I've been a fan of Hellboy from day one. The first appearance in John Byrne's Next Men. The first limited series from Dark Horse. My first statue was a Hellboy mini bust by Randy Bowen. I still have it! The Del Toro movies with Ron Perlman hold a special place in my heart. But for as much as I loved the character, I strayed away from the comic after his creator, Mike Mignola, stepped away from art duties. A couple of series with different artists and I was done. It just didn't feel the same.
Then, it was announced that a reboot of the movie series was coming, starring David Harbour from Stranger Things. Initially, I wasn't terribly thrilled about a reboot. But, after some teaser images and finally a trailer, I started to get excited about the movie. The movie was fun, but somewhat of a disappointment. Visually, it was great. Harbour made for a fine Hellboy and the special effects were spectacular. The dialogue was...something. It was sufficiently corny for the character, but the language...look, I'm no prude, if you heard me at work when the machines aren't running well, you'd think I was a sailor, but it just doesn't fit some characters. There was just something off about Hellboy dropping f-bombs as frequently as he was. And some of the story just didn't mesh with what I'm familiar with when it comes to Hellboy. The dialogue, gore, and general feel had me thinking that it could've been a Sam Raimi movie. Which isn't a terrible thing. But still. That being said, I'll get it when it comes out on home video, and I'm really hoping for a sequel because they introduced Abe Sapien at the end.
But here's what this entry is really about! A few weeks before the movie's release, I discovered that it was based on the Wild Hunt story. This is one of the Hellboy stories that came after I quit collecting. I'd been seriously contemplating rebuilding my Hellboy library through trades and decided to start here. I picked up Omnibus 3, The Wild Hunt. This collects Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, and The Storm and The Fury. This is most of artist Duncan Fegredo's work on Hellboy. The only work of Fegredo's that I was familiar with previously is the Jay and Silent Bob series. Yes, THAT Jay and Silent Bob, lunchbox. Blown away. If Mignola isn't going to draw Hellboy, Fegredo is who I'd like to see drawing the character. His style is perfect for the character and his stories and perfectly conveys the action and emotion. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the colors of Dave Stewart, which complete the story.
I realize the stories contained in this collection are several years old. But this is the best story I've read in quite some time. And MUCH better than the movie that was supposedly based off it. This story sees the return of the witch, Nimue, and her rise into the Blood Queen, and worse! Hellboy struggles with his birthright, not just as the Beast of the Apocalypse, but also as the living heir to King Arthur! British and European folklore, Baba Yaga, and Arthurian legend, what more could you ask for?
That's Excalibur he's pulling out of the stone, by the way.
And Hellboy dialogue that I'm used to!
At nearly 530 pages, this $25 Omnibus is totally worth it. Especially if you're a Hellboy fan. I look forward to reading this again. And picking up the other collections!
And I just recently found out that Ron Perlman is going to be at Indiana Comic Con at the end of August. Time to start saving!
Everyone has issues. Mine are mostly comics.