Hellboy: Masks and Monsters

Hellboy: Non-Canonical

by Mike Mignola, Scott Benefiel, Jasen Rodriguez

Mike Mignola teams up with an all-star line of superhero creators to bring you two incredible crossover tales! First, Hellboy joins forces with Batman and Starman in an adventure that takes them from the rooftops of Gotham to the steamy jungles of the Amazon, to rescue the first Starman, Ted Knight, from a secret Nazi organization that plans to use him to resurrect an elder god. Next, Hellboy travels to Arcadia in search of Ghost, a spectral vigilante caught up in a web of intrigue orchestrated by an ancient mask.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Comic Book, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Mike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.

In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.

In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.

Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.

Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Robinson (creator of 90's Starman) and Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy) team up for a fantastic crossover. Hellboy comes to Gotham to help out Batman with some Nazis. The Nazis capture the Golden Age Starman and the 90's Starman shows up to go save his dad with Hellboy when Batman gets called away. Mignola draws a great Batman and Joker!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hellboy: Masks and Monsters is a reissue of two brief runs of comics Mike Mignola was involved with in the late `90s. The first teams Hellboy up with Batman and Starman in a mystery that begins in Gotham and takes them to the jungles of South America to fight off Nazis and a Lovecraftian horror. The second has Hellboy go up against the Ghost and a mysterious figure in a mask.

The first story is cool if only to see Hellboy and Batman fighting side by side but Batman feels ultimately under-used and is all too quickly taken away and replaced with the lesser-known character, Starman. For Mignola, it's a familiar story with Nazis up to no good, resurrecting some unholy terror to carry out some mad plan of Hitler's so we see Hellboy smash his way through the usual line up of baddies until dispatching the inevitable ghoulie at the end.

The second story has Ghost inadvertently sending herself and Hellboy to an alternative dimension. Mignola this time scripts it and hands over drawing duties to another artist. It's not a bad story but if you're unfamiliar with Ghost then her motives in this story will seem confusing and might be difficult to follow.

Masks and Monsters is an interesting reprint of some obscure comics Mignola did once upon time and a lot of new fans might find it enjoyable. Not the best book to start with if you're interested in discovering what Mike Mignola is all about but it has its moments.

[M. Tatari · Rating 3 out of 5]

İlginçti, ama aldığım onca iyi yorumun ardından beklentilerimin birkaç tık altında kaldı. Maskeler ve Canavarlar, toplamda iki ana maceradan oluşuyor. Kırmızı tenli, devasa kahramanımızı önce Batman ve Starman ile, daha sonrasındaysa Ghost ile birlikte serüvene atılmışken okuma fırsatı yakalıyoruz.

Açıkçası Batman'le yaşayacağı macerayı daha çok merak ediyordum ama ortalamayı geçmeyen, çok sıradan bir konu buldum ne yazık ki karşımda. Ne Batman ne de Gotham aslına sadık bir biçimde yansıtılabilmiş. Mignola'nın Batman'i yorgun, hüzünlü ve yaptığı işten bıkmış biri. Batman'e yakışmayacak laflar ediyor. Sonra da tam da işlerin kızışmaya başlayacağı yerlerde bir anda sahneyi terk edip yerini Starman'e bırakıyor. Hikâye de klasik bir Hellboy macerasından öteye gidemiyor: Lovecraft'ın canavarlarından birini uyandırıp Hitler'in planlarını yürürlüğe koymaya çalışan Naziler...

Öte yandan Ghost'la birlikte yaşadığı serüveni sevdim. 1930'larda yaşanan kanlı bir mafya cinayetiyle başlayan öykü, günümüze ve alternatif boyutlara bağlanarak ortaya okuması gayet keyifli bir hikâye sunuyor. Bilmiyorum... Belki Ghost karakterine Batman kadar aşina olsam bunu da beğenmeyecektim. Ama tam aksine beni aldı, götürdü ve bir güzel eğlendirdi.

Hellboy'la tanışmak için ideal bir cilt olabilir. Ama kızıl kahramanımızın maceralarının gediklilerindenseniz okumasanız da bir şey kaybetmezsiniz.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the first story with Batman was really good, but the second story really sucked. Ghost is one of those superheroes that I have never really liked..

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading the Batman/Hellboy/Starman crossover when I was going through the Starman omnibus collections. (It's in The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 4.) I liked it ok then, and more so now that I'm actually familiar with Hellboy. I got the feeling from this crossover that it was done more because it was a cool idea than to sell comics. The Ghost crossover was also pretty decent. I would have probably liked it a whole lot more if I knew anything about this version of the Ghost, but I came in clueless. But again, it's a pretty good story. Not the best of Hellboy, by any means, and very skippable, but still good enough to read.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pair of terrific team-ups! In the first one, HB joins with Batman and Starman in facing off the Joker, Nazis in South America, and an eldritch cosmic nasty straight out of Lovecraft. The second one is fun, too, and features Ghost. Great art throughout, and engaging stories. Good stuff!

[Siona Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really know much about the Ghost, but I enjoyed her half of the book. The Batman/Starman half, however, was pretty great. If you don't like crossovers, this probably isn't the book for you, but I think it's a fun read for any Hellboy fan.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first story is great- Mignola artwork really works with Gotham and the little tools Batman uses. His Batman stories are always fun and this is no exception. Starman is a good character but he’s a faraway third place compared to Hellboy and Batman- but who isn’t?

Ghost was a cool story as well- I felt primed to read the Ghost series. Hellboy didn’t feel too crucial to the events of the story but it was a nice little read. Gangsters are always fun when they’re a little crazier than normal

[Willow Redd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of the crossover, especially when it's done for the sake of storytelling and not a marketing scheme (although, sometimes the storytelling in those situations can still stand above the marketing). The crossovers in this collection don't seem to be for any other reason than the writers wanted to see these characters interact, and that's what I love.

First up we have Hellboy teaming up with Batman and Starman when a group of Neo-Nazis kidnap Ted Knight (the original Starman) to summon an Elder God. Dig seeing these characters work together while dealing with their differences, the conversation between Bats and HB is one of my favorite pieces of dialogue. Also, seeing Batman and the Joker drawn by Mignola was absolutely fantastic!

Then we have a story in which Hellboy meets the Ghost, a character from Dark Horse's run at creating a superhero universe. It didn't really stick, but characters like Ghost and Barb Wire should have stuck around. I liked them. Seeing Ghost and Hellboy duke it out due to some events that started back in 1939 and a manipulated misunderstanding was a great premise, and well done. Also, this was apparently the first time someone other than Mignola had drawn Hellboy in a full story, and I have to say, I thought they did a good job.

Good collection. Nice mix of Hellboy's supernatural kookiness with some more standard super heroics, but still retaining the pulp sensibilities that makes Hellboy what he is.

[Polyammatus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love creepy mysterious stories if is it a core I am totally in

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

we love a good Hellboy story or 2

[Zé Wellington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talvez o volume mais fraco do Hellboy que eu já li, com duas histórias pra lá de genéricas.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two older stories that see Hellboy crossing over with more traditional costumed heroes, one drawn by Mignola but not written by him, and one written by him but not drawn by him. Neither of them are as much to my tastes as the typical straightforward Hellboy story, but both have good stuff going on.

I'm really glad that they colored the spine of this one to match the Hellboy Weird Tales volumes, to show that these stories are outside Hellboy canon.

[Nick Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the spirit of old team-up comics, Hellboy: Masks and Monsters features the titular demon joining forces with a random assortment of characters from other books to fight supernatural monsters. The Batman/Hellboy/Starman pairing seems a bit odd, with one of comics' most famous mainstream superheroes, an independent comic character five years away from his first taste of fame with the wider public through a movie, and a character from a less well-known DC comic that bordered the line with the more experimental Vertigo offerings. The whole package works as a Hellboy book, the second half of the story works surprisingly well as a Starman book, and Batman is there in the first half to get the readers' money. The two DC characters spend practically no time together and Batman is largely superfluous even in his section, a bit of a missed opportunity to not have the three working together. A full story with Hellboy and Starman fighting Nazis and getting to know each other would also have been better, but Hellboy/Starman alone obviously would've been less marketable. Still, it fleshes out the heroic career of Jack Knight a bit before his retirement in the Starman series and Hellboy gets to punch Nazis, both of which are valuable.

The latter half of the volume is the Ghost/Hellboy special, which again fits Hellboy better than his companion. I have no idea who Ghost is beyond her series being published by Dark Horse and there's so much vague "dark past" allusion that you would assume needed experience with her comic to explain, but the character seems to not even know anything about her own backstory, so it read like a lot of wheel-spinning. Maybe it'd fit well with Ghost's own book? I can't say. Hellboy gets kicked around a lot, which is par for the course in his adventures, though here he never really gets to do anything else that's terribly interesting.

So if you like Hellboy, this is a pretty good outing, if you like Starman, he's treated with a great deal more respect than he might've under a different writer (thankfully it was his creator James Robinson penning the book), if you like Batman, there's really no meat for you, and if you like Ghost, who knows.

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you told me, there was a story with Batman, Hellboy & Starman, where they were beating up Nazis and Lovecraftian Eldrich entities, I would've told you to shut up and take my money. That is the premise that got me started with this story.

For the most part, it was what it had promised. The titular characters all made appearances and there were indeed all the above-mentioned tropes. Yet, after reading, I felt the need to modify the title a bit. To, Hellboy/ Starman, with an extended cameo from Batman.

His entry into the crossover felt a bit shoehorned, just to take advantage of DC's flagship character. Also, his characterization was a bit off; we didn't feel that this was Batman, rather, an actor trying to play Batman.

The most egregious aspect, however, was how they bid adieu to him at the end of chapter 1, with promise that he'd rejoin the adventure later on. It would've been one thing it Bats showed up in the climax, and like a pinch hitter get some licks in. But instead, he is yet again relegated to a shoe in Bat plane in the distance.

It's like, the writers are just using our boy for his money.

But otherwise, all else is standard fare as far as crossovers are concerned. The story is passable, the art is particularly dark, Victorian and has that horror aesthetic pat down. Nothing much spectacular in the works.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hellboy "Nazis everywhere. Sort of looks like the last scene in Casablanca."

One thing DC has done very well in general is embracing other writers and asking them to do crossovers with DC characters. For example, Batman and many other Justice League or other DC heroes have met Morpheus, The Sandman. Such tie ins are a smart business decision as they expand BOTH fan-bases.

In Batman/Hellboy/Starman, Hellboy teams up with the other 2 DC Heroes mentioned in the title - Batman and Starman, whose father has been captured by Nazis. The story is better than average, although Batman is underutilized.

In Ghost/Hellboy Special, Hellboy meets a special type of Ghost, the vengeful kind that kills people with bullets. She is tricked into doing something bad, and Hellboy has to save the day. The writing is average, the story is average, the only good thing is the drawing of The Ghost character is pretty attractive.

[Benji's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was originally going to give this a poor review, bur I stopped myself. For years, I've read countless crossovers where the two characters meet, fight until they realize they're on the same side, then make up and fight a common enemy. This happens so often,that I've come to expect it, to the point where it's almost become mandatory for all crossovers.

So when I read this, the title characters met, Batman is promoted to a background character and then the story progressed. It just felt like something was missing. But in reality, that was a better, more realistic take on two characters meeting.

It was fun, dark and Starman even got to shine it's always great to read more stories with Mike Mignola's art. Recommended for Hellboy fans, but only for completionist purposes if you're a Batman fan.

[Tutku · Rating 5 out of 5]

AltDünya yorumu için;

http://altdunya.com/cizgiromanyorum-h...

Elimizde güzel, başarılı, keyifli bir çizgi roman var. DC ve Marvel öykülerini yemiş, bitirmiş ve yavaş yavaş sıkılmaya başlamış, ama o eksenden çıkmaya çok da motive olmayanlar için güzel bir geçiş romanı olabilir. Hellboy filmleri sayesinde ülkemizde adı bilinen ama çok da sık gündeme gelmeyen bir karakter olduğu için, hoş bir değişiklik olabilir. JBC Yayıncılık pek çok Hellboy hikayesi yayınladı, onlar da mutlaka okunması gereken işlerden ve pek çoğunun buradaki hikayelerden daha başarılı olduğunu da düşünüyorum ancak ne beklemeniz gerektiğinden çok da emin değilseniz girişi bu çizgi romanla yapar, karakter hoşunuza giderse diğerlerini de sırayla alırsınız.

[Nickleby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short story.
Batman, Hellboy, & Starman team up to take on nazis to save Starman’s dad and save the world.
Mostly a Hellboy story. Which is cool, make check more Hellboy stuff.
Hellboy tag teaming with Batman, and Starman is pretty cool. Batman is Batman, enough said. But I’d never heard of Starman before picking up this comic, he’s an interesting characters. Going to look into some more of his story.
Plus a fan is Mignola’s art.

[Jack Reickel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid 4, closer to 5 than 3 but not that close to 5 haha.

All the Mignola-drawn everything is great, but the writing misses some of his punch. There was a line in a scene with Hellboy that took me aback until I re-realized Mignola wasn't writing.

The Ghost series I do figure MM for the writer, but the art missed him. Also what the heck was with that lettering, the U looked preposterously like H

[Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης · Rating 2 out of 5]

This regards the Batman / Hellboy / Starman portion, which I have in single issues.

Only reason it gets 2 stars is because I like the dark ambiance of the artwork. Otherwise it is stereotypical Mignola fare (occult, Nazis, something, blah) and a case study for a cash grab on behalf of the companies, using three of the most popular characters of the time.

There's no script to speak of.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is hard to find and has not been reprinted recently. I wish the whole volume was drawn by Mignola. Mignolas Batman and Starman crossover is very good. I love seeing Mignola style put on Gotham City.
The Ghost story is an afterthought. Hellboy seems out of place as a "noir sin city" character.
Still worth it for the batman crossover.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossovers! My favourite one has been with Ghost. It had a lot of mystical bullshit in it and seemed to work better.

Yeah, interesting to see Batman team up. The story was decent but it felt a little like, gee whiz, we are doing a batman comic.

[Sean Goh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman doesn't get a whole lot of screen time, but that's ok. The Ghost story was confusing though, she just felt like an easily manipulated chump. Only after finishing it did I realise she had her own series >_>

[Chris Lins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features three short stories, on of which has batman in it briefly. It was cool seeing mignola draw batman.
I also liked the ghost character, and her powers. She has a series called ghost published by darkhorse that i may try out.

[Etain]

I actually really really enjoyed Ghost/Hellboy, it felt exactly like a classic Hellboy story.
And I thought batman/hellboy/starman was really really boring with both hellboy and batman feeling weirdly out of character.
So this book is the dictionary definition of a mixed bag.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay but teaming up with other well known heroes waters down Hellboy. It's like putting too much water in your ramen and really trying hard to enjoy eating it.

[Samuel Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman AND Hellboy, what’s not to like?

[Lawrence Carrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice pair of Hellboy crossover stories.

[Diego Munoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like mignola’s drawings. I’d give him five stars just for the joker.

The stories were okay.