Hellboy Winter Special 2018
A Christmas Tradition
Hellboy Winter Special 2018 contains three yuletide tales of trouble and terror. The Hellboy series has made a tradition of mixing Christmas with the occult since the first Hellboy Christmas Special was published in December of 1997.
Hellboy Winter Special 2018 continues the titles time-honored tradition with three wintry tales featuring members of the Hellboy universe including Lobster Johnson and some familiar faces from B.P.R.D.: Vampire, a five-part miniseries that ran in 2013.
Creative Team:
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writers: Gabriel Ba, Mike Mignola, Fabio Moon, Tonci Zonjic
Artist: Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Ben Stenbeck, Tonci Zonjic
Colorist: Dave Stewart, Tonci Zonjic
Cover: Mike Mignola
Variant Covers: Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon
Happy New year Ava Galluci:
Happy New Year, Ava Galucci, is written by Mignola, with art by Ben Stenbeck. The atmosphere evokes a bit of the Victorian when Hellboy joins some friends for New Year’s Eve in the snowy English countryside. It looks to be a relaxing holiday at Wakefield Manor until the family tradition of having a séance is discovered. It might not have been too terrible as, by their own admission, the last few years have been a bit dull but in an attempt to liven things up, the ol’ boys hired Madam Zorna a.k.a Ava Galluci.
Hellboy’s already not fond of her given their past history. When the family requests that she summon a dead devil worshiper, things get really out of hand. It’s up to Hellboy to settle things back down.
Lost Ones:
The tale Lost Ones revisits some familiar characters from pages of B.P.R.D.: Vampire, with original writers Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá. Featuring elaborately costumed ritual practitioners facing off with powerful shape-shifters during a midnight ceremony, this short provides a nice little epilogue to the original mini-series. Given the appearance and subsequent disappearance of one of the main characters, one has to wonder if this little tale is also a teaser for something to come.
The Empty Chair:
The Empty Chair is a short visit with Lobster Johnson, who had his own series until 2017. Written and drawn by Tonci Zonjic, the final offering in Hellboy Winter Special 2018 ties into Lobster Johnson series with a tale of justice served scalding hot. The Lobster discovers a den of mobsters planning to pin the murders of a rival crew on him right down to his signature mark. These boys didn’t realize that forgery of The Lobster’s signature is a capital crime.
Hellboy Winter Special 2018 Is Out Now
Packed with veteran writers and artists from the Hellboy universe, Hellboy Winter Special 2018 makes a great gift for any fan of Hellboy or B.P.R.D. You can pick up your copy at your local comic book shop.
If you’re a fan of digital or your local shop is all out, pop over to ComiXology and grab yourself a copy. After all, it’s the perfect time of year to continue geeky traditions.
Loved this issue.