Book Review: Panya: The Mummy's Curse by M. Mignola et al.

Panya: The Mummy's Curse based on characters by Mike Mignola, story by Chris Roberson, art by Christopher Mitten, and colors by Michelle Madsen

Among the many oddball agents at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Panya stands out as someone who didn't do field work much, if at all. She was brought in to the B.P.R.D. after the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra found her mummified corpse and brought it back to life in the 1800s. This story jumps back to her youth and her first experiences with the paranormal in 1339 B.C. She's a child during the reign of Akhenaten, the one Pharoah who abolished the panoply of gods to worship one true God. In this book, he's more setting himself up as God's conduit, which does not work out so well. Panya's dad is one of the Pharoah's priests, so their family has to tow the line. Panya is more interested in the fun mythology of the previous theology and has some mystical visions, including a conflict between primordial cats, representing light, and snakes, representing darkness. Panya is called to seek the light and to find the truth behind the myths. She journeys in search of something she can't quite find though she has some fantastic adventures.

While I found the set-up for this story interesting, it didn't pay off in a satisfactory way. She never gets a semblance of truth or of getting closer to the secrets of the world. The narrative makes some odd jumps which had me trying to see if two pages were stuck together and I had missed something. The pages weren't stuck together but I still felt the lack. This reads like it needs some more narrative to let it reach a successful, or at least satisfying, conclusion. 

Barely recommended--more for Hellboy completists or fans of the character.

Book Review: Castle Full of Blackbirds by M. Mignola et al.

Castle Full of Blackbirds story by Mike Mignola and Angela Slater, art by Valeria Burzo, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

Young teen Sara May Blackburn does not heed Hellboy's advice and goes to the Linton School for Girls in 1960s New York City. She reconnects there with Miss Brook, who turns out to be a witch in league with a devil. Sara is unaware of what's going on in the background as she is being coached in the art of witchcraft along with her regular lessons. 

This book has the weird, creepy, imaginative atmosphere of other Hellboy stories. While sympathetic, I found Sara's character a little underdeveloped, leaving me less interested in her. The story both resolves itself and sets up the next step for Sara, though her path seems more like it is laid out for her rather than she is willfully choosing it. She's interesting enough that I would read a sequel.

Mildly recommended.

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: Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy: The Silver Lantern Club story by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson with art by Christopher Mitten and Ben Stenbeck and colors by Michelle Madsen

In 1953, Hellboy and Professor Bruttenholm stop by an English pub to catch up with Bruttenholm's uncle Simon. Simon was a member of a turn-of-the-century band of paranormal investigators called the Silver Lantern Club, which included such luminaries as Sir Edward Grey and Sarah Jewell. Simon regales the duo with tales of hunting werewolves, exorcising demons, and dealing with other supernatural problems.

The stories are fun and harken back to the Hellboy "monster of the week" issues. The cast of characters are interesting and the framing device with Hellboy, Bruttenholm, and his uncle add some levity to the adventures. Roberson already has a lighter touch with his stories and dialogue. His skills shine here. 

Recommended, highly for Hellboy fans.

Book Review: The House of Lost Horizons by C. Roberson et al.

The House of Lost Horizons: A Sarah Jewell Mystery story by Chris Roberson, art by Leila del Duca, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

Sarah Jewell, an occult investigator from the Hellboy universe, travels in the middle of a rainstorm to a mansion on an isolated island. The ferry heads back to the mainland just as Lillian, the one who summoned Sarah, comes to get a message back to the mainland. The storm has knocked out telephones and radio communication and they need more help. Someone in the house has been murdered! The guests are all there to bid on occult items that Lillian's deceased husband had collected. Everyone seems suspicious and more people start getting killed. The story is a homage to Agatha Christie after all (or a blatant ripoff). The addition of occult elements only makes the mystery feel more creepy and more dangerous.

The story is fun though slow and the art is fine, with some nice creative flourishes. The ending neatly tied things up but then one of the characters tagged a PC interpretation on what happened, making the reader do a double take--"Did I just get lectured at?" Other than that ham-fisted moment, it's a good story.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Crimson Lotus by J. Arcudi et al.

Crimson Lotus story by John Arcudi, art by Mindy Lee, Colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

Crimson Lotus is a Lobster Johnson villain (so before Hellboy's time). Her story begins during the Russo-Japanese War when an ancient artifact (pre-historic, maybe even pre-earth) is found in Manchuria. Her family suffers greatly. Thirty years later, a pair of Japanese spies in occupied China search for the artifact. Crimson Lotus, along with her army of little, creepy monkeys, is also searching for the artifact. Magic and monkeys are a bad combination, especially with the Lotus bent on revenge!

The story moves along at a good pace after the various elements are put together (the opening is fairly convoluted). The action is fun though as an origin story it does not have a lot going for it. Crimson Lotus gets her origin in the first ten or fifteen pages then it's just a fun supernatural spy action story where the focus is on the spies, not on Crimson Lotus. I enjoyed reading this but probably won't read it again.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Witchfinder Vol. 4 by M. Mignola et al.

Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder Volume 4: City of the Dead story by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, art by Ben Stenbeck, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

Edward Grey stumbles upon another supernatural mystery as the workers digging out the London Underground find an ancient subterranean temple. Grey isn't the only one interested...the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, a group that blends scientific understand and occult knowledge, also investigates. They offer to work together but Grey is extremely mistrustful (they are mostly villainous). When workers from a cemetery disappear, Grey comes into conflict with a big vampiric villain from the larger Hellboy narrative. With the London police doing their usual waffling, Grey may have to work with the Brotherhood after all.

The story moves at a good pace and has lots of atmospheric art. The underground scenes and the graveyards have implicit spookiness that artist Stenbeck enhances with his style. A good job all around.

Highly recommended--this may be the best Edward Grey story I've read.

Book Review: Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Vol. 6 by M. Mignola et al.

Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Volume 6: The Reign of Darkness story by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, art by Christopher Mitten, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

Sir Edward Grey investigates a number of murders in the Whitechapel neighborhood of 1889 London. He sees signs of the occult in the way the bodies have been killed but the local constabulary does not agree. Sir Edward also has his eyes on a prime suspect, Asquith. The police have found an alibi for Grey's suspect, so they marginalize him even further from the case. Grey finds a connection between Asquith and the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra (who are never up to any good). On the bright side, Sir Edward runs across Sarah Jewell, an American occult investigator who wants to prevent more women from being victimized. Her investigation leads her to the Proserpine Home for Wayward Women, an institution recently created by a Lady who is friends with Queen Victoria. Is it really a safe haven for women of the night or a collection point for a much larger scheme?

Grey starts out as the Queen's good servant but his search for the truth takes him away from her good graces. The closer he gets to the truth, the further he gets from respectable society and the people in power. His commitment to doing the right thing is admirable and he grows as he realizes the priorities of others do not align with him or with the truth. The situation makes for good drama and an exciting story.

Recommended.

Book Review: Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Vol. 5 by M. Mignola et al.

Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder Volume 5: The Gates of Heaven story by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, art by D'Israeli, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins

Sir Edward is called to investigate thefts of various occult objects. One was taken from a museum where he meets some occult investigators from Oxford University. He's not so interested to strike up an alliance, even though the police give Sir Edward little to no help. Both investigations continue and eventually come together with a government-run facility that researches various unexplained technologies from the past. All these resources fight a scientific madman's attempt to access arcane power that could destroy the world.

The plot is well-worn territory in the Hellboy universe. The artifacts are not that amazing or interesting, they are more like MacGuffins to move the story forward. There's not a lot of character development or new, intriguing, fun characters (though readers do meet a Victorian-era Bruttenholm, presumably an ascendant of Hellboy's foster-father). The art is a little more cartoony than typical but still works well for the story, delivering the horror or suspense when it needs too.

Mildly recommended.