Hellboy: Darkness Calls

Story: Mike Mignola
Art: Duncan Fegredo

Yeah that’s right, Mike Mignola only wrote the story this time, no ink work for the big man this time around. That’s okay, though, as Duncan Fergedo does such a good job imitating Mignola’s style that you aren’t scared off by the difference. The scenes are still dark and brooding, characters still evil, artistic and beautiful. The art is just beautiful to look at, which is one of the reasons I love reading Hellboy comics. Now if only they wouldn’t wait so damned long between issues.

It’s been about two years since Hellboy was a monthly occurrence, two long, long, lonely years. The last series, The Island, showed an ex-B.P.R.D. Hellboy wandering the world looking for himself… or something like that. I have a hard time remembering; I think I drank that part of my brain away… That or I’ve slept since then… one of those two. Anyway, this first issue in Mignola’s six-part arc, which I wish was part of a longer run but probably won’t be, is solid. The frog-faced and, according to the ending of the last Hellboy series, frog-bodied bad guy is back from his appearance in The Island but only half frog this time, trying to, once again, kill our hero, or use him, the plan isn’t clear just yet. It’s the standard plot with Hellboy but I’m ok with that because the writing is always interesting and the characters so intricate that this old standby works every time.

If I had any problems with this current incarnation of Hellboy I guess it would be that he is so very emo. I expect him to put on an Evanescence album, paint his nails black, and mourn the death of the modern soul or some bullshit like that. I know the point is that he is lost now that Professor Bruttenholm is dead and the B.P.R.D. seems to be working hard at not caring how they treat their non-human employees, but does he have to be so god damned apathetic about it? But I digress; I like the comic in spite of emo Hellboy, maybe even because of him, because, as we all know, I’m not happy unless I have something to bitch about.

It’s better than being a castrated pirate. Much better. In fact I think you could say it’s the exact opposite of being a castrated pirate. It’s a rock solid first issue but I can’t figure out what else there is to say about such a solid start. The set up for the arc is concrete and keeps me intrigued enough that I’ll definitely pick up the next two issues at least, unless something catastrophic happens like Hellboy becoming a cross dressing street walker in Rome. Well, OK I might still read an issue like that because it would be so random. The art is similar enough to the original that I’m not put off by the new artist but different enough to be intriguing to see what Fegredo does. So far all the only difference I can see is that he draws cats a little less angular and a bit more realistic, maybe that will carry over to the rest of the comic.

Overall I have to give this issue a Voltron. This issue has done everything right. At this point the arc looks promising.

Drinks drunk during the writing of this review: Gin and Tonic, three fingers of Whiskey, and one stout.