Comics
Review: ‘Hellboy in Hell’ #5
After a decent hiatus “Hellboy in Hell” is back with its fifth issue following the fallen hero on his journey through the bowels of his forsaken kingdom. It’s no surprise that Mignola has waited to release this issue. There has been a lot of action since the inception of this book and even more since its break with the two companion titles, “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth” and “Abe Sapien”. As these other titles have come to a big events, the Hellboy story continues.
WRITTEN BY: Mike Mignola
ART BY: Mike Mignola
PUBLISHER: Dave Stewart
RELEASE DATE: December 4
PRICE: 2.99
Hellboy is coming off a pretty significant story arc, after having been killed he was taken on ridiculous jaunt through the kingdom he has willingly forsaken and to the eventual confrontation with some long lost relatives. After opening hell’s doors and letting lesser demons freedom, Hellboy finds himself at a loss as to what to do next. Luckily for him a damned soul appears and offers him his services. This journey is one of self-realization and allows Hellboy to feel empathy for another person for the first time since his unfortunate demise.
Mike Mignola’s work is genius and there is little doubt about that. He is able to infuse dialogue with such cryptic language, leaving each sentence with underlying messages. This book is not my favourite issue to date, but it offers a reflection on the character of Hellboy through social interaction. The story itself is very dark and uses a sort of sleight-of-hand maneuvering as the conversation follows one story line and the art tends to shift around, giving an eerie air to the tale. As the issue closes out it becomes clear that this incident is but blip on Hellboy’s radar and that he is finally ready to get the ball rolling.
When I think about Mignola’s art, there is one word that immediately pops into mind: creepy. I don’t know if it is the excessive amount of shadows or the sketchy structure of his illustrations but there is definitely something undeniably creepy it. I always find it strange how appealing his drawings are. There are so many other artists that give very realistic images, really bringing the image to life that scream talent, but this is a different kind of art. When you look at Mignola’s work for the first time the images appear crude and almost unfinished in some regards, the lines are uneven, robbing the illustrations of any semblance of symmetry. Upon closer inspection the images come to life as the shear care put into every squiggly curve gives the art a sinister look to reflect his word. This book is a testimonial to this raw style that makes me crave “Hellboy in Hell”. Dave Stewart continues to excel at colouring as the contrast of soft pastel colour and pure darkness gives the images the brilliance they deserve.
A slower issue overall, but I’m not to worried about it. With so much going on in the Mignolaverse Hellboy will surely play a predominant role.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – GreenBasterd
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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