Hellboy: Winter Special One Shot Review: Sale Delivers

It seems nowadays in order to stir up interest in an upcoming project you need to do a small project. Even though it doesn’t need one, Dark Horse did just that with their newest “Hellboy” comic “Hellboy: Winter Special One Shot.” Making their “Hellboy” debut here are Tim Sale, Michael Walsh, Chris Roberson and Chelsea Cain. With that much, this comic delivers everything a “Hellboy” fan wants.

The first story “Broken Vessels,” written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie with artist Tim Sale, is about a skull robe-clad man who meets a warrior camping out in the snow. He recounts the story of the history of the robe, which was created by the skulls of shamans. The story is short and does not have a lot to it, but it does add an interesting element to the “Hellboy” Mythos. Sale’s first foray is truly excellent as he manages to get the look of the series down perfectly.

“Wandering Souls” by Mike Mignola and Christ Roberson with art by Dave Stewart has Hellboy and Susan Xiang investigate ghost sightings at an old mine in Wyoming. This story is a prelude to an upcoming “Hellboy and the BPRD: 1953” story. The story is the typical “Hellboy” story with supernatural beings wreaking havoc in a certain area. What makes this story stand out and great is that the ghosts are handled in a rather smart way. Also, it develops some character in Susan. The art is rather nice too, especially the designs of the ghosts. This is also the longest story in the comic.

“Mood Swings” Chelsea Cain with art by Michael Avon Oeming is about Liz and Hellboy celebrating Christmas. Liz didn’t like her gift, so Hellboy decides to help her with that matter. Yes, this is a Christmas story and the bright and colorful art makes sure you know that, but the story is really quite a heartwarming. It also has a bit of humor.

The final story “Kung Pao Lobster” by Dean Rankine, the shortest story here (two pages) is about Lobster Johnson ordering Chinese food. That’s really it. The “Ren and Stimpy” style art brings out the absurd story here. It does its job well of making you laugh and the idea of watching a normally serious character act like a cartoon just makes this funnier.

The stories found in “Hellboy: Winter Special One Shot” have a lot of talent working on them and the payoff is well worth it. The first story may have a few rough edges, but the overall product is high quality.