Written by: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by: Alex Maleev
Publisher: Dark Horse
Hellboy is one of my favorite movies. Guillermo Del Toro adapted Mike Mignola’s unique character into a fantastic film that followed his life after being transported into the 1940’s. However, both of the Hellboy movies left me with an odd curiousity about Hellboy’s younger years and his training. Obviously, Hellboy didn’t go from being a little red kid to a full-fledged soldier in a span of two days, and I want to know about that time. Thankfully, Mike Mignola and John Arcudi created Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense to fill in some of this time.
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. #1 is set during the time in Hellboy’s life when he is learning to be a paranormal investigator from Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, the man who originally discovered him in 1944. Professor Bruttenholm has been having strange dreams about his history with Hellboy and the project that brought him to earth, Project Ragnarok. These dreams tend to end with visions of his home burning to the ground and Hellboy standing over a destroyed world. To be fair, these visions aren’t entirely explained during this first issue of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D., but they could be a reference to the events of the first Hellboy film.
Of course, these dreams are only a minor portion of the focus, and the rest of the issue actually revolves around Hellboy’s very first mission for the B.P.R.D. Apparently, there is a superhuman creature in South America murdering innocent civilians, so Professor Bruttenholm sends a small team, including Hellboy, to Brazil in search of this monster. However, small portions of the team appear to have issues with Hellboy. Even more worrisome is the fact that a couple of members are hiding some unknown agendas that could come into play in later issues. All we know at this moment is that a lady in the small town is the one in charge of bringing Hellboy to Brazil, much to the dismay of a local priest.
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. #1 is a great primer issue for what appears to be an interesting new series by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. This first issue may not have had any action, but it served as a great introduction to the characters and the world. Of course, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. served as a great refresher for Hellboy’s world for those that have seen the movies and want to also spend time in the comics.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you are new to Hellboy, or if you are a long-time fan. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. #1 is an entertaining issue that leads to a larger world.
