This year marks three decades since one of the weirdest superheroes of all time made his debut, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. The demonic owner of the Right Hand of Doom has gone on to worldwide fame thanks to a pair of iconic movies by Guillermo Del Toro, but it all started in the pages of Dark Horse Comics back in 1994. At this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, Dark Horse will celebrate their signature character’s 30th Anniversary with several incredible exclusives, which you can preview right here:

Hellboy Seed of Destruction #1 30th Anniversary Convention Exclusive Variant

This is a special edition of the first issue of Hellboy that depicts his arrival on Earth in the midst of WWII, the return of his adoptive father from a failed Arctic expedition, and Hellboy’s first encounter with Mike Mignola’s infamous frog monsters. Dark Horse has printed this special edition of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1 as uncolored line art, and it features an updated line art cover, a bonus section with more than 20 sketches, and digital codes for Seed of Destruction #1-4. This is a limited Edition of 1500 copies for $25.00 and is limited to 5 copies per person per day.

The Goon, Hellboy, and Usagi Yojimbo Anniversary Print

Mike Mignola, Stan Sakai, and Eric Powell each draw their iconic characters in this exclusive print, painted by Powell. This poster measures 18 inches x 24 inches, with a limit of 300 units. The gorgeous commemorative piece showcases three of the comic book medium’s most enduring creator-owned heroes. To grab this one, it’ll set you back $50.00.

Hellboy 30th Anniversary Pinfinity Set

The augmented reality Pinfinity set features three detailed enamel pins depicting Mike Mignola’s iconic artwork. These include Hellboy 30th Anniversary, Crowned Knight Skeleton, and Giant Robot Hellboy. Fans can explore the legendary comic series like never before. All by scanning the pins with the Pinfinity app to unlock comic pages, animated content, and more. The price for this set is $40.00.

Hellboy Letterpress Print Sets

Click To View Gallery

Dark Horse has partnered with The Press Room in Austin, TX on a run of specialty crafted Hellboy Letterpress Print Sets. This bundle of five (5) 4-inch by 6-inch prints features black and white Hellboy illustrations by Mike Mignola. Each is printed on an original 1955 Vandercook 219AB press, on heavy 100lb cover stock. Limited to just 666 sets, this gorgeous collection comes complete with a hand-numbered, letterpress printed, red belly-band. The price for this Letterpress set is $40.00.

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Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio is a story that seems to endlessly inspire creators. Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion adaptation of the tale just won an Oscar. But today, we have a peek inside Pinocchio as you’ve never seen it before. Beehive Books is releasing an illustrated and annotated edition of Collodi’s Pinocchio with some showstopping talent. Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart, and Lemony Snicket are joining forces for Pinocchio: The Illuminated Edition, launching on Kickstarter today. Nerdist has an exclusive look at two pieces of Mignola’s striking, unique illustrations for the book.

This hardcover edition features a stack of Mignola’s work. The Hellboy creator’s style gorgeously fits the tale of Pinocchio. Mignola and Stewart accentuate all of the story’s wildest and weirdest aspects. Pinocchio: The Illuminated Edition also includes more than 100 full text annotations from Snicket. Snicket shared with Nerdist, “All great literature is strange. To read weird things is to be reminded that a desire for normalcy is merely a desperate coping mechanism for the inherent bewilderment of being alive. The theme that the universe is a parade of cruelty occasionally punctuated by startling bouts of kindness or peace which proceed utterly independently from one’s own behavior is a theme which is either regularly and deeply resonating with me or I have had too much tea.”

Now, let’s take a look at a couple of Mignola’s Pinocchio illustrations. First, the Fairy with Azure Hair:

Mignola told Nerdist, “My favorite character to illustrate was the Fairy with the Azure Hair. Coming up with my own look for her was a challenge but I really like what I ended up with. And, of course, that giant with seaweed hair. I could have drawn him all day long.”

We also have a peek at one of his spot illustrations.

Mignola said, “I didn’t go through a lot of sketches to get the look of the characters for the Beehive Books’ Illuminated Edition, but I did spend months thinking about them before I tried drawing them.”

We look forward to seeing all of these illustrations in the finished book! You can preorder your copy of Pinocchio: The Illuminated Edition by supporting the project on Kickstarter.

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Hellboy is super cool. Giant Mechagodzilla-style robots? They’re cool too. Know what’s even better than either of those? A giant robot Hellboy. And now, you’ll be able to display your very own Giant Robot Hellboy in your own home, as a Dark Horse Direct limited edition statue. Dark Horse Direct is only manufacturing 500 of these, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola designed them. You can check out the first images of this amazing statue right here:

This exclusive statue, meticulously sculpted by the creative team at Mantic Games, comes painted to look like the day they built this giant bad boy. Wielding his massive mechanical Right Hand of Doom, Giant Robot Hellboy stands approximately 12” inches tall, hovering over a demolished city base approximately, 9” inches wide. This is one imposing demonic mechanical kaiju.

So does Giant Robot Hellboy have a comic book counterpart? Not quite. At least, not yet. Giant Robot Hellboy was a character Mignola came up with when he was doing daily sketches, back in the early days of the pandemic. Dark Horse later published many of those pieces in the Mike Mignola: The Quarantine Sketches hardcover book. But back then, Robot Hellboy was just a concept. Now, his creator has fleshed out his backstory. And it’s as cool as you’d imagine.

“What if Giant Robot Hellboy was built by a secret group of Japanese scientists and abandoned in the 1950’s? What if they discovered it in a cave in Japan in 1972, then turned it over to the American government? And what if a retired carnival hypnotist transferred Hellboy’s mind into this Robot when there was an emergency situation that called for it?” Ok, we need a comic book to go with this statue, ASAP. And maybe a movie too.

Each statue comes with a certificate of authenticity, and are now available for pre-order for $179.99. The Giant Robot Hellboy statue ships late in fall 2023.

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Hellboy’s about to step into new territory. In Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #1, Big Red and Abe Sapien travel to Sweden to investigate a startling discovery that runs them right into Norse mythology. A new four-part comic adapts the illustrated novel of the same name from Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden on the book’s 20th anniversary. The duo return to write this comic version of the story with Matt Smith on art, Chris O’Halloran on colors, and Clem Robins lettering. We have an exclusive preview from the first issue, in which Hellboy discovers Thor’s hammer.

Dark Horse Comics

As you can see below, Hellboy makes the questionable decision of picking up Thor’s hammer. This despite the others warning him about lightning. Lighting that could weld the hammer to his Right Hand of Doom.

Dark Horse Comics

Mignola tells Nerdist about the comic adaptation, “I loved what Christopher Golden did way back when with the Hellboy: The Bones of Giants novel, and now I’m super happy to see it live again as a comic. Chris didn’t miss a beat with the adaptation, and Matt Smith… I knew Matt was a perfect choice to draw Hellboy, and I was so right. This feels a bit like it was the comic he was born to draw. Everything about this one just works beautifully.”

And Smith shares Mignola’s excitement. “It’s not often you get invited to draw one of your favorite characters. The same can be said for adapting a favorite novel,” Smith says. “Both of these things happened with Hellboy: The Bones of Giants. The downside is that if you know your Norse myths, after such good fortune I’m due to be hit by a meteor while walking my dog.”

Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #1 comes to your local comic shop on Wednesday, November 3. You don’t need to worry about a meteor striking you when you pick up your copy.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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If you are only familiar with Norse mythology through the lens of Marvel’s Thor comics and movies then you really only know half the story. Maybe not even half. Fantasy author Neil Gaiman explored those realms with his 2017 book Norse Mythology. And now, Gaiman has joined forces with Dark Horse Comics for a comic book adaptation. Several prominent comic book artists are on board to explore Gaiman’s version of the tales of Asgard and the Nine Realms.

This special Dark Horse Comics adaptation features iconic artists such as Jerry Ordway (Superman) Dave Stewart, and Lovern Kindzierski. And also: none other than Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. We have an exclusive preview of his contribution to Norse Mythology below. Take a look:

Dark Horse Comics

In the all new limited-edition Norse Mythology #1, Gaiman teams up with illustrator P. Craig Russell. The issue features an exclusive variant cover by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz. This edition will only be available through Dark Horse Direct. Bill Sienkiewicz will hand sign 100 comics; those will be $59.99. Another 200 unsigned issues will be available for $49.99.

Dark Horse Comics

In a statement Gaiman said, “I fell in love with the Norse gods from reading about them in comics as a boy, so it’s only fitting that they return to the medium that started it. I cannot wait to see P. Craig Russell and his collaborators tell the old stories for a new generation.”

Subsequent installments of Norse Mythology, which will run a total of 18 issues, will feature a mix of major interior artists to be announced later.

Dark Horse Comics

After previously writing about deities in American Gods and The Sandman, Gaiman brings readers to follow the northern gods in their own setting in this adaptation. Gaiman and P. Craig Russell breathe new life into the ancient Norse stories by taking readers through the creation of the Nine Worlds. Witness the epic origin and adventures of Thor, Odin, and Loki all the way to the end of life:Ragnarök.

The Norse Mythology #1 Variant Comic Bundle will begin shipping to pre-order customers on October 30, 2020. For more information on how to get your copy, be sure to click here.

Featured Image: Dark Horse Comics

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The spooky clip reveals a first proper look at the Wretch, a witch who has been devastating a local town with her maniacal ways, erasing children from the memories of the town and eventually from existence. We get to see her here in all her body-horror glory as she gets caught, standing naked in the sun, by a young boy who is looking for his mother.

The Wretched storyboards by Drew Pierce

Director and co-writer Drew Pierce took on designing the Wretch, a figure inspired by folkloric traditions from around the world. “We wanted a unique creature design for The Wretched that would scare the hell out of the audience,” Pierce said. “We looked to existing mythologies from across the world and incorporated elements from Black Annis and the Boo Hag.”

The Wretch concept art by Drew Pierce

The director also took from one of our favorite comics creators when it came to crafting not only the creature but also the approach to melding horror and folklore. “We were influenced by the beautiful work of Mike Mignola, whose designs felt like they were pulled out of a fairy tale and yet grounded in reality at the same time. ‘Less is more’ has always been what makes Mignola’s art work so well and we followed that same rule in how we chose to present The Wretch in the film.”

The Wretch concept art by Drew Pierce

We can’t wait to see the Wretch at full power when the film hits as we love a good witch movie and a great creature creation, especially one with such deeply inspired origins.

The Wretched  will be in select theaters/drive ins and available on VOD and digital platforms on May 1.

Check out more cool concept art from the film below

Drew Pierce

Drew Pierce

Drew Pierce

Drew Pierce

Drew Pierce

Drew Pierce

Featured Image: IFC Midnight

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Dark Horse Comics

Mignola shared his love of the story with us. “I don’t know if The Crooked Man is the best thing I’ve written. I think it might be. It’s certainly one of my favorites. Richard Corben did such a brilliant job drawing that story, I never gave any serious thought to doing a sequel to it—But then one day I was looking at Zach Howard’s work, at the way he drew trees, and suddenly I was right back there in that world, those spooky woods and that crumbling old house. Sometimes it happens like that. I didn’t plan to go there, but I’m very glad I did.”

His enthusiasm is shared by his collaborator Howard, who told us of his personal connection to Hellboy, “Seventeen years ago I was hired for my very first paid comic book gig: The Hellboy Resource Manual by Steve Jackson Games. It was a little five-pager and launched my career as a professional. I couldn’t be more pleased to get one more crack at Mignola’s brilliant character before I hang up the cleats.”

You can learn more about the Return of Effie Kolb in the official press release from publisher Dark Horse:

“Legendary Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, acclaimed artist Zach Howard, award-winning colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer Clem Robbins are collaborating on a sequel to the iconic Hellboy story The Crooked Man. In Hellboy & The B.P.R.D.: The Return Of Effie Kolb, years after he banished the infamous backwoods demon known as the Crooked Man, Hellboy returns to Appalachia when a young psychic warns Tom Ferrell of looming danger. But the Crooked Man’s house is no longer empty and threats both new and old simmer in the Virginia woods.”

Dark Horse Comics

“Sometimes you create a character, they perform their function, and that’s it,” said Mignola. “Other times you finish with them and they just refuse to get back in their box. Tom Ferrell is one of those characters. Even as I was writing The Crooked Man I knew there was a whole lot more to that guy. And Effie Kolb… It turns out there are worse things you can do to a character than turn them into a horse.”

“Getting to stand in the shadows of the two legends that made The Crooked Man is an honor,” said Zach Howard. “Mignola asking me to draw the sequel is an opportunity I have not taken likely, and I’ve given my absolute best to live up to his wonderful creation. This will be my final sequential art as a freelance comic book artist, and I couldn’t ask for a better end to this chapter of my career.”

Hellboy and the Crooked Man by Mignola and celebrated illustrator Richard Corben was originally published by Dark Horse Comics as a 3-issue mini-series in 2008 and is included in Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories Volume 1.

Dark Horse Comics will publish the debut issue of the thrilling, two-part The Crooked Man. In Hellboy & The B.P.R.D.: The Return Of Effie Kolb series on February 19, 2020.”

Header image: Dark Horse Comics

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Over a quarter century ago, comic book creator Mike Mignola unleashed a very new and different hero into the world of comics, with the introduction of the demonic Hellboy in the pages of Dark Horse Comics. Since then, the wielder of the so-called “Right Hand of Doom” has become one of the comic medium’s biggest success stories. And one of the few non Marvel/DC heroes to find big screen success.

As a way of commemorating the 25th anniversary of the publication of one of the character’s earliest and most important stories, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction Oregon’s Gigantic Brewing and Dark Horse Comics are teaming up to create 666 cases of Hellboy beer. Each beer is based on award-winning cartoonist Mike Mignola’s legendary family of characters, who have since gone on to star in three feature films. In fact, Seed of Destruction was the basis for Guillermo del Toro’s celebrated original Hellboy adaptation from 2004.

All told, Gigantic Brewing will release six different Hellboy themed beers, all with flavors inspired by fan-favorite characters from the long running Hellboy comic book series. Each new beer will be a limited edition run of (appropriately) 666 cases and will be released approximately every seven weeks. The next release–the Abe Sapien beer–will be available beginning on July 20. Each of these beers are the perfect way to celebrate one of the very first adventures of the B.P.R.D.’s best agents.

The limited edition beers will be released in the following order and feature different flavor profiles:  

·  Hellboy- Maple Syrup Pancake Beer (6.66% abv)

·  Liz Sherman- Mole Chili Stout (6.66% abv)

·  Johann Kraus – Citrus Wit Beer (6.66% abv)

·  Abe Sapien- Indigo Blue Ale (6.66% abv)

·  Blood Queen – Cranberry Yuzu Sour (6.66% abv)

·  Trevor Bruttenholm- British Barleywine (9.99% abv)

So kick back with one of these beverages this summer, and read (or re-read) some classic stories from one of the comic medium’s coolest heroes ever.

Images: Gigantic Brewing Company / Dark Horse Comics

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Whether you enjoyed the new Hellboy film or found yourself missing the magic of Guillermo del Toro, the style and vision of Mike Mignola’s seminal work have found their match in Hellboy: The Board Game. Courtesy of U.K. publisher Mantic teaming up with designers James M. Hewitt and Sophie Williams of Needy Cat Games, this is Hellboy as it was meant to be.

In this cooperative game, 1-4 players (yes, it plays solo quite well) embody members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD). While Hellboy himself may be the main draw, the other protagonists each have interesting supernatural powers, such as pyro Liz Sherman or half-fish-man-weirdo Abe Sapien. The characters’ asymmetrical abilities and personalized equipment offer a high degree of atmosphere and crunch for you to dig into.

Following in step with the colorful cast is the collection of frog men perpetrating the sewers and ruins you will be investigating. There are different minions, each with various temperaments and effects, as well as a couple of large hulking beasts for you to pound, or maybe give you a pounding.

Quality is extremely high. Alongside The Walking Dead: All Out War, this is the best product Mantic Games has produced. The illustrations and graphic design are excellent and the miniatures are crisp. As a complete package, Hellboy: The Board Game will have fans giddy.

This is sort of a dungeon crawler with investigation elements, and it contains a strongly varied enemy pool including bosses with unique deck compositions and behavior. They’re utilized across six scenarios, each sealed in a plastic envelope to hide its secrets until you’re ready to launch into the paranormal noir.

The scenario structure is perhaps the most interesting bit of design space. You will work your way through oversized cards, setting up the room tiles and building the enemy set. As you progress, traps will be sprung and surprises will be had. Rooms are explored to reveal unsuspected contents and you will trigger specific cards based on conditions.

So, for instance, you may have a card in play that suggests you flip it once you’ve explored every room and cleared the board of enemies. What occurs afterward is a mystery. Some scenarios will branch and offer alternate paths. Yet another card will instruct you to flip it once the doom track reaches the sixth spot. Both could occur or even neither if another condition is met. The paths here don’t tend to be wild or extremely divergent, but they will often lead you to a boss fight through alternate vectors. The road you take may affect the difficulty of the encounter or offer additional weapons or knowledge to fight the monstrosity.

All of this is terribly exciting. It keeps you on your toes and ties the narrative into the actions of play. The downside is of course that the branches are finite. Upon replaying a scenario the edge of certain encounters will be worn a little. This is not a deal-breaker as stories remain enjoyable and varied due to a slew of tools such as unpredictable dice-based combat and randomized room contents. Still, this narrative trigger of events comes at a cost and you will enjoy a scenario most upon your first playthrough.

Some may also object to the light nature of the storytelling. While triggers are scripted, flavor text extends to a couple of sentences. Dialogue is non-existent and the designers did not take a heavy hand in exposition. Much of the story is left to you and your actions as you navigate the road.

The other quirk is that the game is so steeped in its own colorful existence that those unfamiliar with the content may feel a sense of detachment. Why is The Creature From the Black Lagoon working for the BPRD? What’s up with this red dude’s big fist? The game won’t help you.

Hellboy is realized in a way that is potent, which has the side-effect of possibly distancing those already distant. This won’t be a problem for most as the common themes of violent heroics are a staple in the comics genre, but it may cause a few to stumble or lack interest.

The care and attention to detail is vast. Beyond the excellent stories are dozens of flourishes and quirks waiting to be teased out of the maelstrom. Little touches such as literally throwing bad guys into each other to inflict boatloads of damage are extremely gratifying. The dice system is absolutely fantastic as you utilize weapons and resources to upgrade dice and boost the upper end of the odds spread. Manipulating character bits to maximize potential, such as Liz Sherman’s Inferno track, really ties the system to the intellectual property in a mesmerizing way.

Hellboy’s focus on investigation is also handled expertly. Most scenarios will have you racing the doom clock to collect clues through the various tiles. This is a small injection of detective work amid the more typical dungeon crawl revolving combat, but it’s compelling due to the reward cycle. Seeking out those clues is important as it weakens the final boss and will give you a fighting chance against a foe that is often incredibly strong.

All of this ties into the dramatic heart of this release. As an experience, it’s one of building excitement and constant atmosphere. You will bust through obstacles and set the house ablaze. You will load explosive ammo into your honkin’ revolver and chuck a harpoon into a frenzied toad’s face. 2019 may not be the year of Hellboy on the big screen, but it may just be the year of Hellboy on the table.

More Hellboy Goodness!

• Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola Reflects on All Eras of His Comics Career
• EXCLUSIVE REVEAL: Hellboy Celebrates His 25th Birthday with New Titles
• 5 Mike Mignola Heroes You Should Meet After Hellboy

Image Credits: Charlie Theel, Mantic Games

In addition to Geek & Sundry, Charlie Theel writes for Ars Technica, Tabletop Gaming, Player Elimination, and co-hosts the gaming podcast Ding & Dent. You can find him on Twitter @CharlieTheel.

The post The HELLBOY BOARD GAME is Here and it’s Fantastic appeared first on Nerdist.

A brand new Hellboy movie hits theates on April 12 and it’s darker, grittier, and more violent than anything you’ve seen before. But it also represents creator Mike Mignola’s vision in a way that will please comic book diehards and newcomers alike. To go deeper into this wild world, Dan Casey sat down with David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, and the stars of Hellboy to find out why now is the perfect time for more Big Red.

The post How the New HELLBOY Movie Brings Mike Mignola’s Vision to Life (Nerdist News Edition) appeared first on Nerdist.

With the new Hellboy film hitting theatres this April, Nerdist sent Dan Casey with the help of Fon Davis and Fonco Studios to make the Big Red Machine’s iconic Right Hand of Doom and raise a little here of our own!

Thanks to Hellboy for partnering with us on this video. Pre-order your tickets for Hellboy in theatres April 12th: https://tickets.hellboy.movie

The post Nerdist Builds Hellboy’s Right Hand of Doom! appeared first on Nerdist.

The first trailer for Neil Marshall’s Hellboy reboot left many fans confused as they tried to match the promises of high fantasy R-rated horror with the cheery comedy action vibes that we were presented with. That didn’t temper excitement for the film though, and as the second trailer hits in the darkness of the midnight hour (well, at least on the East coast) fans will likely be happy with the darker tone, fantastical feel, and glimpses violence that the new teaser offers up. Plus hey, buff David Harbour.

Set to the dulcet tones of an orchestral arrangement of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water, the trailer begins with a reimagining of Big Red’s origin as we see him brought to life by Rasputin and a nefarious Nazi wearing what looks like a pair of swastika adorned 3D glasses. We also get a brief glimpse of Broom and Lady Hatton. At the IMAX headquarters on Thursday, ahead of the trailer’s premiere, Hellboy‘s creator Mike Mignola shared with us that the iconic Russian foe was actually just played by a member of the crew rather than a specific actor, hinting that Rasputin may not be in much more than the origin sequence.

The trailer quickly moves to London where we see the rest of the BPRD readying for battle against the Blood Queen; she’s featured more in this trailer. It turns out that Milla Jovovich, the actress who plays the Blood Queen, wasn’t particularly happy with the first teaser either; she told our screening that she thought the trailer had “sucked!” Thankfully, she liked this one more likely due to the fact that it’s jam-packed with her ancient sorceress who clearly wants to take a chunk out of Hellboy and make him her immortal beau.

We also get our first look at Ben Daimo in full were-jaguar mode, transforming after Red punches him in the face. There’s plenty of supernatural action here that we didn’t get before, too, with multiple massive monsters and a brief shot of Baba Yaga and her iconic chicken legged home. Probably the biggest moment here is Hellboy riding a giant dragon through a hellish landscape whilst the Blood Queen begs him to be her queen. And then there are the sequences that look like they’re straight out of the beloved Hellboy arc The Wild Hunt; it’s pretty safe to bet that the film is taking heavily from that story.

This is definitely a different beast than the first trailer though the tonal shift may leave some fans wondering just where this iteration of Hellboy will sit when it hits screens on April 12.

Images: Millennium Pictures

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Hellboy is everyone’s favorite beer-swilling, demon-hunting, raised from hell superhero badboy. And this year he turns 25 which means there are all kinds of celebratory things happening, including the very on-brand line of beers from Gigantic Brewing Company. The six flavors are each inspired by different HB-universe characters and each one comes with a unique Mike Mignola-designed label and they all sound pretty delicious to us.

Here’s the full list of flavors and inspirations:

• Hellboy – Maple Syrup Pancake Beer
• Liz Sherman – Mole Chili Stout
• Johann Kraus – Citrus Wit Beer
• Abe Sapien – Indigo Blue Fruit Ale
• Blood Queen – Cranberry Yuzu Sour
• Trevor Bruttenholm – British Barleywine

If this sounds up your alley and you’ll be at Emerald City Comic Con then you’re in luck as that’s where the beers will be debuting at a yet to be announced top secret event. They’ll be available on a wider basis on March 15 in the lead up to Hellboy day on March 23 2019.

According to the press release the company will be releasing a very specific number of the each beer to fit with the comics character’s theme. “To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the publication of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Oregon’s Gigantic Brewing and Dark Horse Comics are teaming up to create 666 cases of Hellboy beer, based on award-winning cartoonist Mike Mignola’s legendary character. All told, Gigantic Brewing will release six different Hellboy beers, with flavors inspired by fan-favorite characters from the Hellboy comic books. Each new beer will be a limited edition run of 666 cases and will be released approximately every seven weeks.”

These delectable beverages obviously come just in time for the David Harbour-starring film which will be hitting screens on April 12. We’re excited to collect them all and cook up some pam-cakes of our own.

Images: Dark Horse Comics, Gigantic Brewing Company, Universal

The post HELLBOY Celebrates 25 Years with Specialty Beer Varieties appeared first on Nerdist.

If you’ve only ever seen Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy films and never given Mike Mignola‘s comic books and graphic novels a chance, then you don’t really know Hellboy. You get most of the basics in the films, but the comics delve into many varieties of stories with vampires, werewolves, monsters, and some of the best folk-based horror in any medium. Mignola’s world is rich and it’s given the us amazing spin-offs like B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, and Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder.

But where do you start? There’s 25 years of stories in the Hellboy main title alone! To prepare yourself for Neil Marshall’s upcoming film reboot (starring David Harbour, of course), here are seven stories–both full arcs and one-offs–that you need to read. And don’t worry, you’ll want to read the rest too.

They’re presented here in release order:

Wake the Devil

It would be tempting to suggest you read the first story arc of the whole series, but for me, the second major arc is where it’s at. It references enough of the first volume, “Seed of Destruction,” to make you aware of what’s going on. We meet the vampire Vladimir Giurescu, Baba Yaga, and the goddess Hecate, all of whom become major players later on in the continuity. Rasputin and the Nazis continue to be major thorns in Hellboy’s side, and we get to spend a lot of time with B.P.R.D. members Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, and we get to meet future member Roger the Homunculus. Mignola’s signature art style and James Sinclaire’s brilliant coloring make this craziness pop.

The Wolves of Saint August

This was the first story I read in the Hellboy universe and it still stands out. Mignola’s take on his own mythology was steeped in everything from Nazi Occultism to Lovecraftian elder gods, to Arthurian legend, but “The Wolves of Saint August” is a perfect example of his love of European folklore and ancient family curses. This one has Hellboy and Kate Corrigan (another B.P.R.D. mainstay) encountering a family of werewolves who’ve brought death and despair to the little town of Griar since 1214 AD. Haunting images, like the above of the werewolf woman in a dress pervade the story, and it has some bombastic action culminating in our red-hued hero engaging in fisticuffs with a massive lycanthrope.

Almost Colossus

If you wondered what a “homunculus” was when I mentioned it in “Wake the Devil,” then “Almost Colossus” will provide all the answers. Not only is Roger back but there’s even a big ol’ giant one as well. The story follows on from “Wake the Devil,” and it feels more personal and directly about our main characters. With Liz Sherman in a coma following her fire powers bringing Roger to life (it’s a homunculus thing), it’s up to Hellboy and Kate to find answers, and a cure. True to form, we get a history lesson in magic and alchemy and it ends with the giant marauding the countryside. It’s pretty darn great.

Conqueror Worm

This classic brought the pulp superhero known as Lobster Johnson into Hellboy’s life. “The Lobster” was a vigilante crime-fighter in the 1930s who took on gangsters and supernatural threats in New York City. During World War II, the U.S. government hires the Lobster to help stop the Nazi’s occult enterprises. Later, a detective wrote a fictional version of him and that’s where the name Lobster Johnson came from (which is also the name of the character’s comic book series). Hellboy and Roger go to Austria to follow up on the Lobster’s final mission. There, Hellboy encounters the ghost of his pulp idol, along with Nazi-scientist-head-in-a-jar Herman von Klempt. Von Klempt’s mind later gets put in the body of a massive gorilla. How’s THAT for awesome? This story represents the splintering of the Hellboy universe into separate story threads, and it’s a corker to boot.

Darkness Calls

After Hellboy parts ways with the B.P.R.D., he goes on a fair amount of one-off adventures and gets drunk and married in Mexico. But his major arc comes in the form of learning his destiny, not as the devil’s son, but as possibly the last descendant of royal lineage on Earth. Before he gets there, he’s got to battle with recurring foe Baba Yaga and her champion, Koshchei the Deathless. This arc represents part one of a trilogy of arcs that we’re pretty sure will be the basis of Neil Marshall’s movie (read all about it here). However, the first part–full of witches and Russian mythology–is the epic we’ll revisit for a long, long time. Oh, and Duncan Fegredo’s art is superbly gorgeous.

The Crooked Man

The legendary horror artist Richard Corben lent his pen to the Hellboy universe a few times. None are as endlessly creepy as this three-issue story set in 1950s Appalachia. The story gets way into southern witchcraft and devil worship and the titular baddie (pictured above) is legitimate nightmare fuel. It even brings in the oft-referenced Melungion Witches, descendants of the original settlers from Roanoke (people who watch American Horror Story will know this for sure). Sometimes it’s fun to remember that Hellboy doesn’t have to have huge, world-ending continuity; it can also just be an occult detective story with a monster as the hero.

The Bride of Hell

While Hellboy is certainly a hero and usually defeats evil, he’s not perfect. Sometimes he just straight-up loses, and that can still be a great story. Richard Corben also illustrated this story. In it, Hellboy heads to France to save an American tourist from the demon-worshiping Knights of Saint Hagen, an ancient cult that follows the demon Asmodeus. But all is not as it seems. Hellboy learns the truth about what the cult actually is, and how Asmodeus operates. Gorgeous artwork, awesome history of occult things, and a downbeat but totally satisfying ending make for a story well worth reading.

And there you have seven of our favorite Hellboy stories. Share yours in the comments below!

Images: Dark Horse Comics; Mike Mignola; Duncan Fegredo; Richard Corben

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist and a major Hellboy fanboy. Follow him on Twitter!

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We’ve all been eagerly awaiting the arrival of more news about the David Harbour starring, Neil Marshall helmed buff Hellboy movie since they debuted some footage to a lucky audience at New York Comic Con earlier this year. Well, today we have been treated the to the first wide release look at the new vision of Big Red, and let’s just say it’s very different from the R-Rated horror flick the Neil Marshall and co. had been promising.

We’d been told that the film was leaning into the horror elements but this trailer presents the film as far closer to a Deadpool or even Guardians of the Galaxy movie, as Hellboy plays like a cranky comedy character (very much like Ron Perlman’s version). What’s more, the cheery notes of Billy Idol’s Mony Mony throw us into what feels like a pretty par for the course comic book movie trailer. This will surely disappoint some fans who have been looking forward to the blood-soaked R-rated horror movie that the production have been talking about, but we can’t discount the success of Deadpool in shaping just what a modern day R-rated superhero movie looks like.We get more comedy beats than action, but there are hints at a wider more fantastical story as we see Big Red joining the B.P.R.D and reconnecting with Professor Broom as an adult. That dynamic change seems to be an interesting one as Hellboy’s close relationship with Broom is often the emotional core of the comics and previous films, so we’ll be interested to see what they do with that. We also get our first proper look at Milla Jovovich’s Blood Queen too, who seems to have nefarious plans including Big Red who we see wielding a flaming sword and some impressive horns. We get a few flying creatures too and even a little bit of gore, but overall this is definitely much closer to the MCU/Fox superhero flicks than we were expecting.What could it all mean? We’ll have to wait until April to find out if Hellboy will deliver the gothic horror goodness or be an unexpected R-Rated cape comedy.

Images: Lionsgate

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There are many vibrant and varied characters in the DC Universe, though probably not many who’ve lived as many lives as J’onn J’onzz A.K.A. the Martian Manhunter. Since his first appearance in Detective Comics #225 over 60 years ago, J’onzz has been a major player in the vast and sprawling world of DC, but many fans have yet to enjoy one of his definitive comics runs. All that looks to change with Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo’s brilliant new 12-issue limited series, Martian Manhunter. To celebrate the release, the pair curated a reading list of the best Martian Manhunter comics just for you!

Riley Rossmo’s Picks:

“I tried to take on this list from a more visual angle because when I started this project me and Steve talked about it a lot. At first I didn’t really think I knew a lot about Martian Manhunter and then when I went and looked at my bookshelf… I actually have a lot of Martian Manhunter comics!”

New Frontier

“This is the warmest Martian Manhunter comic for me, the one that gives me a cozy, cuddly feeling about J’onzz. Darwyn Cooke’s depiction of him is very interesting to me. Most people’s versions are this green humanoid, while his Martian design is really otherworldly and rocky, and his head shape is really interesting. So that’s probably the most important one for me.”

Cosmic Odyssey

“Another one I love is Mike Mignola and Jim Starlin’s depiction of him in Cosmic Odyssey. Mignola does something special, making his brow so long; it really spoke to me. And there’s this interaction between J’onn and Green Lantern when they’re on their own which was really illuminating for me.”

JLA: Earth 2

“Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s JLA really reminds you how badass J’onn can be. Like when you think of Martian Manhunter, you think that he’s really stoic and levelheaded, but he can be a real badass too.”

JLA Confidential: Ultramarine Corps

“There’s a page where he’s all melty and he’s reforming. That’s really cool, and it just reminds you that his physiology isn’t human and he chooses to be human. You know, he can be anything, and that’s really freeing as an artist. It reminds me that on Mars we can do anything.”

Steve Orlando’s Picks:

“Each of these comics addresses an aspect of why I think J’onn J’onzz is such a great character. We did take something from all of the Martian Manhunter series, so what you’ll see is that I’ve recommended all of them! So go out and read them because there aren’t that many!”

JLA (1997): Vol. 1 Collected Edition

“Out of the gate, some of the most iconic J’onn J’onzz moments about his unwavering heroism and dedication to his friends and to the planet are in there. Moments like him facing down Asmodel like Gandalf. It was one of the first modern books that I didn’t buy at a flea market that I met Martian Manhunter in, and I feel like it’s very telling about who he is, even if he’s part of a seven-person team.”

Martian Manhunter: American Secrets

“I picked this one because I think—aside from what we’re doing, if I may say so myself—it’s one of the best takes on him from an Americana and noir lens. It’s got gorgeous Eduardo Barreto art and I think for the detective aspect of J’onn it’s just a great take.”

Final Crisis: Requiem

“Talking about the character who we always say is ‘one of the most human in the DC Universe,’ this was a book that’s reverent of his history. It was written by Peter Tomasi, who was the editor of the 1990s Martian Manhunter stuff. It has beautiful art by Doug Mahnke. But beyond that, this really shows his impact. This shows how this one person, his compassion and his story, can make a difference. So even in death it’s a really moving J’onn J’onzz story.”

Martian Manhunter: Son of Mars & Martian Manhunter: Rings of Saturn

“I really wanted to recommend the entire Ostrander and Mandrake series, but they’re not all collected and I’m keeping these to things people can buy on Amazon. This run is the closest to what Riley and I have tried to do. Ostrander I think in many cases is an uncredited genius of the ’80s and ’90s. Creating a living culture in this dense anthropological sense is something I definitely took from that series.”

DC’s Nuclear Winter Special

“I’m recommending this because I’m vain, but also because it’s the first look at things about Martian culture that Riley and I created. The Nuclear Winter Special is about celebrating a Martian holiday that will appear in our book as well, so if you want a little tease of what’s coming in our series you’ll get it in here.”

Martian Manhunter: Others Among Us

“Others Among Us is the A.J. Lieberman and Al Barrionuevo Martian Manhunter series. This was also a big influence, the idea of a shared telepathic culture was really put forward in this series with the concept of the Kuru pendant. We’ve translated that into something slightly different in our Martian Manhunter, but that sort of idea of a physical artifact that is a telepathic artifact is taken from that run.”

Martian Manhunter: The Epiphany & Martian Manhunter: The Red Rising

“I loved this series, and again it’s not a direct narrative antecedent into our book, but it’s a spiritual antecedent into our book because it’s truly mad and it’s wild science fiction in a way that’s every bit as creative as our book but totally, totally different. I think it’s beautiful and I think it’s wonderful.”Make sure you check out our gallery below for a look at Orlando and Rossmo’s Martian Manhunter, which is out on Wednesday, December 5!

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Mike Mignola’s vast Hellboy universe has been thrilling fans for 25 years, and as we get closer to the release of Neil Marshall’s rebooted cinematic vision we’re learning more about who will join Big Red on the big screen. One of the newest additions is Thomas Haden Church as a fan favorite member of the B.P.R.D. who fits in perfectly with the dark tone that the new film has been promising since its announcement: Lobster Johnson.

Originally introduced in Hellboy: Box Full of Evil #1 before spinning off into his own series, Lobster is a pulp fiction hero who the public thinks only exists in the pages of books and comics. He is in fact a “real” hero who fights crimes both human and supernatural. Like any classic noir hero, he usually wields a pair of pistols, though he occasionally utilizes other things that are close to hand. He first became active in the 1930s as a literal underground vigilante living and fighting in the sewers beneath New York. Though Lobster and his allies were a powerful force for good, they became the focus of a violent and vicious villain. Memnan Saa murdered many of them, leading Lobster to take on a contract with the U.S. government.

In 2018, we need as many as Nazi-punching heroes as possible, and in the later years of Lobster’s life he fought and killed fascists alongside the American government. Lobster was killed in the line of duty as he tried to stop a Nazi space launch in Austria, but as this is the world of Hellboy that was in no way the end of his story. After his death he became a famed pulp star, with fictionalized versions of his adventures published in magazines, and some even adapted to film. His legacy became so huge that some believe that the pulp stories were a coverup by the U.S. government, which didn’t want people to know that Lobster was real.

It wasn’t until after he died that Lobster became connected with the B.P.R.D.; Hellboy, who was a massive fan of the pulp character, discovered Lobster’s ghost in the ruins of the Austrian castle where he died. His ghost is alleged to be one of the most powerful in the mythical world of Hellboy. It’s likely that we’ll meet this version of Lobster in the new film, as the simplest way for Big Red to coincide with Lobster would be within the B.P.R.D.

Johnson also has a connection to a couple of characters that fans of the original Hellboy films will be familiar with, as in the past he’s teamed up with both Liz Sherman and Johann Kraus. In fact, in certain stories the ghost of The Lobster has taken over Johann’s ectoplasmic form in order to defeat evil. As a spirit, Lobster can come across as arrogant or aloof but that’s only due to vast amount of existential understanding that he gained after his untimely death. A vital element of the B.P.R.D. Lobster Johnson will be an interesting addition to the upcoming film as he brings a dark noir edge, while also potentially opening up potential for humor with Harbour’s Hellboy acting as a fanboy to the super cool spirit.

Is Lobster Johnson one of your favorite characters? Surprised by how many similarities Lobster has to Steve Rogers? Just really love Hellboy? Let us know below!

Images: Dark Horse Comics

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One might expect a character’s death to be followed by a dearth of activity, but that’s hardly been the case for the working man’s demon–that bear drinkin’, cigar smokin’, pancake eatin’ Hellboy. Not only have stories in his comics universe continued with the BPRD spin-off, not only are handsome new omnibus books collecting his adventures in chronological order for the first time, but Mantic Games also just blasted through all stretch goals of its Kickstarter campaign for a Hellboy tabletop game. Even if the ‘Boy hadn’t just woke up from seemingly endless sleep, he’d be pretty damn busy for any superhero, living or dead.

Hellboy’s creator, Mike Mignola, is back in some respects, too. Having taken a bit of sabbatical from comics to focus on painting, he’s affixed “semi” to his “retirement” to plot some new adventures for his resurrected creation. We got the chance the chance to chat with Mignola about all things Hellboy, from the series’ early days at Dark Horse’s Legend imprint to its unexpected reception in other country days. And while the man is synonymous with the ‘Boy, now, Mignola also has a sizable body of work at Marvel and DC, and a number of those projects have recently been adapted to screen. Read on, and get Mignola’s candid thoughts on every area of his oeuvre!

First off, congratulations on the launch for the Hellboy tabletop game Kickstarter. It’s been a runaway success!

It’s good sign, I guess – there’s still some interest in this character! It’s the kind of thing I know nothing about. I suspect it’s entirely because people want a hundred little, tiny Hellboy and Hellboy-related figures to play with. I know that’s what I’m excited about! Haha…

Well, they definitely go deep into the mythos and its large cast of characters.

I’m always nervous about this kind of stuff – that I might end up with people who don’t know the material. So, I’m always nervous about these things, because I don’t want to get roped into being the one trying to explain to somebody endlessly, “That’s the movie!” or “Hellboy wouldn’t do this!” But these guys knew what they were doing, so that’s kind of nice.

Is it ever surreal to see such a personal universe of creations getting interpreted with such detail like this?

You know, at some point, it takes a lot now for me to really struck by that kind of stuff. I always say the weirdest thing is when this stuff starts feeling normal. Things like a hundred little, tiny Hellboy-related figures that are getting a million dollars in a Kickstarter. That should be weird, but it takes a lot for something to feel weird these days. Haha…

Well, you effectively have a Hellboy imprint at this stage, with all the BPRD books and the number of creators you’re trusting these characters to.

My day-in, day-out involvement has become less and less, because I’m not drawing the books, and I’m not even doing many of the covers. I’ve got my eyes on stuff, but the business of creating the books doesn’t involve me as much. That maybe is a little weird. This thing is going on and I’m going, “Oh, it’s under control, but it’s over there, and it’s mostly somebody else’s job.”

It’s taken on a life of its own.

It very much has. And I thank God for my wonderful editor [Katii O’Brien], who has to do all the heavy lifting. She does most of the dealing with the creators and stuff like that. I get to do the fun stuff.

Occasionally, I’ll have the conversations with the writers about some cool weird ideas. Or I get to talk to artists who want to work on the books, or are working on the books. So, I get to do the fun stuff and I don’t have to do any of the stuff that’s a grind.

You talk about it being a bit unexpected to see an audience respond to a Hellboy board game like they have today. We’re circling the 25th anniversary of the series’ launching at Comic Con with Dark Horse’s Legend imprint. Was the character received differently when first introduced?

It’s funny – I did a couple talks a couple of weeks ago in New York, and I mentioned the Legend imprint, and nobody has any memory [of it]. It really wasn’t around for very long. But certainly, I think I benefited from it more than anybody else.

How so?

Had Hellboy just been a regular book, and not part of this group with Frank Miller, and Dave Gibbons, and Geoff Darrow, and Art Adams… if Hellboy didn’t have that association, I think it might have come and gone without notice.

Because it was part of that group, and there was that brief moment where it got the kind of attention it wouldn’t ordinarily have gotten, I think it found an audience. Who knows? We’ll never know what happened without the Legend imprint. But I think that was very “right place, right time” for me.

That time was a watershed for comics, in general. Legend began around the launch of Image, too. This whole notion of creator-owned titles and having a stable of creators grouped together, building on each other’s hype, that was in the zeitgeist then, wasn’t it?

Yeah, it really was. Created-owned stuff was still kind of new. Not really “new” – creator-owned stuff had been around forever – but that Image group generated so many headlines. I don’t know if there was another group until Legend – a group of really high-profile, heavy-hitting creators. We might have been it after Image.

How did Legend differ, though?

It was the same basic idea, but if Image were [comprised] of older guys who did a different kind of work. And of course, the last thing we wanted to do is get involved in publishing our own books. We just wanted to do the creative stuff and let Dark Horse handle the business. But yeah, for a brief period of time, it made some news.

There were a lot of nods to each other’s book in those early days, too. 

Originally – because John Byrne was writing Hellboy with me – he, Art Adams and I were going to have a shared universe. So, John used Hellboy in one of his books. I think he actually used me and Art Adams in his book, also. I think it was in Next Men. I can’t remember exactly what the storyline was.

The character actually originally appeared in Next Men, which was a nice tease for [his] book. And then, I think in some of John’s other books, Hellboy appeared.

And you returned the favor with some of his creations, right?

I actually used one of John’s characters in the very first issue of Hellboy. So, there was this idea that we would have this shared universe of characters. Then, Legend kind of crumbled to pieces. Even before [that], we all realized, maybe this isn’t a good idea. This could be potentially problematic as we go forward if guys are looking over each other’s shoulders. “Well, wait a minute! You can’t use my guy.” We all realized pretty early on we should really just stick to doing our own things.

It’s all difficult to coordinate long-term when every one owns their IP separately, I bet.

Every once in a while, something will come up. Somebody wants to do a Hellboy thing and they’ll mention using Torch of Liberty, and I have to go, “Whoa! Whoa! Wait! That’s John’s character.” Even though it’s in the Hellboy book, it’s John’s character. I can understand the confusion. “If it’s a few pages of Hellboy then, of course, it’s a Mignola thing!” That’s the one holdover from our Legend days.

Something similar happened with Image. Where Chapel from Youngblood had killed Spawn and that was initially part of their backstory, but they had to retcon it years later.

Had I created Lobster Johnson [then], I would’ve used Lobster Johnson in that opening sequence in Hellboy, but I hadn’t thought of him yet.

I thought it was cool to have one superhero guy – kind of a throwback to my Marvel Comics stuff, little World War II Captain America hanging out with GI’s. I always wanted to have that. And since John had created this Captain America-ish character, I thought, “Well, this is just perfect.” But now, I never want to go back and take it out, and John never told me to take it out. We acknowledge it’s there, but we just don’t talk about it too much.

Bit of a gentleman’s agreement.

Yes. I hope. Haha…

Speaking of your work at Marvel and your collaborations with John Byrne: it’s the early part of 2018 and a number of your works at Marvel and DC are on screen in a big way, like Krypton at SyFy, which draws from the World of Krypton mini-series you drew.

Yeah, I’ve never seen any of that show. I was contacted briefly by somebody about “how do you pronounce your name?” and it seemed like that had something to do with the Krypton show. I don’t know if it was some press thing or whatever, but somebody needed to mention me in some way, so that’s weird. Some of the Krypton stuff in that first Superman [movie, Man of Steel] was a little similar to some of the stuff I had done with John.

World of Krypton was so long ago, I barely remember what that thing was like. But when you see DC suddenly reprinting it two or three times, you go, “Oh, there must be something going on.”

It’s probably a good clue. Gotham by Gaslight also became an animated movie earlier this year and, of course, Rocket Raccoon has become this pop icon – is that another thing you get used to after a while?

Rocket Raccoon was just a job. It’s not like something I created. Granted, I was like the first guy to do a lengthy Rocket Raccoon thing. But what’s on the screen is so radically different than what I did, it’s just another raccoon character with the same name. It doesn’t ring any bells as far as, “Oh! I remember when I drew that guy!” It’s totally unrelated.

I haven’t seen the Gotham by Gaslight show, so I have no idea how much of it uses the stuff that was in the comic I did. I mean, I’ve seen the trailer for it, so I see that it’s a much bigger thing with a lot more characters. It actually looks really cool.

But again, there’s no part of me that goes, “Oh, that’s my thing!” It’s just, “Oh, there’s a Victorian Batman. That’s interesting.”

So you weren’t involved with that adaptation?

I think Bruce Timm called me at one point, or emailed me, to ask if I wanted to work on the show. So, that was kind of cool. It was nice that they asked. Whatever I did on that thing, I did so long ago, no part of me that wanted to go back in and do that again. I’ve been doing my own stuff for 25 years, now, which does a pretty good job of erasing my memory of everything I did in those first ten years! Haha…

Hellboy has returned, and you’re also back from something of a sabbatical. Any insights from your year away from comics, focusing on fine art painting?

It threw a major wrench in [my workflow], and I’ve never quite gotten back. I haven’t quite figured out what the hell I’m doing. There was something about wrapping up Hellboy where I really did say, “OK, now I’m gonna do something different.”

I tried going back and doing a comic. I actually did 19 pages of a comic, but eventually said, “Yeah, this is not working.” So, I’m still kind of flopping around and figuring out what the hell I’m doing.

The retirement was short-lived, then.

I’ve been saying for a while now I’m semi-retired, which just means I’m not sitting at the drawing table, every day, drawing a comic.

But I haven’t quite figured out what I’m replacing comics with, or if I’m replacing comics. There are plenty of days where I go, “Oh, now I’ve got a million ideas for comics.” Then, the next day I’ll go, “I don’t want to do comics, I want to go back and paint some more.” So, I’ve got a few little work things I still have to wrap up, and then I think I’m going to go back and, at least for a while, go back and do some more paintings.

But… yeah! I haven’t really figured out what the hell I’m doing. Haha…

Do you find it hard to read another creator’s comic and just enjoy the experience without picking apart what you would do?

I actually haven’t read comics in years, so that isn’t an issue, but it is a weird spot to be in. A lot of guys when they retire, they go, “Oh, now I’ll go work on my hobby.” But, my hobby really has been my job for 35 years. So, if you retire from your hobby, what’s left? Haha…

That’s kind of where I am. The thing I find most relaxing is to sit at the drawing table and work on stuff while I’m watching TV. So, I just haven’t quite figured out what to be working on. Again, I’ve got some little work- related that I’m still wrapping up, a couple of covers and things. But after that, I’m really not sure. I love to just play, just draw whatever I want, paint whatever I want, and not worry about making books or any particular publication plans for things, and just do whatever I want. But it’s really hard!

It’s really hard, at least for me, to go, “OK. I can do whatever I want.” And then the next big question is “Well, what do you want to do?”

The burden of choice.

I love drawing stuff, I just haven’t quite figured out what I want to commit to drawing. Haha…

Speaking of interests outside of comics, reading Hellboy over the years, one facet that sticks out is the thorough research behind the occultism and mythology. Is that something you always had an interest in, or was it something that snowballed as you ran with the book?

Yeah, I had been a big fan of folklore and mythology. I’d actually planned to adapt a couple English folk tales. I didn’t know where I was gonna do them, and I ended up working those into Hellboy. So, I had enough interest in that stuff, read enough of that stuff, that it really informed Hellboy.

I did at least three or four Hellboy stories that are pretty much direct adaptations of old folk tales. That was always a fun thing that I got to get away.

When you’re sussing out all these different mythologies, did you have any criteria about what made something fit the world of the BPRD? Were there ever times you looked at a folk tale you wanted to integrate, but it didn’t seem to mesh unless you took a lot of creative license?

I usually stay away from anything that’s very specific with religion. I’m looking for monster stories. And I love religion stories. I love stuff that’s very faith-based… but I never really want Hellboy to be a religious book, or overtly religious, if that makes sense. Certainly, some cultures are also just so totally alien to me, I wouldn’t want to try to do those and get the religion element wrong.

So, I usually just try to find the weird monster story. “Here’s a very specific monster you would only encounter in Malaysia. Yes! Let’s use that.” And I try to get the feel of these different regions. There’s a very specific type of Scandinavian story, there’s a very specific type of Russian story, there’s a very specific type of Asian story. So, I try to get the feel of those things and not step on anybody’s toes while I’m doing it.

Not get too deeply into someone’s beliefs.

Yeah, exactly. Again, especially with stuff I don’t understand – because I just don’t want to screw it up. I’m a simple creature. I was basically just looking for cool monster stories. Haha…

When you get deep in the reeds with some mythologies, there’s esoterica that’s probably a bit confusing to readers, as well, when you’re trying to tell a well-paced action story

Yeah, exactly, I wasn’t looking to do this deep thing. There’s kind of an underlying mythology behind Hellboy that’s bullshit that I made up, but I never really wanted to get too specific about how that related to all the different folklore/mythology things. I didn’t want to explain, “Oh, fairies are actually this, or demons are actually that.” I tried to stay away from explaining away the magic of those stories.

I’ve done certain things where I’ve related [it all to] my kind of bullshit, made-up world mythology, like in the Russian folklore stories. But I try to keep it really vague. I don’t want to take away from the source material. I try to be fast and loose with all the whole thing, leave a lot of stuff for the reader to try and figure out how these things relate to each other.

So, it’s a matter of balance with the research.

I [do still sometimes] work in a lot of very specific things, as I mentioned – like a particular Malaysian vampire. I tried to work out, real briefly, an origin for this weird thing according to folklore. But I didn’t want the story to be about what this thing. I wanted it to still be an adventure story. I want the flavor of the old folklore or legend, but it’s not the entire point of the story.

You have a lot of international readers by now. Have you ever been surprised by how Hellboy’s interaction with other countries’ mythologies has been received by audiences in those countries?

I haven’t had too many complaints. In Prague, somebody pointed out that I had drawn a particular castle [into] the wrong country [and then] brought me [all this information] about it. I was just using the castle for reference because it looked cool, I wasn’t thinking, “Oh, shit! Somebody’s going to know what that Castle is.” Haha…

What I do get is a lot of people saying, “You have to do a story about my country! We have this other weird thing.” So, that’s really cool. Everybody wants their [monster] to figure into Hellboy, also. And there’s no shortage of those kind of stories, which is always a comfort.

That’s got to be the highest compliment – people wanting their folklore reinterpreted or bumping heads with Hellboy.

Yeah! “Hellboy should fight our guy!” That’s nice… Haha…

Now that Hellboy’s back, any teases about what fans can look forward to in his continuing adventures?

Ah… no. Haha. We’re so close to wrapping up BPRD, anything I mention would be giving something away. There’s also problem of [me having] plotted that story with Scott Alie, pacing back and forth in a hotel room in Portland, just bouncing stuff back and forth, and rattling off a whole lot of stuff. And frankly, once I talk out stuff, I tend to forget it, so I don’t actually remember a lot of what we plotted. Some bits I know very well, because I did step in and I was very specific about certain things, but a lot of the stuff Scott is doing is based entirely on the notes from that day and a half, or whatever, of us just rattling this stuff off.

So, I remember being very excited about it at the time. Now, frankly, I’m just very happy that’s in his hands and he’s referencing his notes, and occasionally he’ll call me up and say, “The notes say this thing, but I can’t quite figure out what it means.” And I’m like, “Sorry! I can’t remember. It all came out in the blur.” Haha… But Scott know what he’s doing so. And he’s stitching it together pretty nicely. I trust him.

We’ve surely got loads of Hellboy fans in our readership. What are you favorite stories in his catalog? What other Mignola comics do you dig, too? Sound off in the comments.

Want more Hellboy goodness?

• WATCH: Wednesday Club One-Shot –  What Would You Add to Hellboy’s Canon?
• 5 Mike Mignola Heroes You Should Meet After Hellboy
• The Wednesday Club’s Comic Picks: Right Hand of Doom

Featured Image Credit: Dark Horse 

Images Credits: Dark Horse, Christine Mignola

The post Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola Reflects on All Eras of His Comics Career appeared first on Nerdist.

You can start pumping your Right Hands of Doom in the air, Hellboy fans, because Lionsgate has unveiled our official first look at David Harbour in the upcoming Hellboy reboot and it looks devilishly good. Announced earlier this year, the R-rated Hellboy reboot is not connected to the previous Guillermo del Toro-directed films, and has replaced series star Ron Perlman with Stranger Things breakout star David Harbour in the eponymous role. But, if you’re a diehard Hellboy fan, you likely knew that already, so go ahead and feast your eyes on Big Red 2.0.

https://twitter.com/HellboyMovie/status/908054824385572864If your first impulse–like mine–was, “Holy smokes that looks a lot like Ron Perlman,” then you’re not wrong. However, that is largely because Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman, and the incredibly talented makeup artists working on the previous Hellboy films so effectively nailed the character. This version of Hellboy seems to have larger horns (or the stumps where his horns used to be, longer hair, and has done more Crossfit than his predecessor.

https://twitter.com/DavidKHarbour/status/908070476475494400

For those not in the know, Hellboy was created in 1993 by writer-artist Mike Mignola. Hellboy, also known as Anung Un Rama, is a demon who was summoned to Earth by Nazi occultists looking to swing the tide of World War II in their favor. Rescued by Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm and the United States military, he was dubbed “Hellboy” and raised in secret on a New Mexico airbase from which the shadowy Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) operated. As he grew older, Hellboy was trained as an agent of the BPRD assisting a wide array of human and nonhuman agents in their efforts to protect the Earth from all manner of supernatural forces.

Directed by Neil Marshall, this new version of Hellboy is assembling an all-star cast including Milla Jovovich as the film’s villain (possibly the Blood Queen) and Ian McShane as Hellboy’s adoptive father Professor Broom. The film has not been without its fair share of controversy, though. The Hellboy reboot found itself at the center of a whitewashing scandal when it was announced that Ed Skrein (Deadpool) would be taking on the role of a canonically Japanese-American character. In response to the outrage, Skrein voluntarily stepped down from the project and now it appears Lost alum Daniel Dae Kim is in talks to take over the role. While the film is still a ways away from hitting theaters, it already looks like it’s shaping up to be a faithful adaptation of the fan-favorite comics.

We’ll continue to update you more on the Hellboy reboot as news develops. In the meantime, here’s a sprawling compendium of everything we know so far about the new Hellboy movie.

Hellboy opens on January 11, 2019.

What do you think of this first look at David Harbour as Hellboy? Let us know in the comments below.

Image: Lionsgate

What else is happening in Hellboy news?

• Behold this mindblowing Angel of Death Hellboy cosplay
• Injustice 2 will finally let you figure out if Hellboy could kick Batman’s ass
• A brief history of the Hellboy reboot’s mysterious villain

5 horror comics that are so good that it’s scary

[brightcove video_id=”4112795125001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=“rJs2ZD8x”]

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We’ve all wanted to be our favorite comic book character at some point, right? Fresh from the pages of our most beloved book, ready to save the galaxy or adventure through time and space whilst kicking some bad guy butt! Well if your dream alter ego is Mike Mignola’s iconic Hellboy then it’s your lucky day because you’re now one step (or hand?) closer thanks to this radical video from Odin Makes.

Just in case you aren’t fully versed in Hellboy lore, his Right Hand of Doom is a hulking stone arm that was grafted onto his body by his father Azzael, who also totally happens to be a demon. Incapable of feeling pain and essentially invulnerable, this fist of fury is a giant part of Hellboy’s power set and it used to belong to a spirit named Anum. Oh yes, Big Red’s Right Hand of Doom is in fact an ancient artifact preserved over millennia before being gifted to our horned hero. So now you definitely want one, right?

In this handy (pun very much intended) how-to tutorial, our helpful host shows us how to build our very own Right Hand Of Doom just like Big Red himself. This is no amateur hour and actually ends up being a true feat of engineering magnificence as Odin Abbott creates a fully articulated puppet hand which has incredibly lifelike movement and also looks really freaking cool.

Though it does look appear to be an awful lot of work, this would be a rad addition to any discerning Hellboy fan’s collection as well as being a pretty spectacular cosplay accessory. Will you attempt to try this at home? Perhaps some early preparation for Nerdoween? Smash into our comments and let us know!

Want more Hellboy?

• Comic creator Mike Mignola talks killing Hellboy and resurrecting his world.
• The history of Hellboy and the Blood Queen.
• Everything we know about the Hellboy reboot so far.

Images: Dark Horse, Odin Makes

The post Be Just Like HELLBOY and Make Your Own Right Hand of Doom! appeared first on Nerdist.

We all know DC‘s most famous stories: the alien baby raised by kind farmers, the billionaire orphan driven to a life of fighting crime, the amazonian goddess raised by cool lesbians who has to save men from themselves. But now Warner Bros has announced (read about it here) a brand new Joker origin story which will take place outside of the already established DCEU and might even be inspired by a set of DC stories that fall under the banner Elseworlds. Though many of us might be asking “Who needs a Joker origin story?” the mention of Elseworlds is actually incredibly exciting.

Established in 1989 as an imprint of DC Comics, these books allowed creators to imagine a world outside of the ongoing continuity and archetypical backstory that fans already knew. This led to some of the most outrageously imaginative and often iconic stories that the company has ever released. Opening up the idea of an Elseworlds movie universe gives Warner Bros a huge advantage. It allows them to escape the restrictions of an MCU style shared universe and produce multiple separate movies at any one time, with almost three decades of wildly eclectic comics to take inspiration from. With the greater DCEU continuity now called into question, we thought it was time to put together a list of some of the best that DC’s imaginative imprint has to offer for your reading pleasure.

Batman: Vampire

What if Batman was a vampire? Haven’t we all asked ourselves this pressing question at least once in our lives? Well, luckily in 1991 Kelley Jones and Doug Moench answered our prayers with this trinity of miniseries that leaned into Batman’s gothic roots and took his bat connection to a whole other level. A sprawling horror epic that throws Batman into the greatest moral struggle of his now immortal life, this is a cult classic Bat-book.

Red Son

Easily the most iconic and beloved of the Elseworlds books, Mark Millar and Dave Johnson imagined a world where Supes crash landed in a Ukrainian collective farm rather than with the Kents in Kansas. Though we’re probably a long way from seeing communist Superman brought to the screen, this book does introduce some incredibly fun paradoxes and plot points that would be a great addition to any Elseworlds DC movie.

Gotham by Gaslight

A likely contender for (at least visual) inspiration in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, this is one of the few Big Two comics drawn by Hellboy auteur, Mike Mignola. That’s right, before raising hell with his iconic creator-owned comic, he drew this gorgeous Gothic vision of Gotham in the Victorian era. Here we find Bruce battling Jack the Ripper himself, struggling to prove his own innocence in the face of a spate of serial killings.

Castle of the Bat

In a world where the DCEU is making a Flashpoint movie, introducing the potential for Thomas Wayne’s Batman, this ’94 oddity now seems a little more likely to make it to the screen. In this Frankenstein-inspired tale by Bo Hampton and Jack C. Harris, a desolate and disturbed Bruce brings his father back from the dead, inadvertently creating the terrifying Bat-Man.

Batman: I, Joker

A dystopian future where a once revered hero has become a fascistic figure head? No, we’re not talking about Batman’s wild dream from Batman v Superman but rather this ’98 cyberpunk tale. In a world where “The Bruce” rules all and makes people fight to the death to take his place, we join an descendant of the Joker as he leads a rebel group of Batmen to take down the cult of The Bruce.

Superman: Secret Identity

This masterclass in meta storytelling introduces us to Clark Kent, a boy named after the fictional hero Superman. Our protagonist soon finds out that he has the powers of his namesake in this Stuart Immonen and Kurt Busiek book. It’s a perfect wish fulfillment fantasy that would make a gorgeous kids movie if DC/WB ever decide to stray from the grim and gritty light and go down that route.

Kingdom Come

Alex Ross’ iconic painted interiors make this book a fan favorite. It tells the story of a Watchmen-esque world where traditional superheroes battle with new radical vigilantes, some of whom are the children of the legacy heroes themselves. The gritty, emotionally resonant style would fit in with DC/WB’s aesthetic and would be a solid bit of fan service if they ever decide to adapt this contemporary classic, which even inspired the name of Jay-Z’s comeback album.

Which Elseworlds book would you love to see adapted? Which one of our picks can you not wait to read? Fly into the comments and let us know!

Images: DC Comics

The post 7 DC ELSEWORLD Stories We’d Love to See on the Big Screen appeared first on Nerdist.

After our incredible chat with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, we’re happy to present an exclusive preview of his newest dive into the expanded universe of Hellboy with B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know #1. Coming from Mignola and Dark Horse editor Scott Allie, the comic follows Liz Sherman—one of the main protagonists of the Mignolaverse—as she leads an intrepid team through the monster-infested ruins wreaked by the Lovecraftian monsters in the previous Hell on Earth story cycle. As society tries to recover, strange cults vie for influence and a demon emerges to lead the way.

This first issue of the final story cycle of the B.P.R.D series is visualized by Laurence Campbell, a British artist best known for his work in 2000 AD and B.P.R.D. with previous writer John Arcudi. “When I work with guys that I really like, it’s just so easy to continue working with them,” Mignola told Nerdist. “It’s been really fun.”

“When John said, ‘I’ve finished where I’m going with B.P.R.D.,’ we were like, ‘sure, but we want to keep working with Laurence Campbell,’ and you know we hadn’t finished the B.P.R.D. story,” Mignola explained. “I sketched out where B.P.R.D. would eventually go and when John said he’d done his bit, I was like ‘oh, how do we finish this book?'”

“Since the very beginning of Hellboy we’ve only had a couple of writers. John has added so much to this world and we’re comfortable working together. We were so lucky with Chris Roberson because he was such a big fan of the work and fit so well,” Mignola continued. “With Scott Allie, he’d been writing the Abe Sapien stuff and that was wrapping up, and we were looking at who was going take over B.P.R.D. Scott and I had been been talking about where B.P.R.D. was going since the very beginning. Most other writers, we would’ve had to feed them the end of the series but Scott knew the story. Finally, I awkwardly asked, ‘could you write it?”

With the end of B.P.R.D. in sight, Mignola already knew that he wanted to wrap the story up in his own way. “B.P.R.D.’s been going on for so long and it’s had a very specific ending for a very long time,” Mignola elaborated. “So, you know, now we’re at the point where we say, ‘well, we know how this is ending and we’re almost there. It’s time to start pulling all those threads together and get this thing to where it’s going.'”

In our exclusive preview, Campbell and colorist Dave Stewart masterfully depict a monstrous fight set in a ravaged North Carolina. Enjoy the pages in our gallery below.

Are you excited to return to the monster-filled world of the B.P.R.D.? Can’t wait to see what pyrokinetic Liz is up to in this latest adventure? Or just happy to see Mignola back on a B.P.R.D book? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Dark Horse Comics

The post Mike Mignola Shares B.P.R.D: THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Details and Pages (EXCLUSIVE) appeared first on Nerdist.

Mike Mignola‘s Hellboy is one of the most beloved cult comic book characters of all time, and Guillermo del Toro’s double bill of devilishly smart, practical effects heavy 2000s movies—Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army—cemented the character’s place as a pop culture classic. Now that we’re aware of a new vision of Mignola’s definitive demonic do-gooder coming our way in Neil Marshall’s Hellboy, (previously Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen) it’s our mission to find out everything there is to know about the newest incarnation of the trench-coated, cigar-chomping, Nazi-punching icon that is Hellboy.

Latest Updates

Update 02/28/2019: As we move ever closer to Hellboy’s release, we’ve received a look at some brand new and very serious posters in the lead up to a new trailer that will be released tonight.

Update 12/19/2019: Just in time for Christmas we were blessed with a very strange trailer for Hellboy which seems more like Guardians of the Galaxy than the dark gritty reboot we were promised so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when the film hits next year.

Update 08/21/2018 – We’ve been hungrily waiting for more news about the yet to be titled Hellboy reboot that is hitting screens early next year, and luckily star David Harbour has been chatting about Big Red over at Vanity Fair. “It’s a classically complicated hero. He’s a creature that was meant to bring about the end of the world, and he just sort of wants to be a good guy. He’s got that complexity to him. He’s also a monster who lives among human beings, so he’s in a sense fighting for human beings against his fellow monsters, and yet the humans hate him because they fear him and they think he’s weird looking and everything.” Harbour explained.

He also compared his new red hued hero to his fan favorite character on Stranger Things . “There’s that question of, why am I fighting this battle? Just because of some sense of justice, or some sense of good? It’s a really interesting question that sort of is at the core of him, that he struggles with . . . I know that Mignola, Neil and Lloyd all watched Stranger Things and saw that in what I did there, which is similar. He has a heart that’s really good and with a lot of this crusted-over stuff. What I’m dealing with in Hellboy is a lot different, bigger in a certain way. It’s very Shakespearean. It’s demons and witches and stuff like that. But it has a similar core to a dude who’s trapped in horrible circumstances who’s just trying to be a good guy.”

Read below for the rest all the gory details on the new Hellboy movie…

Who is Hellboy?

Created in 1993 by comic book writer-artist Mike Mignola, Hellboy A.K.A. Anung Un Rama is a demon who was summoned to Earth by Nazi occultists looking to change their fortunes in World War II. His arrival was heralded by a fireball which appeared in the ruins of a church, and he was rescued by United States military and Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm, who gave him the moniker “Hellboy.” The Professor raised him on a New Mexico airbase that housed the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD).

An almost ageless demon with the mind of the mind of a teenage boy and the attitude to match, Hellboy soon became the primary agent for BPRD. “Big Red” teamed up with a variety of human and quasi-human characters to protect Earth from supernatural foes. Some of his most regular allies include a pyrotechnic named Liz Sherman, an amphibian humanoid called Abe Sapien, and an ectoplasmic psychic known as Johann Kraus. Hellboy is unique in the world of comics as Mike Mignola and publisher Dark Horse Comics told one continuous and contained story over 24 years with the two main title books, Hellboy and Hellboy in Hell. Mignola ended Hellboy’s journey on the page in 2016, but this new filmic incarnation means we haven’t seen the last of the “Son of the Fallen One” yet.

Who is Hel(l)ming Hellboy?

After years of talks about a third installment in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movie series, lead by fans and Hellboy himself Ron Perlman, and a del Toro Twitter poll to see if there was still fan interest in the movie.

Informal poll (let’s see how many votes we get in 24 hours)
Hellboy III

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017

Mike Mignola sent shockwaves through the comic book world when he announced there would be a new R-rated film focused about the well-meaning demon without del Toro or Ron Perlman, the actor considered by many to be the definitive Hellboy.

Leading to a bittersweet Twitter love in between del Toro and Perlman

I LOVE you too Perl- https://t.co/94ljKRb6VI

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) May 9, 2017

Though this interaction made it seem like their may be friction between the two camps, Ron Perlman recently posted a picture of himself at dinner with renowned nerd and comedian Patton Oswalt, plus the brand new “Big Red” David Harbour!

So who will be taking the helm of the newest incarnation of Big Red himself? That would be English director Neil Marshall, the man who made the female focused cult horror hit The Descent and his break out B-movie horror comedy hit Dog Soldiers. Marshall’s genre background hints that this celluloid vision of Hellboy will lean heavily into its horror roots.

And accepting that a portal to the netherworld doesn’t crack open and render Earth as we know it the spoils of a fiery hellscape at some point during the next year, we’ve got ourselves a surefire release date for the new Hellboy movie. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Lionsgate will release the film on January 11, 2019, ostensibly in an effort to combat the deep winter chills and post-New Years blues with some hot, demonic fun. Mark your calendars!

Cast and Crew

It’s been a couple of months since we got any solid Hellboy news but in a recent interview with Collider, David Harbour opened up about his time on the movie, and bringing the world of Mike Mignola’s cult comic to life. Harbour shared the experience was far from easy stating, “It was the hardest shoot I’ve ever done, primarily because there are just so many stunts in it. It’s a very action-packed movie.”He also waxed lyrical about the theatrical scope and emotional resonance of Neil Marshall’s reboot.

“To me, it’s very Shakespearean. I grew up doing regional Shakespeare and when Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, there’s something about that that you don’t really do in film anymore. We rarely see an indie film where you have an emotional pathos where somebody sees a ghost. This is a palette where you can have demons and ghosts and big creatures and things that are epic, in that way. That was super fun!” Harbour said.

Holy Smokes! It’s Hellboy. David Harbour has clearly been hitting the crossfit, and this darkly lit promo shot shared on the Hellboy official twitter once again leans into the hard R rating that the creators have been so passionate about.

Holy crap #Hellboy #FirstLook pic.twitter.com/dpryXiHDHE

— Hellboy (@HellboyMovie) September 13, 2017

In an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter, it’s been revealed that Hellboy’s adoptive father, Professor Broom, will be played by none other than American Gods’ very own Ian McShane. The splendid British character actor has been winning rave reviews for his portrayal of Mr. Wednesday in the hit Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s cult classic bestseller. McShane’s casting leans heavily into the more serious tone that Hellboy: RotBQ’s R-rating promises. With memorable appearances in Deadwood, American Horror Story: Asylum, and Babylon 5 as well, McShane already has a huge fanbase who’ll undoubtedly be exhilarated by this latest news.

We finally have our Major Ben Daimio! Variety reports that Daniel Dae Kim is in talks to play the character in Lionsgate’s upcoming reimagining of Mike Mignola’s cult comic.

The Hawaii 5-0 star–Kim recently left the CBS show after the network refused to pay him the same as his white co-stars–will be replacing Ed Skrein, who left the Hellboy reboot after an outcry at the whitewashing of the beloved Japanese-American B.P.R.D member who has the power to turn into a jaguar when in distress. Though this is a definite step in the right direction it’s important to note that Daniel Dae Kim is a Korean-American actor, rather than Japanese-American like Daimio. Though this is progress it’s clear that Hollywood still has a long way to go.

A Deadline report has announced that Resident Evil‘s Milla Jovovich is in talks to play the ex-titular Blood Queen, in Neil Marshall’s reimagining of Mike Mignola’s cult classic comic. Who is the Blood Queen? What does this mean for the recently announced Resident Evil reboot? Is Neil Marshall secretly Paul WS Anderson in disguise? Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements coming thick and fast out of the Hellboy camp, as they are set to begin shooting any day…

News continues to roll out of the Hellboy camp with an exciting new potential addition to the cast. American Honey’s Sasha Lane, is according to a Hollywood Reporter exclusive in talks to join the movie! Her breakout role in Andrea Arnold’s indie hit about a group of teens selling magazine subscriptions in the Midwest garnered her rave reviews and she would be an intriguing addition to the film, especially as it’s quite likely that she would be playing Liz Sherman Hellboy’s love interest and on/off leader of the BPRD…

Penelope Mitchell best known for her roles in Hemlock Grove and The Vampire Diaries has joined the ever growing Neil Marshall helmed reboot as Ganeida an “elder witch.” Mitchell has horror chops from her previous two television roles so it’ll be very exciting to see what she brings to the proverbial table.

At the end of September THREE new cast members were announced, joining the ever growing roster of stars are Sophie Okonedo, Brian Gleeson, and Alistair Petrie. According to Deadline, Okonedo will play Lady Hatton, “A resident seer at the Osiris Club, an ancient English club dedicated to uncovering supernatural mysteries,” Petrie is playing Lord Adam Glaren, “A high-ranking member at the club,” and Gleeson will play Merlin, the renowned Arthurian wizard.

In the comics the Osiris Club is a mystical secret society obsessed with Hellboy and have often been a part of some of his strangest adventures. So this addition is an interesting one, suggesting that this R rated incarnation will still be steeped in the gothic folklore of the source material.

In an exclusive interview with Nerdist Hellboy creator Mike Mignola revealed that Hellboy’s iconic look will be created by Oscar winning make up and effects artist Joel Harlow! You’ll likely know his incredible work from Logan, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Trek.

Casting Controversy

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that British ex-Game of Thrones alumni Ed Skrein would be taking on the role of Major Ben Daimio, a Japanese American member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense or B.P.R.D. The news was met with wide spread outrage and disappointment, as fans struggled to deal with yet another example of Hollywood whitewashing.

Only a few days later in an unprecedented move, Ed Skrein stepped down from the role via a powerful statement on social media in which he explains that he was unaware of Diamio’s background–which in a Hollywood studio system terrified of leaks is a surprisingly normal situation–and stated, “it is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and give voice to inclusivity.” Hopefully the role of Ben Diamio will now go to a Japanese American actor, and Hollywood will be taken to task for not thoroughly examining casting choices.

pic.twitter.com/8WoSsHXDFO

— Ed Skrein (@edskrein) August 28, 2017

A Darker Vision of Hell

The team are obviously aiming to get away from the PG-13 fantasy adventure tone that del Toro and Perlman’s beloved collaboration established over a decade ago. Not only do Andrew Cosby’s comments confirm the film’s darker direction, but Neil Marshall explained his R-rated aspirations for Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen on a new episode of the Post Mortem podcast.

“We’ve been granted permission to do it R-rated, which for me is just like taking the cuffs off. It’s like, okay, so now we can just make the movie we want to make. It’s not like I’m going to force it to be R-rated, but if it happens to come out that way, just because of my own sensibilities, then fine. And nobody’s going to stop us. So, that’s the main [difference]. And I’m sure, obviously, the success of things like Deadpool and Logan have not hurt that cause. But, also, when you go back the original material, it is kind of bloody, so I’m going to embrace that.”

The director also made the exciting statement that the film would rely heavily on practical effects rather than CG.

“It’s definitely going to be as practical as we can possibly make it. I love to do stuff in camera whenever I possibly can, and use CG as the amazing tool that it is, to enhance or expand upon the world, but not to use it to replace reality, when you can do it [for] real.”

The Queen of Blood, Nimue first appears in the ninth arc of Hellboy, and is an incredibly powerful witch, who like Hellboy was conjured into life by some nefarious occultists looking to destroy the world–and Hellboy–as we know it. For fans of the book this is an exciting development as it hints at some of the more fantastical and darker moments of Hellboy’s past including some literal armies of the dead and Hell itself. If they do take inspiration from these stories as the titles suggests it could fit very well into the new R-rated vision of Hellboy.

Andrew Cosby will be on screenwriting duties alongside Christopher Golden and Mignola himself. Though details are scant, Cosby did reveal that their script has a far darker tone in a chat with Silver Screen Beat.

“I can’t really talk about specifics with regard to the story, which they’re keeping a pretty tight lid on at the moment, but I can say that this is a darker, more gruesome version of Hellboy,” Cosby said. “Neil said from the very beginning that he wanted to walk a razor’s edge between horror and comic book movie, which was music to my ears, because that’s what I was shooting for in the script, and precisely what Mignola does so well with the comics.”

At this years SDCC we got to see David Harbour in his first official Hellboy appearance, signing at the Dark Horse booth! Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter Harbour revealed that Hellboy is his favorite comic book hero.

“I really do think those Mike Mignola Hellboy comics are so beautiful and he’s such a hero for America that we live in today,” Harbour says. “I definitely think Hellboy is an antihero. He was kind of born into it. It wasn’t something like Batman where he chooses to go and fight crime. He was just born this weird half-demon spawned by Nazi occultists and saved by these dudes who tried to raise him right.

“For him, it’s a sense of discovery. His actual destiny as a ‘hero’ is to end the world. He is the beast of the apocalypse. So, in a way, his struggle to be a superhero is to just not do the thing that he’s destined to do.”

It looks like we will not only be seeing the return of ‘Big Red’ but also his B.P.R.D buds, in a recent interview with Newsarama Mignola revealed that the supernatural team would be returning in the Neil Marshall helmed R-Rated reboot “The B.P.R.D. figures into the movie. I don’t want to say who is and who isn’t in the movie,” Mignola hinted “I think it’s fair to say, however, that the primary focus is Hellboy and not a B.P.R.D. team movie.”

Production and Distribution

Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen is being made by Millennium Films, who’ll be the third studio to produce a Hellboy film after Revolution Studios/Columbia Pictures and Relativity Media/Universal Pictures. Millennium is a heavily action focused studio probably best known for the 2008 Rambo sequel, the Expendables franchise, and the recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboots. If Hellboy: RotBQ hits its mark, it could easily become the company’s biggest film ever.

Lionsgate is in final negotiations to distribute the film, continuing the franchise’s tradition of having a different studio distribute each movie. Lionsgate have helmed some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises including The Hunger Games. Though they are also well known for huge horror hits like the Saw series and indie horror favorites like Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen director Neil Marshall’s cult classic The Descent. This could fit incredibly well with the R Rated horror tinged movie that the creative team have hinted at.

So are you excited to see this hellish new R-rated of Mignola’s iconic creation? Do you miss Perlman already? Let us know in the comments?

Images: Dark Horse Comics/Netflix, BBC, Altitude, FOX, Starz, CBS, A24

The post Brand New HELLBOY Posters Tease Classic Comics Arc appeared first on Nerdist.

Almost every superhero worth their salt has various product tie-ins, from t-shirts to surfboards to you name it. But only one superhero has not one, not two, but three alcoholic beverages named after him: Mike Mignola’s demonic superhero Hellboy.

Last year, we told you about a new brand of Hellboy wine that was hitting stores, and before that, a draft ale with his name on it was also produced. Now, Big Red is also getting his own brand of Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey. So take that, Wolverine.Officially announced by Dark Horse Comics, XXX Distillery LLC and Prestige Imports LLC, this is the first ever whiskey based on Mike Mignola’s legendary comic book hero Hellboy. Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey is a craft distilled, small batch, naturally flavored cinnamon corn whiskey retailing for $19.99 for a 750ml bottle. The 66.6 proof (heh) Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey is available nationally and can be ordered at www.hellboyhellwater.com.

In a statement, Dark Horse Comics Publisher Mike Richardson said, “At 66.6 proof, Hellboy Hell Water packs a punch worthy of Mike Mignola’s iconic creation. It’s appropriate that Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey was made in the Smokey Mountains.” Teddy Jones of XXX Distillery added, “We’re very excited about the success and potential of our hand crafted whiskeys, especially that of Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey.”

With a new movie reboot on the way with Stranger Things‘ own David Harbour playing Hellboy, the heroic demon spawn certainly has plenty of reasons to celebrate with a nice bottle of whiskey this year.

Will you be getting the latest Hellboy branded alcoholic beverage? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Dark Horse Comics

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Many of you know comic book creator Mike Mignola as the man behind Hellboy, as well as its spin-off books like B.P.R.D., Abe Sapien, Lobster Johnson, and more from the supernatural world known as the “Mignolaverse.” But Mike Mignola has also created several standalone graphic novels. You may be familiar with Baltimore, which displayed Mignola’s love for classic vampire stories. Now, Mignola’s latest graphic novel returns him to that same gothic vampire world, with a great new spin: Mr. Higgins Comes Home.

Mignola and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell, the acclaimed artist of Helena Crash, are creating an original graphic novel about vampire hunters, the undead, and the importance of avoiding the crime scene of your wife’s death. Mr. Higgins Comes Home is an unexpected and unusual standalone story, featuring all new characters in a send-up of classic vampire stories. Dark Horse Comics will release Mr. Higgins Comes Home as a hardcover graphic novel in October, just in time for Halloween, featuring a cover by Mignola colored by Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart.

In a statement, Mignola said, “This one started when a mutual friend pointed out Warwick Johnson-Cadwell’s affection for sad werewolves. Then Warwick and I exchanged a few words about vampires and that was it. Mr. Higgins Comes Home is my very obvious nod to any number of old Hammer Studios Dracula films and my all-time favorite vampire film, Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers.”

In Mr. Higgins Comes Home, preparations begin at Castle Golga for the annual festival of the undead, as a pair of fearless vampire killers question a man hidden away in a monastery on the Baltic Sea. The mysterious Mr. Higgins wants nothing more than to avoid the scene of his wife’s death, and the truth about what happened to him in that castle. However, these heroic men, sworn to rid the world of the vampire scourge, inspire Higgins to venture out and to end the only suffering he really cares about–his own.

“Working on a project with Mike Mignola is an amazing thing to be able to do,” said Warwick Johnson-Cadwell. “His art and storytelling is a massive influence and inspiration for me and chatting with him about werewolves, vampires and the like was very exciting. When Mr. Higgins Comes Home turned up in my email I was in awe. It’s a rollicking vampire romp right in the Hammer vein and it’s a pleasure to be slapping that crimson goop they used for blood all over it.” Sounds like this is classic vampire fiction–a lot more Bram Stoker than Stephenie Meyer. I doubt there will be any sparkling undead in this one.

You can check out the first three pages of Mr. Higgins Comes Home down below in our gallery, where we see some old school Nosferatu style vamp go toe-to-toe with a Van Helsing-like vampire hunter straight out of an old Hammer Horror film from the 1960s. Mr. Higgins Comes Home will go on sale in comic book stores on October 25, and will arrive in bookstores appropriately enough on October 31.

Are you looking forward to an all new supernatural universe from the mind of Mignola? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Dark Horse Comics

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It wasn’t too long ago that fans of Mike Mignola‘s supernatural superhero Hellboy all had their hearts broken when director Guillermo del Toro—who directed the original Hellboy and its sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army—went on record and told fans via his Twitter account this bit of bummer news:  “Hellboy 3 Sorry to report: Spoke with all parties. Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it.” Cue Hellboy fans everywhere crying in our cereal.

Well, good news and bad news now, all you Hellboy fans. Bad news: there will never be a third Hellboy film from Guillermo del Toro starring Ron Perlman as “Big Red.” The good news? Comic book creator Mike Mignola has just announced via his Facebook page that Hellboy will indeed return to the big screen, in a new movie reboot from Game of Thrones director Neil Marshall, starring Stranger Things‘ David Harbour.

Shortly after Mignola broke the big news on Facebook, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the production company Millennium was in negotiations for producing this new reboot with the working title of Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen. The film has a script by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, and longtime publisher of the character Dark Horse Comics will be producing as well.

Now, we can officially say no one saw this news coming. While it is sad that del Toro won’t be directing again, an all-new iteration of Hellboy doesn’t sound so bad. Neil Marshall is a very promising director, and if David Harbour can’t be Cable in the X-Men universe, than I can’t think of a better fit for the character outside of Perlman. And considering the movie has a director and a main star, it means this version is fairly far along in the pre-production phase. So we’ve gone from “no more Hellboy on screen ever” to “Hellboy, coming soon to a theater near you” in record time.

While it’s a bummer than Ron Perlman won’t get the chance to play the character once again, this re-casting just means that Hellboy has joined the upper echelons of the the greatest comic book heroes of all time. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, almost all the most iconic superheroes have had portrayals from different actors at this point. Heck, even the Hulk and Spidey have had three actors play them in less than 15 years. This news just means that Hellboy has joined their ranks.

What do you think of this Hellboy news? Excited about a reboot, or no GDT, no Big Red for you? Be sure to let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: Dark Horse Comics / Universal Pictures

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Update: It was just a month ago that we were charged with hope about the possibility of seeing a third Hellboy film from director Guillermo del Toro. The filmmaker and ostensible social media junkie hit Twitter to ask fans to vote on whether or not they’d like to see a new installment to the long dormant franchise, whose most recent entry came out nine years ago. To little surprise, del Toro’s 100,000-vote requirement was met (and then some), and he pursued a conversation about the prospect with the Hellboy character’s original creator, comic book writer Mike Mignola, and with Hellboy‘s screen star Ron Perlman. And while this seemed like enough to get us amped up for an inevitable threequel, del Toro hit us with the bad news this morning:

Hellboy 3 Sorry to report: Spoke w all parties. Must report that 100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 21, 2017

Not a lot of room for interpretation there. Disappointed though we all may be, perhaps the most overbearing emotion right now is curiosity. Why, if del Toro, Mignola, and Perlman were all willing to discuss the new venture, would it be rendered such an impossibility? Who’s driving the “No” train, and what rationale are they using for fuel? We may never know what’s keeping Hellboy 3 from coming to be, and may indeed always ponder that question. But at least we have a new Hellboy graphic novel hitting shelves this spring to satisfy our Big Red fix.—

Hellboy fans, you did it! Guillermo del Toro’s Twitter poll passed 100k votes sometime in the night, and the beloved cult director will be sitting down with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and the red guy himself, Ron Perlman to discuss a third film.

We have gone past the 100K votes. I will arrange the sitdown w Ron & Mignola to talk HBIII. No gurantee but we will discuss. Wish us luck!!

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 19, 2017

I spoke with Ron Perlman. He's in for the sit down. Will approach Mignola next. Will keep you posted. Very moved by your love of pt I & II

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 19, 2017

More in our original story below.

Director Guillermo del Toro’s pair of Hellboy movies didn’t quite make the kind of money that the X-Men or Batman films did, much less the later Marvel Studios movies, but they have a special place in the hearts of nerds everywhere regardless. Based on creator Mike Mignola’s quirky cult graphic novels from Dark Horse Comics, Hellboy is about a demon spawn raised on Earth as a baby, who nevertheless fought on the side of good for the B.P.R.D., or the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

Starring veteran actor (and frequent del Toro collaborator) Ron Perlman as the titular hero, neither 2004’s Hellboy or 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army were major box office hits, (the second film had the misfortune of opening a week after The Dark Knight), but fans have always hoped that somehow, a third Hellboy film would somehow see the light of day.

Now Guillermo del Toro, who is riding high thanks to the success of his Netflix series Trollhunters, has given fans another glimmer of hope that a third chapter in the Hellboy saga could actually become a reality. The director took to his Twitter on Wednesday, January 18, to ask fans just how badly they wanted to see another Hellboy movie, and if they voted “Yes” to the tune of 100,000 likes in 24 hours, then del Toro would have a serious sit down conversation with both Ron Perlman and creator Mike Mignola about making this a reality. You can see Guillermo del Toro’s tweet down below:

The HELLBOY III is our chance to vote the right way in 2017! If 100k votes come in 24 hours I promise to have a sit down w Da Perl & Mignola

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017

Informal poll (let’s see how many votes we get in 24 hours)
Hellboy III

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 18, 2017

As I write this, the poll is very nearly there…but if you really want to see Hellboy get a proper conclusion, you’re going to get on Twitter yourself and vote “Hell Yes!” to another chapter in the sage of Big Red, Abe Sapien, and the rest of the B.P.R.D. gang. (And even then, no guarantees.)

Are you as stoked as we are about the possibility of another Hellboy movie making its way to theaters? Let us know down below in the comments!

Image: Universal Studios / Relativity Media

7 Guillermo del Toro movies we wish had happened:

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