Hellboy: Weird Tales #3

Dark Horse Comics

Writers/Artists: Alex Maleev, Matt Hollingsworth, Bob Fingerman, Steve Lieber, Sara Ryan, Galen Showman, William Stout, John Cassaday

Pretty much everyone is impressed by Hellboy: fans, writers, artists, critics, and even people who don’t normally read comics. Guillermo Del Toro was impressed enough to direct a Hellboy movie, and even Joyce Carol Oates has contributed cover blurbs to HB’s adventures. Enough comic book types love Hellboy that they got together and decided to write their own takes on the B.P.R.D.’s go-to guy.  

Oddly enough, my favorite things about this issue are the one-page pictures by Galen Showman and William Stout. Galen Showman captures the spirit of the series with disarmingly adorable, Kubrick-toy-looking images of Hellboy and Rasputin. William Stout illustrates a gorgeous picture depicting Hellboy in a “Beyond the Mountains of Madness” setting. Mignola, one of the country’s biggest Lovecraft fans, must have loved that image.

Who’s the target audience? Anyone can enjoy the stories herein, but it seems to me they’ll be most satisfying to regular fans of the series. A humor story by Bob Fingerman, in particular, is a charming, funny addition to the book. If you really want to get to know Hellboy, though, his titular back issues don’t cost anymore than this, and you’ll be getting it straight from the source.

Worth the money? If you’re a fan of Mignola, or you like any of the artists involved in this issue, it’s worth a look for about $3.25 (though Maleev’s work isn’t up to snuff).