With the latest chapter of Hellboy, it’s wrapping up
years of storylines that have been leading to this final battle. For new
readers or unfamiliar readers of the Hellboy franchise, there is a very
handy recap at the beginning of the book that tells you everything you need to
know about the series in order to be caught up for The Fury. The recap is
two pages long, but manages to be interesting as well as informative.
Hellboy has traded his eye for safe passage into the lair of
Nimue who is being transformed into something even more horrific. The witches
of England mistake him for Odin, out wondering the world until they see his
hand and think its Thor’s hammer. The blathering witches are silenced when Hellboy shows his face. He asks where
Nimue is and if she’s alone, the frightened witches give every answer he needs
before he sets off to kick ass. Back at a tavern in England, Alice
sits with sword of King Arthur unsure as what to do with it. Little does she
know that her small role in the battle will be all the difference.
This was a very strong issue, both with characters and
story. There isn’t much in the way of dialog, but through Hellboy’s actions you
get the sense that this is the end game and he’s all business. Mike Mignola
takes a character that he’s loved and developed over the years and throws him
against a situation he may not make it out from, which has to be a hard thing
for a creator to do. Hellboy is facing incredible odds and has everything to
lose should he fail, yet he continues as the character always has.
The art may not be from the creator, but Duncan Fegredo has
a strikingly similar art style to Mignola’s. The image of Hellboy with only one
eye is striking and powerful. The reader will see it and think that Hellboy looks
like a bad ass, while the look on the other characters is that of fear and terror.
The art in general is great and has a strong flow to it. Fegredo is a great
visual storyteller and captures the world and feel of Hellboy in his art. The
book is colored by the always amazing Dave Stewart who is the glue that keeps
the Hellboy-verse looking connected no matter what. Stewart does a great job
with this book in keeping the colors divided and yet tied together in one or
two hues.
If you’ve been waiting to read Hellboy from the
beginning and as such have never picked up an issue, then you’re missing out.
You need to put all of that aside and pick up The Fury and enjoy the
conclusion of years of storytelling at its best. That’s not to say that story
ends here, but this particular chapter of Hellboy
is coming to a close. With an amazing recap leading in to an amazing story
there’s really no reason to pass on this book.
Overall Score – 8.5/10