It's not vampires, but it is Hellboy.
So much better.
It would appear that very few people in comics are exploring the dark side of human nature through teh cunning use of vampires, which is what I was (initially) all psyched to read about. So, why not go read the opposite - a guy from Hell, who is all about the triumph of Good over Evil, so much so that he spends the majority of his time seeking Evil out, so that he can smash away at it?
I found this issue very clever. Sure, it's kinda random. But who cares? It works. Rather than just jumping into some random Hellboy one shot, it uses a creepy, rundown, deserted movie theatre as a portal for the Hellboy stories. No, the stories are not set there, but what are showing as a Double Feature, to an audience of skeletons. Totally plausible, totally awesome. Sold!
In all honesty, I'm not sure why they made it a double feature, except to give the title a nice ring. The first story is really well developed and interesting, while the second seems very rushed and a bit unfinished. I wonder why?
Let's hold off on that for a second, and talk about what is SO right about this comic. The art. The first part of this issue is about some creepy guy and his "Haunted" house. (To be thematically accurate, it was really about being greedy.) There are so many poignant frames in part one of this issue, and although I hate to use the most obvious and overused phrase, I can't help it: a picture is worth 1,000 words. For instance, there's this awesome close-up of the creepy dude, and it is so perfectly drawn. He's gently wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. Its what's in his eyes - drawn in his eyes - that is so fantastic. Corben has played with shadow and light, so that one eyeball looks completely dark, whereas the other one is sort of sparkling and we can see the iris. This character is looking right at us, and we get to look back into his cold, steely eyes, where we feel the restraint of something or other pent up within his face. One frame of one face, and it's so rich that you immediately know that there's something else going on, something that isn't being shared, but seen. It's something we'll see ourselves soon enough.
Without going on too long, telling you every detail there is, there's a part where Hellboy gets shot and subsequently has to fight. I'm not so well versed in Hellboy and what exactly his deal is, so when I saw him get shot, I was afraid it might be a mortal wound. Then I realized: it's not. He's Hellboy! Getting shot doesn't kill him, it just makes him angry! Neither does having a full tussle with the powers of evil. His clothes were virtually destroyed - but he won! And actually, that brings me to one of my favorite moments/frames. A frame that depicts what just went on with humor. It's so fun to see humor drawn. After fighting with the...well, i'll leave that part alone...Hellboy comes out. He is clearly exhausted, even though he was the clear winner. He comes out, reaches into the "pocket" of his coat which is of course, the only intact thing left on his coat, and pulls out a cigarette. It's hilarious.
The overall coolest thing about the entire comic is that there are so few words. Very little dialogue except what is needed. It's mostly pictures telling the story. And yet they tell the story well and clearly, and with humor. I love it!
But then.....there's the second story that I mentioned before. You finish up reading/looking at a 19-page story, a story where each plot point seemed to have at least two full pages dedicated to it - to read a story that could have been just as well developed, but was only given 6 pages. WTF?!?! I mean, was the first one just a little too short, so they decided to make it a "Double Feature" to stretch it out? Or was the intent for it to be a double issue, but they just ran out of time? Something's up. Because after seeing and knowing what Mignola and Corben can do together (and this is not my first time reading this team), it seems crazy that this second story is so rushed, that it's jammed into so little.
As a matter of fact, it's honestly quite a bit unclear as to what's happening in the second story some times. I think it's just because there are too few pages to really put the story together. It certainly could have been at least double the amount of pages. A museum gift shop worker goes crazy, thinks he's a dead Egyptian Pharaoh, he breaks into the museum, all to harm the girl who won't go out with him? AND...I don't know....do some other stuff, too? I mean honestly, jammed into four pages is this: the immediate action of the story, the initial identification of the characters, why the gift shop dude has snapped, what he's trying to do, Hellboy stepping in and handling it (but not really??), Hellboy saving the girl, and then the "Pharaoh" going into a temple to pray to one God, thus pissing off another so that a stature of that God comes to life and eats him. Boom, that's it.
Seriously. THAT much happened in four pages? It's just a little much. And you know what, it's not necessarily bad. It's just bad compared to the first part of this issue which is soooo good. The second story would still win in a contest against most other comic books. I mean that seriously, even though I probably would need to read more comics to prove it, and I don't think that's happening anytime soon.
So, the verdict is in. I STILL love me some Hellboy. I think I always will.
-Nina Stone, 2010
While people are crying about what a meanie your husband is, or relishing his fake internet cruelty like a fine wine, you deliver yet another review that makes it sound like there's something to be excited about in the comic world, even just a couple great books. Your viewpoint is always refreshing, and a treat to read, not to mention that I totally agree with the title of it.
Posted by: Lugh | 2010.11.28 at 12:22