Title: Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories.
Volume: 2.
Writer(s): Mike Mignola.
Illustrator(s): Richard Corben, Scott Hampton, P. Craig Russell and many more!
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.
Format: Paperback – Omnibus.
Release Date: August 28th 2018.
Pages: 368.
Genre(s): Comics, Horror, Fantasy.
ISBN13: 9781506706658.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
Previously on Hellboy:
Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola
Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories Volume 1 by Mike Mignola
Hellboy Omnibus Volume 2: Strange Places by Mike Mignola
Hellboy Omnibus Volume 3: The Wild Hunt by Mike Mignola
Sometimes you just find yourself wondering about how inherently different every individual’s perception and understanding of something is from one another. Pour in everyone’s personal experience, their knowledge and their subjective tastes to the mix and you find yourself with an opinion and we all know about those: everyone has one. Hellboy’s character was one of those things that I barely even knew what exactly he was about. My teenage self, whose only knowledge comes from Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies would’ve merely reduced the character to a red ape with a giant right fist who goes around a fantasy town with his amphibian friend and beautiful flaming chick, looking to bargain with mythical creatures who are up to no good. But after having read so many of his stories, and now this second and final short story omnibus, I know that Hellboy is so much more, and to the very least, legendary.
With seventeen standalone stories written by Mike Mignola, the collection showcases some of the most important and award-winning stories in Hellboy’s universe. Giving fans pieces to a bigger puzzle, each adventure continues to play with the half-demon’s lore and sets in motion his inevitable and forthcoming destiny as the Beast of the Apocalypse. The artwork continues to vary greatly from one story to another with the return of countless different artists who have worked on Hellboy. In this short story collection, Hellboy also runs into so many new creatures that he has never had the chance to pummel to the ground before. From having to face Baba Yaga for the first time to having some fun with Blackbeard and even getting abducted by aliens, it’s safe to say that Hellboy is never safe from any trouble.
It’s amazing how Mike Mignola just molds his universe with countless different mythologies and folklore. It might sound ridiculous at first, but when you’ve got a red half-demon with a bad-ass charisma who just loves to deal with threats with his fist, you wonder what else would dare face Hellboy and how long can they all survive. And it’s not even just about tossing all these creatures we know from our personal cultures at Hellboy. Hellboy also has a lot of knowledge on their origins and what not that makes this just as fascinating and insightful as going through a Wikipedia page (without all the little details). If anything, each story does make me want to go out there and discover their real origin stories, it’s just that much fun. And with knowledge, Hellboy also has a tool for every problem. If he needs a special plant to scare away a ghost, a special silver bullet for a furry friend or a nice little cross for our white-faced biting fellows, Hellboy has it. Action sequences will honestly always be hilarious, even if they are short and sometimes not very cinematic.
With some stories much shorter than others, yet just as important, you also come to see a pattern in Hellboy’s personality as an agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. He is an extremely gullible individual who will always come to the rescue of those who request it until he then realizes the mess in which he got himself in. He never however gives up and always gets to the end of it, even if it all started with his decision to not think through what he’s about to do. It is still however hilarious how much the saying fits his character: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” I do also love how his character is far from ever showing fear. His life is the most hectic and wild adventure anyone could ever imagine, yet there’s very little that will make him back down. In fact, he clearly shows that he’s a character that prefers confrontation over escape. Then again, the toll of it all, including his destiny, is felt through an aura he assimilated over the years and he carries around with him like his coat and his gun.
Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories Volume 2 is a fun collection to wrap up the remaining award-winning short stories in the Hellboy series and that ultimately leads up to the events of Seed of Destruction.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!
The long-awaited reboot of Hellboy is getting closer to its release now (April 12th 2019)! Expect a trailer to soar through Hell and into our lives anytime soon! For the time being, enjoy these recently released posters! 😀
Roars and Echoes 
That initial art of the film looks pretty awesome!
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It does, right? Can’t wait to see what the trailer will have in store for us 😁
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Sometimes it’s nice to have a few short stories to read instead of a long one. And wow 17 huh?! That really is a big collection indeed! I have to admit that I like the new artwork for the movie! Let’s hope it’s going to be good. Always a bit scared when I hear the word re-boot/remake and more words like that😅😅 Great post as always! 😊😊
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Indeed! They are pretty quintessential after all. With only one more omnibus to go, I’d have to hunt down all the spin-off stories not featured in these omnibuses to get my dose of the Hellboy universe soon hahah Same here for reboots… loads of fans just wanted Perlman and Guillermo del Torro to return for a third and final movie. I’m still hopeful for this reboot though! 😁
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Your enthusiastic reviews made me read some of the Mignola Hellboy comics – and for that big thanks! 🙂
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Ohhhh! I’m so happy to hear that! I do hope you have a good time with Hellboy. 😁 Where did you start? 😱
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The “missing year”, so Hellboy in Mexico, and it was a lot of fun 🙂 Now I’m going through Hollow Earth & Other Stories, it’s still good, but lack of Hellboy is definitely noticeable.
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Will Perlman be in the reboot?
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Unfortunately no. But I’m still hopeful in David Harbour and Milla Jovovich! 😁
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Like your teenage self, my only knowledge of Hellboy came from the movie and nothing else. I don’t even remember what the movie was about!
I do have to say though, that your depiction of these comics really made me much more keen to dive into his world and character.
I mean, the Mythology aspect is enough to pike my interest! I don’t think that was at all explored properly in the movie, but then again I don’t remember it well 😂
Thanks so much for the insightful review, Lashaan! I will see if I can get my hands on a few comics 🙂
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Hahah well then, I’m glad to give you a new pair of glasses to look through and get a better picture of Hellboy! 😉 Hopefully you do someday get the chance to explore his stories for yourself, or maybe just see the upcoming reboot, and if not, it’s all right! I’m sure you already have plenty of stories/shows/movies that you need to check out ASAP too! 😛 Thanks for reading, Sophie!
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Is this a reblog? I felt I just read this too. Am I seeing double?
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Hahah again, it’s the sequel to what you read earlier. Also, thank you so much for the time you spent catching up! Truly appreciate it!! 😱 So happy to hear from you!! ☺️
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I am amazed at how fast you go through these books and the time you must spend reviewing them. It would be good if you would consider interspersing any real crime stories or research or subject you will be studying or writing about in your PhD program.
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Hahah yes! I sort of don’t read as fast as some who are able to squeeze two novels per week and so content myself with comic books/graphic novels to compensate hahah I also let my coblogger fill in the quota with some book reviews too hahah I’ll definitely keep your suggestion in mind though! Definitely like the idea though. 😁 Thanks Karina!
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Well I am glad that this one added so much more to your knowledge than Guillermo’s movies Lachaan! I loved your review by the way even if this kind of story is not my kind of story but now…I will never look at it the same! Thank you for your passion and enthusiasm 😉
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It’s always fun for me to dive into the source material of what is often considered pop culture! And I’m really glad to help everyone, even if it doesn’t lead them to pick it up themselves, to know a bit more about certain books/movies/characters! 😁 Thank you so much for reading though, I appreciate it a lot!
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It sounds like the character is very dynamic and entertaining- especially cos he likes to solve most of his problems with his fists 😉 Awesome review!
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Sure does sound silly that he solves problems with that fist of his huh? 😂 There’s something very satisfying about seeing those mythical creatures face his fist though. 😁
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hahaha yes!
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