While he’s been a tradition in parts of Germany and the surrounding countries for centuries, Krampus has only been gaining popularity elsewhere just recently, especially in the US. In fact, there’s been a huge surge of media featuring this character. One of the most recent ones comes from Mike Mignola’s and Adam Hughes’s one-shot “Hellboy: Krampusnacht†and it’s awesome.
In 1975, Hellboy goes to Austria to meet with Wilhelm Schulze, who is actually Krampus. He has invited Hellboy over to do him a favor: he wants Hellboy to kill him and send him back to hell. He won’t go down without a fight, however.
That’s actually a brilliant plot and something that’s rarely done. In fact, Krampus is usually used to just go around killing people or fighting Santa. Here, Krampus wanting to end is done well and the fight that ensues is pretty creative. It’s also not just an ordinary fight. Without spoiling anything, the way the fight plays out makes a lot of sense and is, in a way, Krampus getting what was coming to him.
The only real downside to the plot is the ending. When we find out what Krampus really was it feels like a cheap way of making this character seem like not what he really was.
Adam Hughes is one of the best artists to draw “Hellboy.†This comic showcases his talents for creating a comic that blends dark with skill. He’s particularly great at drawing backgrounds, especially the snow-covered woods of Austria. It looks like what you’d expect a snow-covered wood to look like. Hellboy’s design is also spot-on, especially when he’s in shadow.
“Hellboy: Krampusnacht†offers a great new twist om Krampus combined with great art and an awesome fight scene. While the ending may be a bit weak, the overall comic is awesome and should be anyone’s stocking this Christmas.
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