Picking up a little over a week after the previous arc, “Hellboy in Love” #3 begins a new arc that digs into the chemistry between its leads. Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Matt Smith prove to be exceptional at this, giving us a “Hellboy” comic that’s unlike any other to date. We’re in new territory here, where the focus of the story is very different from what we’re used to. That said, if you’re open to it, we think it’s easy to get swept away by this arc. There are some spoilers in this one.
Shadow Theater – Part 1
Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Illustrated by Matt Smith
Colored by Chris O’Halloran
Lettered by Clem RobinsSparks fly when Hellboy and Anastasia take a surprise trip to Turkey. Anastasia’s former professor has unearthed the birthplace of Turkish shadow puppetry, but it seems there is more lurking in the shadows than he bargained for. Facing demonic presences is nothing new to Hellboy, but doing it alongside Anastasia is a new challenge!
Join creator Mike Mignola and cowriter Christopher Golden for another story of occult adventure and unlikely romance, with art by Matt Smith, featuring the colors of Chris O’Halloran.
Kate Kosturski: February is the month of love, and it’s the perfect time to pick up with the budding romance between Hellboy and Anastasia. But instead of being in the middle of their work, we have a moment to see Hellboy and Anastasia the couple, not Hellboy and Anastasia the detectives. The first page, where they’re getting ready for a formal night out that neither one of them really wants to be at, has all that charming relationship banter with just a touch of first blush of love.
Mark Tweedale: This year I wanted to read more romance comics, so “Hellboy in Love” fits very nicely with those plans. The opening six pages of the issue ended up being my favorite part, because we get to see such a different side of Hellboy. Plus it’s nice to see Hellboy in a suit.
Kate: Don’t know what it is, but every man looks better all cleaned up in a suit or tux.
Like you, I love it. It adds dimension to both our characters beautifully. You see it in their banter with each other and all the little nonverbal touches in Matt Smith’s art: the longing looks, shy smiles.
And this isn’t present just in their back and forth banter. It’s in their interactions with others, particularly Anastasia with Dr. Hobart, who doesn’t like the celebrity in their midst. That moment is also a reminder that while this is taking place in 1979, Anastasia is still within a man’s world. It continues the tradition of Mignola women who buck what convention places upon them, and that’s part of why I keep coming back to his stories.
Mark: There’s definitely a slice-of-life element here that I appreciate. We so very rarely see Hellboy when he’s not on the job, so it’s interesting to see him existing beside regular people and how they interact with him. There’s a moment when someone asks if they can touch his horns, and Hellboy does this gesture preemptively stopping them from touching him before he can reply—it tells us this has happened before. Sure, neither Hellboy or Anastasia go to this kind of event regularly, but it’s presented in such a way that we learn about aspects of their daily life in the process. I feel like this is an aspect of Hellboy Christopher Golden is particularly good at capturing. It shows up in all his “Hellboy” work in varying degrees, but here he’s really showcasing it.
Kate: It also slows down this new romance just a bit. You had mentioned in your last review that “Hellboy in Love” #2 felt overstuffed, and I agree with you. While I get the idea in the script was to show this whirlwind romance, the idea that chaos extends from Hellboy’s work life to his personal life, there was perhaps too much chaos for me. I understand this character comes from prose novels, so it felt like trying to stuff a 200 page novel into a 22 page comic. Could it have done with a longer page count, or a third issue to the ‘Goblin Night’ arc? Probably.
Continued belowAnd in this issue, the introduction to their adventure in Türkiye, feels overstuffed too.
Mark: In this issue, there’s a lot to juggle. The first third doesn’t deal at all with the paranormal elements that drive the rest of the story, and on top of that, the remaining two-thirds are an unusual structure for a shorter “Hellboy” story. Very often, the story picks up with Hellboy arriving on the scene after having already had his briefing. Here, he has not one, but two briefings, first with Anastasia giving him the history of shadow puppets in Türkiye, then a second when they arrive and get filled in on the mysterious “accidents.” Personally, I think there are a few bits of dialogue that are giving too much to the reader. Do we really need Anastasia to explain what a shadow puppet is when Smith has a panel that beautifully illustrates this already?
All I needed was the line about the early shadow puppet shows being the first “moving pictures,” which accents the spell the audience is under in the panel.
Kate: As you said, there was a lot the art showed that rendered text unnecessary. It’s one of those few times that text and art don’t really play well with each other. It’s very clear in the panels where we see the history of shadow puppets. Is the script enhancing or adding context to what the art also tells, or vice versa? Not really. It’s more like an information dump. A good editorial eye could have streamlined this to allow for more narrative progression of the case, vital when you only have two issues to tell this story.
Mark: The second briefing also feels very full, but for different reasons. There’s a bit of a tug-of-war in terms of staying on topic while simultaneously talking about Hellboy’s celebrity. It’s a moment that adds character to the scene, but it inflates it, so I can see the argument to trim back something like this. However, I feel like this element reconnects the latter two-thirds of the story with the first third and makes the overall issue feel more cohesive. It’s purposeful, and I think Smith really emphasizes attitude here well, building on the dialogue. I love the way Hellboy’s hunting for a box of cookies after their flight and eating them during the meeting. It emphasizes the human aspects of him.
Kate: Let’s talk about colors for a moment. There’s a definite change in tone and saturation from the first third of the book to the remainder, from Hellboy and Anastasia’s date night to their adventures in Türkiye. The date night colors are brighter, more vibrant, perhaps symbolizing the joy each of them finds in the other. Once they arrive in Türkiye and that mystery gets started, there’s those darker undertones that are a hallmark of Mignola work, the shift from the personal to the business. And even with that, they’re still a bit brighter, hinting that even in those darker moments, there’s flickers of joy that Hellboy finds with Anastasia at his side.
Mark: I think Chris O’Halloran had an interesting challenge for him once the “shadow puppets” appeared. He plays up the lighting at night quite a bit, throwing bright yellows that cast long shadows. . . but the shadows aren’t black. Like shadow puppets, they have colors in them. I think this is something that could’ve very easily looked wrong or lost its threatening aura, but O’Halloran takes what Smith has done and builds on it beautifully, and it shows how these two artists work so well together.
Kate: Let’s go back to the Hellboy–Anastasia relationship for a moment. We have a pairing here where each brings out the best in the other. Anastasia’s free spirit allows Hellboy to let his hair down just a bit. And in turn, Hellboy’s more serious nature keeps Anastasia on track with her goals and plans. They realize how much they complement each other, and that in turn brings them closer.
And it’s brilliant how the creative team weaves this into script and art, but in small ways. Body language really exhibits this well. In particular, there’s a moment where they’re at a pub after the gala and Hellboy takes a phone call. We only hear his side of the conversation, but it’s enough to put the concern all over Anastasia’s face.
Continued below
Mark: I’ve long felt that one of the best ways to make readers invest in characters is to have them invest in each other, and that’s on display here. That whole right side of the panel is Anastasia investing in Hellboy’s concerns, and it’s a vital part of making a good love story. We’ve already said there is a lot of dialogue in this issue at times, but there’s so much left unspoken too, communicated almost entirely through the art.
I’m glad the comic operates on this level because chemistry between characters is something felt more than consciously processed, and it’s an area where there’s an immediacy to art that can handle that better. The back and forth banter ends up functioning like a supporting element, so in those sections the art is given more space.
In a twenty-page comic, there are always going to be concessions for length. It’s the nature of the beast. And this is a story about Hellboy and Anastasia’s relationship, so while we do get some scenes that feel a little tight, I think the team invested page real estate where it mattered most. Even the double briefings are a reflection of this. In any other “Hellboy” story, there’s only one briefing because it is simply Hellboy on the case, but here there is essentially a briefing for Hellboy, then a briefing for Hellboy and Anastasia, because the function isn’t just to tell us about a case, but to show Hellboy is stepping into Anastasia’s world. The chatty nature of the second briefing is especially meant to reflect this and contrast with a regular “Hellboy” story.
Kate: That’s always a hard balance to strike and it’s done well. It also shows the storytelling priority, which is the relationship. The mystery itself is by no means unimportant, but it’s secondary.
Mark: Before we wrap up, I wanted to mention one last thing. This is early days in the relationship—at this point the two have known each other for less than a fortnight—but I do wonder about how we’ll dig into the characters’ relationship in the years to come. After all, just a month prior to meeting Anastasia, Hellboy had a major professional tragedy, an incident in China that led to the deaths of several B.P.R.D. agents, in part due to an error by Hellboy. And I wonder how much that has to do with Hellboy taking time off from the Bureau and whether Anastasia will help him work through it.
Art by Jason Shawn Alexander; colors by Dave Stewart
The layout has been modified from its original presentation for demonstrative purposes
Kate: Time will tell, but that could be the catalyst for this whole series, exploring Hellboy’s recovery from a traumatic incident.
Overall, I would give this issue a 7. It’s a masterclass in characterization in both scripting and art, and shows how to properly keep readers invested in a story. However, there’re still some editing shortfalls where the art can properly lean into the concept of “show don’t tell,” but the script prevents that.
Mark: I’m going a bit higher, in part because when “Hellboy in Love” #3 works, it really works, giving me stuff I’ve wanted for a very long time. The first six pages are a 10 for me, but I’ll give the overall issue an 8.5.
Final Verdict: 7.75 – We’re in love with the Hellboy–Anastasia romance just as much as the two of them are with each other.
