Apart from the comic books concerning Hellboy there is a small but growing animation movement trying to evolve out favorite character in a whole new level. After Hellboy – Sword of Storms that was aired in USA in October 28th and was released on DVD on February 6th the new chapter in Hellboy’s animated adventures is called Blood and Iron, it was aired on March 17th and it’s expected to be released on DVD this June. But enough with that, on to the story!
Several characters known by the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books appear in this story where Professor Bruttenholm faces a ghost from his past, the vampires Erzsebet Ondrushko who bathed in the blood of innocents to stay young after she sold her soul to the Queen of Witches, the goddess Hecate. Now, years after their first encounter, she is resurrected by two of her servants but the Professor is not alone anymore, he has with him the top BPRD agents, Hellboy, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien in a battle that escalates to be something more than a simple haunting.
This animation should not be judged using the same criteria as the comic books; those are completely different works of art awaited by millions of fans every time a new release is unannounced, as far as I’m concerned the animations are just a way to have some fan in the time between. The quality of the picture is extremely good, the sound is similarly great, the story stands decently as a Hellboy scenario and if you ignore some childish moments obviously addressing the smaller ages this can be watched by almost anyone who’s looking for a fun story with his loved characters and doesn’t care about being judgemental. Watch it and find out if you like it!
Frank Miller is one of the most influential comic creators ever, but who could expect that he would also change the way we conceive film making! After Robocop 2, 3 and 4, Elektra and the magnificent Sin City the latest adaptation of his work for the big screen is 300, a story based on the real facts of the battle of Thermopylae (Hot Gates) in the unique way only comics and cinema could present it. The book was published in 1998 as a limited 5-issue series (the issues were titled Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat and Victory) and later as a hardcover book and received many awards, including three Eisner. This may not be an exact replica of the original story like Sin City (there is a secondary story in Sparta that did not exist in the book) but if you are a fan of 300 as Frank Miller visualized it you won’t be disappointed.
This is the story of King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 best soldiers, in 480 BC they stood between the Persian king Xerxes and the rest of Greece in a narrow passage and made their last stand for more than 3 days against an army so vast the world had never before witnessed. It is the story of the Spartans, a civilization specialized in every aspect of the art of war, their harsh ways and difficult lives, their ethics and code of honor, and ultimately it is a story of love and duty and how every man decides to express those.
The film was made entirely in blue and green screen sets for the settings to appear as comic-like as possible, the actors (in most cases) were tremendous in their roles and although there were parts were the Spartans were not laconic at all and the features of an action film threat to spoil the atmosphere, the overall outcome was an epic movie capable of offering 2 hours of fun and even more of pure awe. If Sin City 2 is that good, heck maybe they should make an academy award for comic creators!
Two years after The Island, the last chapter of the Hellboy saga, this April Mike Mignola returns with a new six-issue miniseries promising to push H.B. toward the next major point in his life. This time the art is made by Duncan Fegredo (Enigma, Ultimate Adventures) and Mignola’ s greatest character’s return thrills fans all over the world, no more half measures and BPRD issues, this is the real thing!
The creators are still pretty laconic about the scenario of the series; witches all over the world are seeking Hellboy but this time not just for revenge. Every new Hellboy release is a significant artistic event, concerning not only comics but also literature lovers. It’s a rare mixture of horror pulled out of Lovecraft’ s pages, folk myths and legends, action and the search of an outcast for meaning and purpose. Every issue released in the past was sold out in no time and this will be no different, it’s not a coincidence that the writer waited almost two years for an acclaimed series that would sell even if he lowered the quality standards, but he didn’t and that’s the main reason he deserves all the respect from his readers.
After 3 Eisner awards, countless others, spin offs, mini-series about the secondary characters, a movie and a second one being made, toys, animations and who knows how many more paraphernalia, don’t loose the unique opportunity to witness the return of a great character the way we first met him, through comics. And may the great Cthulu help us!
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