Just as Honora and Simon solve the mystery of the missing Lovell, another one blows itself wide open—and this time, our detectives are in danger!
Be forewarned that this review may contain spoilers.
Written by Mike Mignola and Chris RobersonCover by Sebastián Fiumara
Illustrated by Andrea Mutti
Colored by Lee Loughridge
Lettered by Clem RobinsHonora and Simon are pulled more deeply still into the mysteries of Noxton! Once Simon discovers the identify of his attacker, time is of the essence to figure out what happened to his missing researcher and how it connects to the strange town.
Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson reveal new creepy discoveries in issue three of this all-new Hellboy universe series, featuring art by Andrea Mutti and colors by Lee Loughridge.
In their short time in Noxton, Honora and Simon learned quickly to go by the golden rule of another famous supernatural detective duo, Mulder and Scully: trust no one. This includes Simon’s assistant Lovell, discovered in such a spooked and traumatic state that the only way for him to get out of it was to take his own life. (Or so it seems. Honora’s convinced something or someone had a hand in Lovell’s death.) But there isn’t much time for everyone to mourn, as the cult that supposedly controls this town is on the move and ready to make their move.
Here we have the first two issues of exposition and action finally paying off, as all we learned through our detectives’ eyes about Noxton comes to the forefront in the cult offering at the stones. The careful and patient reader has noticed the clues in the first half of this story, both large and small, leading to this moment. If you didn’t, you were not reading carefully enough, and a suggestion would be to re-read the first two issues after you finish this one to discover what you may have missed.
I do want to focus for a moment on the tarot card that Honora and Simon find on Lovell’s person at the time of his death: the tower. The tower is a card that features the titular structure on a mountain, struck by lightning. Two people leap from the windows of the tower head first, with their arms outstretched. The chaos and destruction in this scene suggest ambitions made under false premises, since the tower itself is on a sturdy mountain, but falls down from one bolt of lightning. That lightning itself is a sudden revelation, and the flames that the people jumping from the tower fall into (22 in total), represent the Tree of Life (10 points), and the zodiac (12 signs), all suggesting that divine intervention is present around us, in the good time and bad.
This is a lot to unpack from one card, but the symbolism and questions it brings up tie well into the story. Noxton is the metaphorical tower, powerful on the surface with its secrecy but weak enough that anything—or anyone—can bring it down to its knees. And Honora and Simon are that bolt of lightning that wants to bring down the tower, with their realization as to just what is controlling this village: a cult. Even in his death, and in his darkest fears, Lovell is always the servant, always the helper. That is devotion at its finest.
Perhaps it’s because I just finished the third season of The Boys, but I couldn’t help but also notice as well some parallels between Simon and the leader of that group, Billy Butcher. Their appearances, of course, are the first clue: both are British men with unruly dark hair and beards. But both are equal parts charming and cunning, the former something we saw in the previous issue in Simon’s investigation at the church. And both are hellbent on revenge at any cost: Butcher for his deceased beloved Becky, Simon for his assistant, to save others from meeting Lovell’s fate. These brief vignettes of character have me wanting more of Simon’s story, perhaps just what happened with him and Lovell before Noxton and Honora dropped in. That’s the beauty of Mike Mignola’s storybuilding: a linear narrative but with plenty of points to branch off to build new stories, appreciated by both new reader and longtime fan.
Continued belowThe color palettes of Lee Loughridge in this issue also deserve special mention. He uses the passage of time to move from warm greens of day to purples and orange of sunset to the blue of night, each the base color and tone for that portion of the story. It not only shows the passage of time effectively, but in the user of softer saturation, adds a layer of peace and calm to the setting. A calm before the storm. If there is one thing I have learned in reading through my Summer Comics Binge of Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman,” the most perfect and peaceful can themselves be the most sinister and frightening.
And that idea of calm before the storm, calm hiding the storm, reveals itself perfectly in the final moments of this issue. Honora and Simon end up as pursued rather than the pursuer, caught in the cult’s ritual at the stones and seemingly under its influence. The final full page of this issue blazes forth in shocking reds and oranges, the passion of the order in full control.
I have no doubt our detectives will find their way out of this. After all, as the tower card symbolizes, divine intervention is with us in good times and bad. Honora and Simon are going to need it.
Final Verdict: 7.6 – Things are coming to a head in the village, and after the final panel of this issue, how this will get resolved will prove to be the most compelling aspect of the story yet.
