What do you think?
Rate this book
Hellboy #3
Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others
This Hellboy short-story collection includes the following stories with the author’s notes preceding each tale: “Wolves of Saint August”; “The Corpse and the Iron Shoes”; “A Christmas Underground”; “The Chained Coffin”; and “Almost Colossus.”
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,765 books2,391 followersMike 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 425 reviews
March 11, 2016
The heat is on!!!
This third TPB edition features “Hellboy” #5-6, 12-14, along with a pin-up gallery.
The general rating is an average result of individual ratings given to each short story contained here.
Creative Team:
Creator, Writer & Illustrator: Mike Mignola
FINALLY THIS THING HEATED
I have to admit that I wasn’t that impressed on the first two TPBs, Seed of Destruction & Wake the Devil. They were well done, but they lacked of character development and since it was the beginning of the series, I expected to get to know what made thick each character. Also, the action was fair, but not something that awesome and leaving stuff without concluding properly.
Still, I have watched the films (live-action and animated) and I quite liked them, so I want to give to this series a couple of more chances, buying the third TPB, The Chained Coffin and Others, and the eighth TPB, Darkness Calls. Why those? Why not 3rd and 4th? Oh, well, mainly because doing some research I found out that 3rd TPB has a following story to the events developed in the 2nd TPB, and the 8th TPB supposedly (I haven’t read it yet) a follow-up about Rasputin (main villain in the first two TPBs). Also, one important thing about Hellboy’s stories is that they aren’t linear and/or written in chronological order, so basically, you can “jump” in any TPB or novel and you won’t feel confused.
I am glad to say that finally I enjoyed a lot the reading. Nope, the characters’ development keep zero, BUT since they were short stories I can live without characters’ development in short stories, also, Mignola used several elements of Irish, Russian and other countries' folklore, so honestly, I liked a lot the reading experience with this one, and now I know that I can keep reading other Hellboy stuff in comic books and prose format, which was my intention but I wanted that the series “clicked” on me first.
So, since this TPB is a collection of short stories (mainly developed in two comic book issues tops, so I will review it as I usually do in anthologies…
THE CORPSE
Rating: **** ( 4 stars)
This is an old game and I’ve got to play it their way.
Ireland, 1959.
Hellboy is asked to rescue a baby who was kidnapped by fairies, to be able to do this, he had to make a task solicited by them, but the clock is ticking and the time is short.
Mike Mignola merged in a masterfully way several Irish folktales into this thrilling adventure.
THE IRON SHOES
Rating: ** ( 2 stars )
Anybody home?
Ireland, 1961.
Hellboy goes into a kinda demolished old tower to find a dangerous fairy who isn’t affected by iron, in fact the monster wears a pair of iron shoes (not like horses’ but actually shoes made of iron!).
This was the only dissapointing in the TPB, Mignola done it just to fill the remnant pages of the original comic book where the previous short story was re-published, but definitely is too brief to have real time to enjoy it.
THE BABA YAGA
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
It tells you something. She has curious habits. – It’s not for you and I to understand.
Russia, 1964.
Hellboy is tracking a very powerful witch with several habits, some odd, some nasty, but one thing is sure, you won’t realice the real extention of her powers until it’s too late.
This adventure was mentioned in Wake the Devil, but it’s until now that readers are able to know the details about it. When you think that the short story finished, Mignola hits you with a final punch raising the whole impact of the tale.
A CHRISTMAS UNDERGROUND
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
…And there are stones in that place older than any Christian grave.
England, 1989.
It’s Christmas’ Eve, and Hellboy is summoned to find the missing daughter of an old lady who is just about to die. The young girl dissapeared in a hole at the grounds of the property. Yes, I guess what you may think, but this isn’t about madness, it’s about evil.
Mignola adapted folklore stuff into a Christmas story with a creepy good ambiance and development. There are some odd relevance about the date, but taking in account that scholars have put in doubt when was really the day that Jesus born, I found odd that Mignola didn’t bother about that, but again, it’s a Christmas story, so I am forgiving about that.
THE CHAINED COFFIN
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
But what really happened here?
England, 1995.
Hellboy tells through a letter to his friend and BPRD colleague, Abe Sapien, about his visit again to the place where he “born”. Hellboy never cared to check that place before in 50 years, but now he is getting to understand why he was so reluctant. Something that can scare even to Hellboy isn’t meant to know for mere mortals.
Wonderful piece which give the name to the third TPB and adding a key event involving the origin of Hellboy.
THE WOLVES OF SAINT AUGUST
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
If I’m right, this town has an ugly little secret.
Eastern Europe, 1994.
Hellboy and Prof. Kate Corrigan are sent by the BPRD to investigate the mysterious deaths of the entire population of a town, happened in one night. Along with those deaths, a priest, old friend of Hellboy, died there too, the same night.
Creepy good adventure, introducing the wonderful character of Kate Corrigan, and presenting a delicious mystery.
ALMOST COLOSSUS
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
You smell it?
Yeah…
Somebody’s cooking.
Romania, 1996.
Hellboy and Prof. Kate Corrigan are sent by the BPRD to find what happened with a homunculus (found in Wake the Devil) which can be crucial to save the life of Liz Sherman who lost her pyrokinetic powers to it and now she is dying. Hellboy and Kate will find more than they are expecting and maybe more than they can handle.
This is direct continuation of the events developed in Wake the Devil will have more impact of you may imagine in the future of the series.
This third TPB edition features “Hellboy” #5-6, 12-14, along with a pin-up gallery.
The general rating is an average result of individual ratings given to each short story contained here.
Creative Team:
Creator, Writer & Illustrator: Mike Mignola
FINALLY THIS THING HEATED
I have to admit that I wasn’t that impressed on the first two TPBs, Seed of Destruction & Wake the Devil. They were well done, but they lacked of character development and since it was the beginning of the series, I expected to get to know what made thick each character. Also, the action was fair, but not something that awesome and leaving stuff without concluding properly.
Still, I have watched the films (live-action and animated) and I quite liked them, so I want to give to this series a couple of more chances, buying the third TPB, The Chained Coffin and Others, and the eighth TPB, Darkness Calls. Why those? Why not 3rd and 4th? Oh, well, mainly because doing some research I found out that 3rd TPB has a following story to the events developed in the 2nd TPB, and the 8th TPB supposedly (I haven’t read it yet) a follow-up about Rasputin (main villain in the first two TPBs). Also, one important thing about Hellboy’s stories is that they aren’t linear and/or written in chronological order, so basically, you can “jump” in any TPB or novel and you won’t feel confused.
I am glad to say that finally I enjoyed a lot the reading. Nope, the characters’ development keep zero, BUT since they were short stories I can live without characters’ development in short stories, also, Mignola used several elements of Irish, Russian and other countries' folklore, so honestly, I liked a lot the reading experience with this one, and now I know that I can keep reading other Hellboy stuff in comic books and prose format, which was my intention but I wanted that the series “clicked” on me first.
So, since this TPB is a collection of short stories (mainly developed in two comic book issues tops, so I will review it as I usually do in anthologies…
THE CORPSE
Rating: **** ( 4 stars)
This is an old game and I’ve got to play it their way.
Ireland, 1959.
Hellboy is asked to rescue a baby who was kidnapped by fairies, to be able to do this, he had to make a task solicited by them, but the clock is ticking and the time is short.
Mike Mignola merged in a masterfully way several Irish folktales into this thrilling adventure.
THE IRON SHOES
Rating: ** ( 2 stars )
Anybody home?
Ireland, 1961.
Hellboy goes into a kinda demolished old tower to find a dangerous fairy who isn’t affected by iron, in fact the monster wears a pair of iron shoes (not like horses’ but actually shoes made of iron!).
This was the only dissapointing in the TPB, Mignola done it just to fill the remnant pages of the original comic book where the previous short story was re-published, but definitely is too brief to have real time to enjoy it.
THE BABA YAGA
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
It tells you something. She has curious habits. – It’s not for you and I to understand.
Russia, 1964.
Hellboy is tracking a very powerful witch with several habits, some odd, some nasty, but one thing is sure, you won’t realice the real extention of her powers until it’s too late.
This adventure was mentioned in Wake the Devil, but it’s until now that readers are able to know the details about it. When you think that the short story finished, Mignola hits you with a final punch raising the whole impact of the tale.
A CHRISTMAS UNDERGROUND
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
…And there are stones in that place older than any Christian grave.
England, 1989.
It’s Christmas’ Eve, and Hellboy is summoned to find the missing daughter of an old lady who is just about to die. The young girl dissapeared in a hole at the grounds of the property. Yes, I guess what you may think, but this isn’t about madness, it’s about evil.
Mignola adapted folklore stuff into a Christmas story with a creepy good ambiance and development. There are some odd relevance about the date, but taking in account that scholars have put in doubt when was really the day that Jesus born, I found odd that Mignola didn’t bother about that, but again, it’s a Christmas story, so I am forgiving about that.
THE CHAINED COFFIN
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
But what really happened here?
England, 1995.
Hellboy tells through a letter to his friend and BPRD colleague, Abe Sapien, about his visit again to the place where he “born”. Hellboy never cared to check that place before in 50 years, but now he is getting to understand why he was so reluctant. Something that can scare even to Hellboy isn’t meant to know for mere mortals.
Wonderful piece which give the name to the third TPB and adding a key event involving the origin of Hellboy.
THE WOLVES OF SAINT AUGUST
Rating: ***** ( 5 stars )
If I’m right, this town has an ugly little secret.
Eastern Europe, 1994.
Hellboy and Prof. Kate Corrigan are sent by the BPRD to investigate the mysterious deaths of the entire population of a town, happened in one night. Along with those deaths, a priest, old friend of Hellboy, died there too, the same night.
Creepy good adventure, introducing the wonderful character of Kate Corrigan, and presenting a delicious mystery.
ALMOST COLOSSUS
Rating: **** ( 4 stars )
You smell it?
Yeah…
Somebody’s cooking.
Romania, 1996.
Hellboy and Prof. Kate Corrigan are sent by the BPRD to find what happened with a homunculus (found in Wake the Devil) which can be crucial to save the life of Liz Sherman who lost her pyrokinetic powers to it and now she is dying. Hellboy and Kate will find more than they are expecting and maybe more than they can handle.
This is direct continuation of the events developed in Wake the Devil will have more impact of you may imagine in the future of the series.
August 1, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this! It's basically a bunch of short stories, with Hellboy coming up against random folk tale baddies, and doing what he does best - taking a whooping until he gets the upper hand, and then punching a monsters face in. I liked how these focused on Hellboy, without too much extra stuff going on. My two favorites were The Wolves of Saint August, because let's face it, I'm a sucker for a good werewolf story, and Almost Colossus, which wrapped up the Wake the Devil miniseries. All of these were really good, but those two stand out. They were also the longest two. The art was also amazing, as always. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Hellboy franchise, of folk tales and monsters, action, or short stories.
November 16, 2020
"Hellboy es una obra maestra del comic. Con estilo, imaginación y una simplicidad cautivante, crea un universo paralelo de misterio y terror, el cual es único para este medio. No tengo mas que admiración hacia Mike Mignola y sus acólitos. Hellboy restaura mi Fe hacia el regocijo por los libros de historietas"
Clive Barker
Cuando Mignola tomo el control absoluto de su propia creación y comenzó a redondear al personaje.
Con una colección de relatos que revivien fabulas antiguas, relatos Pulps y recurriendo al Folclore de países como Rusia, Irlanda, Inglaterra.
Si bien es cierto a veces es un poco simple, no tiene los diálogos mas profundos y resonantes pero es tan único (como dice Barker) que tiene un gran brillo propio y genuino, y un arte supremo.
Clive Barker
Cuando Mignola tomo el control absoluto de su propia creación y comenzó a redondear al personaje.
Con una colección de relatos que revivien fabulas antiguas, relatos Pulps y recurriendo al Folclore de países como Rusia, Irlanda, Inglaterra.
Si bien es cierto a veces es un poco simple, no tiene los diálogos mas profundos y resonantes pero es tan único (como dice Barker) que tiene un gran brillo propio y genuino, y un arte supremo.
December 18, 2019
Mignola's first collection of shorter stories and it's a fantastic one. A lot of these appeared in other anthologies and the like first or were one off issues. You get both great stand alone stories like The Wolves of St. August and stories that ultimately matter to the ongoing narrative like The Chained Coffin or Almost Colossus. Regardless, you can rarely go wrong with Hellboy.
December 29, 2013
This is the book that forever sold me on how cool Hellboy is. I never looked back.
July 2, 2017
I'm really getting into Hellboy now.
I wasn't quite sure I was liking it for anything more than it's clever use of history, its esoteric occult or science bits, or everyone's acceptance of a big red demon carrying on paranormal investigations in the fifties and sixties. (How does no one mind this???)
However, by this volume, I'm now emotionally invested as well. It's just a little, but it's something. I love the Fae and the Golem bits the most. I wasn't quite sure I'd get into all these tiny vignettes as much as I'd have preferred a good solid arc, but I did.
I wasn't quite sure I was liking it for anything more than it's clever use of history, its esoteric occult or science bits, or everyone's acceptance of a big red demon carrying on paranormal investigations in the fifties and sixties. (How does no one mind this???)
However, by this volume, I'm now emotionally invested as well. It's just a little, but it's something. I love the Fae and the Golem bits the most. I wasn't quite sure I'd get into all these tiny vignettes as much as I'd have preferred a good solid arc, but I did.
November 13, 2020
The third volume of Hellboy series is a collection of short stories that follow Hellboy in his many adventures across the globes, fighting monsters and solving supernatural mysteries.
The book has got a folkish, gothic vibe to it, and Mignola slays it in the artwork.
The book has got a folkish, gothic vibe to it, and Mignola slays it in the artwork.
July 1, 2017
I really enjoyed each story in this collection. I just wish Kate and every other woman in theses stories hadn't been damsels in distress.
The artwork continues to impress.
The artwork continues to impress.
February 8, 2017
While Hellboy has a great big plot that runs through all of the 12 main volumes, several of those volumes, indicated by "and other stories" in the title, collect short stand-alone comics that Mike Mignola has written for many different kinds of magazines, anthologies and comic books over the years. This is the first such volume. And it's a brilliant one! It collects some of the best Hellboy stories, such as The Corpse, Iron Shoes, The Baba Yaga, The Chained Coffin, Almost Colossus — all of them absolutely great on their own and, at the same time, crucial to the whole Hellboy universe mythology. Each of those stories come with an introduction by Mignola himself, and they are a great insight into how the stories were created. It's a phenomenal read, and the first truly great volume of Hellboy — ant the first two were already quite good! Anyway, if you have not read Hellboy yet, you owe it to yourself to pick up this series.
First read: October 24, 2015
Rating: ★★★・・
Second read: October 15, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★
First read: October 24, 2015
Rating: ★★★・・
Second read: October 15, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★
Read
September 15, 2015Read this weekend most of HELLBOY: THE CHAINED COFFIN AND OTHERS, and adored it. It's embarrassing how late I am to loving Hellboy.
December 19, 2022
The short story structure works perfectly for Hellboy. It's set up like a 'monster of the week' TV show, and that's very fitting for the genre. Mignola is able to expand the universe whilst also avoiding the trap of tediously long and drawn out text which sometimes worms its way into his writing. My preferred format for Hellboy, 'The Chained Coffin and Others' is ideal for a quick and enjoyable supernatural-fantasy based read.
December 23, 2014
A great collection of tales that further world builds and character builds.
I have pretty much everything that is Mignola and I find that at the beginning of his run on HB, it was the short one shots that were his most effective and entertaining stories and The Chained Coffin collection is a perfect example for that:
World: It's HB and the Mignolaverse, if you've read through 2 trades that means you know what to expect. It is rich in mythology, subtle and slow world building and choked full of locations and characters that are interesting and odd. This collection was great in that because of the multiple short stories, we get a lot more world building in terms of history and life of HB it's a good thing to see.
Story: There are so many gems here that I won't go into all of them, there is still an underlying arc that is slowly revealing itself since Seed of Destruction, however each individual story is self contained, focused and fun. We have some stories that are there to firmly establish some new characters and old, but also tales of world building and history building. I especially like tales such as Baba Yaga that feels like it's a throwaway but actually is building towards something bigger. Then there is the awesome Chained Coffin and Iron Boots...good stuff.
Characters: Short and sweet stories actually make for some good character development. HB is still HB but we actually get to learn about a couple of characters more intimately, Kate, Abe and Liz come to mind. The characterizations is still very straight forward and basic but as I said, the world building is slow and meticulous and eventually it will pay off.
It's a wonderful collection and it shows Mignola's art and creativity due to the variety of stories and art in this collection.
Onward to the next book!
I have pretty much everything that is Mignola and I find that at the beginning of his run on HB, it was the short one shots that were his most effective and entertaining stories and The Chained Coffin collection is a perfect example for that:
World: It's HB and the Mignolaverse, if you've read through 2 trades that means you know what to expect. It is rich in mythology, subtle and slow world building and choked full of locations and characters that are interesting and odd. This collection was great in that because of the multiple short stories, we get a lot more world building in terms of history and life of HB it's a good thing to see.
Story: There are so many gems here that I won't go into all of them, there is still an underlying arc that is slowly revealing itself since Seed of Destruction, however each individual story is self contained, focused and fun. We have some stories that are there to firmly establish some new characters and old, but also tales of world building and history building. I especially like tales such as Baba Yaga that feels like it's a throwaway but actually is building towards something bigger. Then there is the awesome Chained Coffin and Iron Boots...good stuff.
Characters: Short and sweet stories actually make for some good character development. HB is still HB but we actually get to learn about a couple of characters more intimately, Kate, Abe and Liz come to mind. The characterizations is still very straight forward and basic but as I said, the world building is slow and meticulous and eventually it will pay off.
It's a wonderful collection and it shows Mignola's art and creativity due to the variety of stories and art in this collection.
Onward to the next book!
January 1, 2020
Re-read 8/1/15: I'm increasing my rating of the collection because I appreciate the thematic unity better than I did before. Each of these stories is based in folklore to some degree, underlining the series' commitment to myth and legend as opposed to the companion series B.P.R.D., which emphasizes the paranormal investigator aspect. I still love "The Wolves of August," but this time I was also drawn to "A Christmas Underground," which is a very creepy variation on The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Even so, I look forward to a return to the main storyline.
6/19/12: With this third volume, I feel the limitations of reading the comics in bound form instead of as single issues. The stories are good, but some refer to previous issues that in this version were printed later. My favorite is probably "The Wolves of August." I was very surprised to learn from Mignola's notes that in "Almost Colossus" he was planning to kill off Liz Sherman because he never knew what to do with her. Really? She's got to be the most mythic character he's got (second to Hellboy), and the way he's designed her pyrokinetic abilities should be an obvious starting point for a major storyline. Good thing he worked that out, because she's my favorite.
6/19/12: With this third volume, I feel the limitations of reading the comics in bound form instead of as single issues. The stories are good, but some refer to previous issues that in this version were printed later. My favorite is probably "The Wolves of August." I was very surprised to learn from Mignola's notes that in "Almost Colossus" he was planning to kill off Liz Sherman because he never knew what to do with her. Really? She's got to be the most mythic character he's got (second to Hellboy), and the way he's designed her pyrokinetic abilities should be an obvious starting point for a major storyline. Good thing he worked that out, because she's my favorite.
March 13, 2019
This collection of shorts does a great job of articulating all the reasons I live Hellboy so much. And he is a Capricorn after all! Yay us!
March 15, 2013
I think this may be the volume that's gotten me hooked to Hellboy. I love the way Mignola uses folklore as a starting point to his stories. (And I loved the notes he added to this collection.) Most of the stories here are very short, but none of them felt too short, or stretched out, for that matter. The Corpse in particular was nearly perfect in every way. The character of Hellboy makes for a great lead in these sorts of stories: professional and personable. My one criticism is how Mignola handled Liz. He acknowledges in his notes that he didn't know what to do with her, and that's a shame. Even in the one story she appears in, which is meant to be centered around her life-or-death struggle, she barely shows up. I liked her when she showed up previously, so it was a shame.
August 6, 2024
This series continues on its trajectory of being a masterpiece in storytelling. Volume 3 is a collection of gothic horror stories featuring title character of the series Hellboy. Each one varies in length and tone. Each one showcases the authors ability to tell a rich, satisfying tale in only a few pages. What stands out to me in this volume is the character of Hellboy, how gains more depth than ever before. He’s intelligent in his occupation but goes at it like a drunk in a bar brawl. He’s highly durable yet there’s a vulnerability under his bravado. Its safe to say I was hooked in this for the beautiful and refreshing depiction of gothic horror. After this volume I will be returning to find out more about Hellboy.
January 22, 2020
This is a collection of shorter works, so it's easy to pick up and read a little bit at a time. Mignola continues to excel at combining occult and folklore in these supernatural tales.
November 6, 2016
A collection of Hellboy shorts from 1994-1996, and maybe the best single volume of Hellboy. "The Corpse" is a darkly comic story involving fairies, a kidnapped child, and a talking, rotting corpse. Hellboy spends much of the story with the corpse strapped to his back, bickering with it while he deadpans his way through encounters with just about every creature in Irish mythology. Several of the other stories are key to Hellboy's own mythology, as they reveal the details of his conception and explain the origins of his feud with the Baba Yaga . "The Wolves of St. August" is a visually stunning werewolf story, with a couple of my all-time favorite Mignola panels. "A Christmas Underground" is a deeply sad story that nonetheless gives us the delightful image of Hellboy as Santa Claus. The final story (the excellently-titled "Almost Colossus") is a must-read for fans of Roger from the BPRD books. Lots here for longtime fans, and also a great book to give to somebody if you're trying to introduce them to Hellboy and the Mignolaverse.
October 16, 2018
Now this was different. But still the same.
Where Volumes 1 and 2 present one continuous storyline (with all its detours), Volume 3 of the “Hellboy” comic is a collection of several tales about the protagonist, with only one being a direct continuance of the previously established narrative.
Following the Bureau’s prior case, there is an aftermath involving homunculi (looking more like golems though), semi-Faustian involvements in Heidelberg or Wittenberg or some other -bergian German town with the according flair, and all of the romantic and nihilistic resignation of the abandoned Frankensteinian monster. And with some touching team-building for the B.P.R.D. thrown into the bargain. There is also a pinch of by-the-book Irish and Slav mythology, even if those two tales are rather bland. Though this is made up for by a very old-school family story set during Christmas but with a Halloween vibe to it; a wonderful composition consisting of a village, an abbey, an aristocratic family and a curse (because there is nothing quite like an old-fashioned spook!); as well as probably the most touchingly romantic story I have ever read (with the most touchingly romantic line spoken!), presumably doubling as a little origin gem.
The novelty was that these stories range from a double-issue to barely two dozens of panels. And Mignola handles them all equally good, giving them all structure and pacing, a classic plot and resolving the conflict in traditional dramatic manner, whether it is an episode to be read over a large cup of coffee or you flip the page twice and that was it. And as far as skills and technicalities go, there was also this one panel that I am dying to have as my computer wallpaper…
Admittedly, I am hyped and biased and hence completely unreliable. As far as my personals comic preferences go, “Hellboy” is a dream come true. From this perspective, I could hardly imagine myself not rushing head over heels into the next story and devouring every single one of them like warm soufflé. (Even the ones less memorable than others.)
Where Volumes 1 and 2 present one continuous storyline (with all its detours), Volume 3 of the “Hellboy” comic is a collection of several tales about the protagonist, with only one being a direct continuance of the previously established narrative.
Following the Bureau’s prior case, there is an aftermath involving homunculi (looking more like golems though), semi-Faustian involvements in Heidelberg or Wittenberg or some other -bergian German town with the according flair, and all of the romantic and nihilistic resignation of the abandoned Frankensteinian monster. And with some touching team-building for the B.P.R.D. thrown into the bargain. There is also a pinch of by-the-book Irish and Slav mythology, even if those two tales are rather bland. Though this is made up for by a very old-school family story set during Christmas but with a Halloween vibe to it; a wonderful composition consisting of a village, an abbey, an aristocratic family and a curse (because there is nothing quite like an old-fashioned spook!); as well as probably the most touchingly romantic story I have ever read (with the most touchingly romantic line spoken!), presumably doubling as a little origin gem.
The novelty was that these stories range from a double-issue to barely two dozens of panels. And Mignola handles them all equally good, giving them all structure and pacing, a classic plot and resolving the conflict in traditional dramatic manner, whether it is an episode to be read over a large cup of coffee or you flip the page twice and that was it. And as far as skills and technicalities go, there was also this one panel that I am dying to have as my computer wallpaper…
Admittedly, I am hyped and biased and hence completely unreliable. As far as my personals comic preferences go, “Hellboy” is a dream come true. From this perspective, I could hardly imagine myself not rushing head over heels into the next story and devouring every single one of them like warm soufflé. (Even the ones less memorable than others.)
December 21, 2020
короткі історії майка міньйоли прекрасні.
у цьому випуску геллбой підглядає за бабою ягою, носить покійника на баранах, рятує різдво й вибиває прокляття з балканського села. і – моє улюблене – виловлює гобліна в залізних черевиках, із чого виходить коротесенька, але вкрай смішна оповідка.
у цьому випуску геллбой підглядає за бабою ягою, носить покійника на баранах, рятує різдво й вибиває прокляття з балканського села. і – моє улюблене – виловлює гобліна в залізних черевиках, із чого виходить коротесенька, але вкрай смішна оповідка.
April 29, 2009
I have read Hellboy 1, then 4, then 2, and just finished 3, because why would you want to do that chronological thing? Hellboy 3 is like Hellboy 4: (or should that be the other way around?), where at the beginning of each section there are notes from author/illustrator, Mike Mignola, on his inspirations for the stories. I enjoyed the notes as much as I did the stories because they go into the mythology and folklore he used as the basis for the them.
The stories in this volume include The Corpse, which is adapted from the Irish folktale Teig O’Kane and the Corpse (think Changeling with a Hellboy twist). The Baba Yaga story answers the question in Hellboy 2 of how he shot her eye out. The Chained Coffin is from an English folktale where a witch has her body chained in a coffin so a demon cannot take her soul. The Wolves of Saint August is based on the Irish legend about St. Patrick curing a group of pagans to turn into wolves. The last story Almost Colossus was inspired by a Clark Ashton Smith tale, The Colossus of Ylourgne, as well as James Whale’s Frankenstein movies. Interestingly, Mr. Mignola said he was originally going to kill off Liz Sherman in this story, but then art director Glen Murakami talked him out of it.
Overall, folktales and legends intertwined with great suspense up to the end where then Hellboy just kicks major butt against some nasty demons and monsters. Oh, and there is also a Hellboy gallery at the back of the book. Good stuff.
The stories in this volume include The Corpse, which is adapted from the Irish folktale Teig O’Kane and the Corpse (think Changeling with a Hellboy twist). The Baba Yaga story answers the question in Hellboy 2 of how he shot her eye out. The Chained Coffin is from an English folktale where a witch has her body chained in a coffin so a demon cannot take her soul. The Wolves of Saint August is based on the Irish legend about St. Patrick curing a group of pagans to turn into wolves. The last story Almost Colossus was inspired by a Clark Ashton Smith tale, The Colossus of Ylourgne, as well as James Whale’s Frankenstein movies. Interestingly, Mr. Mignola said he was originally going to kill off Liz Sherman in this story, but then art director Glen Murakami talked him out of it.
Overall, folktales and legends intertwined with great suspense up to the end where then Hellboy just kicks major butt against some nasty demons and monsters. Oh, and there is also a Hellboy gallery at the back of the book. Good stuff.
February 19, 2017
Not Hellboy to me, no Nazi's no memorable villains just random monsters. This is a collection of small stories and comes across as filler.
No way an essential read to the series I would advise to skip it and save your time and money.
No way an essential read to the series I would advise to skip it and save your time and money.
October 24, 2020
Short stories, short stories everywhere. The chained coffin was my favorite, but the Corpse and Almost Colossus were great too! Even though this volume doesn't really move the plot forward, as the previous two, I love the little snippets of Hellboy's life as an agent of the B.P.R.D. and I love the various mythologies explored. I really enjoy the world building, the ghost stories with religious touches so I'm rounding my 3.5 to 4 stars.
Also, there were a few chuckles here and there, Hellboy is a great character and his humour is appearing more and more with his witty remarks.
Really enjoying the series so far.
Also, there were a few chuckles here and there, Hellboy is a great character and his humour is appearing more and more with his witty remarks.
Really enjoying the series so far.
October 30, 2017
I'm rating each story base of how I enjoyed them:
The corpse 3/5 stars
The Iron Shoes 1/5 stars
The Baba Yaga 2/5 stars
"How did Baba Yaga lose one of her eyes"
A Christmas Underground 4/5 stars
You get to see some good side of Hellboy is this story and this scene bothers me
Can he glamour? Changing his appearance to make it more pleasing to mortal eyes
The Chained Coffin(Hellboy's Origins) 4/5 stars
I'm giving it a 5 if only they make it a little less short maybe adding some scene where you can see how the witch gets to have a deal with the devil during her younger days and giving up along the way.
The Wolves of Saint August 4/5 stars
Almost Colosus 3/5
Continuation of the main story
The corpse 3/5 stars
The Iron Shoes 1/5 stars
The Baba Yaga 2/5 stars
"How did Baba Yaga lose one of her eyes"
A Christmas Underground 4/5 stars
You get to see some good side of Hellboy is this story and this scene bothers me
Can he glamour? Changing his appearance to make it more pleasing to mortal eyes
The Chained Coffin(Hellboy's Origins) 4/5 stars
I'm giving it a 5 if only they make it a little less short maybe adding some scene where you can see how the witch gets to have a deal with the devil during her younger days and giving up along the way.
The Wolves of Saint August 4/5 stars
Almost Colosus 3/5
Continuation of the main story
August 5, 2016
The short story format works perfectly for Hellboy. Not only does it allow Mignola to explore a larger amount of folklore but it suits the investigative world of the characters perfectly. I was about to name the highlights of the collection but then I realized I'd only be leaving 2 of them out in the process. Each one is fantastic but my favorites were "The Corpse", "A Christmas Underground", "The Wolves of St. August" and "Almost Colossus". "The Corpse" more than any had a very memorable feel to it. Even though I loved "Almost Colossus" I thought it was a misse opportunity for some nice moments with Liz. Mignola was going to kill her off here and he said he never knew what to do with her. Really? She is one of your main characters. There is so much potential with her and even here it was wasted by not focusing in on her at all. Still, the story itself was great and getting introduced to Roger the Homunculus was a treat. The reason I enjoyed "The Wolves at St. August" so much was because of a few memorable images, the interactions between Hellboy and Kate and the link to Hellboy's past.
April 8, 2015
This is it. This is the volume where everything comes together. The art. The stories. The characters. The mythology. It's all excellent.
January 13, 2019
Μικρές αλλά δυνατές ιστορίες. Ο Ρότζερ, η Άλις. Ο πατέρας.
November 19, 2021
A terrific bouquet of some short stories and some shorter stories. All amazing. My cup of tea.
August 10, 2019
Wow... I’m having an impossibly hard time finding where the widespread love for Mignola’s work comes from. Three volumes in, and I still don’t get it. I will try to explain why.
Mignola is a fantastic illustrator, but he’s an awkward visual storyteller. He relies too much on verbal exposition and narration to bridge his panels, and many panels serve no visual or thematic purpose. Many of his panels too often look like cover illustrations or commissioned drawings because they don’t reveal anything about the story, character, or themes. But that’s a minor quibble and easily forgiven.
What isn’t as easily overlooked is what had initially been a tendency toward cultural appropriation (and borderline racism) in volume 1 and a shallow amalgamation of religions and folklore in volume 2, is now outright privileging a troubling set of values.
Each story in this volume is about some primal sin committed by the community or its representative. That “sin” is usually associated with some pre-Christian or non-European practice/belief. Hellboy then shows up and restores peace and order by absolving/exorcising/ridding the place or the people of their primal sin. And in small, persistent ways, Mignola keeps connecting that process with other, more troubling kinds of restoration: national purity, racial supremacy, and religious intolerance.
The influence of Lovecraft and Poe is starting to look like it runs deeper than just Mignola’s interest in their centrality to the genre. He also seems to share their sense of racial and moral supremacy. It’s maybe not as explicit as it is in the cases of Poe and Lovecraft, but it’s unmistakably there in Mignola’s work too.
I thought I would give Mignola a final chance to win me over since the overwhelming opinion is that his work is brilliant. But I can see what his work is about now, and it’s definitely not for me.
——
EDIT 8/9/19: Thinking more about this book and about Mignola’s Hellboy work more broadly, I am now beginning to see how these stories might make us folks from bi-racial/cultural and multi-racial/cultural backgrounds very uncomfortable. The story of Hellboy is a story of his proving over and over again (by way of violence) that he is not as devilish as he appears, and that he is not “corrupted” by his mixed heritage. He is instead “one of us” (where “us” means white, Christian, and Western European). He is brought up by white folks to pass for white himself.
Despite being phenotypically marked as “evil” (red skin, large build, horns), he is raised by “good, white, rational Christians” and devotes his adult life to ridding the world of evil things to whom he is connected by blood. He is the assimilationist’s ideal: he is “proof” that the most incorrigible of racial others might be “civilized” if brought up “correctly.” His team is made up of other phenotypical outsiders who also set out to prove that they are “one of us.” Hellboy is what white folks used to euphemistically call a “fine specimen” and an “example to his people,” and what others who look like him might less charitably call a “race traitor.”
This is ugly territory that Mignola has entered, and I’m shocked that I’ve never seen this come up in conversations about his work before. I don’t know if any future stories address this in any substantive way, but considering the gross way it structures the first three collected volumes, I’m not confident that Mignola will bring it up in anything but a totally dismissive way.
Mignola is a fantastic illustrator, but he’s an awkward visual storyteller. He relies too much on verbal exposition and narration to bridge his panels, and many panels serve no visual or thematic purpose. Many of his panels too often look like cover illustrations or commissioned drawings because they don’t reveal anything about the story, character, or themes. But that’s a minor quibble and easily forgiven.
What isn’t as easily overlooked is what had initially been a tendency toward cultural appropriation (and borderline racism) in volume 1 and a shallow amalgamation of religions and folklore in volume 2, is now outright privileging a troubling set of values.
Each story in this volume is about some primal sin committed by the community or its representative. That “sin” is usually associated with some pre-Christian or non-European practice/belief. Hellboy then shows up and restores peace and order by absolving/exorcising/ridding the place or the people of their primal sin. And in small, persistent ways, Mignola keeps connecting that process with other, more troubling kinds of restoration: national purity, racial supremacy, and religious intolerance.
The influence of Lovecraft and Poe is starting to look like it runs deeper than just Mignola’s interest in their centrality to the genre. He also seems to share their sense of racial and moral supremacy. It’s maybe not as explicit as it is in the cases of Poe and Lovecraft, but it’s unmistakably there in Mignola’s work too.
I thought I would give Mignola a final chance to win me over since the overwhelming opinion is that his work is brilliant. But I can see what his work is about now, and it’s definitely not for me.
——
EDIT 8/9/19: Thinking more about this book and about Mignola’s Hellboy work more broadly, I am now beginning to see how these stories might make us folks from bi-racial/cultural and multi-racial/cultural backgrounds very uncomfortable. The story of Hellboy is a story of his proving over and over again (by way of violence) that he is not as devilish as he appears, and that he is not “corrupted” by his mixed heritage. He is instead “one of us” (where “us” means white, Christian, and Western European). He is brought up by white folks to pass for white himself.
Despite being phenotypically marked as “evil” (red skin, large build, horns), he is raised by “good, white, rational Christians” and devotes his adult life to ridding the world of evil things to whom he is connected by blood. He is the assimilationist’s ideal: he is “proof” that the most incorrigible of racial others might be “civilized” if brought up “correctly.” His team is made up of other phenotypical outsiders who also set out to prove that they are “one of us.” Hellboy is what white folks used to euphemistically call a “fine specimen” and an “example to his people,” and what others who look like him might less charitably call a “race traitor.”
This is ugly territory that Mignola has entered, and I’m shocked that I’ve never seen this come up in conversations about his work before. I don’t know if any future stories address this in any substantive way, but considering the gross way it structures the first three collected volumes, I’m not confident that Mignola will bring it up in anything but a totally dismissive way.
April 14, 2020
The Chained Coffin and Others, the third trade paperback volume in the Dark Horse collected series, is my favorite Hellboy volume. It collects short Hellboy stories that were all written and illustrated by Mike Mignola himself. The stories have various mythological foundations set at different times and locations where Hellboy must face them. Almost Colossus is a good one with Liz Sherman, The Wolves of St. August is a good werewolf story with a religious slant, The Chained Coffin is a good English folktale, The Corpse is a good Irish folktale, and there are three other (you guessed it, good) stories; The Iron Shoes, The Baba Yaga (my least favorite of the lot), and A Christmas Underground (which is my favorite). The stories are all well written, and I believe the art to be Mignola's best. It's a great introduction to Hellboy for anyone who isn't already a fan; the shorter subjects provide a variety of themes and settings and a broad background, with entertaining and convincing characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 425 reviews