all of us are and I can understand the fact that he's tired of making picture-stories... As long as we get at least the ammount of covers and illustrations we get from him now and ocasionaly a little hb short every 7-8 months I'll remain a happy reader! What I would like to hear about are any actual dates for the next HB arc. The last time the dates flew into vacume of the space it turned out that there were problems with the artist and i'm worried as I love the idea of Duncan drawing HB, oh yeah... and as every human being i hatev delays! ;)

Edit:
a photo from the Continuum:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0609/03/mikemignola.jpg

[MackSztaba]

Thanks for the link Otto66, I missed the seminar session with Mike, damn. But that link had everything.

I don't mind Mike stepping down for a while but as lonfg as he's there to guide Hellboy's ideas and developmennts.

[Otto66]

Hahaha! Nope, not me.
Darn. Was Fitz at SDCC this year? Or, Craig Rousseau?
Wonder how long it'll be before we find out. Bet Tad knows.

Anyone up for a road trip to Tad's to beat... er... ask him
about it in person? (KIDDING:D )

[Neil Hill]

????????
Maybe it's more like he's trying to take some time to enjoy his career...it's kind of like stopping to smell the roses!

Sorry, I didn't mean to infer more than was said Christine. When Mike mentioned he's getting slower and slower these days, and that he probably won't do anything longer than a short story here and there from now on, I guess I got a little depressed. No harm intended.

[Libaax]

Its good that he will draw small things but its heartbreaking to hear that he wont draw Hellboy main series anymore.


Mike and the art of Hellboy is the reason i started reading comics, just to never see him draw a big Hellboy story makes me very very sad.


I would change everything he writes BPRD and stuff for a big mini he draws Hellboy.

The fact that he doesnt have a "protegè" or someone who draw with the same style makes this even worse.

[Dark Traveller]

The fact that he doesnt have a "protegè" or someone who draw with the same style makes this even worse.

I thought He did.
I can't recall his name, but isn't he working on some sort of Hellboy, Faery world, show down story?

[David Glassey]

Duncan Fegredo is working on the next Hellboy story. He is not a protege of Mike's but Mike likes his work.
Mike stated at the Toronto seminar that he will most likely not be doing anymore 100 page Hellboy stories but he has not quit drawing the comic...let me reiterate that he has not quit drawing the comic as he stated at the seminar.

Which is good.

[Mike Cross]

Yes, remember we still have Mike HB in the Dark Horse Book of..that is upcoming as well..I like some of the short stories better than the longer ones at times..

[Ninth Hispana]

Yes....,no obituaries for Mike's drawing hand just yet.....

[Angilas-Man]

Mike may never draw another 100 page HB story= bummer

Mike will continue to draw lots of stuff though= oh, thats nice

Lots of Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, and Abe Sapiene stuff coming= :D :D :D

Good outweighs the bad, and if Mike and his crew of merry miscreants continue the quality of work from the last two BPRD series then I think we're in a good place.


Never say never, though. In ten years Mike's drawing hand might get itchy and we may see another long HB story drawn by him, but untill then I'm enjoying all the Hellboy goodness headed our way.

[Neil Hill]

I sincerely apologize folks for setting off the brush fire of comments regarding my thoughts on Mike "slowing down" these days. I never intended to make it sound like Mike is retiring or going underground or leaving comics or anything like that. I know he's branching out and trying new things and I both like and respect that. Heck, he's not even leaving Hellboy behind. So how much of a fool do I seem like for getting people going on that line of thought? Well, quite a bit of one. Sorry folks. :o

[Otto66]

Sorry folks. :o
Yea, well, sorry don't feed the chickens, Styg. (KIDDING:D)

Guess we all took what was reported a little differently and, as always,
added our own 2 cents.

Big Hugs all around.

[Jankenstein]

Thanks for posting the link. Mike sounds like he's super-busy, and the last thing I'd want to see is him getting burned out.

[THE REAL kirk]

Mike doing what Mike wants to do. Sounds like every artists dream - not having to ride the corporate pony or hack something out to get a paycheck. A pinnacle, I say. Congrats on that!

Mike is Hellboy. As long as he keeps a hand in its direction, I'm not complaining. Would I like to see him punching out the issues like the "old" days? Of course, everybody here would. But compare the amount of Hellboy out there today versus ten years ago and it is night and day - and more than enough to keep me entertained.

A great Q&A, one of the best I've read. Thanks for the thread, Otto. And relax, Styg, you're amongst friends.

[Libaax]

Yes....,no obituaries for Mike's drawing hand just yet.....


For me its almost as bad as that.


His art in Hellboy main series is what made the stories what they were.


Yeah i know he will draw small things like some short minis but thats not the same as Hellboy.


Well i hope that vamp novel and the small things he will draw comes out soon.

Thats better than nothing.

[Neil Hill]

And relax, Styg, you're amongst friends.

Whew! Thanks for that. I just know how certain comments can get turned into more than they were intended to be, and I don't want to be accused of being at the forefront of that sort of thing. That's all. :D

[Maija]

As far as I'm concerned, Mike can become a pastry chef if that's where his passion leads him. I'm glad we're getting an illustration-PACKED vampire book instead of swan-shaped cream puffs for now though.

Hellboy is the Beast of the Apocalypse, and the Apocalypse is the ending of all endings. If Hellboy doesn't get an ending of some kind (even if it's just a leisurely stroll into a sun set...ting into a LAKE OF FIIRRRRE!!) he'd become a rather lame character. I'd be disappointed if Hellboy dragged on forever.

And I want to hear more of Mike's crazy tales. He could be like the Brother Grimm of our age.

More power to him.

[Neil Hill]

He could be like the Brothers Grimm of our age.

But hopefully better than the recent Matt Damon and Heath Ledger movie of the same name, right? That movie sucked hard! :D

[rhboyd]

That confirms it for me... Ruta is the wisest of the wise... and yes... you are ALWAYS missed, my dear... always.

luv,
-r!

[Bertowud]

Hellboy is the Beast of the Apocalypse, and the Apocalypse is the ending of all endings. If Hellboy doesn't get an ending of some kind (even if it's just a leisurely stroll into a sun set...ting into a LAKE OF FIIRRRRE!!) he'd become a rather lame character. I'd be disappointed if Hellboy dragged on forever.

LMAO! Instead of Lake of Fire, I read the above as Ring of Fire and suddenly Hellboy with a guitar and Johnny Cash's voice was tramping through my head. I guess I need to see a shrink.

I don't blame him for taking time to enjoy the work he's doing, working on the movies and all, but I read Hellboy for two reasons: Great stories/storytelling and Great Mike Mignola art.

I like BPRD, but it's not really the same Hellboy world to me. I love what John Arcudi and Guy Davis are doing though.

I also read the novels and for the most part they're OK. I like the latest one, God Machine, the best followed by Lost Army as a fairly close second. They're still not the Hellboy world I've fallen in love with.

I've been reading Hellboy from the start, only missing a few appearances like Batman/Starman/Hellboy and Ghost/Hellboy. I waited for years for the Island and remember a few interviews where Mike stated he'd never let anyone take over drawing Hellboy. I remember when ASoH came out thinking, "No more full series of Hellboy drawn by Mignola."

I guess I'm just disappointed he's not drawing all the Hellboy stuff any more. I'm looking forward to future Hellboy adventures and whatever other cool stuff that Mike Mignola comes up with, but I'm going to miss his art on the regular Hellboy stuff.

OK, through whining.

[Hellcow]

Don't go breakin my heart....

Oh, the pain... the pain....

But if it makes Mike the man happy, then I just have to live with that....

Afterall, he is only human.....

But what about Cyborg Mike? Isn't there some sort of Robot Mignola that can go on drawing Hellboy forever?

How do I send him a message?

00011110010010011100111000101011000110001000111101 011010110011

[Maija]

That confirms it for me... Ruta is the wisest of the wise... and yes... you are ALWAYS missed, my dear... always.

luv,
-r!Aaaawww, you're such a sweetie, Ron! :)

But if I'm so all-fired wise then why can't I get this damned transporter device to work?!

[Ninth Hispana]

A Robo-Mike that spits out mountains of art pages, hmm.......by the way a rockin good avatar, [where??] Mr Boyd.

[rhboyd]

heehee... thanks...

It's one of the sketches from MM's San Diego '06 sketchbook. I scanned cropped and coloured.

Gotta love monkeys... FLYING monkeys with bloody knives even more!!!!

thanks for the call-out... and thanks to MM for the AWESOME work!!!
-r!

[Neil Hill]

heehee... thanks...

It's one of the sketches from MM's San Diego '06 sketchbook. I scanned cropped and coloured.

Gotta love monkeys... FLYING monkeys with bloody knives even more!!!!

thanks for the call-out... and thanks to MM for the AWESOME work!!!
-r!

Yeah, lovin' that Avatar Ron! :D

[Mike Cross]

Ron B also draws a mean lookin' Hellboy...

[chiaroscuros]

i don't think mike hates the animated screw on head stuff. it is just that it is too close to mike's work and sence of humor for him to be objective about it. frankly, i can understand that. when sook was doing the first bprd stuff, you could see mike's influence so strongly that it bothered me when sook didn't nail it just like mike would have done. now that i have some distance (about four years... ), i can enjoy the artistry of sook. but i couldn't stand to look at it when it first came out.

which is why guy davis' art works so well on bprd. it couldn't be farther from mike's stuff, but guy carries the plot well and makes the story come alive. but it made me cry to think what how amazing the black flame would have been if mike had drawn it. story wise, it my favorite so far!

anyway, screw on head is hilarious fun and i have my fingers crossed that it will be a huge success (because i want many more of these episodes).

regarding mike's output... i think he feels that his fans have higher and higher expections with each hellboy series that comes out. and in his mind, the bar gets raised higher and higher to the point that mike feels unable to keep doing it better. he redrew the island three times!! this is a man who is really committed to his art and his fans.

mike's art is also getting more and more simple. zenlike perfection, maybe... and simple is hard. much harder than lots of detail.

he acknowledges that he has more ideas than he will ever have time to draw. so he keeps looking for ways to create partnerships to get his ideas into print. i see him doing a lot more writing and less drawing in the future. the conan stories are a good example of this. the future vampire story is another. maybe he will do more covers in the future. i would love to see mike do some mainstream marvel and dc characters with the intensity he puts into hellboy.

p.s. i happened to be at the right place at the right time to look over the right shoulder... :) the those 100ish illustrations look amazing! i can't wait to see the story that goes with it! lots of architecture and machinery... very cool stuff!

[Otto66]

But if I'm so all-fired wise then why can't I get this damned transporter device to work?!
*COUGH*Heisenberg Compensators*COUGH*:rolleyes:

[David Glassey]

I can't believe what I was told today.

Apparently a gent I know by the name of Sean Wickett could have met Mike Mignola through Ron Boyd, whom he knows. He could not make it because of an obligation that ended up falling through.

I would have given my Right Hand of Doom to be there.