Hellboy Crashes Satan’s Funeral in Mike Mignola’s HELLBOY IN HELL: PARADE OF HORRORS
Hellboy just can’t stay out of Hell. More than a decade after his journey through the underworld came to an end, Mike Mignola is opening those infernal doors again with Hellboy in Hell: Parade of Horrors, a new two-issue comic that throws Big Red into a funeral for Satan.
As you might imagine, Hellboy showing up to pay his respects isn’t exactly appreciated by the local demons.
Mignola has been telling Hellboy stories for more than 30 years, sending the character through monsters, ghosts, ancient gods, occult nightmares, and plenty of other wonderfully strange situations.
One of the most important chapters in that mythology was Hellboy in Hell, the 10-issue series that dug into Hellboy’s origins and seemingly brought that part of his story to a close.
Apparently, Hell still has a few stories left to tell. Earlier this year, Mignola revealed Hellboy in Hell: Nothing But Blood, a new story created with Cyrille Pomès that takes place during the events of Hellboy in Hell. Now another trip into the underworld is coming right behind it.
Hellboy in Hell: Parade of Horrors is written by Mignola with art from Márk László, who previously worked on Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Time Is a River, along with colors by longtime Mignola collaborator Dave Stewart.
The story picks up after Nothing But Blood, with Hellboy pursuing one of life's simplest pleasures: a drink. Naturally, things go completely sideways.
Instead of finding somewhere to knock back a drink in peace, Hellboy ends up wandering into a cemetery where a funeral is being held for Satan. Considering Hellboy killed the guy, his appearance doesn't exactly make him the most welcome guest at the gathering.
What follows has been described as a “morbid celebration in the pits of Pandemonium,” which sounds like a pretty great setup for a Hellboy story. You've got demons, Satan's funeral, a cemetery, Hellboy looking for booze, and an increasingly hostile crowd. What could possibly go wrong?
Interestingly, Mignola hadn't actually planned on returning to this particular corner of Hellboy's story. That changed after connecting with László and discovering that the artist wanted a crack at creating something within the Hellboy in Hell period.
Mignola explained: “Every time I think we’re done with this thing, it seems we find there are just a few more bits and pieces to explore, which I guess is a good thing,” he said.
“There were a couple big holes between the chapters I’d drawn and I thought Márk would have fun with those two dead soldiers we meet in ‘The Three Gold Whips.’ I only gave him a rough story outline… as things took shape, we found a place to introduce a bit more of [Hell’s] history.”
That's one of the fun things about the Hellboy universe. Mignola built such a massive mythology around the character that even stories that appeared finished can contain unexplored corners, missing moments, and bizarre characters worth revisiting.
For László, Parade of Horrors offered an opportunity he'd wanted for some time: getting to play inside Mignola's wonderfully weird interpretation of Hell. “[Mike’s] version always felt like such a fun, rich visual playground to me,” he stated.
The comic will also dig further into the history of Hell, while giving László the opportunity to unleash exactly the kind of imagery you'd hope to find in a book called Parade of Horrors. Readers can expect dancing skeletons, demons, and bloody fights involving Hellboy and whichever unfortunate creatures manage to piss him off.
László says he's “very happy” to be drawing that stuff, and really, who wouldn't be? Mignola's Hell is packed with macabre architecture, strange creatures, ancient history, gothic imagery, and wonderfully bizarre inhabitants.
There's a ton of room for another artist to bring their own personality to that world while still playing within the mythology Mignola created.
It's also cool that these new comics aren't simply pushing Hellboy's timeline forward. Instead, Mignola and his collaborators are finding spaces inside Hellboy in Hell where additional stories can fit, expanding moments and characters that previously passed through the larger saga.
With Nothing But Blood and now Parade of Horrors, Hellboy fans are getting two new reasons to revisit one of the strangest periods in the character's history.
Hellboy in Hell: Parade of Horrors #1 arrives December 16.
Source: Gizmodo