It’s no secret to readers of this blog that my husband/Heroes blogger Seth loves all things Hellboy, but he has been completely unable to get me to read anything outside of Hellboy Jr. and the Beasts of Burden crossover one-shot.  There’s no real reason for my stance on this.  I liked the Hellboy movies, but that’s more about my love for Ron Perlman in beastly make-up than any particular attachment to the Hellboy storyline.  (While we’re on Mr. Perlman, can we all have the warm fuzzies again about the Make-A-Wish kid and Hellboy story from this summer?) Anyhoo, back to comics…Seth has full shelves in our house dedicated to Hellboy and B.P.R.D., but they had been gathering dust where I was concerned until recently.

At this year’s HeroesCon, I stumbled into a conversation between B.P.R.D. artists Jason Latour and James Harren in which I mentioned that I had not read B.P.R.D. and I wasn’t sure it was for me.  Not daunted at all by my hesitation, Jason immediately suggested that I start with Plague of Frogs and assured me that I would like it.  August rolled around without me picking up any of the trades on our shelves until I had a week without many new comics in my reserve bag and decided to pull volume 3 and it give it a go.  Cut to about a week and half later and I am about to start volume 13. (more…)

Every few years Paul Chadwick puts out a new Concrete story or series through Dark Horse Comics.  It’s one of those books that seems to slip past readers’ periphery in spite of the copious amounts of critical praise it’s received over the years.  Bottom line, Concrete is a book that has maintained relevance over its 25 year history, and the new Three Uneasy Pieces one shot is a fine place to start if you’ve at all been curious about the character.

First things first, I should point out that this new one shot isn’t really brand new, but collects three short stories as they appeared in the recent relaunch of Dark Horse Presents.  That title has been consistently good since the relaunch, but if you’re among those who don’t like putting down $8 a month for a new anthology, this gives you a chance to read the latest Concrete stories for the low price of $2.99.

So what’s the appeal of Concrete?  Imagine if a more philosophical version of Ben Grimm went out to space and was transformed into The Thing, only to return to a completely normal Earth with nary a costumed hero or villain in sight.  How would he make sense of his new body and life?  How would he spend his time and energy?  One of the consistently pleasing aspects of Concrete is how Chadwick allows the character to experience the mundane in spite of his lumbering new physique.  It’s a book that relishes quiet moments and isn’t afraid to feature the lead character awash in reflection.

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RICO’S PICK :: LOBSTER JOHNSON: PRAYER OF NEFERU ONE SHOT:  Wilfredo Torres provides art on this self contained Lobster Johnson story. Torres’ talents are well displayed depicting Egyptian motifs, bloated fat cats, and the brilliantly designed neo-pulp protagonist, Lobster Johnson. Arcudi and Mignola always deliver a great ride and Dave Stewart drenches the entire Mignolaverse in pitch-perfect color. Oh yeah, and how about that sweet cover by Tonci Zonjic!

There have been several occasions in recent years when a customer heard me talking about Hellboy (which is a frequent occurence) and asked: Where Do I Start?  The Hellboy shelf is chock full of choices, and for those who might only know of the character through the two films, it can be a daunting challenge to pick where to begin.  The obvious choice would be to start with volume 1: Seed of Destruction.  After all, this volume does present Hellboy’s origin and kicks off the big themes that persist throughout the story.  I would suggest that even though this is where it all starts, newcomers might be better served to start elsewhere.  Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, while essential to understanding the big picture of Hellboy, doesn’t quite feel as cohesive as later volumes.

This is partially due to the fact that it was scripted by John Byrne.  Byrne has rightly earned a place of respect for his huge body of work as both an artist and a writer, but Hellboy is Mike Mignola’s baby, and was much better served when he started writing it full time.  As Mignola’s confidence as a writer grew, so did the overall quality of the book.  While you’ll never hear me complain about the artwork, it’s also evident in later volumes that the quality consistently improved once Mignola got more comfortable with the character.

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SETH’S PICK :: GRENDEL OMNIBUS: HUNTER ROSE  VOL. 1 TP: Like The Rocketeer, Love and Rockets and HeroesCon, Matt Wagner’s Grendel is also celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.  With its numerous incarnations and span of eras covered, Grendel can be a tough series to tackle.  This first omnibus offers everything you need to enter the world of the author-turned-criminal mastermind, Hunter Rose.  This volume collects Devil By The Deed, the entire Behold the Devil series, and Black, White, & Red, and Red, White, & Black, two excellent miniseries featuring artists like Mike Allred, Duncan Fegredo, Stan Sakai, Scott Morse, Jill Thompson, Ashley Wood, Cliff Chiang and more.  Plus, the volume collects 600 pages of material for only $24.99.  This sometimes experimental, often times violent look at a man’s descent into crime is well worth your time and money this week.

RICO’S PICK :: BEAST OF BURDEN: NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH ONE SHOT: Heroic Dogs (and a cat) protecting their turf from spooky unknown forces! Evan Dorkin gives these characters an uncommon richness with his writing and it’s all beautifully illustrated in watercolor by Jill Thompson. If you haven’t tried Beasts of Burden yet you should give this affordable collection a look. (This book collects 3 stories from the anthology, Dark Horse Presents)