Hellboy volume 2: Wake The Devil (tpb)

This second volume of Hellboy sheds more light on our favorite paranormal investigator’s origins as well as introduces more characters into this fantastic universe. Our big red hero is off to Romania this time around to hunt a vampire, Vladimir Giurescu. His whereabouts have been narrowed down to 3 areas and the B.P.R.D. must split up in order to track him down. I’ll give you one guess you ends up at the right location!

This time around Mike Mignola handles both the story and the artwork. His illustrations continue to shine with fantastic gothic type images.  It amazes me how much information each panel provides even when there is no dialogue or narration. His artwork is absolutely stunning and original. As I mentioned he also takes over the writing with this volume. He’s so connected with the character that this was most likely a natural transition. I found the writing of this volume a huge improvement over volume one and again I think it’s because of how close he is to the character. He brings together different folklore and mythology and weaves it all into his created universe seamlessly.

Volume two is published by Dark Horse Comics and was originally a 5 issue series. Mignola once again delivers some stunning artwork along with a fresh and original story.