Apostrophe S

I had kind of avoided picking up the Hellboy: Weird Tales TPBs because I knew that they weren’t Mike Mignola originals. I had kind of considered myself a “Mignola purist” when it came to Hellboy. But when I found both books under the Christmas tree this year, I decided to give them a shot. And I’m glad I did.

Weird Tales (named after the defunct pulp magazine) opened me up to other artists and writers that I likely would never have otherwise. Some of the authors’ own original material has been added to my wishlist, such as The Blackburne Covenant by Fabian Nicieza and Stefano Raffaele. Their short Hellboy story showed that they really understood the characters and Mignola’s style. Other contributing artists didn’t get it as well, at least in my opinion. But that was the fun part of the books, seeing how different people interpret the characters in different ways.

Another added bonus were the Lobster Johnson serials. If you know who Lobster Johnson is, you’ll know why it was cool to read about his adventures during his prime.

For those of you who are Hellboy fans, you’ll be pleased to know that “Hellboy: Strange Places” will be released in April. This trade paperback collects “The Third Wish” and “The Island” series, as well as new material. I’m really looking forward to this.

Also on the way is “Hellboy: Makoma, or, A Tale Told by a Mummy in the New York City Explorers’ Club on August 16, 1993″ #1 and #2, a two-parter drawn by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben, famous for his stories and illustrations in Heavy Metal magazine.

And as if that weren’t enough, there is an animated Hellboy series in the works. I’m still up in the air about this. The creator’s screen credits include Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers, so there is reason for pause. But it sounds like Mignola is pretty heavily involved, so it shouldn’t be all bad. It sounds like there will be a couple of animated features and maybe a series.

Oh, and it sounds like Guillermo del Toro has turned in the script for Hellboy 2, due out sometime next year.