Richard Corben is considered a legend in the comic book world. Mike Mignola is also considered a legend. Put them both together and you get “Hellboy” comics that are insane. “Hellboy Artists Collection: Richard Corben” collects eight “Hellboy” stories written by Mignola and dawn by Corben.
“Makoma” sees Hellboy the only time he visits Africa. Here he’s known as a warrior named Makoma, which means “he who is without fear.” He fights giants and other monsters, hoping to find an opponent worthy enough to kill him. It’s philosophical in a way that man must defeat nature to save nature itself. It’s an interesting plot that goes by in a blink of an eye.
In “The Crooked Man” Hellboy is in Appalachia where he helps a local man find a witch that has summoned the Crooked Man. It has a strong start, using a monster that’s rarely used but it fizzles out as the story goes along.
Hellboy is in France in “The Bride of Hell” where a woman has gone missing. What starts as a cult sacrificing a woman turns into something a lot more sinister. It’s a decent story that has a wild plot twist.
“Hellboy in Mexico” sees Hellboy doing lucha libre in an Aztec temple. Do the math.
“Double Feature of Evil” has Hellboy in two terrible horror movies. One’s about a haunted house and one’s about Ancient Egypt. Not worth reading.
Hellboy is joined by Roger the homunculus in “Being Human.” They go to an abandoned South Carolina plantation where a murder-suicide happened. What they uncover is a lot deeper than that. It’s a nice story that has some twists in it that’ll make you question things.
Hellboy wrestles a Frankenstein’s Monster to save a girl in “House of the Living Dead.” It starts off as just that but the plot evolves into something deeper and will make you feel sorry for Hellboy at the end.
Finally, “The Mirror,” the shortest story in the collection, has Hellboy go to France to investigate a haunted mirror where he gets attacked by ghosts. That’s the entire comic. Brief and to the point.
Corben’s iconic art is on full display here. Ugly as-sin characters (even the females,) have weird backgrounds that look like they belong in a different world and lots of blood. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Corben comic without some nudity though it’s highly censored in these comics.
If you’re a fan of Corben, Mignola or both you can’t go wrong with this collection. Corben’s art and Mignola’s writing make this a must-own despite some less-than-stellar stories.
Leave a Reply