Rack Reviews: Young Hellboy #1

Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land by Mike Mignola / Thomas Sniekgoski / Craig Rousseau

Ever consider the childhood antics of a hellspawn? Ever consider the antics of a hellspawn groomed / raised / created to be an action-based avatar protecting humanity and the Nether Realms from all manners of diabolical forces? No? Me neither.

Luckily for comic fans, Mike Mignola considered the childhood antics of an action-based avatar hell-spawn’s childhood then took the extra time to turn it into a comic!

Mike Mignola, legendary comic writer and artist, and creator of the iconic character Hellboy, has co-scripted Young Hellboy:The Hidden Land with Thomas Sniekgoski (The Fallen) a four part miniseries glimpsing into Hellboy’s early adventures.

Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land follows the adventure of Hellboy, and his “parental guardian” Professor Bruttenholm, who find themselves stranded on a mysterious island – after their plane crashes during a flight to South American archeological dig – fending off giant creatures, escaping perilous quicksand, and encountering other 1940s adventure movie tropes!

The story moves at a quick pace with a classic action / adventure movie feel combined with clean, cartoony, 1970s Saturday morning cartoon artwork; imagine Johnny Quest meets the original King Kong on Jurassic Park. With that in mind, Young Hellboy would be a great Errol Flynn-era inspired George Lucas / Steve Spielberg joint with Guillermo del Toro directing, just putting that out into the universe….

Not seeing Mignola’s distinct art style rendering his famous character’s signature aesthetic may seem unusual at first glance. For Young Hellboy’s classic adventure tone, Craig Rousseau‘s art is a great contribution to giving Hellboy a younger “childlike” sense while increasing the improbable action stakes!

For a fun adventure read with surprising twists, check out Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land and have your unconsidered questions answered! .

Written by Brennan, aka The Riz, aka Major Party, who holds down the fort every new comic book day aka Wednesdays at Amazing Stories.