And Then I Read: HELLBOY/BEASTS OF BURDEN

Images © Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson and Mike Mignola.

A one-shot crossover between two series I like a lot, by the creators of each (with most of the actual story and art by Dorkin and Thompson). I expected to enjoy it, and I did. That's my review in a nutshell. While on the surface the characters might seem an unlikely mix of species and styles, both focus on supernatural menaces and both have art that includes a helping of cartooniness. Jill's style has the lush realism of watercolors, unlike Mignola's stark linework and deep shadows, but in the figure work of both there's a lot of common ground. As for the story, all it takes is for one of the Beasts to tug on Hellboy's cape and lead him into their haunted woods for things to develop naturally. And of course he takes their powers of speech in stride. I imagine there's little that can surprise Hellboy at this point! As in some past Beasts of Burden stories, the trouble is rooted underground and in the twisted mind of a human. The resulting menace is one even Hellboy has trouble with.

As you can see above, Jill Thompson makes it work beautifully, and Dorkin's dialogue, probably with input from Mignola for Hellboy, is funny and perfect. It would have been easy to miss the mark and make Hellboy too realistic or too cartoony, this version is just right to my eye.

Highly recommended!