Let's Talk About HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D.: THE SEVEN WIVES CLUB ONE-SHOT
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Seven Wives Club One-Shot was recently released from Dark Horse Comics and it was interesting. The story was written by Mike Mignola with art and color by Andrew Hughes. Now, as full disclosure, this is the first Hellboy comic I’ve read. I will say that this story wasn’t particularly bad, but it is not a great first story.
The team behind the Eisner Award-winning one-shot Hellboy: Krampusnacht spins a new ghostly yarn! Hellboy comes to the aid of a young girl whose ghost hunt goes wrong, and a visit to an abandoned medical school reveals sinister layers to a grisly, long-ago murder. Stolen cadavers, vengeful spirits, and more abound in this one-shot.
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola reunites with fan-favorite artist Adam Hughes for a spirit-fueled scream fest sure to excite old and new fans alike!
We find ourselves starting with what we saw in the preview. The story takes place in 1992, and Jane is being accused of murdering a guy named Tommy. That’s when we first learn about a man named Walter Wakeman who had seven wives. One night, he brought them all together and burned them alive before hanging himself. Pretty dark.
Hellboy gets the story from Jane and wants to help her so he heads out with Pauline Raskin to see if they can learn more. Joey Ford comes by and tells them about how Wakeman’s body was eventually sent over to a school for female doctors that his mother attended in 1920. Ford then goes on to explain that his mother and some of her friends stole Wakeman’s body and started up a little club. This isn’t spooky or creepy or wrong in any way. What on earth would possess somebody to do all this? Well, it is possible that they were possessed by supernatural forces, so there is that.
Hellboy and Raskin are investigating the haunted house when they’re attacked by ghosts. The Ghosts become flaming skeletons and all hope is lost until Raskin tears a paper heart. Oh yeah, they found Wakeman’s body with paper hearts on it. Each heart has the name of one of his wives and when the heart is destroyed, their ghost appears to be set free. Wakeman almost gets Raskin who shoots him for calling her a girl and then Hellboy is able to pummel him into oblivion.
As I said, it’s not a terrible story. It’s just not a good introductory story. I do wish that there had been a bit more to the story or to the follow-up. Everything felt pretty rushed with the story of Ford’s mother taking up most of the issue. I would’ve liked to have learned a bit more about the original seven wives or more about what the Seven Wives Club actually did. Ford says that he doesn’t really know what they did, and it’s never explored. What did you think of Seven Wives Club One-Shot?