Review: Hellboy vol.5: The Conqueror Worm

Hellboy volume 5: The Conqueror Worm, by Mike Mignola, 2004, Dark Horse, 168 pages, $17.95

This Mignola guy might be on to something, here. Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm was a four-issue mini-series originally published in 2001, and it is another solid entry in the Hellboy series.

The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense sends Hellboy and another operative, Roger the Homunculus, into the mountains of Austria to investigate a castle linked to a 1939 Nazi space program. Modern-day Nazis, a Frankenstein's monster-like ape, a floating head, and other assorted ghosts and ghouls await them.

By now, Mignola has his formula worked out (1. Hellboy investigates creepy location filled with humans stupidly trying to control/summon evil entities; 2. Hellboy punches evil entities), but it's a formula that works. He invests enough imagination into the proceedings to make the bad guys seem really bad (and dangerous) and action lively. And Hellboy himself is a great character, using humor, intelligence, and his fists to overcome difficult situations.

(He's actually being totally serious here, having just witnessed some awful stuff.)

Mignola's unique art style is on display here too, with Dave Stewart doing a wonderful job with the colors. Great storytelling, too. Here's a two-page sequence I really liked (click to enlarge):


That first page is an excellent example of how Mignola builds suspense and dread. What's up there? We don't know yet, but there's a freaking talking skull warning us not to look. Even after Hellboy sticks his head up, the reader's view is still trapped staring at Hellboy, so we don't know until we turn the page. And then on the second page, some powerful hits are delivered by the ape; you can feel them. I really like the panel in the top right corner, where the ape's hands have swung right through the lamp and down onto Hellboy; it's a neat choice by Mignola.

I really liked this one. I expect most comic book readers have already read Hellboy or decided it's not for them, but for those of you on the fence, go check it out.

DID YOU KNOW? Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm won the 2002 Eisner Award for Best Finite Series/Limited Series.

READ MORE: Here's a six-page preview. And here's a list of online Hellboy comics (some are pretty neat little animated things -- check 'em out).

BUY IT: From Dark Horse or from Amazon here: Hellboy volume 5: Conqueror Worm

RELATED: My review of Mike Mignola's Hellboy volume 4: The Right Hand of Doom

Short Reviews: Pluto vol. 1, Hellboy vol. 4, Benny and Penny: The Big No-No

Here are some short reviews of what I've been reading over the past week:

Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 1, by Naoki Urasawa, Osamu Tezuka, and Takashi Nagasaki, 2009, Viz Media, 200 pages, $12.99

For the first time in a long time, I absolutely cannot wait to read the next volume of a serialized comic book. Pluto, Urasawa's re-imagining of the classic 1964 Tezuka Astro Boy story "The Greatest Robot on Earth," is a sci-fi murder mystery about a robot detective trying to discover who is targeting the seven great robots of the world. IT IS FANTASTIC.

Just to single out a few things: first, the detective's encounter with Brau 1589, a robot who violated the robot laws by killing a human being, is chilling. And the three chapters about the relationship between the former army-bot North No. 2 and his new master, an aging musical maestro, are stunning in their drama and emotional complexity.

I cannot recommend this enough, and I hope the rest of the series maintains this level of quality. If you have not read this, go out immediately and get it.

You can buy it from Amazon here: Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 1


Hellboy vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom, by Mike Mignola, 2004, Dark Horse, 144 pages, $17.95

Way back when, I mentioned that Mike Mignola's horror-adventure series Hellboy was on my list of "Things that I wish I was reading." I've since set out to remedy that, and this past week I grabbed The Right Hand of Doom from the library. This collects a number of one-shots and short stories that originally were published in 1998 and 1998. It's good spooky fun, just like I wanted.

The first story, a two-pager called "Pancakes," is just damn funny. Most of the rest of the stories weave in creatures from world folklore, such as an enormous Romanian vampire called the Vârcolac and a bunch of Japanese floating demon heads. The final story, "Box Full of Evil," focuses more on the central mystery of Hellboy himself: what is he, why is he here, and what's up with that big stone hand.

Mignola's art and Dave Stewart's colors are terrific, as always. It's a nice collection.

See a preview here. You can buy it from the publisher here or from Amazon here: Hellboy vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom


Benny and Penny: The Big No-No, Geoffrey Hayes, 2009, Toon Books, 32 pages, $12.95

My children enjoy this book about two mice who sneak into their neighbor's yard and get into a mud-slinging battle with the new kid living there. It's a short, simple story, and it kept my kids' attention. My only criticism would be that there is some name-calling involved (the term "cry-baby" gets used twice, and Benny calls Penny and the new kid "dumb girls"), which I don't think is all that great for young kids to read. But other than that, it's a perfectly good children's comic book.

See a preview here. You can buy it from Amazon here: Benny and Penny: The Big No-No