Book Review: Hellboy 20th Anniversary Sampler by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy 20th Anniversary Sampler stories by Mike Mignola and R. Sikoryak, art by Fabio Moon, R. Sikoryak, Mike Mignola, and Cameron Stewart

Hellboy's twentieth anniversary was in 2014; I'm only reading this now because it was available as a free digital copy to read during the Corona Virus pandemic. Check here to see if it's still available! Here's what's inside:

1. The Coffin Man--During Hellboy's drunken blur in Mexico, he helps out a young girl whose uncle has just died. The uncle is buried but the niece is worried that a local witch, the Coffin Man, will disturb his eternal rest. Hellboy naturally has to investigate, with the usual weird and wonderful results ("usual" in the sense of what usually happens in Mexico with Hellboy).

2. B.P.R.D. Color Comics Fun!--This re-imagines the Sunday color comics with Hellboy universe characters (like Broom-Hilda is replaced with the Baba Yaga; the Jumble is all Chthulu monster names!). These are as funny as the Sunday funnies, but you'd need to be familiar with the Hellboy stories to appreciate them (so this probably isn't good for a sampler, come to think of it).

3. The Ghoul--Hellboy pursues a husband who goes out a lot at night. The security camera of a graveyard shows the husband having a "picnic." Hellboy investigates and finds a much longer history the guy has...a history that's about to end.

4. Another Day at the Office--A European zombie outbreak draws the attention of the B.P.R.D. They trace it back to a creepy castle where a monomaniacal aristocrat planned to take over the world hundreds of years ago. A treasure hunter came to the castle and got possessed by the old spirit, causing the mayhem. For the B.P.R.D. agents, this is, as the title suggests, an all to familiar scenario.

I enjoyed this volume a lot, though I have read The Coffin Man and the comics before. I don't remember the other two stories. They had the typical blend of creepy atmosphere and pulp action that is characteristic of the Hellboy stories.

Recommended, especially if it's still free!