Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls | Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo, ...

Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls | Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo, ... | Hellboy

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Hellboy, Vol. 8: D...

	Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo, ... Dark Horse Comics, 2008 - 200 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Hellboy has finally returned from his adventures at sea, but no sooner has he settled on land than a conclave of witches drags him from his respite and into the heart of Russian folklore, where he becomes the quarry of the powerful and bloodthirsty witch Baba Yaga. Bent on revenge for the eye she had lost to Hellboy, Baba Yaga has enlisted the aid of a deathless warrior who will stop at nothing to destroy Hellboy. Creator Mike Mignola turns over drawing duties to Duncan Fegredo (Enigma, Ultimate Adventures) for a new chapter in the life of the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator. Hellboy: Darkness Calls collects the entire six-issue miniseries, along with two new epilogues-one drawn by Mignola, and one by Fegredo-and an extensive sketchbook section from both artists and includes many plot elements from the major motion picture, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, directed by Academy Award winner, Guillermo del Toro and slated for release in July 2008!

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Brilliant as always

For those of you who are worried because Mignola is no longer drawing Hellboy, don't be. I was worried too, but this Fegredo guy is great. He apes Mignola's dramatic shading style while adding more detail and nuance to the character designs. If anything, I'd say the art looks better than in previous volumes (no offense Mr. Mignola, should you happen to read this!)

Of course, Mignola is still in charge of the plot, and man does he deliver. While promises that Darkness Calls contains plot elements from the new movie turn out empty, the reality is far better - this volume weaves together all the loose threads from previous hellboy tales into a weird and beautiful tapestry. The Baba Yaga is back, and she does her best to makes life miserable for our nonchalant red hero. Hecate gets her just desserts, and Igor Bromhead, that sniveling worm from Box of Evil, makes an appearance as well. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but expect some questions to be answered, many more to be raised, and an engrossing new chapter to be added to the mythology of Hellboy.

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Hellboy

Sometimes art doesn't matter. Sometimes it's the writing that carries a book through. Up to now, the Hellboy series has been a delicate balance between writing and artwork. Mignola's art is exceptional, and his writing is slightly more then above average. Unfortunatly this outing replaces his art with Duncan Fegredo's.

Fegredo is good, but, it is defiantly a step down from Mignola's work. Fortunately, Mignola continues the writing duties, which may well be the only reason the book really works.

Fegredo does his best to emulate Mignola's art style, and the book retains the limited color pallet common to the series. Unfortunately his art, which, while quite good, is also quite cluttered, and would probably benefit from a broader selection of colors. What his art lacks is the elegant surrealism that Mignola creates. The story itself retains every bit of Mignola's flavor, style and pacing.

If your primary interest in Mignola's work is in his writing, then this is every bit as good as what came before, as Hellboy explores a world of Russian folklore. If your love for the series comes primarily from his art, then expect to be disappointed. It's still Hellboy, but, somehow it feels less fluid then you've come to expect over the last 14 years.

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Close-Read This One

I won't go into the plot much here, but I'll say this: close-read this one. Don't be surprised if you finish it quickly, only to find yourself missing a thing or two. Read it over a second time, taking it in slowly, and it should all fall into place.

That would be my main criticism, actually: Fegredo doesn't have the same sort of "leading" style that Mignola does, so it can be a challenge to know where the artist wants you to look. That interferes with the flow of the comic a little, and makes the circumstances of the initial conflict a little confusing.

Also, as much as Hellboy hates it, his adversaries usually talk more! The Council of Witches don't explicitly state what their problem is, and Gruagach (Hellboy: The Corpse) is vague as can be about what he's lugging around in that box. It's a little reminiscent of a short-lived Guy Davis project, the noir-superheroic "Nevermen", in that you have to read very closely, and even then, you have to infer some details.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour through Russian history, though, and Mignola indulges us with a fight scene that, reminiscent of "The Wolves of Saint August" from The Chained Coffin and Other Stories (vol. 3), takes many pages indeed to come to a proper resolution. It's worth it, though: we get a stronger sense of the forces at work, and, as always, we see mythological figures taking themselves way too seriously. A delight!

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close - but no original Hellboy

As others have mentioned before - the story is quite thrilling.
BUT - the artwork is not by Mike Mignola! The novel has been drawn by some artist called Fegredo. The style comes close to Mignolas style, but its definitely not as good as his. So, be aware that you will buy a book which says "Hellboy by Mike Mignola" on the cover but offers something completely different inside.

reviews: page 1, 2

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