Tug's Pick of the Week
 Hellboy:
The Corpse
by Comics Manager Tug
Baker
Well, if there’s one thing that everyone here at Heroes and
Dragons is looking forward to, it’s the Hellboy movie. After all,
he’s on everyone’s list of favorite characters. Who doesn’t love a big red
demon-guy who beats up on monkeys with bolts in their necks? As I write
this, we’re two weeks away from what quite a few initial reviews tout as the
best comic-book movie ever. Of course, Dark Horse and creator Mike
Mignola aren't going to let this occasion pass by without giving moviegoers
lots of neat Hellboy stuff to pick up when they walk into their local comic
shops.
Whether you’re a longtime comic reader who has never tried Hellboy out or
someone who has never picked up a comic before but enjoyed the movie, then you
need to do yourself a favor and pick up Hellboy: The Corpse, a
one-shot due out this week. Before I tell you how cool the story and the
art are, let me get the best part out of the way — it’s only 25¢!
If that fact alone hasn’t convinced you to pick it up, chew on these little
tidbits: “The Corpse” is without a doubt the best Hellboy story out there.
Originally released in two-page serialized installments in Capital City’s
Advance Comics, the story follows Hellboy as he tries to return a missing
baby to her parents. He makes a deal with the three imps who stole the
baby, but first he has to bury their drunken and somewhat dead friend. As
usual in Hellboy stories, supernatural wackiness happens, and Hellboy gets to
hit big monsters. Besides being a great story and featuring Mignola’s
amazing art, this one-shot is something of a how-to on the basics of using the
comic medium for incredible storytelling.
Still not sold? OK, how about this: “The Corpse” itself is 25 pages
long — that works out to just a penny a page! And it doesn’t stop there.
The rest of the 40-page book contains designs and images from the scenes of “The
Corpse” that appear in the Hellboy movie. Believe me, there hasn’t
been a title in recent memory that has delivered this much comic goodness for
such a low price.
If you’re looking for other goodies to fill your Easter basket
this year, there are two art books sure to satisfy your need for all things
Hellboy.
 The
Art of Hellboy was released a few months ago as a hardcover, but now you
can get it in softcover at the much lower price of $29.95. This collection
is really impressive. It seems as if every Hellboy picture Mignola has
ever done is presented here on beautiful oversized pages. There’s a reason
why he’s called "the artist’s artist,” folks, and every one of the almost 200
pages in this book shows you why.
 Hellboy:
The Art of the Movie is something else to look out for. This
softcover has everything you could want to know about the designs of the
characters and sets from the Hellboy movie. The book’s presentation
is quite well done. It contains the entire shooting script for the movie,
and as you read along, you get to see the concept designs, storyboards, etc.
that correspond to the part of the movie you are reading about. It’s a
really neat way to present the material. Some extremely talented artists
are featured (including that Mignola guy), and it’s interesting to check out how
some of the character designs developed into the final product. Top it all
off with an introduction by Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro,
and the $24.95 price tag is 100% worth it.
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