Hellboy is one of those characters where you can write a story about anytime in his life and it has a chance of being interesting. One of those times is when Hellboy was a child.
One of the newest comic stories shows Hellboy as a kid is “Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land†by Mike Mignola and Thomas Sniegoski with artists Craig Rousseau and Dave Stewart and it’s one wild ride.   Â
In 1947, Professor Bruttenholm and Hellboy are headed to an Incan City archeological dig site that’s located near a volcano. Their plans get ruined when someone causes their plane to crash on a deserted island where there are lots of giant monsters and prehistoric beasts. This is one of the fastest paced “Hellboy†comics in recent memory. It just goes from one action to the next without giving the reader time to breathe.
Narrative wise, this is a great way to introduce Hellboy and Bruttenholm to an island that’s crawling with monsters. Hellboy may be  a kid, but at least he has some powers. Bruttenholm is just a human which means the stakes are raised a little higher for this pair.Â
The artwork makes this comic look like it’s for kids. It’s brighter than the regular “Hellboy†comics. This may be due to the fact that Hellboy is a kid in this series, thus the artists were trying to go for something that looked like a kids’ comic. Maybe it’s some kind of inside joke the ‘Dark Horse†artists have going on for this series?  If that’s the case, it is a brilliant idea. It’s not terrible, in fact it’s high quality art.   Â
The first issue of “Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land†hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until the issue is over. It makes the reader want to read the next issues just to keep the ride going and the art while looking like it belongs in a comic for little kids actually works for this series.
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