To Hell and Back

I got two different Mike Mignola comics, and I’m gonna review ’em right now! Try and stop me!

Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #5

While Hellboy tries to get his friend Alice into a demon-guarded castle where her injuries can be healed, the newly crowned Queen of the Witches makes her plots against Big Red and demonstrates her power on a fae ambassador, compelling him to leave to commit regicide. Our second feature is a story by Gary Gianni about a group called the MonsterMen who travel into the Underworld to help un-haunt a house and getting stuck with a powerful (though silly) demonic relic.

Verdict: Thumbs up. The Hellboy story has plenty of action, thanks to Hellboy fighting an all-powerful demon, and plenty of creepy, thanks to the Queen of the Witches, who could scare you into a year of nightmares. The second feature is plenty silly (its evil relic is called the Mustache Diabolico), but I wish it had a little more background on the characters.

B.P.R.D: 1947 #2

In this story of the early days of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Simon Anders is in big trouble. He’s one member of a small squad sent to investigate vampire attacks in post-war Europe, and he’s been lured by a pretty girl to the ruins of Chateau Lac D’Annecy — but the ruins aren’t ruins anymore, and there’s a big party going on with a lot of women dressed up in fashions from the 1750s and a lot of suspiciously withered servants. At the stroke of midnight, the ladies take Simon flying off to “the Festival” — a ritual to Hecate attended by withches and vampires — including Baron Konig, the vampire believed to be behind the attacks in Europe. The next morning, the rest of the BPRD squad make their own trip to the castle — but all they find is ruins, Simon’s notebook, and ominous coffins.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Very spooky stuff, which has certainly become a hallmark fo Mignola’s various BPRD series. The artwork by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon is quite stunning as well.