HELLBOY WINTER SPECIAL (JANUARY 2017)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie, and Chris Roberson
ARTISTS: Christopher Mitten; Paul Grist; Sebastian Fiumara
COLORS: Dave Stewart; Bill Crabtree
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Sebastian Fiumara with Dave Stewart
BACK COVER: Geof Darrow with Dave Stewart
EDITOR: Scott Allie
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2017)
Hellboy, a superhero and horror comic book character, was created by writer-artist Mike Mignola and first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (cover date: August 1993). The character's debut in his own comic book was Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1 (March 1994). However, Hellboy has been featured in short stories that have appeared in various publications for over two decades, including the Hellboy Winter Special.
The 2017 edition of the Hellboy Winter Special, an anthology comic book, was recently published and offers three Hellboy short stories. It sports two covers: a front cover by Sebastian Fiumara (colored by Dave Stewart) and a back cover drawn by Geof Darrow (and also colored by Stewart). Eight creators contribute to Hellboy Winter Special – January 2017: Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson, Christopher Mitten, Dave Stewart, Paul Grist, Bill Crabtree, Scott Allie, and Sebastian Fiumara.
The first story is “The Great Blizzard” by Mignola and Roberson and Mitten and Stewart. The story is largely set in Cornwall, England and takes place in March 1891. An excerpt from the “secret journals” of Sir Edward Grey, the story finds Grey and Sarah Jewell (of Rise of the Black Flame) trying to discover if a fierce winter storm that has gripped England is of supernatural origin.
“The Great Blizzard” seems like a prologue for a larger story to come. It's okay, but I really didn't warm to it.
The second story is “God Rest Ye Merry” by Mignola and Roberson and Grist and Crabtree. It is set in December 1961 and opens in Fairfield, Connecticut (the home of the BPRD, the occult research organization of which Hellboy is associated). In the story, Hellboy has to battle a bad Santa.
Once again, “God Rest Ye Merry” did not arouse much interest in me. It apparently is the intro to an upcoming comic book, entitled The Visitor. Surprisingly, while the story doesn't excite me, I am curious about The Visitor, which will be a new “Mignola-verse” title. On a side note, this story reminded me of what a stunningly “white bread” world Hellboy is. Black and Latino characters are virtually nonexistent. It is as if Hellboy was set in the programming world of MeTV (which has pretty much taken the place of “Nick at Nite” and “TVLand” when it comes to reruns of 1950 and 1960s, black and white television series).
Finally, we have “The Last Witch of Fairfield” by Mignola and Allie and Fiumara and Stewart. The story is set in 1979, once again in Fairfield. While searching for two missing girls, Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman encounter a tormented spirit.
“The Last Witch of Fairfield” is the best of the trio of stories presented here. Sebastian Fiumara and Dave Stewart make a killer art team, and turn this comic book short story into a bejeweled fairy tale and ghost story. I think “The Last Witch of Fairfield” would make a superb longer narrative, perhaps as a one-shot comic book or even as a miniseries. It is classic weird Hellboy.
Overall, I don't think that Hellboy Winter Special 2017 has the dramatic heft and imagination of the 2016 edition. 2016 was filled with stories that are classic Mignola, classic Hellboy investigates, or classic Hellboy humor. While “The Last Witch of Fairfield” matches the high-quality of last year's edition, “The Great Blizzard” and “God Rest Ye Merry” are minor works.
I would recommend Hellboy Winter Special 2016 to anyone who reads comic books. I would only recommend Hellboy Winter Special 2017 to Hellboy completists.
B
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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