by Jake Douglas

I have always solidly believed that Dark Horse comics were the best and worst thing to happen to the Predator franchise. On one hand, you've got the amazing Alien VS Predator, on the other hand, you've got the crappy Alien VS Predator. On that same hand exists the comic adaptation of Predator 2. Say what you want about the movie itself, but it bloody rocks... bloodily. It's more violent, more insane and more involved. This film gave us our first real glimpse of what these crazy intergalactic hunters were all about. It paved the way for all of the fiction that followed, much like Aliens, and Terminator with their respective sequels.

by Jade Lindley 

There are many brilliant comic book stories out there, written by so many wonderful writers accompanied by beautiful artistry and coloured with a multi-layered depth; it’s those elements that make Midnight Circus one of the most memorable stories I have read to date. The first time I read Midnight Circus, I was in so much awe; I couldn’t believe what I had just read. Mike Mignola has created a wonderful character with Hellboy, and while he is an intriguing character as an adult, seeing his vulnerability and curiosity as a child is just as entrancing to read; it’s one of the reasons this story stands out. 

Midnight Circus is such an appealing story because of the fact that it mirrors childhood as well as incorporating the dark tale that is Pinocchio.

by Lewis E. Ryan

Happy Hellboy Week everyone! Today I’ll be looking at the Sledgehammer 44 books, specifically the second published mini-series, Lightning War. 

by Tiff Douglas

Almost every single comic franchise has done a Christmas special, whether they are a childhood idol recounting a famous Dickens classic, a league hero connecting with the common folk through a good deed on Christmas Eve or it is just plain Christmas everywhere and not even our caped crusaders can hide from it. All that a special Christmas issue needs is the setting, the date and some sort of mention of yuletide merriment. Hellboy: A Christmas Underground (the first story featured in an anthology Christmas issue), for instance, has all these things without being a specifically Christmas story, it’s actually very clever and more than just a little creepy. 

by Gavin Foo

“WOK”. That is the sound of many a reader, experiencing Hellboy and the Mignolaverse for the first time - your skull-bone simply dislocating from your neck-bone, somersaulting through the air like some absurd acrobat and upon hitting the ground, rather a ‘plink-plonk’ of bouncing and a rolling to a halt. You didn’t expect it, you simply couldn’t have, but it hit you like a hundred tonne fist of doom yet so caressing in its embrace.

Sure, that introduction reads ridiculously, but what can be said that hasn’t already been said before about the great Mike Mignola? I remember my first taste of his artwork in the early 90’s, the original graphic novel Wolverine - The Jungle Adventure with Walt Simonson. I was not yet mature enough to fully understand nor appreciate the beauty within his lines, but one thing that I did realise was that this was something special to behold, and it remains one of my favourite stories today, visually and otherwise.

by Chris Davidson 


*Warning Possible Spoilers* 

Seed of Destruction was Mike Mignola’s first foray into creator owned content. It was originally released in March 1994 and it has aged superbly, better than fine wine you might say. Mignola grants us a story involving destiny, mysteries and the ever present human thirst for knowledge. Hellboy himself is obviously not human but he grew human idiosyncrasies as he was raised by humans, one man in particular being Trevor Bruttenholm. 

by Bob Bruno and Jake Douglas

Warning: Spoilers follow.

Bob: Hello everyone and Happy Hellboy week! Inspired, Jake and I have decided to do something a little different for our weekly review. Just so everyone knows, that at the time of writing this, Jake and I have only read up to the second trade, Wake the Devil. We're new to this universe, and neither have any idea where the story is going...

by Gavin Foo
*WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILERS!*

ABE SAPIEN #11
Writer: Mike Mignola / Scott Allie
Art: Max Fiumara
Colours: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins 

To The Last Man [Part 3 of 3]
The horror increases exponentially for the town of Payton, Arizona. Undead hell is unleashed in one swift move as Abe bears witness to it all. He is seen in one panel, stricken with grief and overlooking from shadows, while the narration reads “you’re doomed to find neither friendship nor loyalty”, a line spoken in a different place yet sits perfectly in the context of Abe’s current situation with  his change, the events in Payton and the adage of this title since its re-inception.

by Tiff Douglas

When we think Grindhouse, we think sleazy, violent and low budget. The word conjures up an image of voluptuous vulgarity with a very thin veil of morality. Normally associated with film,Grindhouse cinema is one of the most loved and hated sub genres in cinematic history. Comics ,also a form of visual entertainment, are perfect breeding grounds for such reckless nastiness, you can pretty much do whatever you damn well please in a comic book and you don’t have a stinking budget blocking your shot; you’ve got the audience, you’ve got the skill. Game on!

by Gavin Foo

 THE WAKE #6

Writer: Scott Snyder
Art: Sean Murphy
Colours: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover: Andrew Robinson

I gave up. I gave up trying to guess what could be in store with this issue - and I’m really glad I did, because this world has unfolded in a totally different manner that I could never have expected. 

We are now in the last half of this 10-part series, and now we are fully introduced to Leeward, our new protagonist. It is 200 years later, in a world and landscape changed beyond recognition. Snyder and Murphy have even created new colloquialisms for this new world, and new infrastructure.