Comics
Review: ‘Hellboy In Hell’ #3
Creativity is the key word for this week’s issue of Hellboy in Hell. Mike Mignola showcases his skills at story crafting and illustration, while the recent Ghastly Award winner for best colourist, Dave Stewart, showcases his abilities as well. This is a massive issue for the new arc of Hellboy; fast paced, intricate, and is topped off with a good ‘ol fashion throw down. Being in his place of birth, Hellboy the closest he’s ever been to his destiny as Lord of Hell. this fact is undoubtedly leading into some serious events within Mignola’s universe.
WRITTEN BY: Mike Mignola
ART BY: Mike Mignola
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: 2.99
RELEASE: February 6th, 2013
“Hellboy in Hell” #3 jumps off with a little family reunion that goes sour all too quickly; having said that there is some more Hellboy background given off for those who are unfamiliar with his origins. The pace builds steadily, lots of dialogue to begin with, but eventually the book hits a crescendo and literally all hell breaks loose. As the issue comes to a close there is definitely a feeling of satisfaction on the reader’s part; over the course of the first 3 issues the story has been feeding a lot of demonic information, this book relieves a large portion of questions while still being able to leave some more juicy questions unanswered.
Mike Mignola is really hitting his stride in the issue; the first two were clearly a building of tension for the events that come to pass in #3. As Mignola has now explored the realm of hell and Hellboy’s demonic origin, the stories complexity will begin to become more evident; even though so many interesting events have already taken place, it’s as though these first few issues have been nothing more than a platform for the real story to begin. Mignola’s writing style is truly phenomenal, he weaves humor into serious conversations and makes many references to popular themes throughout mainstream literature; the use of Macbeth gives that extra depth that many modern comic books and literature sometimes lack.
The art of this book is much like any that Mignola’s own hand has crafted. This issue has a fair bit of battling and demonic creatures, which gives Mignola a chance to show off more of his uncanny imagination. Art wouldn’t be art without a bit a colour though and this is where the recent Ghastly Award recipient, Dave Stewart, comes into play. Though his work in “BPRD” uses much brighter hues of colour, it’s his pastel colour pallet that gives Mignola’s work that extra oomph that it needs. The only colours that really stand out in this book are the hellish side of colour spectrum, reds, oranges, and yellows, which is fitting considering the overall theme of Hell.
“Hellboy in Hell” has been an unreal ride so far, this is issue takes it up another notch with its action and story flow. The next issue will bring about new events and I am very interested to see where Mignola’s imagination takes Hellboy next
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – GreenBastard
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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