April 17, 2017
A 19th-century ghost ship on the high seas shanghais Hellboy during his escape from a deserted island in this brief but welcome return to Ol’ Red’s world by creator Mignola and Eisner Award–winning artist Gianni (Prince Valiant). The spectral crew—unaware of their deceased status—plots to sell the recalcitrant (and baffled) Hellboy to a circus sideshow while an eerie woman onboard seeks forbidden knowledge beyond her ken. Quickly, the primordial powers lurking in the ocean rear their heads for a maritime showdown. Mignola weaves literary nautical quotes and the superstitious lore of old-timey sailors into his storytelling and stays true to his iconic Lovecraftian, tentacled themes. Gianni’s detailed artwork, inspired by classic pen-and-ink illustrations, and Stewart’s judicious use of color (Hellboy is fire-engine red against a backdrop of subdued blues, grays, and browns) is a fresh contrast to Mignola’s weighty aesthetic and moves the narrative-light plot along.