“In Hellboy he [Mike Mignola] has created a hero to stand with the greatest of mythology. The roots of this character run back thousands of years, but he speaks with our voice. He’s a twenty-first-century icon, slugging it out against the age-old fears that still…still…haunt us,” says Mark Chadbourn in his introduction to Hellboy: The Wild Hunt. Equating this big red guy with the likes of King Arthur and Hercules may be a bold claim to make, but it’s one that I sort of agree with. Hellboy’s struggle against fate is one that many mythical figures have in common, and his story certainly means as much to me as the stories of these other heroes.
As a heads-up, there’s a lot I haven’t read yet in the Hellboy universe, and this review is based solely on the original Hellboy run as collected in the trade paperbacks, not including the Hellboy in Hell arc.
Summary: Hellboy is a weird red man with a weird right hand and weird things on his head, and his life is also really weird. Summoned to Earth as a baby demon, Hellboy was raised by the Bureau for Paranomal Research and Defense (BPRD), and thus he became one of their main agents. Now he travels the world fighting other supernatural beings and getting into a lot of trouble, often involving people that want to use him to bring forth the Apocalypse. Getting captured by Nazis is just a regular Tuesday for our resident spawn from Hell.
Mike Mignola has a very distinct art style, recognizable by its stark contrasts, pronounced shadows, and blocky figures. He’s a master of character design; every creature and every human has a unique look, and they fit together like puzzle pieces—Hellboy never feels out of place besides his human colleagues or walking around town; he blends in perfectly with the environment, or rather, the world he lives in fits perfectly around Hellboy. There are a couple chapters where other people do the art, and while I prefer Mignola’s style, I really enjoyed the different look that these stories have and the way that these guest artists reimagine Mignola’s characters and world, how they try to maintain the delicate balance between dark fantasy and Hollywood action that Mignola has cultivated.
As an aside, my favorite story that isn’t drawn by Mignola is The Crooked Man, drawn by Richard Corben, which I think is by far the creepiest in the entire series.
I love Hellboy’s monsters—the Lovecraftian Conqueror Worm and Mr. Tod, the tragic werewolf family, the creepy Japanese heads, the witches Bog Roosh and Hecate, and all the Russian folk creatures like Baba Yaga and the domovoi. The mix of cosmic horror, Gothic literature, Biblical references and folklore from all over the world makes the setting feel vast and rich, full of creativity. My favorite volume, Darkness Calls, takes us “beyond the thrice-nine lands in the thrice-tenth kingdom,” the heart of mythical Russia, Baba Yaga’s home, and I love every scene there. That entire volume feels like stepping into a folktale or an ancient epic. It is this, the way Mignola incorporates Hellboy into the myths of so many cultures, that makes Hellboy feel grander than life, like he belongs amongst the great legends of old.
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Story-wise, the first half can be a little repetitive; you can tell Mignola is more preoccupied with developing the world and the characters than the plot, so every story is more or less the same—Hellboy goes investigating somewhere, some Nazis try to use him to start the Apocalypse, there’s a big fight, and then he beats the Nazis. These stories aren’t bad by any means; the monsters are still fun, and Hellboy’s charisma can elevate even the simplest story, but it feels like a very long prologue. I have to admit that the Nazis are the weakest part of the series, and they are largely overshadowed by the supernatural creatures that use them as tools for their own ends, be they Rasputin or Hecate. These two are the actual threats, the ones that pull the strings and can see beyond human affairs and into the depths of the cosmos. Rasputin and Hecate are intimately connected to Hellboy and his fate, while the Nazis are just stock bad guys to be defeated.
The BRPD is mostly present during this half of the series, and even though they aren’t as relevant towards the end, the other BRPD agents are still charming. The relationship between Liz Sherman and her powers—her desire to be rid of them while still needing the fire to keep her alive—is extremely compelling. Abe’s friendship with Hellboy is not focused on a lot, but the glimpses we get of it show a surprising level of intimacy, like Hellboy telling Abe about the events of “The Chained Coffin”. Perhaps their closeness is the result of being so visibly non-human, which is also what brings them so close to Roger, the Homonculus. I particularly like the friendship between Hellboy and Kate; his calm acceptance of weird stuff and her newness to the supernatural make them a fun duo.
We don’t get a lot of Hellboy and his father, Professor Bruttenholm, but their relationship is still very important to the story. Hellboy’s kindness is undeniably the result of a loving childhood, and it ties into the bigger theme of nature vs. nurture that the entire series revolves around. Hellboy’s refusal of his fate is caused by his love for humanity and Earth, but had he been raised by Rasputin and his Nazi cronies, perhaps he would have gladly embraced his role as destroyer of the world.
Hellboy the man.
Who doesn’t love a hero doomed by fate? Hellboy has everything that I love in a male lead: he doesn’t take himself too seriously, he often gets beaten up, he has a lot of anger inside him and acts impulsively, but he’s not aggressive, he’s kind and considerate of others, always willing to lend someone a hand, and above all else, he deeply cares about humanity and the world and feels unworthy of love. Can he be a hero, or is he bound to be a destroyer? Is he human, or is he a monster?
Therein lies what makes Hellboy so compelling: his human monstrosity. There are many different definitions of monstrosity in literary criticism, but I think Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s “Monster Culture” offers some good pointers. Monsters exist between categories; they do not fit inside a rigid system. “The monster is difference made flesh, come to dwell among us”. In short, monsters are creatures that can’t be put into a neat category, hybrid beings, just like Hellboy is the son of a human witch and Satan himself.
Hellboy stands at a threshold, and, despite his refusal to confront his nature, he’s always aware of this, and fears it. His arc throughout the series is about facing the truth about where he comes from, what he is, and then rejecting his fate. He tries to run away from it, denies Rasputin and Hecate and everyone who tries to make him see he was created to bring destruction to the world, as if by covering his ears he can make it less true. He’s his own monster, and the possibility that he will destroy the world haunts him even more than it does the people around him. His own fear for what he is drives away his loved ones and makes him want to stay away from humanity and find companionship among the dead. He can’t believe the faith others have in him, and he can’t accept that his friends think he’s a good person.
Ultimately, Hellboy’s story is about accepting that he has a monstrous side, embracing it and still accepting that he can be loved, and that he can do good and save the world he loves so much.
It’s a beautiful arc with a bittersweet end, but one that Hellboy faces head-on. There was no other way for his story to end, like all legendary heroes. I know there’s more after this, but I think the ending of this series is perfect the way it is.
Final Thoughts.
Go read Hellboy. If I haven’t made it clear by now, it’s one of the best things I’ve read this year and 100% worth your time. I’m a newbie in the world of comics, but I think Hellboy is a great place to start if you want to become familiar with the medium. It's easy to follow, and you don’t need to read any of the side stories or sequels, the original story has a satisfying ending if you don’t want to continue, but I personally think anyone who makes it to the end of Hellboy will want more. He is an extremely charming character, and you will miss him as soon as you finish. This series is fun, emotionally compelling, full of creativity and has beautiful art that makes you want to keep reading just to see what new, unique creature Mignola will throw at you. I can’t praise it enough.