Hellboy's Coat

[noble_enough]

(I don't know if this has been discussed before, so pardon if it is a repeat topic.)

I'm wondering if Hellboy's coat has any magical properties. like say regenerative abilities?

I ask because his coat always seems to be torn to shreds and then all of a sudden it is whole again on another page.

I think I have always noticed this in the back of my mind but after reading Wild Hunt #3 it was quite blatant, on page 5 I think, where the top panel is him holding the shattered piece of giant sword, his coat is ripped and has holes in it, but then when he is talking to Alice, its all nice and fixed up again, except for a few heroic wrinkles.

I'm sure it could just be your typical cartoon type solution, everyone has only one outfit, and when taking a gander at their closet they actually have like 10 pairs of the same outfit, (reminds me of a Doug episode from my childhood:). So even if it gets messed up, the next time we see them its back to normal...

I'm betting that is the reason, but it wouldn't strike me as odd if there was something else going on behind the scenes...

Do Faerie tailors follow Big Red around and mend his clothes while he sleeps? Might Hellboy be handy with a needle and thread himself and dream of another life where he can be the tailor hes always wanted to be??
I am probably just over analyzing.

Any thoughts?

[Kees_L]

I am probably just over analyzing.
Hellboy = a needleworking superhero.

[AbeSapien99]

I ask because his coat always seems to be torn to shreds and then all of a sudden it is whole again on another page.

Really? Cuz I've noticed that Mike's pretty good at doing the exact opposite: I've noticed in Hellboy comics and stories and even in the videogame that his coat either gets progressively shredded or he loses it all at once and goes on with just shorts for the rest of the story.

I think he just has a lot of them. HB's coat has been the one thing about him that has seemed wholly earthly, at least to me (as in, the one thing that isn't magical). It's a plain old duster and it gets wrecked. The BPRD patch on the arm makes it feel more regular too. I'd say the same for his shorts, but to me those are magical: how does he keep them intact while his coat gets destroyed? ;)

Plus, unless the self-mending coat can also move around on its own (like the Magic Carpet from Alladin, maybe? :p), how would HB get it back after the times he ditches it altogether?

[noble_enough]

Really? Cuz I've noticed that Mike's pretty good at doing the exact opposite: I've noticed in Hellboy comics and stories and even in the videogame that his coat either gets progressively shredded or he loses it all at once and goes on with just shorts for the rest of the story.


True, (except for the case of issue 3 of wild hunt I mentioned) though every new story arch it seems to be good as new...

Admitted it is pointless musing, but I still wonder how it always gets fixed, even if he has multiple, where does he store them, as he has been 'away' from the world in a manner of speaking ever since he quit the BPRD.

[InAdia]

It does boggle the mind. Hellboy has been through Hell since Third Wish until The Wild, but the coat keeps on ticking.


The Real Inadia

[Jackson Brody]

Hellboy catching up with Alice is a few days after the battle with the giants. He's either repaired it, or accessed his magical closet of identical coats.

The thing I'm wondering about is how he gets around these days without BPRD helicopters at his beck and call. How'd he get down to Italy in Darkness Calls, and back to England in Wild Hunt? Does he have a car stashed off panel, or does he take trains or something?

If the latter is the case, I would like a scene of Hellboy on a train, preferrably losing a game of checkers to a bratty kid. Get on it, Mignola!

[patrick r]

Well, Harry Dresden has Brownies that clean his apartment. He isn't allowed to tell anyone about them or they will not return. Maybe Hellboy has Brownie taylors and he just can't say anything.

[noble_enough]

Maybe Hellboy has Brownie taylors and he just can't say anything.

Mystery solved!

[AbeSapien99]

The thing I'm wondering about is how he gets around these days without BPRD helicopters at his beck and call. How'd he get down to Italy in Darkness Calls, and back to England in Wild Hunt? Does he have a car stashed off panel, or does he take trains or something?

I think he just... walks. That, and hitches rides. We don't really have an exact timeline, so it could be weeks between locations. Just like the coat, it's one of HB's big earthly mysteries. :smile:

[mimschkin]

This might not fit into the continuity of the comics, but, if I remember correctly, in the character biographies section of the Hellboy DVD, Hellboy lists 'prepping my coat' (or something to that effect) as one of his 'favourite activities' or something. Sorry to be so vague, I'd go check on the DVD but it's upstairs and I'm lazy :biggrin:

So it could be that he fixes it in between panels...really quickly...or something :confused:

[JohnThompson]

The coat is made from a blanket that was wrapped around the baby Hellboy when he arrived on earth. Pa Broom sewed it into a duster when Hellboy made the decision to fight his never-ending battle. Since it originated in Hell, it has some of the same super-properties as Hellboy, namely an advanced healing factor.

Sheesh, don't any of you read comic books? :confused:

[mimschkin]

Ha ha, evidently not :P

However, what you say does make perfect sense.

[Jackson Brody]

I don't think he walked from England to Italy in three days, as specifically noted at the end of Darkness Calls.

[AbeSapien99]

Oh, well it's been a while since I've read it. Then maybe he has contacts and old friends to give him rides? Who knows, it's a comic book.

[Jackson Brody]

Well, as a writer of fan-fiction, you must know how important it is to have your details straight.