Not bad. It was really hard to gauge what to expect from this movie based on the trailer due to many factors - how the success of Pan’s Labyrinth would influence the film, what comics would they adapt, etc. As far as that goes, Hellboy 2 was it’s own unique thing, apart from the comics and Guillermo del Toro’s other works.

The biggest pull for the movie was it’s bigger budget. There were more monsters, including a giant elemental and dozens of background creatures, making the movie seem very Men in Black-esque. This was a great aspect of the movie, that there was just a lot of cool, bizarre throw away monsters and magical creatures that added depth to the fantasy underworld.

There were a few characterization driven lulls in the film, but once the action started back up, these doldrums are forgiven. The sequel was a great summer movie, playing off the legacy of the comics, del Toro’s artistic style, and the first film, throwing in the types of gimmicks you’d expect from a Hollywood sequel.

If the movie breaks even, we may expect a third movie on the horizon, and I think with all the hype and the fact that this film is enjoyable and filled with imagination, a growing Hellboy fan base is assured. In the summer of great super hero movies - this is a must see, even if it’s just to see something different.

I love Hellboy. I have a shelf of every Hellboy comic and book, including, I’m ashamed to say, action figures of him - even his Heroclix. I think all of the Hellboy stories are well written, comics or books, and have great illustrations, regardless of who wrote or drew them, be it Mike Mignola, Guy Davis, Christopher Golden, etc. I loved the first movie and the two animated films are great.

But after awhile, it’s starting to wear on me. The formula, that is. In the beginning of the Hellboy franchise, the story had a forward momentum wrapped around in uncovering Hellboy’s mysterious destiny. Things were happening to Hellboy, things that would permanently mark the character and progress the overall story. But it seems to me like a lot of these more recent stories are the same premise - take a myth, put Hellboy in it, and watch Hellboy beat the myth up. It’s a greatly appealing formula, and like I said, I like it, but what frustrates me is these fun formula stories are sidetracking the forward momentum of Hellboy’s ultimate story.

Granted, this story (set in 1958 Appalachian Mountains) was released due to the release of Hellboy 2, and the last Hellboy series Darkness Calls did further the main plot, but there aren’t enough comics essential to Hellboy’s story coming out on a regular basis. It frustrates me as a longtime fan that it appears as though the Hellboy stories are content to stay in the “plug n’ chug” mindset. B.P.R.D. has this forward momentum, but I, and many others, read that series because it ties into Hellboy.

While I just vented frustration about the franchise, don’t let that bad energy get to you. The Crooked Man miniseries is very well-written and engaging in this first issue, utilizing the mix of modernism and occult that makes Hellboy unique. It features more dialogue than most Hellboy comics, and introduces bizarre demons and a heroic sidekick. You’ve got witchcraft and the devil fighting Hellboy in a backwoods background. This would be an awesome story if only it mattered to Hellboy’s story!

image courtesy Dark Horse

Head on over to Apple.com for the new Hellboy 2 trailer.

This new trailer shows off that fancy Pan’s Labyrinth money. Many new monsters (hopefully not all of them) are shown that haven’t been previously revealed, like the monster bazaar, an unusual old lady and the former king of the monsters. Every time I see this trailer, I get chills, and I know that many people are looking forward to this film - people unfamiliar with the comics and even the first film.

People looking to prepare themselves for this new film need not worry - the film’s premise is a new, unique story never seen before. But, seeing the first film couldn’t hurt, and Dark Horse has reissued the older Hellboy volumes as well as the spin-off B.P.R.D. series. New Hellboy books focusing on Hellboy, B.P.R.D., Abe Sapien, Professor Bruttenholm, and the pulp spy hero Lobster Johnson are also available in trade paperback forms, or will be soon, just in time for the movie, or as Dark Horse editor Scott Allie called it, the “big-budget commercial.”

courtesy DC

Avengers: The Initiative #12 (Marvel) - The first class is revolved out for new super heroes. The best series Marvel putting out right now.

BPRD Vol. 8: KIlling Ground TPB (Dark Horse) - The plot gets icky…

Black Panther: Little Green Men TPB (Marvel) - I thought it was an episode of classic Star Trek, but there is a planet where 20s gangsterism is a way of life. How will the New Fantastic Four react?

Uncles Sam and the Freedom Fighters #8 (DC) - The last one! Go buy 10 copies! This is a great series no one is really giving a chance. Those of us who read it, love it, because the characters are balanced and the plot is hilarious and creepy. Don’t wait for the trade!

Jack of Fables #22 (Vertigo) - After the Pathetic Fallacy one-shot last issue, we return to Jack’s adventures, but this time in the Old West! What (and who) hasn’t he done?

Hell Is Other Comics

Mike Mignola’s Hellboy is one of the strongest independent (not DC or Marvel) comic franchises in the past decade. And for good reason. While many of you may have seen the movie, Hellboy comics feature the same red-skinned son of demons, wise-cracking his way from supernatural mystery to supernatural mystery. Though the focus of comic miniseries, novels, short stories and one-shot issues, Hellboy’s world is full of heroes who have also gained their own spotlight, like the pulp adventurer Lobster Johnson, and Hellboy’s B.P.R.D. partners Liz Sherman and Abraham Sapien. Likewise, two straight-to DVD Hellboy movies have been released and the second Hellboy movie is due in theaters July 11th.

I was recently able to speak to Dark Horse Editor of Hellboy, Scott Allie, about the franchise. Read the rest of this entry »

Justice Society of America #12 (DC) - In this issue Jakeem Thunder returns and the JSA “reaches out to the next wave of legacy heroes: the new Mr. America, Judomaster, Amazing Man and more!” I think I would like this series much more if the roster didn’t change every three issues and relationships are weren’t manufactured and forced, rather than earned. But in team books like JSA, I seldom look for relationships and more at the juxtaposition of various characters. JSA works because of who the team members are, not necessarily what they do. Kingdom Come Superman just has to be in the book for me to want to read it, and if he doesn’t develop as a character, there are a dozen other people on the team I can turn to. Read the rest of this entry »

hellboymovie.com/

The best part of this trailer is how it makes you think it’s for Pan’s Labyrinth 2. It’s magical and the creatures look the same. Is that a nice little fairy on the ground? How sweet. The forces of magic are unseen and exist around us.

And then Hellboy is going to kick their ass.

This movie is going to be phenomenal visually and I can’t wait for it. The monsters look awesome and is that Johann Kraus I spy?

Image courtesy Universal Studios

Mike MIgnola continues to build the Hellboy universe and franchise every year. What started as his monumental Hellboy comic over a decade ago has now spawned two movies, dark fantasy novels, and the spin-off B.P.R.D. series. Focusing on the other Hellboy characters at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense in Hellboy’s absence, this title is joined by Abe Sapien: The Drowning, Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus and the recently released B.P.R.D. 1946. Read the rest of this entry »