By: Mike Mignola (writer), Duncan Fegredo (pencils), Dave Stewart (colors)
The Story: Every so often, a group of giants band together and cause trouble in the rural English hills. During that time, a group of aristocrats go on the hunt to end the distraction. After learning Hellboy is in town, crashing with some old friends, they seek his help.
What’s Good: It’s a great setup. Knowing Hellboy’s being watched, that Professor Broom went on a similar hunt years ago, and the final panels really peak my interest. I’m also really curious about what these giants look like. Even with all the references to previous stories, nothing gets too confusing. We get a lot of information in this issue, and none of it feels forced or short-changed. All of this is a credit to the Hellboy team as both Mignola and Fegredo put their expert storytelling on display.
What’s Not So Good: Waiting for the next issue. Once again, the Hellboy team is off to a great start, with a good cliffhanger at the end of issue one. Even though the references to previous stories aren’t confusing, it is frustrating being someone who’s come in late. Everything makes sense, but I get the impression that you’ll get more out of the story if you’ve read all the Hellboy comics.
Conclusion: It looks like it’s gonna be another rough one for Hellboy. Things have gotten bad early and we haven’t even found a giant yet. Mike Mignola is one of the best writers working in comics today. His consistency and originality are second to none. This is another awesome Hellboy story that’s a great starting point for new fans and a great continuation for vets.
Grade B+
-Ben Berger
Filed under: Dark Horse Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Dark Horse Comics, Dave Stewart, Duncan Fegredo, Hellboy, Hellboy: The Wild Hunt 1, Mike Mignola
Janus, I don’t disagree on any point you’ve made. I’d love to have given this an A+. But, we do have some grading rules in place so the A’s should only be given to Watchmen level works. Trust me, I’d give all of Mignola’s stuff an A if I could! Thanks for reading!
I would have given this an A+. Nothing beats a good Hellboy comic for artistry, mood, mystery, atmosphere, character and storytelling. It’s true that there are lots of things that are unexplained but I’ve read almost every Hellboy and related comic and I too found a lot of things in this without previous reference. It just may be the nature of Mignola’s storytelling that a lot of things are cryptic. It’s a good a place as any for a new reader to hop on board.