[WEB] COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 8/27/12 – BATTLEPUG

I read so many comics now, both on traditional paper and now digitally via ComiXology on my iPad (more on that in a future post); I don’t have time to keep up with all the fantastic web comics that have been cropping up the past several years. Thanks to the podcaster Stephanie Cooke at TALKING COMICS!, I relented to her continued support of Mike Norton’s web comic Battlepug and read the first few storylines. It was well worth the time it took to read it!

 

According to Mike, “Battlepug: The Web Comic was born out of desperate scramble to appease iFanboy. They contacted Mike to create a signature t-shirt for a new line of merch. However, Mike had been working exclusively with DC Comics for 4 years and had no original properties that he could reveal to the world yet. He drew the image you see above and had Allen color it. And lo, a BATTLEPUG was born!”

 

In case you’re like me and are unfamiliar with writer/artist Mike Norton, his web comic blub describes him thus:

Mike Norton has been working in comics for over 10 years now, gaining recognition for projects such as The Waiting Place and Jason and the Argobots. He’s made a name for himself working on books like Queen and Country, Gravity, Runaways, All-New Atom and Green Arrow/Black Canary, Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam, and Young Justice. He is currently drawing Marvel’s Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt, and his own weekly webcomic, Battlepug. He is also very, very tall.

 

Battlepug starts out with Moll and her dogs Mingo and Colfax, as she narrates the tale of "The Warrior and the Battlepug”. The saga is a tale of a fearless barbarian, his trusty and freakishly large pug, and his adventures as he battles a giant seal and many other assorted giant creatures! The story begins with the barbarian as a young child and his village is attacked, wiping out everyone. He is captured by the Kinmundy Northern Elves and forced to work as their slave until he grows into a man. The giant seal that killed his family years before attacks the Kinmundy and our hero is given his freedom after saving their village. To say more would spoil the surprises that await you on the web pages of Battlepug!

 

Read the preview pages below and you’ll see how Mike Norton’s cartoonish style is able to not only convey the unique humor of the story, but also the human drama and quirky pathos of the characters.

 

 

For more information – or to start reading Battlepug right away – go to: http://battlepug.com/

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 7/18/12 – STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION2 #3

 

"If you are a fan of either Doctor Who or Star Trek: The Next Generation, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy this series!"

 

 

This Comic Book of the Week post should more accurately be named Comic Book of the Month, because despite the fact that I’m reading more comic books every week than ever, I just can’t seem to find the time to write about my favorites. Be that as it may, I just had to share my excitement for this fantastic new eight issue mini-series being published by IDW - Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation².

I have been reading the monthly Star Trek comic which IDW began publishing in September of 2011, which is a new ongoing Star Trek series set in the continuity of the 2009 film. The artwork by Stephen Molnar, which so accurately depicts the actors from the new film, while also finely detailing the ships and other tech of this revamped Star Trek universe really pulled me in. The stories written by Mike Johnson, while serviceable, have not impressed me as much. One problem is that the first two stories were retellings of the classic Star Trek TV episodes and I already knew how they’d turn out, so they weren’t very suspenseful or interesting. The more recent issues have finally begun new stories dealing with the new Trek universe, so I’ve begun to enjoy it more.

I have not been reading the IDW Doctor Who comics, for the simple reason that the artists change constantly on the monthly book; many times right in the middle of storylines. Also most of the time the artwork is either too cartoony or just plain inappropriate for a sci-fi series like Doctor Who.

On May 30, IDW published the first issue of Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation² and I picked it up on the basis of the beautiful full-painted artwork by J.K. Woodward alone. Fortunately, the story by Scott and David Tipton is also a lot of fun. The story teams up Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise and Doctor Who and his companions Amy and Rory in an epic adventure in which the entire galaxy is threatened by an unholy alliance between their respective greatest nemeses, the Borg and the Cybermen. This third issue is the best yet as it features a flash-back to the fourth Doctor’s meeting with the crew of the classic Enterprise. It is done in a more tradition ink drawing style, but is equally well rendered by The Sharp Brothers. If you are a fan of either Doctor Who or Star Trek: The Next Generation, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy this series! While IDW comics are a little pricey at $3.99, you do get excellent reproduction on quality paper of fantastically detailed artwork. Check out the preview below.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 4/30/12 – THE SHADOW #1

“I really liked this first issue of The Shadow and I only hope that both Ennis and Campbell remain on this book long enough to tell a nice long story arch. I recommend The Shadow to anyone with an interest in pulp characters or period set stories.”

I had every intention of writing a weekly Comic Book of the Week post, but several things got in the way. One is that even though I consistently read two or three comics every single week, I don’t always read a comic on certain weeks that I enjoy enough to inspire me to write an entire post on it. Also, it is a simple matter of time. Because I promised myself that this year I would write a post of every single genre film that I watch this year – good or bad – I have a limited amount of time to write non-movie review posts. Still, I have always used Guardians of the Genre to promote things of many different mediums that get me excited and I will – time permitting – write a periodic Comic Book of the Week post.

The Shadow has a long and complex history, as both a character and as a multimedia property.

The Shadow initially appeared on July 31, 1930, as an enigmatic narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour. The Shadow became so popular with listeners, that circulation manager Henry William Ralston of Street & Smith commissioned Walter B. Gibson to write stories for The Shadow Magazine, which debuted on April 1, 1931. The Shadow Magazine was published until 1949, and Gibson wrote 282 out of 325 stories: a novel-length story twice a month (1st and 15th). The mysterious narrator briefly disappeared from the airwaves in 1935, but was replaced in 1937 in a new series written by Gibson and scriptwriter Edward Hale Bierstadt, starring as Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man about town." This program did not leave the air until December 26, 1954.

The Shadow has been seen in comics many times. His first appearance was in 1940 as a syndicated daily newspaper comic strip, written by Walter B. Gibson and illustrated by Vernon Greene, but only lasted two years. The first comic book featuring The Shadow was published by Street & Smith and ran for 101 issues, from March 194 to September 1949. Archie Comics published an eight-issue series, The Shadow from August 1964 to September 1965. Probably the best known comics adaptation of the character was published by DC Comics in the mid-1970s, by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Michael Kaluta in a 12-issue series. Artist and writer Howard Chaykin created a four issue mini-series for DC in 1986 that featured a modernized Shadow in New York. A similar take on The Shadow was continued the following year in 1987, as a monthly DC comics series by writer Andy Helfer and artists Bill Sienkiewicz and Kyle Baker. Marvel Comics published a beautiful graphic novel in 1988, reteaming O’Neil and Kaluta entitled: The Shadow 1941: Hitler's Astrologer. DC published a new Shadow series from 1989 to 1992 titled The Shadow Strikes. This series, which was set in the 1930s, was written by Gerard Jones and drawn by Eduardo Barreto and ran for 31 issues. During the early-to-mid-1990s, Dark Horse Comics published the Shadow 4-issue miniseries “In The Coils of Leviathan” and 3-issue miniseries Hell's Heat Wave. Both mini-series were written by Joel Goss and Michael Kaluta and drawn by Gary Gianni.

The Shadow has also appeared in films several times. The Shadow Strikes appeared in 1937 and a sequel, International Crime was released 1938 by Grand National Pictures. The Shadow was a 15-chapter serial produced by Columbia Studios and premiered in 1940. A trio of low-budget motion pictures produced by Monogram in 1946 were: The Shadow Returns, Behind the Mask and The Missing Lady. The Shadow didn’t return to the silver screen until 1994 in the form of the big budget The Shadow starring Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston and Penelope Ann Miller as Margo Lane.

Dynamite Entertainment has licensed the Shadow from Conde Nast and debuted The Shadow #1 on April 19, 2012. Dynamite Entertainment describes The Shadow thus:

1938: The Shadow returns in a tale of blazing action and deadly intrigue, as a night of carnage on the New York waterfront plunges the mysterious vigilante into a conspiracy involving the fate of the world itself. As storm clouds gather across the globe, American Military Intelligence meets with a certain Lamont Cranston, determined to beat a host of spies and assassins to the greatest prize of all... but what that might be, only the Shadow know.

The Shadow is written by Garth Ennis. Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise. My only experience is with his writing is the 60 issues of the Vertigo series Transmetropolitan, which chronicles the battles of Spider Jerusalem, a notorious renegade journalist in a dystopian future.

The Shadow is penciled and inked by artist Aaron Campbell. I have only seen Campbell’s art on the 5-issue mini-series The Trial of Sherlock Holmes - also published by Dynamite Entertainment. I thought it was competently illustrative, but a trifle un-dynamic. I could see how his style would lend itself to a period story and it did give me hope for The Shadow.

The first issue of The Shadow nicely establishes the setting in pre-world war two by juxtaposing the atrocities of the Japanese army with the criminals of New York City. Within a few pages, The Shadow brutally murders nearly a dozen armed criminals; yet lets one man he deems “a mere hireling” go free. The artwork tells most of this scene with minimal dialogue and The Shadow’s command voice is nicely rendered in black word-balloons with white lettering.

The story cuts to a scene of Lamont Cranston – The Shadow’s alter ego – at a posh hotel, meeting with a Mister Landers, an associate of his with Washington connections. Lamont warns Landers of the Japanese involvement with gun shipping in New York and the dialogue implies that Cranston/Shadow may be working for the U. S. government.

The final scene of this issue is a nice rooftop exchange between Margo Lane and Lamont. With dialog and clever body language in the artwork, Ennis and Campbell imply that not only are Lamont and Margo sleeping together, but their long-term relationship is in turmoil, due in no small part of Margo’s knowledge of Lamont being The Shadow. This revelation so early in the series demonstrates that these adventures of The Shadow take place well into his long career as a crime fighter.

I really liked this first issue of The Shadow and I only hope that both Ennis and Campbell remain on this book long enough to tell a nice long story arch. I recommend The Shadow to anyone with an interest in pulp characters or period set stories. Dynamite has a great series here and I might just try their next pulp-inspired series: The Spider by writer David Liss with art by Colton Worley!

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 4/1/12 – SAUCER COUNTRY #1

I was not familiar with either the work of writer Paul Cornell or the artist Ryan Kelly when I saw the advanced previews for Saucer Country. However, the concept was just different enough from most sci-fi comics currently being published, that I knew I just had to give it a try. Still, I did do a little more research before purchasing the first issue and was excited by what I did find out.

The writer Paul Cornell has a vast and diverse backlog of writing. He got his start by writing screenplays for British Television. He has written episodes for Doctor Who, Robin Hood and Primeval. He has also written several Doctor Who novels, as well as two original science fiction novels. He has written many British and American comics stories, and was the writer on DC Comics' Demon Knights and Stormwatch. This is his first foray into a creator-owned title and will be published monthly by DC Comics' Vertigo line.

Artist Ryan Kelly is best known for working with writer Brian Wood: penciling and inking the entire twelve issue run of the Oni Press comics series Local and a story arc ("The Cross + the Hammer") for Northlanders. I haven’t read either these, but as the preview pages below demonstrate, Kelly has the ability to render unique and believable characters, which should serve him well on Saucer Country.

 

Vertigo describes Saucer Country thus:

Arcadia Alvarado, the leading Democratic candidate for President of the United States, says she was "abducted by aliens."As the Mexican-American Governor of New Mexico, she's dealing with immigration, budget cuts and an alcoholic ex. She's about to toss her hat into the ring as a candidate for President in the most volatile political climate ever. But then…a lonely road and a nightmarish encounter have left her with terrible, half-glimpsed memories. And now she has to become President. To expose the truth – and maybe, to save the world. With the help of her quirky staff, Arcadia will pursue the truth of her abduction into danger, mystery and awe. SAUCER COUNTRY is a dark thriller that blends UFO lore and alien abduction with political intrigue, all set in the hauntingly beautiful Southwest.

All of this is beautifully conveyed in the first issue. We see Arcadia in a dream sequence being abducted by aliens. Then we accompany her on her final meeting with her staff. We then see her at a rally where she announces her run for President of the United States. We see all of these important aspects her story from her point of view and we’re not led to any direct conclusions as to what happened to Arcadia is true or not.

I think the blend of politics and Ufology makes this a fascinating comic series. I’m not completely sure where the story is headed, but I’m very interested in finding out. If you have any interest in politics, UFO mythology or just real characters put into unreal situations, then I definitely recommend you give Saucer Country a try.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 3/25/12 - SAGA #1

I’ve decided that I should try to share some of the many comics that I read each and every week. In my Comic Book of the Week feature, I’ll select my favorite comic from the week that I read it and not necessarily the week that the comic was released – although I will try to pick comics that are recent enough to be available at your local comics shop.

I have a small confession to make. Every Sunday morning – when most people are either going to church or nursing hangovers; or in some cases doing both – I am relaxing in bed with a cup of my favorite coffee and reading comic books. I buy on average twelve to eighteen comics every six weeks, which I pick up from my subscription service at New England Comics (Hi, Doreen and Tom!). I then read two or three of these comics every Sunday morning. Because I gave up reading superhero comics published by Marvel, DC or any other company, I read a lot of horror, science fiction and fantasy comics that have nothing to do with men-in-tights. I’m always looking for something new and exciting, so that means I buy a lot of new comics series. My latest new series that I’m trying out is Saga.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! SAGA #1

Saga is a continuing series published by Image Comics that the company describes as a “Star Wars-style action collides with Game of Thrones-esque drama in this original sci-fi/fantasy epic for mature readers.” It is written by Brian K. Vaughan, whose best known for his sci-fi Vertigo series Y: The Last Man, a post-apocalyptic science fiction series about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. Saga is drawn by Fiona Staples, who previously worked on The Secret History of the Authority: Hawksmoor with writer Mike Costa for Wildstorm and Mystery Society with writer Steve Niles for IDW Publishing. I have never read any Vaugugh’s books, except for his four issue stint on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight for Dark Horse comics, so I had no idea what to expect stylistically from him. My only exposure to Fiona Staples’ artwork was her work on The Mystery Society for IDW that ran as a five issue miniseries, which I did thoroughly enjoy. The combination of the concept and the art was enough for me to give Saga a read.

Saga #1 is a real bargain, as it is forty-two pages of full-color comic story with no advertisements for just $2.99! It tells everything you need to know about the main characters and the galactic-wide world that they inhabit. The story centers on Marko and Alana, who are a man and woman that are on opposite sides of an interstellar war that find each other and end up having a child together. This causes them no end of trouble and they end up being chased by both warring factions. These factions are the supporters of the planet Landfall and its opposing side the supporters of its satellite Wreath. Now a mercenary has been hired after Marko and Alana’s initial escape, to hunt them down and kill them, but take their child back to the Wreath. Meanwhile, the Robot Kingdom’s King has sent a prince to find and kill Marko and Alana as well. In the midst of all this, Marko and Alana are given a map that discloses a location that may or may not lead to their freedom… or something more!

WARNING: Explicit language on this page of SAGA #1!

I absolutely loved Saga! Vaughan has done something incredibly difficult: he has merged the hardware of science fiction and the magical elements of fantasy and combined them into an epic space opera adventure series! In this first issue alone we see robot-head people, winged people, horned people, a giant “lying cat” and a vast assortment of other fantastical creatures and people. All these things are wonderfully realized by the art of Fiona Staples. Her work is somewhat reminiscent of the more realistic Manga artists, but her loose brushed line work and dynamic cell-style coloring make it very much her own unique style. A word of caution for people who assume comics are for readers of all ages: Saga is rated by Image M for Mature. If Saga was a movie, it would definitely be rated R. Saga uses explicit language, features graphic violence, complete nudity and even open sexual scenes. As an older reader, these elements did not bother me and in many ways contributed the reality of fantastic elements in the story. However, if you are sensitive to these adult depictions and situations, then Saga is probably not for you.

If you like something that combines the best qualities of science fiction and fantasy, give Saga #1 a read!

HELLBOY: HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD - A HARDCOVER GRAPHIC NOVEL

In May of 2010, Mike Mignola and Richard Corben were the writer and artist on a one-shot 32-pager Hellboy in Mexico, which I reviewed in my Hellboy in Mexico post.

Hellboy: House of the Living Dead, is a direct sequel to that one-shot, in a hardcover graphic novel format that clocks in at a whopping 56 pages! Mignola admits in his forward to the graphic novel that it was written as a love letter to the Universal horror movies of the 40’s: House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula. The story begins with Hellboy drinking in a bar, devastated over the loss of his luchador comrade to vampires. Hellboy is soon coerced into participating in an ultimate wrestling match with a massive Frankenstein-like monster! That is only the beginning of this madcap story of Hellboy’s fight and eventual confrontation with vampires, a mummy and a werewolf! Mignola’s writing is terse and intense as always and Corben’s artwork is perfectly suited to the wild visual needs of the many fantastic creatures and settings of this graphic novel. If I have any complaints with this graphic novel is the steep price of $14.99. Even at 56 pages, it is still a fairly quick read – even for someone like me, who likes to linger over fantastic art. I did not purchase this at my comic shop (where I buy all my Hellboy comics), because of the price; but instead asked for it as a Christmas present. It was a wonderful gift and I have no doubts that I’ll be reading this again – along with its prequel – in the near future!

ComicBookResources.com did an interview with Mignola about Hellboy: House of the Living Dead several months before its publication. Here are a few brief exerts:

CBR: What made you want to return to this time in HB's life?

MIGNOLA: It was so much fun doing the first one! When I did the first one-issue comic, at the end Hellboy mentions that he doesn't remember what happened the rest of the time he was in Mexico. That was really going to be it, but then I just thought, the beauty of a chunk of time that he doesn't remember -- either he doesn't remember or he says he doesn't remember because he doesn't want to tell anybody what happened -- that's a great period to tell stories, because you can do the craziest stuff and maybe it really didn't happen, maybe he was so drunk he thought this is what happened. It kind of took on a life of its own.

This story, I made up because I saw how much fun Richard had doing the "Hellboy in Mexico" stuff and I wanted to do a Hellboy in Mexico story, so I made up this story for me -- and then realized it would be so much better drawn by Richard. So I turned it over to him. I've actually plotted a couple more stories that take place in this chunk of time. So it's really that whole lost weekend. Five months in Mexico is going to be a significant chunk of Hellboy stories.

 CBR: So this is the first (or rather, second) of many?

MIGNOLA: I wouldn't say "many," but right now there's a short story I'm going to be doing for "Dark Horse Presents" that takes place in Mexico and then Richard's graphic novel. Then there's talk of at least one, if not two more after that.

CBR: Aside from Hellboy being upset about what's happened to his luchador friend, what's going on in "House of the Living Dead?"

MIGNOLA: As the story starts, he has become a wrestler. There's a beautiful opening sequence of Hellboy in the ring, tossing other Mexican wrestlers around. And then he's hired to fight somebody's champion. And it's the "go out to the crazy guy's old house" [story] and then it's like "House of Dracula" or "House of Frankenstein." For whatever reason, there are a lot of monsters in this one place. It's a parade of crazy stuff. In some places, it's really funny; in other places, it's really disturbing. In a lot of places, it's really spooky, so it does what Richard and I do really well together, which is, stuff where you go "I can't tell if this is supposed to be funny or not." Richard, more than I guess anybody I've ever worked with, you never really know which way he's going to spin stuff. Something I might write as so absurdly ridiculous funny might come across very straight the way he does it, and some stuff I had intended as very sober and sad and serious will end up kind of funny. So you have to write a certain way for Richard, where it's fine if he's plays stuff either way. In some places I'll tell him, "this needs to be really sad," "this needs to be really quiet," but a lot of it, he's so good at what he does and it's so amazing working with him, you don't always know what you're going to get. I like to give him as much room to do what he does as possible.

 I recommend reading the entire interview with Mignola at: ComicBookResources.com

Then go out and beg, borrow or steal – okay, go out and buy a copy and read Hellboy: House of the Living Dead!

BALTIMORE, OR THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE

BALTIMORE,

OR THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE

MIKE MIGNOLA AND CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN

CREATED A GOTHIC HORROR CLASSIC!

Despite being a huge Hellboy fan, I admit I passed on buying or reading Baltimore when it was first published in 2007. However, after buying the new comic sequel to the novel, I had to give it a go. Fortunately, the local library had a copy and I was able to read it before the comics. I was glad I gave Baltimore a try. This Gothic horror vampire novel is not a complete departure from Mignola’s Hellboy stories. However, the 19th Century story telling technique of relating each story from the point-of-view of a different character telling the tale to each other, is at first distracting; but eventually it won me over as it created the atmosphere of the time in which Baltimore was meant to take place. If I have any complaint about this novel is because of the format. It reads more like a series of short stories. Also, the middle section of the book spends a little too much time telling the stories of each of the supporting characters. However, the final part on the book that features Lord Baltimore confronting the evil that transformed his life was truly mesmerizing. Baltimore is also filled with wonderful black and white illustrations by Mike Mignola that help to set the tone of the prose as well.

The current five issue series, Baltimore, the Plague of ships is a direct sequel to the novel. It is co-written by Mignola and Golden and features moody artwork by Ben Stenbeck that captures the feel of early 20th Century illustrations. I recommend both the novel and the comics for fans of turn of the century literature and horror. Hmmm... I think even that old zombie windbag Zombzany would like Baltimore. I think I'll get Bill E. Bones to leave a copy of the comic in his crypt.

HELLBOY IN MEXICO!

Hola, mis amigos! It’s been a long time since I’ve updated you cool ghouls on the wicked pissa shiznit that I’ve been down with lately, but you’ll have to trust this freak when he tells you I have been keeping busy! I’ve read mucho comic books over the years, but one of my hands-down favorites has been Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics. I have been a fan of big red since his first mini-series Seed of Destruction was first published in 1994! Most horror fans probably are only familiar with Hellboy, and its spin-off comic series B.P.R.D., from the Guillerom del Toro directed films. So you noobs will have to take my word for it that the Mignola written comic books are way bitchin’ better!

A malos buena introduction to Hellboy just came to a comic book store near you! It’s Hellboy in Mexico - a one-shot comic written by Mike Mignola and drawn by Richard Corben! It tells the story of Hellboy’s “lost weekend” in Mexico back in 1956, when he was still a young demon in the employ of The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. He is sent there to investigate stink holes from Hell that are spewing up monsters that wipe out whole towns in Mexico. Soon, he runs into three brothers who are masked wrestlers, or luchadores, who were sent by the virgin Mary to fight monsters! For a month, Hellboy joins los tres luchadores: kills monsters by day and parties hardy by night. Tragedy strikes one of the masked brothers one night and it is up to Hellboy to put things right. I am only a casual fan of Mexico’s masked wrestlers, but I have watched several El Santo films (El Santo is considered the most famous and iconic of all Mexican luchadores – the Hulk Hogan of Mexican wrestling isn’t even a fair comparison). I was jazzed when I first read that Dark Horse comics was finally going to publish a story about this undocumented adventure of Hellboy! Although only 26 pages long, Hellboy in Mexico packs a lot of action, humor, horror and pathos into this story! Please do yourself a favor horror fans and buy this comic!

Here is an excerpt of an interview with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola on writing Hellboy in Mexico:

EDITOR: So what brings Hellboy south of the border?


MIGNOLA: Something really bad was going on down in Mexico, so the B.P.R.D. sent Hellboy. The story takes place back in 1957, and back then HB just went where the Bureau sent him, that was his job.


EDITOR: Mexico has such rich folklore, especially in regard to the supernatural. How much research did you do for Hellboy in Mexico?


MIGNOLA: Almost none. This isn't one of those stories that's heavily folklore based. I did find out that down in Mexico vampires sometimes take the form of turkeys. It was a challenge working that in.


EDITOR: Hellboy in Mexico reunites you with artist Richard Corben, whom you've worked with on previous Hellboy series. Are you excited to be working with Richard again? What is it about Richard's distinct style that seems such a logical fit for Hellboy?


MIGNOLA: Hard to say. Stylistically he's not much like me, but he's just great. He can draw anything and is especially great (I think) at stuff that is crumbling at the edges, stuff that's dented, banged up, dirty, and overgrown. That was a feel that was very important to have here as it was in The Crooked Man.


EDITOR: Hellboy has been to a lot of different places in his travels. Russia, England, even the backwoods of the American south. Where else in the world would you like Hellboy to visit? Australia? Cleveland?


MIGNOLA: In my mind Hellboy has been every place at least once, it's just a matter of doing my homework about some of those more exotic locales (like Cleveland). Just about every place has some legend about a monster that needs fighting.


EDITOR: You've got several ongoing titles with Dark Horse (Ape Sapien, B.P.R.D., Witchfinder), but you'll always be best known for Hellboy. Is writing for Hellboy a more personal process for you than when you're working on other titles?


MIGNOLA: Hellboy is the most personal. He was the first, and I know his story better than I know all the others. Most of the other titles I just cowrite, which usually means just a few notes or phone calls from me. John Arcudi is doing all the serious heavy lifting on B.P.R.D. That book is great because of John and Guy Davis.


EDITOR: You've mentioned in prior interviews that you got into comics because you love drawing monsters. Do you write based on which monsters would be interesting to see in your books?

MIGNOLA: A few of the stories I drew myself were simply excuses to draw a particular monster. When I'm writing a story but not drawing it, I need a bit more of a story. And the beauty of that is that I can ask the artist to draw things I can't (or just don't want) to draw. That's the good thing about working with guys like Corben and Fegredo. They can draw anything