Hellboy Winter Special 2019
The Miser’s Gift
Writer: Mike Mignola
Art: Márk László
Colors: Dave Stewart
The Longest Night
Writer: Chris Roberson
Artist: Leila Del Duca
Colors: Michelle Madsen
The Beast of Ingelheim
Writer: Scott Allie
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Clem Robins
It’s time for the annual Hellboy Winter Special. If you’ve read any of these before then you’ll know what to expect. A series of short stories, which is arguably where Hellboy really shines, set in the Hellboy world. Only the first story actually features our hero however.
The Miser's Gift
First off we have the Misers Gift. This is a classic Mike Mignola story. Without going into the specifics we’ve got hauntings, cursed coins, a crazy professor. All classic staples and you know you're in safe hands here. It might not be anything we haven’t seen before but it’s really good fun and feels like a homage to classic Hellboy. With no ongoing Hellboy titles at the moment (other than the sporadicly released Hellboy & The B.P.R.D. mini series) it’s always good fun to dive back into Hellboys world. This also makes a great entry point for new readers. A perfect sampler of the craziness that awaits should you choose to read more.
The art is really well suited to the story. They say a painting tells a thousands words and there are some panels where a subtle look is so much more effective than twenty words. And László really manages to capture the spooky moments with a real otherworldliness which adds to the atmosphere and helps make this story stand out. And what Hellboy story would be complete without Dave Stewart coloring.
The Longest Night
The second story we have is the longest night. This story focuses on Sarah Jewell, who’s a colleague of Sir Edward Grey. I think this was my favourite story of the three. It’s a tribute to classic Murder mysteries, as well as having supernatural monsters, and generally good fun. I saw most of the ‘twists’ coming, and if I’m honest I think that was half the point. It didn’t stop it being good fun though.
Again the art is really good. We alternate between a snowy blizzard cutting our heroes off from society, to a snug inn with a roaring fire. The art really distinguishes between these two settings and you get a real sense of how cold it is outside and how warm it is inside.
The Beast of Ingelheim
Our third tale is The Beast of Ingelheim. This is a return to the Knights of Saint Hagan, from Hellboy: The Bride of Hell. Knowledge of that story isn’t necessary to understand what is going on. I enjoyed this story but it left me with a bit of a sour taste at the end. It’s quite a dark story, and arguably a reflection on the atrocities committed with religious fanatiscim. This story felt like someone trying hard to write a Mike Mignola tale but falling a little short. An imitation rather than the authentic thing. That’s not to say it’s a bad story, far from it, I enjoyed it. But it was definitely the weakest of the Three.
Andrea Mutti’s art is really good though and helps show the evil. It feels like a really natural fit for the Mignolaverse.
A perfect sampler for new readers, the Winter Special is a looked forward to tradition for long time readers to dive back into Hellboys world. Short stories is arguably where Hellboy shines and these three are no exception.
Writer: Mike Mignola
Art: Márk László
Colors: Dave Stewart
The Longest Night
Writer: Chris Roberson
Artist: Leila Del Duca
Colors: Michelle Madsen
The Beast of Ingelheim
Writer: Scott Allie
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Letters: Clem Robins
It’s time for the annual Hellboy Winter Special. If you’ve read any of these before then you’ll know what to expect. A series of short stories, which is arguably where Hellboy really shines, set in the Hellboy world. Only the first story actually features our hero however.
The Miser's Gift
First off we have the Misers Gift. This is a classic Mike Mignola story. Without going into the specifics we’ve got hauntings, cursed coins, a crazy professor. All classic staples and you know you're in safe hands here. It might not be anything we haven’t seen before but it’s really good fun and feels like a homage to classic Hellboy. With no ongoing Hellboy titles at the moment (other than the sporadicly released Hellboy & The B.P.R.D. mini series) it’s always good fun to dive back into Hellboys world. This also makes a great entry point for new readers. A perfect sampler of the craziness that awaits should you choose to read more.
The art is really well suited to the story. They say a painting tells a thousands words and there are some panels where a subtle look is so much more effective than twenty words. And László really manages to capture the spooky moments with a real otherworldliness which adds to the atmosphere and helps make this story stand out. And what Hellboy story would be complete without Dave Stewart coloring.
The Longest Night
The second story we have is the longest night. This story focuses on Sarah Jewell, who’s a colleague of Sir Edward Grey. I think this was my favourite story of the three. It’s a tribute to classic Murder mysteries, as well as having supernatural monsters, and generally good fun. I saw most of the ‘twists’ coming, and if I’m honest I think that was half the point. It didn’t stop it being good fun though.
Again the art is really good. We alternate between a snowy blizzard cutting our heroes off from society, to a snug inn with a roaring fire. The art really distinguishes between these two settings and you get a real sense of how cold it is outside and how warm it is inside.
The Beast of Ingelheim
Our third tale is The Beast of Ingelheim. This is a return to the Knights of Saint Hagan, from Hellboy: The Bride of Hell. Knowledge of that story isn’t necessary to understand what is going on. I enjoyed this story but it left me with a bit of a sour taste at the end. It’s quite a dark story, and arguably a reflection on the atrocities committed with religious fanatiscim. This story felt like someone trying hard to write a Mike Mignola tale but falling a little short. An imitation rather than the authentic thing. That’s not to say it’s a bad story, far from it, I enjoyed it. But it was definitely the weakest of the Three.
Andrea Mutti’s art is really good though and helps show the evil. It feels like a really natural fit for the Mignolaverse.
A perfect sampler for new readers, the Winter Special is a looked forward to tradition for long time readers to dive back into Hellboys world. Short stories is arguably where Hellboy shines and these three are no exception.
A Look Inside
