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Graphic Novel Review: Hellboy Omnibus, Volume 2: Strange Places by Mike Mignola, art by Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni, and Richard Corben

Hellboy Omnibus Volume 2: Strange Places stories by Mike Mignola; “Into the Silent Sea” story by Mike Mignola and Gary Gianni; “The Right Hand of Doom”, “Box Full of Evil”, “Conqueror Worm”; “The Third Wish”, and “The Island” art by Mike Mignola; “Being Human” art by Richard Corben

Dark Horse, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-50670-688-7

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, comiXology

 

Hellboy Omnibus Volume 2: Strange Places includes Hellboy’s adventures from 1998 to 2005, in chronological order. In these tales, Hellboy searches for answers about himself and his destiny.

In Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom, the titular character meets Adrian Frost, the son of Professor Malcolm Frost who spent the last years of his life trying to kill Hellboy. The priest tries to convince Hellboy of his father’s fear of him, and that he wasn’t an evil man. He offers to sell Hellboy the only surviving clue that he found in his father’s notes about himself. The price is a story, the story of Hellboy. He tells a story of the Mad Monk who came back, his death at Hellboy’s hand, and the search for who Hellboy really is, who he is meant to be.

“Box Full of Evil” finds Hellboy and Abe Sapien investigating the case of a mysterious man who can paralyze a household while he digs through the walls of a gentleman’s sitting room only to pull out a small locked box and a pair of commonplace fireplace tongs. What could the box hold, and who is the man who had the power to subdue everyone in a large house merely with a hand shaped candle?

In B.P.R.D.: Being Human, Hellboy convinces the B.P.R.D. to let him take Roger the Homunculus out in the field to investigate the dead bodies of the Quillen family, who walk out of their graves to return to their run-down estate. They discover a Black woman with a vendetta to settle. She was born out of the rape of her mother at the hands of the head of the household, and she wants them to pay in their afterlives.

Roger and Hellboy are sent out again in Conqueror Worm, with a guide to Hunte Castle, to stop the Nazi spacecraft that is estimated to crash land there. Hellboy discovers the terrible truth about something the BPRD decided to add to Roger’s internal workings when they brought him back to life. When they arrive at the castle, they find they were led into a trap, and Lobster Johnson is real.

Trapped by the nail of the Bog Roosh, Hellboy must fight his way to freedom in “The Third Wish”. The youngest mermaid of three proves an unlikely ally in his journey, and reconciles with her father in the process. Hellboy meets the cursed being that set his existence into motion in “The Island”. This creature underestimates Hellboy’s strength and humanity in the end. In the final story in the omnibus, Into the Silent Sea, the true commander of a crew of men on the ship named Rebecca is called by something in the sea, just as she calls to it. Will anyone survive her visit?

Also included in this volume is a Hellboy sketchbook with notes by Mignola. The sketchbook is a bonus to see how Mignola crafts his stories and artwork as well. It has been fantastic to read these stories in chronological order to see how Hellboy’s story unfolds. This also provides a new reader the opportunity to become familiar with the short stories in the Hellboy/B.P.R.D universe. There are, of course, mythological and Lovecraftian overtones galore. Something that seems to be prevalent in the Hellboy stories is the subject of humanity’s inability or unwillingness to recognize the fact that Hellboy is not human, based on his actions and decisions to aid humans when at all possible, even risking his own life at times. They don’t have any qualms about calling other creatures, whether they be demons or homunculi, inhuman. This, of course, gets under Hellboy’s skin and he is not shy about addressing it. We even see the big red guy quit the B.P.R.D. as a result of something he can’t sit by and watch. Highly recommended.

Contains: some blood, violence

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on August 17, 2018 by , Reply

Book List: 21st Century Lovecraftian Fiction

A lot of people have had limited (or no) exposure to the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Maybe they’ve seen those memes that go around at election time that say “Cthulhu for President: Choose The Lesser of Two Evils”, or have an adorable tentacled plushie, but that doesn’t mean they have ever actually read his stuff (and in addition to being creepy and terrifying, his writing can get pretty cumbersome). And once you toss in the really problematic aspects to his work, those people are probably not going to seek it out.

But you do not have to be a fan of the man to appreciate the imaginative worlds he created. Way before the Internet made fanfiction communities possible, people took his words and ran with them to create their own stories, and they are still doing it. I think he’d truly be astonished to see what people today have done with what little he wrote.

I will admit that I am not his biggest fan, mainly because his work gave me the heebie-jeebies in high school and I’ve never been able to get past that. But as an adult, I have read books that are grounded in the universe he imagined, and some of them have been really, really good. Books that are outstanding on their own merits, but that would never have existed if he hadn’t written down his own stories first.  Also, there are many authors that have approached his work in different ways, some more inventive than others. It makes me curious as to what will come next!  I’m going to share a few titles with you here that either I have read and enjoyed or that our reviewers have recommended. If you’re ready to move on from the past,  here are a few books you can try to check out what’s new in the world of Lovecraftian fiction.

 

 

Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys

 

Emrys flips Lovecraft’s view completely, by giving the narrative voice to Aphra Marsh, one of the “people of the water” who inhabited Innsmouth until the government destroyed it and took the survivors to an internment camp in the desert in 1928. Aphra and her brother Caleb are the only survivors, and are adopted by the Koto family, Japanese-Americans interned there during World War II. After the war is over, Aphra is contacted by a Jewish FBI agent, Ron Spector, who has reason to believe that the Russians may have learned the dangerous ability to body-switch, a power possessed by the Yith, long-lived time travelers who archive as much of history as they can. Spector wants Aphra to visit Miskatonic University as part of a research delegation and attempt to discover who at Miskatonic might have presented the Russians with the information. Aphra and Caleb jump at the opportunity to visit the Miskatonic library, where all books and documents remaining after the destruction of Innsmouth are stored. All this is just the beginning of a suspenseful and creepy mystery with more than its fair share of terror. A second team of FBI agents working at cross-purposes with Spector, a mysterious Yith, and an unexpected family reunion all feed into the chaos and pain, but there’s also love and loyalty, coming from unlikely places. With survivors of Innsmouth, formerly interned Japanese-Americans, a Jewish FBI agent, and an African-American informant, as central characters, genocide and racism must be faced head-on, but Emrys handles it without ever getting didactic. From Aphra’s point of view, we are all monsters, and it’s the choices we make that matter.

 

Dreams from the Witch-House: Female Voices of Lovecraft edited by Lynne Jamneck

 

This feminist anthology of Lovecraft-inspired horror received a rave review from Monster Librarian reviewer Lizzy Walker. Read her review here.

 

The Dream-Quest of Vellit Boe by Kij Johnson

 

This novella by Kij Johnson is her response to Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of  Unknown Kadath. It has an unreal, dreamlike feel to it, reminiscent in places of Ursula K. Le Guin, and draws the reader in to that dimension where uncaring, destructive, and capricious gods determine the fate not just of individuals but of entire communities. Vellitt Boe is a professor of mathematics who goes on a nightmare quest to retrieve one of her students, who has escaped to the waking world, before her grandfather, an insane god now deep in sleep, awakes and destroys the women’s college Vellitt works at, out of vengeance. An  adventurous traveler earlier in her life, Vellitt, now middle-aged, sets out again to find her student, a rare woman traveling through dangerous places, forced to face her regrets and past decisions as she moves closer to her goal. In a note at the end of the novella, Johnson writes that her first experience with Lovecraft was with The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and that while she was uncomfortable with the racism, it was only later that she noticed the absence of women. Even though there are women in Johnson’s story, that absence is notably obvious. It’s also rare to see an adventure story with a middle-aged woman as protagonist, and it’s pretty cool that Johnson chose to center her in this novella.

 

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle

 

This is Lavalle’s response to Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook”. It’s been featured in many major review sources and has won multiple awards. Read our review here.

 

Maplecroft: The Lizzie Borden Dispatches by Cherie Priest

 

Lizzie Borden lives with her sister Emma, a disabled, brilliant, mad scientist, near the town of Fall River, Massachusetts, in the remote estate of Maplecroft. Although she’s been found innocent of the crime of murdering her parents with an ax, she can see malevolent entities from the ocean infecting the people of her community with nightmares and insanity, and she is not afraid to take them on, with every resource at her disposal. This is an epistolary novel, made up of journal entries and letters, and it’s easy for a story told using this method to drag. In this case, though, the plot is fast-paced, descriptions are vivid and horrific, and characters are revealed as in the peeling of an onion. Priest climbs inside the minds of characters who are slowly going insane, and we see through their eyes– it is a riveting, disturbing, trainwreck of a book. Priest does a great job of integrating historical details and Lovecraftian elements into her story. In addition to being ruthless and brutal with an ax, Lizzie also has a lover, Nance, who adds to the tension of the story. With complex women at its center, Maplecroft is a take on Lovecraft that would blow him away. A second volume, Chapelwood, is also available.

 

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

 

This is a series of interlocking stories taking place during the Jim Crow era,  about two African-American families threatened by cultists. Some critics have said it’s short on the existential dread and wiggly creatures, but an argument can be made that African-Americans in segregated America had more immediate terrors as part of their daily lives. This book is being made into an HBO series produced by Jordan Peele, the individual responsible for the excellent movie Get Out. 

 

 

Posted on October 17, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Double Barrel Horror, Volume 2 edited by Matthew Weber

‘Double Barrel Horror Volume 2

Double Barrel Horror Volume 2 edited by Matthew Weber

Pint Bottle Press, 2017

ISBN: See individual reviews for individual ISBN numbers

Available: Kindle edition

 

Double-Barrel Horror Volume 2 is a series of stand-alone short ebooks, published separately but marketed as a collection. each with two stories by a specific author, which will eventually be collected as a paperback. In the meantime, each ebook is available separately on Kindle.

At the beginning of each of these short ebooks, there is a well-placed warning for readers preparing to go through these tales of terror: “Double-Barrel Horror is a series of fictional horror stories. They are likely to include death, graphic violence, profanity, blasphemy, sexual content and other themes and images that commonly disturb. If you can’t deal with these themes in your fiction, then you should avoid this book.” It would be wise for a potential reader to take this to heart before opening any of these tomes. I have included some warnings with my brief reviews. You’ve been warned…

 

 

“Punk Rock Horror”/”Holes” by Chad Lutzke

ISBN: 9781945005800

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Punk Rock Re-Animator,” a young man is dragged to his first punk show by his friend, Mike, who promises that it will be the experience of a lifetime. Once he’s in the venue, he starts people-watching. For a little while, it’s nothing out of the ordinary—just a crowd of people wanting a good time. Then he spies the man he calls The Professor. The latter is watching the crowd intently. The evening really picks up after The Professor pulls out the syringe with the glowing green fluid, and injects two people who will never be the same again. Warning: this one gets gory.

“Holes” presents another interesting tale of observation.  Manny Steven is a very bad kid. His neighborhood antics have worn down the people in the neighborhood, children and adults alike. The narrator is no different. He’s alone in the world after the death of his dog, Quincy, for which Manny is responsible. The narrator spends some of his days with a pair of binoculars at his window. He vows never to look inside the privacy of others windows, he strictly relegates his viewing to the street. All is going well until he breaks this promise and his eyes wander over to the Stevens’ apartment where he sees a most disturbing sight. It looks like someone has figured out the best revenge to take on young Manny, and one by one the neighbors are joining in. Warning: torture

 

 

“There Will Be Angels…”/”Marlene the Magnificent” by John Boden

ISBN: 9781945005800

Available: Kindle edition

 

“There Will Be Angels” is the story of a young boy, chained, locked, and alone in a room with nothing but a few tins left of cat food and his angels. Something has happened to his captor. The passage of time is not clear, and he is delirious from hunger and thirst. But his angels watch over him from their permanent places on the ceiling and the walls, and he has faith that his angels that will save him. Warning: child abuse

“Marlene the Magnificent” is…interesting. Marlene is a very popular act for children’s parties, and Timothy Brushett’s parents were able to book the unusual act, sparing no expense. I’m not sure that I would assign the word “magnificent” to Marlene, but she certainly wows the crowd. Warning: a lot of weird sexual content

 

 

“Black Rock Boys”/ “The Perfect Figure Eight” by Simon Dewar

ISBN: 9781945005855

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Black Rock Boys,” three teenage boys are out in the woods late at night when the school bully, Richie, shows up with an armed friend. What happens when the narrator runs to the black rock covered in runes asking for help? Only he knows, but the next thing he remembers is waking up in the safety of his home. When he shows up to school, he’s different, changed somehow. This story was very Lovecraftian in tone and is a truly great read.  Warning: bullying

“The Perfect Figure Eight” is another tale set around the high school years. Pete loves racing movies, his bike, and his dog. And a girl named Katie. New neighbors move in next door, and Pete finds the new girl, Jessica, is less than polite when they meet. One afternoon, Pete goes to the movie store for another rental of his favourite film and finds himself recommending a title to Katie and her friend. He’s elated as he rides home, and decides to take the most dangerous path, speeds down the hill toward a jump, and eats it…hard. It leaves scarring that becomes the target of Jessica’s bullying. It all comes to a head when he finds Jessica tormenting his beloved dog. They make a deal. Jessica will leave the dog alone so long as he takes the same ride again. He makes one small modification to the plan. Warning: bullying, violence against animals

 

“Shellfish”/”Exile” by Karen Runge

ISBN: 9781945005862

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Shellfish,” the narrator just wanted to remember the seaside trip she took as a child by herself, but when her lover Tom suggests they go together, she says yes anyway. She’s angry. When they arrive at the hotel, the receptionist remembers her and reminds her of the name David. David, who followed her everywhere when she and her family vacationed there so long ago, who annoyed her as much as Tom is annoying her now. Slowly, memories come back, and her anger and annoyance grow. Warning: brief mention of sex

“Exile”: This is told in second-person which actually works well for this story. It focuses on Elise, who is told she needs to take a vacation. She wants to get away from the day to day noise, to be utterly alone. However, when she succeeds in this endeavor by staying in a secluded house, even the sounds of nature encroach on her surroundings. When she tries to take care of the yard on her own, something terrible happens. But, she just wants to be alone…Warning: a lot of blood, sexual content

 

 


“Roadkill”/”The Getaway” by Patrick Freivald

ISBN: 9781945005831

Available: Kindle edition

 

In “Roadkill,” Jim is driving Gina to work when they see something in the middle of the road. They can’t believe what they see emerging from the animal splayed out in the road. After calling 911 to report it, they both get out to take a look at the thing in the road. Could that really be a child climbing out of the mass in the road? Warning: sexual content, gore

“The Getaway” is the story of a robbery and carjacking gone terribly wrong. After the shooting of their friend Jimmy, Alan and Bud drag an old man out of his own vehicle. As they are driving, they hear knocking coming from the trunk. Jimmy dies in the car, and the remaining failed robbers pull over to dump the body. The knocking gets frantic so they open the trunk to find a bound woman screaming to be taken back to her captor. Warning: gore, gore, and more gore

 

 

“Blinky”/”The Midnight Show” by M.B. Vujacic

ISBN: 9781945005824

Available: Kindle edition

 

“Blinky” is the last person you want to be with on the road, especially if you are a foul-mouthed whippersnapper. Emily’s brother Rod is complaining about the old man behind them who won’t back off his bumper. At the red light, the old man gets out of his vehicle and approaches Rod and Emily, loudly and rudely complaining about Rod leaving his blinker on. After a heating exchange, the old man, who Rod nicknamed Blinky, shoots Rod in the head. Emily takes off, with Blinky and his gun close behind. He kills anyone who gets in the way of his elusive target. What follows is, put simply, is a bloodbath. Warning: gun violence, blood

“The Midnight Show” has a very Lovecraftian feel to it. A traveling circus comes into town, and it’s less than stellar. Will hates it, but Clyde is distracted by a girl named Sombra, the daughter of one of the clowns. She invites them to The Midnight Show, which is guaranteed to be much better than anything the regular show has to offer. Warning: sexual content, blood, eldritch horror

Each of these authors present tales of terror that, while short, sit with the reader for a long time after finishing them. Weber selected some great authors for Double-Barrel Horror Volume 2. It’s clear he has an eye for horror. Recommended for those with ironclad stomachs.

 

Contains: See individual reviews for specific content warnings.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on August 3, 2017 by , Reply
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