Book Review: Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Secret of Chesbro House & Others by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Secret of Chesbro House & Others stories by Mike Mignola, Olivier Vatine, and Christopher Golden; art by Olivier Vatine, Shawn McManus, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Mark Laszlo; colors by Dave Stewart

Another set of adventures from the history of Hellboy...

Night of the Cyclops: In 1962, Hellboy helps capture a minotaur in Greece, though that is just the first page of this story. He has a sense that something else is odd in the area, so he sticks around while the B.P.R.D. cart off the half-man, half-bull. A goat starts talking to Hellboy, telling him to follow her. She calls him by a different name and leads him down a waterfall. Of course the goat can navigate the cliffs easily but Hellboy falls and cracks his head. He wakes up in the land of people who are half-goat, half-human. His escort was once a very pretty (and only human) lady which displeased Aphrodite, who sent Eros to make her fall in love with a satyr. When Eros saw her, he fell for her and didn't do the deed. So Aphrodite cursed her people to live as goat/human hybrids. And to be attacked by a cyclops once a year to wipe out their harvest and any other gains they made over the year. Hellboy has been brought there just before the Cyclops attack, so the story ends with some action and reconciliation. The artist does a good job imitating Greek style for the flashbacks while having a more standard Hellboy look for the contemporary scenes. I like this a lot--usually Hellboy is mixed up in some mythology or folklore that is more obscure, having a more familiar setting is enjoyable.

The Secret of Chesbro House: A creepy haunted house story sees the great-great-grandson of a 19th-century industrialist visiting Chesbro House to break its curse (with the expectation of selling it for lots of money). The young man does not believe in superstitions but the rumors are many. Great-great-grandpappy got into the occult and had lots of secret rooms built into the house where they had lots of unsavory activities. Hellboy and a psychic join the young man and his fiancee for a seance to clear up the troubles. A lot of troubles ensue. The story feels a lot like Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher with some add-ons. I liked it but wasn't wowed by it.

Old Man Whittier: This much better haunted house story finds Hellboy visiting a dilapidated New England house that a young woman has just inherited. They wander around the house a bit when a local caretaker shows up and wants to talk to the woman. Hellboy checks out the family graveyard out back. He finds a crypt leading downstairs; the young woman finds a locked cellar door. Both paths lead to horror. The story is simple and works very well. It has the usual Hellboy humor, horror, and action. I liked it a lot.

The Miser's Gift: A man in Budapest slips into the past with a local professor and helps an old guy carry his sack home. The old guy gives the man a coin. The man and the professor return to modern day but the coin creeps him out, especially when the professor says the old guy was a famous miser. The man tries throwing away the coin (among other ways of getting rid of it) but he keeps finding it in his pocket. Hellboy joins the two for another visit to the past. The story is whimsical--both light-hearted and humorous. It has a nice resolution and makes a good Christmas story (which it was in 2019).

Time is a River: Well, the ending of The Miser's Gift had a little bit of tragedy that Hellboy goes to correct in this story. It's another fun and fanciful adventure.

This is another enjoyable volume of random Hellboy stories. The art in Night of the Cyclops is best, though the Old Man Whittier story might be my favorite. Oddly enough, the title story was my least favorite.

Recommended, highly for Hellboy fans.

Book Review: Hellboy in Love by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy in Love story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, art by Matt Smith, colors by Dave Stewart, and letters by Clem Robins

It's 1979 and Hellboy is in England acting as security for an archeologist about to get an artifact on a train. A bunch of goblins who also want the artifact have snuck onto the train, so Hellboy's services are needed. The archeologist is Anastasia Bransfield. She's young and cute (wears a Yankees baseball cap even though she's British). Hellboy is smitten with her. She likes a life of adventure, so hanging out with Hellboy is fun. She is smitten too. Rather than return to B.P.R.D. headquarters, Hellboy takes some leave to help Anastasia in her investigations into ancient mystical folklore which of course turns out to be true.

The adventures are fun with the usual interesting magical mythology. The second story, where they go to Turkey and have to fight supernatural puppets, is especially inventive and fun. The art has the typical Hellboy style which I enjoy very much. The romance is not particularly convincing but I went with it just like with the magic and mythology.

Recommended for Hellboy fans.

Book Review: Frankenstein: New World by M. Mignola et al.

Frankenstein: New World story by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Thomas Sniegoski, art by Peter Bergting, Colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

In this sequel to Frankenstein: Under Ground, the Monster has been living for decades, maybe centuries, as an oracle to the small colony of humans who made it into the hollow earth before the surface world was overwhelmed. He's been sitting around getting old. Things change when a young girl's prophetic vision shows her a doom coming for them. Defying the tribe's elders, she approaches Frankenstein, who sets out to investigate the girl's claims. She tags along (against the wishes of both the elders and Frankenstein). Their fantastic journey leads them into a conflict between some frog people and some fish people. A deeper problem is hinted at as a new enemy, hungry for the power that makes Frankenstein immortal, appears.

The deeper problem is only hinted at, as if preparing readers for a sequel. Unfortunately, that's the most interesting part of the story. The world looks amazing but the story is very so-so. If the conflict got going later on, I'd be interested in more. 

Barely recommended. I hope there's a better sequel coming.

Book Review: B.P.R.D. Omnibus Vol. 1 by M. Mignola et al.

B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 1 stories by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Geoff Johns, and others; art by Mike Mignola, Guy Davis, Cameron Stewart, and others; letters by Clem Robins, Michelle Madsen, and others

A series of stories featuring the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, the place where Hellboy grew up and worked for years (though he is no longer with them in these stories).

The Hollow Earth--Liz Sherman has been gone from B.P.R.D. Headquarters for a couple of years. She wanted to learn to control her powers and wandered off to a snowy monastery. But now she's in trouble and has sent a pyschic distress signal to Abe Sapien. He rushes off to find her just as he and Roger the Homunculus are considering leaving the B.P.R.D. They are joined in the snowy search by Kate Corrigan and the Bureau's newest addition, Johann Krauss, a disembodied medium who travels in an old-fashioned diver's suit. They find the monastery in ruins with a weird passage into the middle of the Earth. The adventure is interesting and Mignola's art looks great.

Abe Sapien Vs Science--Roger the Homunculus is seemingly dead and all efforts by the B.P.R.D. scientists have failed to revive him. Well, maybe not all efforts. They plan to switch over to autopsy to learn more about how Roger was made but go for a cigarette break. Abe slips in and saves the day. It's a poignant little tale that I like a lot.

Drums of the Dead--A shipping line is plagued by sharks, which is not so bad. Their real problem is when their crews hear drums in the middle of the ocean. Invariably, one or more crew members start speaking in a strange language, attack the other crew members, and jump overboard. The B.P.R.D. is called and Abe Sapien comes with a new agent (a psychic) to investigate. The story has a good blend of horror and history, making it a very good read.

The Soul of Venice--The B.P.R.D. team is dispatched to Venice, where the pipes are exploding and the water is disgusting. The supernatural cause is not immediately obvious but does stem from the ancient Roman roots of the town (as in Roman gods). The story has some good twists though it is a fair standard adventure.

Dark Waters--A Massachusetts town that's not Salem (which is nearby) is draining the town square pond, only to discover three perfectly preserved women in shackles at the bottom. They are dead but their memory brings out the worst in a few of the town folk. The B.P.R.D. is called in and they help to resolve the situation through smarts and heart.

Night Train--Roger and Liz go to investigate a spooky train that has been terrorizing a neighborhood in the American South. The story starts with a Lobster Johnson adventure about a train wrecked by a Nazi in the American Southwest. Are the stories related? Obviously, though I found the ending tried to cram in too much stuff, making it feel rushed and choppy. They need some more pages of exposition and action!

There's Something Under My Bed--Kids are being abducted from a small town in the middle of the night after complaining about "a monster under the bed." The team comes in to investigate, though Abe Sapien, being a fish man, is not so enthusiastic about kids dealing with monsters. The story makes some good points about the difference between being a monster and acting monstrously. It's also a fun tale that resolves well for all.

Another Day at the Office--Abe and Johann investigate a zombie outbreak in an Eastern European city. As the title suggests, this story is a typical adventure for the gang. It's short and works well.

Plague of Frogs--A long, ongoing storyline starts here as the team discovers and then fights an outbreak of a fungus that turns humans in to frog-like humanoids. The story is creepy and delves into Abe Sapien's past, since he's got a bit of the amphibian in him too. Guy Davis is the artist and his style became the template for the B.P.R.D. stories. It looks a bit more like regular comic books (as opposed to the stark visuals from Mignola) and works well.

This is a very entertaining collection, providing a lot of different stories that show the characters and the world they live in. Even though there is plenty of references to previous storylines, they are easy to follow and help newcomers get up to speed.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Hellboy: The Bones of Giants by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy: The Bones of Giants story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, art by Matt Smith, colors by Chris O'Halloran, and letters by Clem Robins

Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and a few other agents travel to Sweden where a remarkable discovery has been made--a dead man of large proportions with an unliftable hammer nearby. Hellboy can lift it with his Right Hand of Doom. Two problems ensue--he can't let go of the hammer and he occasionally gets possessed by the spirit of the thunder god Thor. As they investigate what is going on, a lot of classic Norse mythology is drawn in, leading to battle with dwarves and frost giants as the B.P.R.D. agents head farther north and further into the mystery. 

This graphic novel is an adaptation of Christopher Golden's text novel The Bones of Giants (which I have not read). The visual style matches Mignola's very well and the story reads like a classic Hellboy adventure. It's a fun read.

Recommended.

Book Review: Father Gaetano's Puppet Catechism by M. Mignola and C. Golden

Father Gaetano's Puppet Catechism by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

World War II Sicily is home to much hardship. The church of San Domenico has just lost its priest so young Father Gaetano is assigned. The parish rectory has been converted to an orphanage that is supported by nuns from the next-door convent. The children (a mixture of boys and girls) are taught by the nuns but catechism class falls to Father Gaetano. He has trouble connecting to the children until he discovers a puppet theater with plenty of puppets. A former caretaker left them behind. Most children are delighted to see them again, especially Sebastiano, who keeps the clown Pagliaccio as his favorite. He talks to the puppet at night when his roommates are asleep. The puppet talks back, but naturally only when children are around. While the clown is benign, the other puppets take to their roles a bit too literally. Father Gaetano transforms the puppets into biblical characters. Noah worries about the ark, David and Goliath fight. Things take a disastrous and macabre turn when Father Gaetano changes a puppet into Lucifer, who takes his role too seriously.

The "puppets come alive" trope in horror has been done many times before. Even though it is familiar, the authors do a good job building tension and crafting a great finale to the story. I enjoyed that part very much.

On the other hand, the theology is distractingly sketchy. The authors get some details wrong, like the scene where Father Gaetano is surprised by one of the puppets and takes the Lord's name in vain. Then he feels humiliated "at his breaking the Third Commandment." [p. 91] While different denominations in the Judeo-Christian tradition divide up Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 differently, in the Catholic tradition, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain" is the second commandment, not the third. The nuns are called "Domenicans," which at first I thought was a made up order, though perhaps they are named after the Orphanage of San Domenico or the authors just don't know how to spell Dominicans. Father and the children have many discussions about free will but they are all superficial and unsatisfying. Worse yet, the discussions are barely connected to the puppet horror story, a missed opportunity.

Mignola's occasional drawings (mostly of the puppets) are fun and do give a boost to the puppet horror theme. The ultimate fate of the characters (both human and mannequin) is exciting and satisfying. Some judicious editing and rewriting could have made this a great, rather than an average, book.

Book Review: Baltimore: A Passing Stranger and Other Stories by Mike Mignola et al.

Baltimore: A Passing Stranger and Other Stories written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, art by Ben Stenbeck, colors by Dave Stewart

Lord Henry Baltimore continues his quest to kill Haigus, the vampire who killed his family. He has trouble catching up to that vampire but does have run ins with various other monsters, including humans who have no business dabbling in matter far beyond their understanding or control. The book is a collection of a handful of short stories.

I like the art style of this book, it's well suited to horror stories. I didn't find the stories particularly compelling because they feel unoriginal to me. In one story, a theater company is putting on shows and the writer for the company is getting advice from Edgar Allen Poe's head in a jar, even though the "head in jar" idea has been used by The Walking Dead, Futurama, and by Mignola himself. There's another story with the Inquisitor character that gives his back story which also reads a bit cliched and unmoving.

The art is fine but the writing needs some improvement or originality.

Book Review: Baltimore Vol. 2: The Curse Bells by Mike Mignola et al.

Baltimore Volume 2: The Curse Bells written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden and art by Ben Stenbeck

Lord Baltimore's world is a fairly bleak one. Just as World War I broke out, a vampire plague ravaged Europe. One vampire in particular, Haigus, ravaged Baltimore's family after Baltimore cut his eye out on the French battlefields. The war stopped and Baltimore began hunting Haigus to get revenge.

Haigus knows Baltimore is on the trail and sets a trap for him. Baltimore is smart enough and tough enough to not be captured. The same cannot be said for Haigus, who is kidnapped by a madman bent on respawning a witch to do his bidding. Baltimore finds him in a convent that has fallen to the plague (yes, that means vampire nuns!). The madman promises the nuns a cure if he can get the witch reborn with their help.

Meanwhile, a psychotic Inquisitor is chasing after Baltimore. He's a border-line parody of religious fanaticism, torturing people in order to "purify" their souls. And to get information on Baltimore. I found his character annoying. He seems inserted just to make Baltimore look more complicated and nuanced than he really is. Maybe he'll be more than a caricature in later stories. Otherwise, the book is enjoyable as a horror comic.