by Mike
Mignola (Author), Chris Roberson (Author), Christopher Mitten (Illustrator)
Publisher:
Dark Horse Books (August 7, 2018)
Paperback,
136 pages
This is for
those who are Hellboy junkies. I expected this to be similar in scope to Koshchei the Deathless which is a review
of the character’s background before being beaten to death or crushed under
stones in a dark chamber by the titular Hellboy. That is not the case here. I
guess most of Rasputin’s history has been filled in over the years, including
his being saved from death by the Ogdru Jahad - the seven dragons outside of
time. This acts as a prequel adventure prior to Hellboy issue one.
It begins
with Rasputin being recruited into the Third Reich and gaining his three
associates - Karl Kroenen, Kurtz, and Ilsa Hauptman who follow him even after
the end of World War II. The hero of the piece is a young Trevor Bruttenholm,
who is working for the SIS during the war and stumbles across some disturbing
information regarding the occult activities of the Nazi’s and something called
Project Geist. The Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra becomes involved, along with a
number of other lesser known groups from the Hellboy universe. All of this of course, leads them up to
discovering the ritual to summon the destroyer, “Hellboy” into the world.
As Hellboy
stories go, it’s all right. Not exactly a necessary story, but standard fare
for the course. It subtly wraps in a lot of material from the Witchfinder series and the Black Flame.
The main problem is tension - or a lack thereof. If you’re a Hellboy fan, then
you already know the ultimate fates of each character. You know they’re not
going to get killed, or maimed, or fail in their task. This is why the best
prequels are told with a new protagonist, to add a new element to the universe,
rather than one which is essentially paint-by-numbers. Characters start the
series at Point C, therefore they can only go through Point A and then B. Which
is why this story is a little flat.
For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst
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