Comic Review: Hellboy in Hell #1

Hellboy in Hell #1 by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart

After we moved to England, I soon stopped reading monthly comics just because of the price (even higher here in the UK than the US) and time was at a premium. But something has pulled me back in. Over a year ago, the main story arc of the Hellboy comics came to a rousing finale when Hellboy defeated his greatest opponent. But before she died, she literally tore his heart out. So that was the death of Hellboy. But not the end. Over a year later, here comes the next journey for Hellboy--through Hell itself.

This first issue gets him started. Initially he's standing on a rock promontory with a lot of huge bug monsters climbing up toward him. He doesn't know where he is. He asks a spectre who says, "The Abyss--not quite Hell. Not yet. This is the outer edge, and you are staring into the bottomless depths of Chaos." Hellboy's reply: "Oh. Sorry I asked." As he wanders further into Hell proper he runs into old acquaintances, one who wants to help, one who wants revenge. The story becomes odder and more poetic.

It was a very exciting (if very quick read). I'm glad to see Mignola back on the art as well as on the writing. He has a distinctive shadowy, murky style that works well with a horror comic and just fires up the imagination. I can't wait for issue two!

You can buy a digital copy here or look for a local comic shop here.