Hellboy: The Midnight Circus by Mike Mignola
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hellboy meets Something Wicked This Way Comes. In this issue, Hellboy—as a boy—runs away from the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) and stumbles upon a circus that operates only through the wee hours of the morning. An acknowledgement of Ray Bradbury suggests that the use of a creepy, nocturnal circus of the netherworld was not a coincidence but a purposive homage.
The comic also borrows elements of the story of Pinocchio, which is explicitly referenced in the story line.
The comic is well-written and drawn. Those who don’t like it will likely find their dislike rooted in the comic’s ending. The title character doesn’t have a great deal of agency—i.e. he has little influence on the resolution of the story arc. That said, given that Hellboy is a boy in this issue and that his upbringing as a human boy by the Professor is credited with his ability to refrain from regression to his demon-like nature, there’s not a lot that he could probably do without straining credulity.
I enjoyed this book.
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By B Gourley in Book Reviews, Books, fiction, horror, Review, Reviews, Science Fiction on June 10, 2014.
