Years after defeating the Crooked Man, Hellboy returns to the backwoods of Appalachia to confront the possible return of the witch Effie Kolb. Mild Spoilers Ahead.
Written by Mike MignolaCover by Zach Howard
with Dave Stewart
Illustrated by Zach Howard
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Clem RobinsIt has been nearly ten years since Hellboy came to help rid the Appalachian region of Virginia of the evil entity known as the Crooked Man. Now the world’s greatest paranormal investigator must return to these dark woods to see an old friend, Tom Ferrell. A young psychic girl has warned Tom of this impending doom and Hellboy looks to see if there is any weight to these claims.
This looming danger has Hellboy and Tom worried, but they know the effort and sacrifices that were made in defeating the Crooked Man and Effie Kolb. They are concerned but are cautiously optimistic that there is nothing to worry about. While this is a sequel to that story, casual readers will not need to feel that they are missing a major piece of the puzzle because Mignola goes out of his way to recap a lot of the major threads. It works as a really well done refresher without feeling like an unnecessary retread that takes up precious page space.
The beginning of the issue is also a beautiful re-connection between Hellboy and Tom. Seeing these two characters coming back together to both reminisce and look out for each other is the best kind of fan service. It is a natural progression of their story. Mignola spends a beat focusing on how Tom has aged quite a bit in the last decade while HB is relatively the same age. While Tom has the same craggy old man exterior, he is an incredibly gentle man and is truly glad to see his old friend.
After the catching up, Tom introduces the young psychic girl Sara May Blackburn. She is the one who came to Tom warning him of this darkness on the horizon. The old manor that was once inhabited by the Crooked Man is home to. . . someone. . . once again. Hellboy heads out there to check it out with Sara May tagging along much to the chagrin of Tom. Hellboy promises to look out for her and they set off. While they find an unexpected answer to who is in the house, Tom gets an abrupt and terrifying visit from one Effie Kolb. Rotting and weakened by her previous defeat, Tom is able to quickly expel her from his home and she flies off into the forest, clearly far weaker than even she knew.
This first of two issues is not only a great return to a little seen era of Hellboy’s life, but also a return to form for Mignola writing a truly scary horror story within this universe. This story is peak Hellboy as an investigator. It is terrifying and unsettling and is completely wrapped in all of the charm and sweetness that makes the Mignolaverse gears keep turning. It is all so beautiful and absolutely enjoyable. Like most new additions to the Hellboy lore, this issue works on all levels, no matter how well versed you are in this world. It catches readers up, revisits and builds a new story on a foundation that already exists and has places to expand and branch off from to craft this new mystery.
This is exactly the kind of short story fans will love. A classic tale of a lone detective called in to investigate some disturbances in an isolated location. Mignola does a wonderful job pacing this story out to give us plenty of background information interlaced with the current mission to fill out this first issue. His focus on building the tension and the problem at hand is perfectly executed leaving us drooling for the conclusion in issue two. As Hellboy’s past missions continue to get fleshed out it is clear that Mignola has lost none of his love of writing the titular hero and is clearly excited to return to these key moments in his life. The heart and horror are all there in the script. It is truly a spooky work of art.
Continued belowThis miniseries is illustrated with the tremendous talent of Zach Howard (“Aliens: More Than Human”). Howard is a perfect fit for this story, as a sequel to “The Crooked Man,” he is following in the footsteps of that book’s illustrator, Richard Corben. Corben brought a style that was nothing short of disturbing American folklore to that story and Howard plays around with that aesthetic while making the characters and setting his own. In the panels where he recreates moments directly from “The Crooked Man” by chaning the way he makes his marks his line work is incredibly similar to Corben’s. His version of the Crooked Man is one of the most disturbing panels in this book and might actually surpass Corben’s version. He somehow captures the same unsettling, nightmarish textures set forth in that story with the precision beauty and horror brought to Hellboy by the talents of Duncan Fegredo or Christopher Mitten.
To capture such a well-rounded take on this world is a rare feat and one that anyone would be remiss to look past. Working a Gothic sensibility into rural horror, Howard is doing unbelievable genre blending in this issue and he is the perfect choice for this book. It is equal parts gorgeous and unpleasant. His take on Hellboy himself is one of the best parts of the entire work. The design is where he really lines up with Fegredo’s look along with Mignola’s use of shadows and heavy lines.
Even if the line work were sub-par, with Dave Stewart doing the colors on this book, there was never a chance it would look bad. However, Stewart elevating already superb artwork makes this one of the best looking issues of the more recent “Hellboy” releases. He so perfectly colors Hellboy that when another artist has coloring duties HB just doesn’t look right to me. As for settings and circumstances, Stewart gets a lot to do here. And taking on the textures of the rotting Effie Kolb wither her brownish/grey skin and haunting yellow eyes, her presence is far more horrifying than it was previously. Stewart lives in this world and his color choices are nothing short of perfect. It always makes discussing and critiquing his work difficult because he just knows how to bring every page to its truest form.
Not only does he bring the characters and environments to life, he knows how to color each page to convey their sound, or lack thereof. Whether it’s Tom’s cabin home, the Crooked Man’s former manor residence, or the deep, dark woods, Stewart’s use of color and light source makes the stories he works on all the gravitas they need.
The stellar script, artwork, and color aside, seeing Clem Robins lettering with in the pages was another treat. Especially having a classic BOOM splash across an action sequence brought a joy to my heart.
This is a delightfully spooky mystery that will give some answers on its path to the finale, but it is a joy to follow along with the clues as they come. This is an absolute must buy for any Hellboy fan.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Return of Effie Kolb” #1 is not only a fantastic Hellboy story, it has all the makings of a perfectly rendered horror tale. It is everything fans have come to look for in a “Hellboy” miniseries.
