With so many mysteries introduced in the first four issues of “The House of Lost Horizons,” the final installment has a lot of ground to cover. Given that this is the final issue of a mystery series, I’m going to drop a major spoiler warning here because it is impossible to discuss this in any meaningful way otherwise.
Written by Mike Mignola and Chris RobersonCover by Christopher Mitten
Illustrated by Leila del Duca
Colored by Michelle Madsen
Lettered by Clem RobinsSarah and Marie-Thérèse have identified the murderer, but that turns out to be the least of their concerns! As supernatural forces stretch their influence over the island where Sarah and the others are trapped, one person’s selfishness and folly could be everyone’s undoing.
Jump into the climactic conclusion of this Hellboy-universe occult mystery.
OK, before I dive into the big stuff, I just have to say this issue has my favorite of Christopher Mitten’s covers for this series. He’s done such a great job on all of them, but this one takes the cake.
In case it wasn’t already clear from the previous four issues, Arlen Whelstone is a right shit. Everything we’re learnt about him has told us that he’s very comfortably screwing over people less fortunate than himself for his own personal gain. Arlen is, of course, at the center of this mystery, but we’ve only ever heard about him, so while we know a lot about the guy, we’re really meeting him for the first time here. This means Sarah’s explanation of the mystery is also digging into the layers of who Arlen is and who he thinks he is—the two versions do not agree with each other, as we see when Arlen describes a fiendish act committed as a child as something he didn’t fully understand at the time, but Leila del Duca’s art reveals the truth, that he practically revelled in the opportunity he was presented with and the pain he could inflict.
On top of this, we’re revisiting flashbacks to previous issues and piecing together the events of several decades, digging deeper into the motivations of various characters, introducing the supernatural force at the heart of the conflict, and the supernatural forces that have been keeping it at bay. But it all works. It’s carefully stacked so there’s a nice build throughout the explanation, with beats for all the relevant characters to express their disgust or rage.
Unfortunately, once the mystery’s explained, it’s a bit of a rush to the finish line. The explanation, after all, took up fourteen of the issue’s twenty pages. I know I’ve mentioned it before in past reviews, but again, I have to lament that this story didn’t have more space, because we have these looming shadow figures throughout the past issues, and when they finally appear, we don’t get to spend any real time with them. Everyone in the story has these nightmares full of grasping hands, which gives us a sense of a threat, but it’s a threat that can’t amount to anything in the comic and ultimately it’s only really Arlen that’s in any danger.
In the past, Arlen had offered others to the little people in his stead, so he could have attempted something like this again. He also has a house full of supernatural devices and he’s literally fighting for his life—I would’ve liked to see how recklessly dangerous Arlen could become. The man is practically a cornered snake, he could’ve lashed out. And given Dr. Caliban’s very personal vendetta against Arlen, it would’ve been a chance to see what kind of person he is too—would he go for vengeance, protect others, or use his knowledge of the supernatural to some other end? Would he be content to let the little people claim the man that stole his uncle’s life? Considering the many years his family has searched for answers about Chauncey’s fate, surely Caliban had at least some notion of what he might do when he learnt Alren was indeed responsible as he had suspected.
But all of this needs space that wasn’t there. There is already so much to cover in twenty pages that this could’ve easily been a double-length issue. And that ends up being the biggest problem with “The House of Lost Horizons.” It is a story at odds with its format. It’s not enough to break the story; everything still works, and in fact some things work very well, but it’s just not flying as high as it could have. So, while I enjoyed this story, there’s a bit of a frustration with it, because it could have been more. It’s a good comic that could’ve been great.
Continued belowThe thing is, after more than twenty-five years, the Hellboy Universe still tells virtually all it’s stories in the “series of miniseries” format, and while that works for a lot of genres, it doesn’t work for all. This is part of the reason I love it when they do short stories—it shakes the storytelling up a bit, and forces different rhythms into the narrative. Technically Dark Horse did experiment with original graphic novels in the past, but they were really just hardcover double-sized issues in execution. I’d really like to see them give OGNs another go, and do it properly with books in the 100–200 page ballpark, as long as they can find the right story to take advantage of it.
OK, obligatory format rant over. I wanted to take a moment to mention the final pages where we say goodbye to the cast. Marion Loveland’s final moment is great. Of those still alive, she’s had the worst time at the Golden Terminus, but it looks like she’s stabilizing at last. At least she appears to have stopped drinking. Throughout this series, she’s been the character I enjoyed the most.
Lilian’s also had a rough go of it, but we don’t really get an ending for her. Since she’s Sarah’s friend, it would’ve been nice to at least see Sarah not just solve the mystery, but be the emotional support Lilian needs in the aftermath. Still, at least she sees plainly who her husband was and is trying to right at least one of the many wrongs he committed.
Huang’s story, while it was used to explore what a monumental asshole Arlen was, mainly feels like a tease for a corner of the Hellboy Universe we haven’t really seen much of yet. Personally, I’d like to see Agents Shengli and Dai from “Crimson Lotus” again—especially Shengli, as we’ve never really seen anyone like her before in the Hellboy Universe, and if people with her abilities exist, I’m willing to bet they might be tied to an organization like the Golden Crane Society.
Madame Saito had my favorite ending though. I like the way she started off amused by everyone and everything, but then got worn down by it all. Of course, she was the character that we didn’t know anything about, so it always felt like there was more to her. . . ultimately paying off with the joke that, no, she was exactly who she was introduced as and nothing more. Her surly look in that final panel is priceless.
Final Verdict: 7 – I was satisfied with the way the mysteries of “The House of Lost Horizons” played out, but once the explanations were done, it all ended too fast.
