Exclusive: Advance Look at January 2015’s Mignolaverse Titles

Logo by Tim Daniel

This October we’ve been getting a lot of peeks at and announcements about what’s upcoming from in the Mignolaverse from previews of covers and interior artwork to the announcement of more Itty Bitty Hellboy and the grand reveal of Frankenstein Underground. This has all been a part of “13 Days of Hellboy,” with each day revealing something new. Welcome to day 12! (Don’t worry if you’ve missed anything. I’ve included links to the previous days at the bottom of the article.) We have an exclusive look at January’s titles along with a commentary from Dark Horse Editor-in-chief, Scott Allie and myself.

Let’s kick this off with something familiar:

Cover by Mike Mignola with colors by Dave Stewart.

B.P.R.D. PLAGUE OF FROGS – VOLUME 2
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Guy Davis, Herb Trimpe, John Severin, Peter Snejbjerg, Karl Moline
Colors by Dave Stewart, Bjarne Hansen
Lettering by Clem Robins
January 14, 2015

Scott Allie: The second part of “Plague of Frogs” is where the war with the Lovecraftian frog monsters heats up, and the world is really feeling the effects of these monsters. The B.P.R.D. seems to have some control over the situation, but the Black Flame kills Roger, and things get grim for everyone. Abe’s discovered his secret history as a scientist during the Civil War, and Liz falls under the very dark influence of Memnan Saa, who winds up bringing this all to a head in the subsequent volumes.

On all these, Mike wanted something very stark, and simply focused on the characters. Since Roger died in this one, we knew this had to be the cover for him. Mike of course did this a long time ago for the hardcover edition.

Mark Tweedale: That was something I loved about these covers when these collections first came out, the focus on just one or two characters. Having Roger on the front was a nice way to say goodbye to him.

This is the paperback version of the omnibus editions. This is the most cost effective way to collect the series with each omnibus collecting three trade paperbacks worth of material.

Cover by Max and Sebastián Fiumara with colors by Dave Stewart.

ABE SAPIEN – VOLUME 5: SACRED PLACES
Written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie
Illustrated by Max Fiumara and Sebastián Fiumara
Colors by Dave Stewart
Lettering by Clem Robins
January 21, 2015

SA: Abe, still AWOL from the B.P.R.D., has ventured deep in to the American Southwest, where the infestation of monsters is the worst, with an epicenter in Houston. He meets a young damaged woman named Grace who becomes his traveling companion, has a dream where Hellboy suggests he really does play a bigger part in the end of the world than he’d like, and returns to the town where he was shot, where his latest bizarre transformation began—and he makes friends with a Santa Muerte cult.

This is the first non Mignola cover for Abe. Mike wants to focus on “Hellboy in Hell,” so we’re bringing other guys along for the covers. This series is all about the Fiumaras, so they’ll be collaborating on the covers. I believe Seba laid this out, with input from Mike, including a revision of the sketch. Seba penciled and Max inked, and I think Dave did about seven versions of the colors before we nailed it down.

MT: They captured that Mignola feel though. This sits very comfortably next to the other 4 volumes. Now let’s look at the single issues…

Cover by Max Fiumara with colors by Dave Stewart.

ABE SAPIEN #19: A DARKNESS SO GREAT (PART 2)
Written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie
Illustrated by Sebastián Fiumara
Colors by Dave Stewart
Lettering by Clem Robins

SA: There’s a sinister power hanging over the coastal town where they’ve settled, but no one wants to question the relative safety they’ve found here, until a member of Abe’s new family dies. New breeds of monsters fly over Texas, as we follow events from the point of view of the priestess of the Santa Muerte cult Abe’s joined.

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For this arc, I convinced Max to do something I’ve always wanted to do on a comic cover, with the little batch of insets. It emulates a design gag that horror movie posters used in the 1970s and ’80s. Each issue of this arc focuses on a different character, and this one’s about Dayana, the priestess of the Santa Muerte cult—but we also wanted to address the action, the fight that Abe gets into. Max came up with a very weird, balletic approach to the action, rather than going for fisticuffs…

MT: These covers for Abe are really different for the Mignolaverse. And it’s not just having the title at the bottom of the cover, either. The intimate close up on Abe and Grace on #18’s cover is something that’s never happened before.

Cover by Alex Maleev.

HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D.: 1952 #2
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Alex Maleev
Colors by Dave Stewart
Lettering by Clem Robins

SA: There’s treachery in the ranks of the B.P.R.D., and one very weird monster in this South American village that Hellboy and co. are trying to help. Hellboy’s inexperience on this, his very first mission, proves pretty evident.

Alex painted the first cover on paper, traditionally, but for the second one he was traveling, spending his summer abroad, and did it on the computer, as I think he does most of his Marvel covers. Hellboy’s standing on a bunch of grave markers, which become important in the story, along with the monster looming over him. We don’t get a real clear view of the monster in the first issue, but there’s a pretty good fight in issue #2.

MT: Looking forward to it! I think this is going to be one of those stories that defines the Mignolaverse in 2015. That and “Frankenstein Underground.”

Cover by Laurence Campbell with colors by Dave Stewart.

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH #127: FLESH AND STONE (PART 2)
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by James Harren
Colors by Dave Stewart
Lettering by Clem Robins

SA: Laurence is going to be the cover artist on “Hell on Earth” until the end, with one possible break along the way, though I ain’t saying for what yet. It was his idea to do the 5-piece cover for this arc, with interiors from James Harren. I love how the big version, which we’re giving away prints of at New York Comic Con, holds together as a single image, while each piece of it works on its own. Color helps, with the way Dave breaks the five separate pieces out as their own thing, in particular with the little group of characters at the bottom.

MT: To the end? Holy crap, that’s awesome! I love his work, and I’ve been impressed by his covers since he did some for “Sledgehammer 44.” Readers, if you’re at NYCC, this is your last day to grab that poster… if there’re any left.

Wow, my mind’s still reeling from “the end.” When you talk about it in terms like that, it’s suddenly a lot closer!

And that’s the lot of ’em! Tomorrow will be the last of the 13 Days of Hellboy, then everything will wrap up with an AMA on Reddit with Scott Allie, 11:30 AM, PST. On Wednesday there will be two new Mignolaverse books out, a double dose from artist Tyler Crook; a stand-alone story in “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth” #124 and the final part of “Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland.” Then on Thursday, check back on the site for the latest Hell Notes.

And finally, in case you missed any, here’s the previous 13 Days of Hellboy exclusives:

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