Review by Comix
Over the twenty years that Hellboy has been around, he has faced monsters and demons of all shapes and sizes. From mythical creatures of worship to sprites and fairies, Hellboy has beaten, stomped, and quipped with the best of them. Of course, like any good comic character, all heroes are required have an interesting, if not a bit melancholy, origin, focusing on the protagonist’s early years of innocence and fool-hardiness. Though Midnight Circus is definitely not the first attempt at a little back story for the lovable demon, it is the newest one, so being the horror comic aficionado that I am, I’m very much inclined to cover it and subsequently tell everyone to buy it, buy it, BUY IT NOW! It’s just the perfect little book to squeeze between your collection of Hellboy graphic novels and DVD/Blue Ray combos (don’t lie, you have both.)
Midnight Circus is exactly the story you would imagine when it involves a young, curious Hellboy and a devilish little carnival that arrives precisely at midnight. Growing up is already rough when you’re a weird looking, red skinned kid with a big hand, but it’s even harder when no one wants to play with you because you’re the only weird looking, red skinned kid with a big hand on an entire military base full of adults. One night, tired of being treated his age, a young Hellboy sneaks out with a pilfered cigarette, looking to one up his manhood, when he sees a clown nail up a sign for a traveling circus. Excited, he immediately follows the clown down to the encampment and into a tent where he catches the performer calling down ghostly spirits. Suddenly, Hellboy finds himself in a place a lot stranger than he thought possible and desperately begins looking for a way out.
Needless to say, this new Hellboy addition is amazing. It’s got everything a fan of subtle macabre could want: ghosts, monsters, circus freaks, sexy ladies, and a beautifully done cover by Mignola himself. The new comic still manages to add to the Hellboy mythos without completely monkey-wrenching the whole series. Like mini-Hellboy, it’s also a good spooky story for the kiddies while appealing to adult fanboy in all of us, so if you got a little monster who loves comics, toss them this read.
One thing that’s very interesting about Midnight Circus is its direct connection to Pinocchio. From when Hellboy steals a cigarette to the Jonah-type ghost in the belly of the circus, the entire story plays off the part where Pinocchio runs off to Pleasure Island. The story of Hellboy transitions beautifully into the classic tale, adding that very atmospheric touch that floats throughout the Hellboy comic and twisting the story into one tinged in macabre.
The writer of this new book is, of course, Mike Mignola, who I don’t need to tell you about. That’s the great thing about the Hellboy series; even if Mignola is not illustrating it, he writes every issue himself, a guaranteed sign of quality. The artist, Duncan Fergerado, is a staple in the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. universe, having done work on both series in the past. His art for Midnight Circus is absolutely breathtaking, with two distinct art styles varying between inside the circus, which is more heavily painted, and outside of it with more inks and comic stylization. The book itself is going to be a complete story and coming out as a graphic novel, wrapped in a nice hardcover and everything, with a very reasonable price tag of seventeen dollars. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Hellboy: Midnight Circus drops Oct. 23rd everywhere that is awesome, from Dark Horse Comics.