Hellboy: Weird Tales, Volume 1

By Alex De-Gruchy
April 05, 2006

Hellboy: Weird Tales, Vol. 1 collects the four-issue mini-series of the same name from 2003, which gave a host of writers and artists from all corners of the industry a chance to put their own spin on writer/artist Mike Mignola's most famous creation, Hellboy. In addition to spawning a successful movie and a number of mini-series over the last fourteen years, Hellboy has inspired some of the best creators around the world. Consequently, this collection is a direct result of the influence Hellboy has had over the years.

Plot

With a total of thirteen stories varying between six and twelve pages, Weird Tales has no real connection to regular Hellboy continuity - it is basically just a chance for a variety of creators to play in the sandbox that Mignola has created. All of the stories were intended to stand on their own, and even Mignola states in the book's afterword that his approach was to provide no input whatsover and essentially sit back and allow the creators do what they do best. The end result are a multitude of inventive stories which encompass an eclectic mix of styles.

The fact that these stories aren't necessarily meant to be in continuity allows the writers to let their imaginations run wild. For example, several of the stories are very funny and light-hearted, and not to be taken seriously - such as Eric Powell's Midnight Cowboy, which features a young Hellboy trying to control his mutated pet dog on an air force base in New Mexico. Also, there is Downtime by Bob Fingerman, where Hellboy is thwarted by a photocopier and a vending machine at the office. Yet another example is Abe Sapien: Star of the B.P.R.D., written by John Arcudi, which has Hellboy's ally Abe Sapien fantasising about being the top agent at the B.P.R.D.

This latter story brings me to another point about Weird Tales, and that is that several of the stories don't even focus on Hellboy, but rather his supporting cast in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence. For instance, Curse of the Haunted Doily is a story in which Hellboy's colleague Kate Corrigan deals with an unwanted visit from her dead - but still overbearing - mother, and Jason Pearson's, The Dread Within, tells a tale of pyrokinetic agent Liz Sherman who tries to overcome the (figurative) demons of her past, while dealing with the demonic possession of a little girl at the same time. Anyone expecting a collection of Hellboy-focused adventures may be disappointed that this is the case, but there are still many worthwhile stories to be found here.

Characterisation

Without the constraints of having to work in-continuity or adhere to Mignola's depiction of his characters, the writers in Weird Tales have basically put their own spin on these characters with no real regard as to how they would act in a regular Hellboy story. In the regular stories, Hellboy is, of course, a hero - a demon, maybe, but someone who sees himself as an average guy just doing his job. However, in Weird Tales, he is at times portrayed in other ways, such as in Downtime where he is a loudmouth bully with no patience, who ends up bawling his eyes out on the floor after messing with the wrong intern at the office. Another good example is Abe Sapien: Star of the B.P.R.D., in which Hellboy is portrayed as an egotistical jerk. Obviously, Downtime and Abe Sapien: Star of the B.P.R.D. are meant to be funny stories played for laughs, but they are good examples of the creators pushing the characters in different directions to suit their story.

Of the more serious stories, probably the best example of genuine depth and characterisation is The Dread Within. Through internal narration, we learn how Hellboy's ally Liz Sherman has been trying to come to terms with being the cause of the death of her parents years ago. The event has haunted her since and ties in nicely with the events of the story as she confronts a little girl who has been possessed by a demon. The Children of the Black Mound, however, is a negative example of a writer - in this case, Fabian Nicieza - trying to put depth and characterisation into a story which is ultimately uninteresting, doesn't lead anywhere, and fails to entertain - making it stick out like a sore thumb in the collection.

Art

One area in which Weird Tales excels is in the sheer variety of art that it showcases in these short stories. All kinds of styles can be found here - from the detailed and textured work of John Cassaday to the bright, bold style of Eric Powell to the gritty, rough pencils of Alex Maleev. One other good example is the story Haunted, drawn by Ovi Nedelcu, which clearly shows the artist's background in animation, as many of the panels look like stills taken straight from a cartoon. It is probably these more cartoonish interpretations of Hellboy and his supporting characters which stand out, although not in a negative way - with a character like Hellboy, who deals with horror, monsters and the supernatural, these lighter and brighter renditions really grab the reader's attention as something different.

However, this isn't to say that the other artistic styles aren't impressive - the story Hot, drawn by Seung Kim, is done gloriously in detailed pencils, with textured shading that really gives the artwork depth. The fact that there are no inks or colours in this story really makes it stand out from the others as well. Furthermore, The Dread Within blends supernatural horror with dynamic action scenes to such good effect that the reader may be hard pressed to notice that the title character of the series only shows up in one panel. The only story that really fell flat for me on the artwork front was Party Pooper by Andi Watson. His simplistic, indie style just didn't catch my eye like the other artists did.

Overall

Hellboy: Weird Tales, Vol. 1 certainly isn't a great place to start for someone new to Hellboy who is looking for an introduction to the character and his world (if that is the case however, then you should start with the original mini-series, Seed of Destruction). Instead, existing fans will probably get the most out of Weird Tales, since it gives them the chance to see their beloved character and his world portrayed in a variety of unique ways. But in the end Weird Tales still works simply as a collection of entertaining, varied stories by a long list of writers and artists whose work and styles are extremely different. Thus, their individual takes on Mike Mignola's creation are on the whole no less entertaining than the main book itself.

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writing (deep breath...): Eric Powell, Tom Sniegoski, Sara Ryan, Randy Stradley, Fabian Nicieza, John Cassaday, Joe Casey, Bob Fingerman, John Arcudi, Mark Ricketts, Jason Pearson, Matt Hollingsworth, Alex Maleev, and Andi Watson
Art (here we go again...): Eric Powell, Ovi Nedelcu, Steve Lieber, Seung Kim, Stefano Raffaele, John Cassaday, Steve Parkhouse, Bob Fingerman, Roger Langridge, Eric Wright, Jason Pearson, Alex Maleev, and Andi Watson
Collects Hellboy: Weird Tales Issues #1-4