RIGHT HAND OF DOOM: A CRITICAL STUDY OF MICHAEL MIGNOLA'S "HELLBOY" (limited release)

[Benocles_Czar]

Friends,

I am proud to say that my long awaited book of essays on Hellboy, is finally on the market! :) It's a limited edition so if you are interested, buy it now as there will only be 333 copies sold. :eek: You can only buy them through the website cited below. Here's the blurb by Ron Hanna over at WildCat Books --
:cool:

************ *****

RIGHT HAND OF DOOM: A CRITICAL STUDY OF MICHAEL MIGNOLA'S "HELLBOY" is a book of essays & articles to help educate fans and
scholars of Michael Mignola’s HELLBOY (TM). It focuses on the narrative &
sequential art of the comic book series. It is a homage to the artist’s talents and a way to establish a bridge between comic books and academe. Collected and Edited by Benjamin Szumskyj (the well-known Robert E.
Howard scholar), the editor has put together a fascinating look at this most popular character!

Includes:
MR. BOY: HELLBOY & THE STRUGGLE TO ADULTHOOD by John Goodrich
THE MEANING OF THE EYE & THE FALL IN MIGNOLA’S HELLBOY: Two Consistent Themes by Yann Barrière
HELLBOY, NAZIS, OCCULT & WEIRD SCIENCE by Frank Schildiner
HELLBOY: ANOTHER HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Michael Steele
FINDING FREE WILL, PERSONAL IDENTITY, and the HIGH COST OF LIFE, DEATH, and REBIRTH in HELLBOY by Jess C. Horsley
ABE SAPIEN, OUTSIDER by Martin Andersson
THE SHADOW OVER ANUNG UN RAMA: The Influence of H. P. Lovecraft on Michael Mignola by Benjamin Szumskyj
“BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW” : INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT ALLIE -
by Benjamin Szumskyj, and more!

This is a true scholarly work that should appeal to all fans of this great Dark Horse Comic Book, as well as lovers of Adventure & Horror...

NOTE: This Hardcover volume is STRICTLY LIMITED to 333 copies, and once sold out will NEVER be reprinted again, so grab it while you can!

100 pages, 6" x 9" Casewrap Hardcover, $19.99. Available at: http://www.lulu.com/content/478646

Cheers & God Bless
Benjamin Szumskyj
http://sswftapa. blogspot. com/
private e-mail: khraftstar@yahoo.com

[Poe Ghostal]

So it did get published! Congratulations, Ben! It looks great.

[jnapper]

Congrats, Ben!

[Otto66]

Congratulations! Hope this is just the first of many books
covering Mignola's Hellboyverse. Already ordered my copy.
Cheers.

[ChrisTheHomunculus]

Looks great, I just ordered!
Chris

[parrish]

I can't wait to read it.

[plut]

if the hard cover won't be reprinted might there be a paper back in the future?

I'm very compelled to order it but I don't know if my priorities are right - food's good to have too.

[Otto66]

Silly, plut.
As Erasmus said,
"When I get a little money I buy books;
and if any is left I buy food and clothes."

Words I've lived by and never had "luvhandles".:D

[kid cthulhu]

Congratulations!

Ordered mine. :)

[parrish]

Has anybody gotten theirs in the mail yet?

[Ninth Hispana]

Ordered but not received.Looking forward to an incisive and enjoyable read Ben.All the best....

[ChrisTheHomunculus]

Same here, ordered, yet to receive!
Chris

[parrish]

I actually got an e-mail a few hours after I posted saying mine had shipped and I ordered mine on October 22 or 23, so I guess that gives an idea of when they will ship.

[ChrisTheHomunculus]

I received mine in the post today, I'm in the UK so it was airmail.
Looks nice, I don't know how much time I have today to read it but its pretty compact, so maybes a review of sorts in a few days:)
Chris

[parrish]

I got mine last week and haven't been able to read any of it yet.

[Ninth Hispana]

Well done Ben, your book came this morning.You and your contributor's should feel justly proud...I look forward to catching up with you sometime at Quality Comics...All the Best....

[Benocles_Czar]

Freinds,

I would all love to hear from you regarding the book. If you publish any reviews, please e-mail me directly, or, if you want to tell me your thoughts in private, I welcome constructive criticism...
:)

Thanks again!

Cheers & God Bless
Benjamin Szumskyj
khraftstar@yahoo.com

[Otto66]

The book is waiting for me at home and I'll be taking it with
me on the road. Once read, feedback to follow.

[kid cthulhu]

Ordered mine on the 19th of last month, and just checked the tracking information. Looks like I'll be getting mine either tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to it!

Anyone who's read it have anything more to say? Just curious...

[posh_undead]

I received mine a couple weeks before Xmas, and finished it last week.

Sadly, I am pretty disappointed. What purports to be a critical study, a "step in the direction of academic acceptance" (from the introduction) falls short of its aim. The essays are riddled with spelling and grammar errors, inconsistent documentation, and in some cases, contradictions. (For example, John Goodrich's "Mr. Boy: Hellboy and the Struggle to Adulthood" claims to restrict its scope to the Mignola stories alone, but then goes on to quote heavily from the Ghost crossover.) Some glaring misuse of words stood out as well: Yann Barriere identifies certain of Mignola's techniques by saying he "resorts" to them. Mignola doens't "resort" to anything; to resort is to fall back on an undesired choice. I think all the contributors to this volume would agree that Mignola's artisic and narrative choices are not only planned, but highly effective. His choices made us all fans; therefore, they must be good, right?

I understand the motivation to write in a conversational tone--overly academic works are hard to read, let alone understand. But as comic scholars, we won't be taken seriously unless our writing sounds serious. I myself appreciate scholars who eschew academic jargon in favor of common, everyday language, but jokey phrases (see Michael Steele's comparison to Joseph Campbell for the worst example) and poor spelling are automatic depreciators, whether the writing in question is an academic essay or not.

This volume leaves a lot to be desired, and it's too bad, because its compiler, Benjamin Szumskyj, is quite right that Hellboy deserves critical, academic consideration. There are a lot of good ideas in the book, but none of them receive their deserved consideration or execution.

[patrick r]

Hey Ben, I'll let you know what I think when I receive my copy.

Patrick.

[kid cthulhu]

I enjoyed the book, but I was very unsettled by all of the grammatical errors, as well as the many mentions of "Seeds of Destruction". It's "Seed" - no "s" at the end.

[Benocles_Czar]

Friends,

I appreciate your feedback. You are right to note that (sadly) several editorial mistakes slipped through my fingers and have resulted in the book being flawed. I plan to re-edit the book and re-submit it to buyers within the coming weeks. My sincerest apologies.