Book Review: Hellboy Universe: The Secret Histories by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy Universe: The Secret Histories written by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Chris Roberson; art by Christopher Mitten, Jason LaTour, Laurence Campbell, and Paul Grist; colors by Dave Stewart and Bill Crabtree

This hardback volume contains several storylines that were previously published as individual comics and later as graphic novels. They are set in the Hellboy universe but deal with side characters. Most are new to me.

Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon--I had read this before, and even reviewed it on a previous post. What I wrote last time still holds: 

The mad monk Rasputin (who made such a mess of the Russian royal family's life in the lead-up to the 1917 Revolution) is back from the dead and joins forces with the Nazis so he can get resources for his projects. He's promised the Nazis to help in their war effort, but they are only a means to his own ends. In this story, Rasputin seeks to raise one of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, an occult group very active during the Victorian era but brought to heal by Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder, around the turn of the twentieth century. The Brotherhood was devoted to the Ogdru Jahad, the Lovecraftian elder gods of the Hellboy universe. Rasputin wants to return the Ogdru Jahad to our dimension. That would be a catastrophe. Luckily Trevor Bruttenholm is working for British Military Intelligence and he puts together various intercepted messages that puts him on Rasputin's trail. Can he figure things out and stop Rasputin in time?

The story is very well plotted. Various elements from different Hellboy stories (including side stories like those of Edward Grey or of the Black Flame) are united without it feeling forced. Enough background is given that new readers won't be lost. The story isn't all exposition, either. There are plenty of moments of horror and action as the two sides find out more about each other and come into conflict.

Recommended.

Sledgehammer 44--The Allies have developed a special suit of armor to fight against the Nazis. On its test run in Normandy, the suit gets damaged in a battle with what seems like the German equivalent. The German is eliminated but the Allied support team, a band of five soldiers, have to take the armor and its pilot back to friendly territory in a wheelbarrow. Pretty soon they are being pursued by other Nazis so escape is not certain. 

The steampunk start of the story quickly morphs into a supernatural mystery as one of the Allies finds out more about the armor as he and the armor-pilot share a near-death experience. The armor tries not to look like Iron-Man Mark I but it's hard not to see similarities. The suit uses "Vril energy" for power, which lets in the supernatural element. The story is interesting but not outstanding.

Mildly recommended.

Sledgehammer 44: Lightning Warfare--The armor's pilot is very uncooperative and uncommunicative as the war proceeds. The armor's handlers (including Trevor Bruttenholm) convince him to go and save a pilot from an experimental airplane that has been captured by the Nazis. When Sledgehammer is brought to the front he has to confront another Nazi menace--the Black Flame! The story is interesting but not as compelling as it could be.

Mildly recommended.

The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed--Remember those aliens that showed up in Seed of Destruction and Conqueror Worm? Their unexplained cameos 30 years ago are finally explained in this story. An alien (the titular "Visitor") is sent to Earth to kill Hellboy when he is summoned in December 1944. The alien sees something in the boy, his innocence and his ability to choose his own path, i.e. his humanity. Instead of assassinating, the alien says he will observe Hellboy from a distance to see how he develops. If he does become a danger to humanity, the Visitor will kill him. Hellboy grows more and more human, more and more good. Meanwhile, the Visitor has married a human woman and develops a whole new side of himself as he keeps an eye on Hellboy. The parallel stories help to reinforce each other as well as connect the two cameos in a meaningful and satisfying way.

Recommended.

God Rest Ye Merry--Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. crew take on a sidewalk Santa who has become possessed by a magical amulet. The Visitor happens to be nearby and tips of Professor Bruttenholm about the amulet, getting Hellboy to solve the problem with his wits more than his Right Hand of Doom. It's an entertaining little story.

Mildly recommended.