the big book of the week

• Detective Comics #858 [00:53]

mainstream

• Arkham Reborn #1 (of 3) [06:24]
• Blackest Night #4 (of 8)[11:45]
• Green Lantern #47 [17:51]
• Superman Secret Origin #2 (of 6) [20:59]
• Punisher #10 + Dark Reign: The List – Punisher [25:15]
• Fantastic Four #572 [36:05]
• Dark Avengers: Ares #1 [38:17]
• Ms. Marvel #46 [42:27]
• Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars #2 (of 4) [48:03]
• Ultimate Comics: Avengers #3 [1:01:01]

indie

• FVZA #1 (of 3) [1:13:53]
• Ignition City #5 (of 5) [1:20:43]
• Abe Sapien (One Shot Wonders) [1:25:48]

lightning round

• Northlanders #21 [1:30:07]
• The Boys #1 [1:32:05]
• Invincible Presents Atom Eve & Rex Splode #1 (of 3) [1:33:33]

trades [1:34:41]

• Wolverine Old Man Logan HC
• GI Joe Cobra TP
• Sandman The Dream Hunters HC

Vamos falar então de dois assuntos que eu gosto muito: Hellboy e Action Figures.

Uma das mais interessantes action-figures que eu já vi, não pelo Rasputin que na minha opinião é um personagem bem fraco.O legal mesmo é o Hellboy Bebê, muito legal a idéia.

Johann Kraus, um personagem muito interessante, gostei dele desde que o vi a primeira vez no filme. A action figure é bem detalhada, incluindo a fumaça dentro do capacete e os dedais.

Kroenen, braço direito e esquerdo de Hitler.Legal a action figure,poderia ser melhor.

Desculpem a imagem horrivel. Muito boa essa action figure, bem feitas as armas (Samaritano e Big Baby),  só faltou o charuto.Hehe

Mauro quer uma mão de pedra…

I am totally thrilled beyond belief that Guillermo del Toro is doing The Hobbit, but that also means that there won’t be another Hellboy movie for years! The last Hellboy film was so damn good I was foaming at the mouth for a third movie. So what could they do in between while del Toro is running around middle earth with Frodo?! How about a B.P.R.D. movie already?! In case you live in a cave B.P.R.D. stands for Bureau Of Paranormal Research and Defense. It’s the group that Hellboy and good Ol’ Abe Sapien work for. It’s the group that saves humanity from monsters, ghosts, demons and aliens.  It’s also a super rad comic book. And Guess what? It doesn’t feature Hellboy as the main character. Hint, Hint….

So this would be the perfect time to make this movie. A superhuman X-files type flick  with lots of monsters and high adventure. There’s already a great basis with the characters they have already established in the first two Hellboy movies too. Who out there didn’t think Abe Sapien was amazing? They could bring back Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Johann Kraus as well as some new members like  Roger the Homonculus, Dr. Kate Corrigan or Panya the Mummy. The movies main focus could finally be on Abe Sapien and Even explore Liz a bit more as well. A cameo by Hellboy could be a pretty good idea as well.

Even though Guillermo would not be helming it he has stated that he would love to see someone tackle a B.P.R.D movie. Perhaps del Toro could even produce it? I quite sure with some of the awesome movies he produced he could hand it over to a great up and coming director. Perhaps The Orphange’s (awesome creepy movie!) Juan Antonio Bayona ? As long as del Toro is involved in some way I am sure it could be great.

So let’s keep our fingers crossed that this happens because Mike Mignola’s universe is one that needs to be explored even more on film!  Either way you all better get out there and check out the comic if you like some damn fun paranormal adventures…

Det har kommit lite bilder på den nya karaktären Thane i Mass Effect 2. Snyggt designad måste jag säga, men är det bara jag som tycker att han är lite väl lik Abe Sapien från Hellboy? Men visst, någonstans måste ju utvecklarna hitta sin inspiration.

Vill ni se fler bilder kan ni surfa vidare till Level 7.

Thane och Abe. Syskon?

Mezco Hellboy Deluxe Abe Sapien 18 Inch Figure

Price: TBA
Production Run: TBA

Abe Sapien, the psychic humanoid amphibious paranormal investigator of Hellboy fame, gets the deluxe treatment with this super-sized figure.

Standing a towering eighteen inches tall, this Abe Sapien is faithful to the design of Abe as seen in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Abe features fifteen points of articulation, removable goggles, and removable breathing apparatus.

Design: Gino Verna

Produced and Distributed: Inkworks, Morrisville, NC

Inkworks announces the March 2004 release of premium trading cards based on the highly-anticipated movie, Hellboy. Hellboy is a supernatural action-adventure feature film based on Mike Mignola’s popular Dark Horse Comics series, and brought to life by visionary writer/director Guillermo Del Toro (Blade II, Cronos). Look for fan-favorite characters from the comic book saga brought to life, including: Hellboy, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien and more. The 72-card series from Inkworks features the popular comic-turned-movie story, and include character cards, movie story cards, behind-the-scenes, movie production concept art and much more.

Knapp vier Jahre nach seinem ersten Ausflug auf die Leinwand ist Hellboy (Ron Perlman)  zurück und mit ihm auch die abnormalen Probleme der Menschheit, die das Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D) zu lösen versucht.

Es hat sich einiges verändert im Hauptquartier der Behörde. Liz (Selma Blair) hat sich mittlerweile bei Hellboy eingenistet und wie jedes Paar streiten sie sich ab und zu, was wegen ihrer übermenschlichen Kräfte allerdings etwas extremer aussieht als bei jedem anderen Paar. Außerdem ist der Chef der Behörde Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) äußerst wütend auf den roten Höllenburschen. Denn der hat es sich mittlerweile zum Hobby gemacht, sich von jedem Fotografen in Amerika ablichten zu lassen – was die Beteuerungen des FBI, es gäbe das B.P.R.D. überhaupt nicht, deutlich schwächen. Doch für seinen Groll bleibt nur wenig Zeit, denn der elfische Prinz Nuada hat bei einer Auktion in New York ein Stück einer elfischen Krone gestohlen, mit deren Hilfe er die goldene Armee anführen kann. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Heerschar mechanischer und unbesiegbarer Soldaten, die vor Jahrtausenden geschmiedet worden sind, um den Krieg zwischen Elfen und Menschen zu besiegeln. Der König hat die Krone jedoch in drei Stücken unter Menschen und Elfen aufgeteilt, um die Macht der goldenen Armee nie wieder zur Entfaltung kommen zu lassen. Hellboy, Liz und Abe Spapien (Doug Jones) gehen wieder einmal auf Dämonenjagd. Zuerst treffen sie auf eine Menge von “Zahnfeen” (im engl.: “Tooth Fairies”), die nichts anderes tun, als essen und auszuscheiden, weshalb auch nicht mehr viel von den Wachmännern übrig geblieben ist. Nachdem die paranomalen Agenten das Haus geräumt haben, präsentiert sich Hellboy vor der gesamten Presse und bringt Manning einmal mehr in Verlegenheit. Um den mediengeilen Dämonen in Schach zu halten, schicht das FBI den deutschen Professor Johann Kraus (James Dodd), der Hellboy auf mehrere Weisen missfällt. Währenddessen wendet sich Prinz Nuada (Luke Goss) selbst gegen seinen Vater, den König der Elfen, und seine Zwillingsschwester Nuala (Anna Walton), um die übrigen Teile der Krone und die Karte zum Standpunkt der goldenen Armee an sich zu nehmen.

Nun, Kritik an der Handlung gibt es diesmal von mir deutlich weniger als noch bei Teil eins. Die Vorgehensweise von Hellboy, Abe, Liz und Co. sind durchaus nachvollziehbar und die Verbindung von den “Bösen” zu der goldenen Armee, um die sich der Film hauptsächlich dreht, wird hinreichend dargelegt. Besonders das Storyboard hat mir diesmal gefallen, sowie die Einführung, in der Hellboy als Teenager von seinem “Vater” Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm (John Hurt) die uralte Erzählung von der unbesiegbaren Goldenen Armee hört. Diese Erzählung wird visuell mit einem Holzfiguren-Look der Menschen, Elfen und Dämonen dargestellt, was zwar nicht sonderlich detailreich, dafür aber sehr simmungsvoll inszeniert ist.

Abe Sapien: Precisely. All these things do is eat and eat, then poop, then eat again.
———
Hellboy: You’re in love. Have a beer.
Abe Sapien: Oh, my body’s a temple.
Hellboy: Now it’s an amusement park.
——–
Prince Nuada: [to the Golden Army] Kill them.
Abe Sapien: [shocked] He lied to us.
Hellboy: Abe, old buddy. We ever get outta this, we gotta talk.

Quelle: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411477/quotes

Die Effekte, einer der Mängel des ersten Films meiner Meinung nach, sind deutlich aufgepeppt. Die CGI-Modelle, die schon im im Prequel sehr anständig aussahen, finden auch sparsamer als in sonstigen Blockbustern ihren Platz und wirken wieder sehr professionell. Die Umgebungen sind ebenfalls abwechslungsreich. Ein weiteres Mal folgt Hellboy Dämonen nach Big Apple, Guillermo del Toro führt den Zuschauer aber auch in eine Fantasiewelt unter New York der “Trollmarkt”, in denen sich kein Mensch je Eintritt verschaffen konnte. Bild- und Tontechnik haben mir bei der Blu-Ray wirklich gut gefallen, obwohl der Unterschied zum ersten Film (DVD) nicht so groß war, wie bei der High-Definition-Disc von The Dark Knight zu dessen DVD.

Insgesamt habe ich mich sehr gut unterhalten gefühlt. Weil der Film auf den Stärken des Vorgängers aufbaut, wie beispielsweise der coole Protagonist, kann er selbst seine Schwächen größtenteils ausmerzen. Denn die Geschichte ist zwar nachvollziehbar und durch und durch logisch, aber eben doch sehr oberflächlich und wie es bei “normalen Comicverfilmungen” üblich ist, nich gerade Hauptargument für den Film. Auch die Bösewichte sind praktisch außen vor, immerhin wird der Initiator der neuen dunklen Machenschaften, Prinz Nuada, von zwei Seiten beleuchtet – aus seiner Sicht und der, der Helden. Die Liebesbeziehung von Hellboy zu Liz wird weitergeführt und um auch dieses Element im Sequel unterzubringen verliebt sich Abe auch noch gleich. Daraus entwickelt sich zwar keine sehr große Dramatik am Ende, dafür jedoch einige spaßige Szenen, insbesondere die, in der Hellboy und Abe sich aus Liebeskummer betrinken.

Auch Hellboy 2 bietet wieder viel Spaß, Action und Spannung, legt aber im Vergleich zum Vorgänger mehr Wert auf die Geschichte, wodurch die großen Actionszenen, die weiterhin toll choreographiert und inszeniert sind, deutlich kürzer ausfallen – dem Filmvergnügen tut das aber keinen Abbruch. Wie schon beim ersten Film hat Guillermo del Toro auf ausführliches Bonusmaterial großen Wert gelegt. Das zweieinhalb stündige Making-Of zeigt zum Beispiel die Entwicklungsphase von den reinen Gedanken des Regisseurs bis zum fertigen Film – sehr interessant.

The Plot: The identities of Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) are exposed to the general public as they face a new threat: The Golden Army, assembled of long-hidden mythological creatures, is prepared to attack. As fantastic monsters and paranormal phenomena begin to take over, the trio races to stop the army’s leader, the vengeful Prince Nuada (Luke Goss). John Alexander co-stars in Guillermo del Toro’s visually entertaining sequel.

The music was well done for this type of movie. It included most of the same theme music from the first movie, with some added tracks as well. Most of the music commanded the mood as the movie progressed. The one thing I hated, was when they were trying to be funny, and played Barry Manalow’s “I Cant Smile without You”. This gag just wasn’t funny to me…

The cinematography was decent. All the main scenes were done well. It had a lot of steady panning shots with little to no shakiness. The lighting was great as well and the colors use made everything look really surreal. These things definitely made the film more enjoyable over all.

The acting was defiantly on the mediocre side. I hate to be harsh but Selma Blair, although nice to look at, is kind of a bland actress. I’m gonna have to blame her for the complete lack of chemistry between her and Perlman. Other characters were similar…that could be blamed on the fact that they were CGI’ed, but overall the lack of emotion took away from any type of natural reaction.

The effects were really the best part of this movie. There were all types of different creatures with amazing designs. This is something I have come to expect from Guillermo Del Toro. The fight scenes were defiantly entertaining…and abundant throughout the film.

Overall the movie was very visually entertaining. If you’re the type of movie fan that just likes to sit down and watch all hell break loose on the screen then this you will enjoy. As for me, due to character flaws, choppy storyline that failed to keep a good flow going, and lack of drama, I cant say that I loved it.

2 ½ Out of 5 Crom’s

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With the birth of our daughter over the summer, I was a little too busy to go see Hellboy II:  The Golden Army in the theatre, and boy, after watching the DVD, I wish we’d gotten a babysitter!

While I enjoyed the first Hellboy, I found it a little too mired in the occult and Nazis while failing to find a clear, confident voice.  Hellboy II did not suffer such soul-searching – it knew exactly who it wanted to be.

Writer/Director Guillermo Del Toro brought his vision and voice to Hellboy more completely than the first film and created a hugely entertaining story full of fantasy and charm.  This Hellboy had all-out action, incredibly intricate costumes and special effects, a fairly tight plot, great characterization, true moments of tangible emotion, and a genuine sense of humor and quick wit.

I appreciated the contemporary fantasy direction the film took using trolls, elves, fairies, and all sorts of mythological creatures and placing them firmly in our modern-day world.  I loved that Hellboy’s supporting characters got more face time, and the inclusion of the magnificently charismatic Johann Krauss was a testament to superb voice and kinetic acting.  Additionally, each actor had a much firmer grip on their character and therefore delivered far more believable performances.  There were scenes in this movie that never, ever should have worked (such as a Hellboy-Abe Sapien duet), but they did, and they were spectacular.  The relationship between Hellboy and Liz seemed much more authentic as well, and therefore created a far more convincing love story than the last installment.

Hellboy II:  The Golden Army held the kind of magical sense of wonder and fun that I’ve longed for in a science fiction/fantasy film.  Furthermore, the fact it didn’t take itself too seriously and readily injected some hilarious, even campy, moments made it all the more endearing. 

Haven’t seen the first Hellboy?  No matter.  You can watch Hellboy II without missing a beat and I recommend you do if you’d like to see a delightfully made, wildly entertaining fantasy.

Cover of the Week is my presentation of the best cover from last week’s comic book releases, based on the art, design, and overall good looks.

Hello kiddies, it’s that time of the week again! And that means I have to wake up earlier than usual! FUN FUN FUN! Anyways, lets dive in to my favorite comics covers from last week, not like it’s of great importance, but it’s better than reading about dancing celebrities.

Batman Cacophony #1 (cover by Adam Kubert)

Sure, it’s not the strongest book last week, but this cover is what made me pick it up. I think it’s a good example of how a cover can influence readers (or buyers) into getting a book. Although Adam Kubert is not my favorite artist, he does pretty cool stuff. And ever since he (and bro Andy) moved to DC, I’ve notice an improvement in their art. I once read on Wizard that Adam loves Batman and likes to play with the light/dark elements of the character on art and story-wise. And I do agree that he’s able to do a pretty good Batman, I was wondering why he didn’t draw this book. It could’ve been better.

Runners-up! Fables #78 (James Jean), 100 Bullets #97 (Dave Johnson)

These two are among my favorite cover artists. Anything they cough out is good. Anything.

Panel of the Week!

*klink*

La segunda entrega (y al parecer, no la última) del personaje de comics Hellboy, en la cual debe luchar contra un principe elfo, para que este no se apodere del ejercito dorado. Una buena pelicula, con muchos efectos especiales, y en donde se le comienza a dar mas importrancia a los otros personajes, como el hombre pez Abe Sapian, y la mujer ardiente Liz sherman. Ademas, en esta entrega, el director se mete mas en el submundo que existe a nuestro alrededor, dando d conocer personajes de otras razas, y las guerras que se llevan a cabo en el inframundo. El romance, o mejor dicho, el amor de hellboy hacia Liz ya es algo sabido, y tiene su desarrollo en la pelicula. Por estos detalles, la pelicula tiene un guion soportable, y no es una pelicula de puros efectos especiales.

La trama trata sobre la tragua que hicieron los elfos y los humanos, hace miles de años, en donde los elfos esconderían el ejercito dorado (un ejercito mortal, e indestructible, que fue armado por los orcos), a cambio de paz con los humanos. Asi es como en los tiempos de hoy, el principe elfo, llamado Principe Nuada, decide que los elfos han perdido su trono en el mundo, y hace lo imposible por buscar y encontrar el ejercito dorado. En medio de esto, esta su hermana, la princesa Nuala (que se parece mucho a una version de Soledad onetto recien levantada de la cama), la cual escapa y busca ayuda en este trio de extraños superheroes. 

El final es bastante obvio, pero lo interesante de estas pelicula no es el final, si no como se llega al final. Entre medio, se da a conocer un dato de hellboy, que da el pie para que haya una tercera entrega.

Como dije, es una pelicula que si bien tiene efectos especiales muy buenos, y da una gama de personajes extraños que son un sazon a la historia, el guion no se hace aburrido, y resulta ser mas interesante de lo que uno cree.

Es una pelicula para arrendar, y para que una vez terminada, seguir pasandolo bien.

Yo le doy, tres renos.

Hancock
[ 1 star out of 4 ]

This movie is pretty terrible and the trailers reflected that. This picture not only suffers from a lack of focus but also a lack of aim and resolution. I feel like the filmmakers were coming up with ideas right on the spot as it went along. With a confusing backstory, it was hard for me to care for the characters. I know that the filmmakers are trying to make a funny superhero movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I believe they could have made that kind of film with a better script, visual effects, and with just the right balance of tone and pace. Not even the star power of Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman could save this wreck. Smith’s character was annoying and I felt like I didn’t know anything about him; Theron’s character was moody the whole time; the only character I could stand was Jason Bateman because he has that natural charm. Another problem I had was the lack of a villain. I know that not all superhero films have to have a villain but this one desperately needed it because there’s absolutely nothing that drives the story forward. I felt like we were stuck in one place the whole time and it was sickening. I have nothing more to say other than I expected nothing and was still disappointed. Give this one a pass if you’re highly doubtful of seeing it in the first place.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]

I liked this installment as equally as its predecessor. The script has a nice balance of action and humor, the characters are interesting, and the visual effects are nothing short of magnificent. Guillermo del Toro has once again outdone himself when it comes to giving his audience creatures that are beyond out of this world. Some of the images reminded me of “Pan’s Labyrinth” only without the dark fairytale that drives the story. I’ve also seen del Toro’s “The Orphanage” and I’m often at awe when it comes to his talent. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Doug Jones reprise their roles as Hellboy, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, respectively. I felt like four years didn’t go by after the first film because they feel so at home with their characters. Therefore, the pace wasn’t slow because the audiences don’t have to watch the actors become comfortable with their characters. As for the story regarding the Golden Army, Prince Nauda (Luke Goss) and Princess Nauda (Anna Walton), I must admit that I didn’t care much about it as long as the film delivered adrenaline-fueled action scenes. Although the pace may be a little too fast and therefore not answer certain questions, it’s more than forgiven because the fantasy world that they live in is so vast to the point where it’s impossible to find out everything about them in the first place. What this film lacked that the first one thrived in, though, was the backstory regarding Hellboy’s childhood. I thought that the first “Hellboy” had more heart but less action scenes while “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is the complete opposite. Still, if there is going to be a third picture, I’d like to find more about Hellboy’s origins and the unanswered questions that this installment brought up.

P2
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]

I was pretty surprised that I enjoyed this movie quite a bit because a lot of critics didn’t like it. While I don’t disagree that this is no different than most cat-mouse thrillers out there, I thought it was solid when it came to delivering the thrills. If one expects nothing but to be entertained when it comes to the characters making stupid decisions, the killer popping out of nowhere, and missing opportunities of escape, one will bound to like this picture. Wes Bentley (“American Beauty”) is pretty effective as the parking attendant who terrorizes Rachel Nichols (“Alias”). I wasn’t that surprised to see Bentley as an effective stalker because I noticed a little bit of craziness in his eyes on “American Beauty.” His charisma works worked with him in the beginning and I wish they could’ve established that a little more before diving for the kill. But I was surprised to see Nichols as an effective potential scream queen, which reminded me of a somewhat weak version of Jamie Lee Curtis on “Halloween.” I also really liked the this film was set during Christmas. I will never perceive “Santa Baby” the same way without thinking of someone being held against their own will in a parking structure during Christmas dinners. Despite the film’s inadequacies regarding its background story, the pace of the film is brisk and the tone is cold (yet strangely involving). I recommend this film during sleepovers on a rainy night. (Did I mention that this movie contains one of the most gruesome deaths involving a car in recent memory? I covered my eyes!)

Hellboy 2 Golden Army Movie Photos (27), originally uploaded by divxplanet.

Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, winner of the “I should not be attracted to this man, but I am!” I liked his character in the first Hellboy movie, but I was in love when the second came out. I think it was because of Doug’s gentle voice and the fact that Abe found love. And Abe is a nerd who loves reading too.

Discuta este post também no fórum OmegaGeek

Muita gente hoje em dia só conhece o Hellboy fodão, graças as ótimas adaptações do vermelhão, feitas por Guillermo Del Toro para o cinema. Mas Hellboy é muito mais do que a gente vê naquelas duas horas de película. É um personagem muito mais denso, ou melhor, de tramas mais densas e sombrias e não tão coloridas como visto nos filmes.

O protagonista é um detetive para casos envolvendo o mundo paranormal. Um menino vindo do inferno que acaba se tornando um dos maiores heróis da humanidade na luta contra o mal. Sim, porque eu não considero Hellboy um anti-herói. Se tirarmos os chifres, a cauda e a pele vermelha ele é apenas mais um detetive durão, solucionando casos misteriosos.

Aliás é aí que está a grande sacada de Mike Mignola, o criador da série. Nas histórias o aspecto demoníaco de Hellboy não importa, não causa estranhamento, os personagens já vêem o herói como um humano qualquer. E após algumas histórias o efeito em nós, leitores, é o mesmo.

Hoje falaremos sobre uma edição originalmente publicada em 2000 nos EUA, Hellboy – A mão direita da perdição. Além da história título, esta edição apresenta vários contos curtos, ideal para quem quer adentrar o universo demoníaco de Mignola. A edição é dividida em três momentos. O primeiro arco de histórias é chamado de Anos Dourados, é composto de três histórias e se passa entre as décadas de 40 e 50.

Panquecas é a primeira história e se passa no México, em 1947, trazendo um Hellboy menino, teimoso e curioso, recusando-se a experimentar panquecas no café da manhã. A mensagem dessa história é clara: o personagem poderia ser qualquer um de nós. Destaco nessa história a divertidíssima repercussão dos demônios, na cidade de Pandemonium, a capital do inferno, ao constatarem que Hellboy experimentou panquecas.

É fato conhecido que quando a Dark Horse pediu uma história sobre Hellboy jovem, Mignola não estava com a menor vontade de escrever e sugeriu uma publicação de duas páginas apenas com Hellboy comendo panquecas, uma história feita ‘nas coxas’ por assim dizer. Mas o pequeno conto tornou-se uma das histórias mais populares, responsável direta pela publicação futura de Hellboy Jr.

Os contos seguintes, A natureza da fera e Rei Vold, servem pra ressaltar novamente o lado humano de Hellboy, e como o herói é falível também. Como eu disse anteriormente, esqueça o herói fodão do cinema. Nos quadrinhos Hellboy erra e apanha muitas vezes. No primeiro conto ao enfrentar um dragão, Hellboy se salva por pura sorte. A história é baseada em uma lenda inglesa que conta a luta entre São Leonardo e um dragão. Diz a lenda que durante a batalha no local onde o santo lutou, o sangue que caiu ao chão fez brotarem lírios, que até hoje crescem numa região pertencente West Sussex, na Inglaterra.

No conto Rei Vold, Hellboy vai até a Noruega a pedido de seu pai adotivo, ajudar um velho amigo dele. Chegando lá encontra Edmond Aickman, que está investigando o caso de um fantasma chamado King Vold que tem aterrorizado a região com seus cães fantasmas. Hellboy acaba constatando que Aickman não está interessado apenas em desvendar o mistério e acaba levando uma surra de um dos cães fantasmas de Vold. Aqui é importante destacar o conhecimento de Mignola de diversas mitologias e culturas, resultado de pesquisas para compor o universo de Hellboy.

A segunda parte desta graphic novel é chamada de Anos da Maturidade se passa entre as décadas de 60 e 80, e aqui vemos um Hellboy um pouco mais cínico e bruto, depois de anos de investigações e pesquisas paranormais. Este arco, também divido em três histórias, nos leva inicialmente ao Japão, onde vemos o vermelho em mais um história solo, enfrentando cabeças sem corpo em uma antiga casa mal-assombrada.

A segunda história apresenta um médium que ao tentar acessar o mundo espiritual através do uso de ectoplasma, acaba sendo consumido por uma criatura abissal. Hellboy é chamado pela assistente do médium e tenta salvá-lo. A criatura convocada claramente inspirada nos monstros ‘tentaculosos’ de H. P. Lovecraft, umas das grandes inspirações de Mignola.

A última história do arco chama-se de Vârcolac, um vampiro romeno, considerado o mestre de todos os vampiros, capaz de causar eclipses. Hellboy encontra a criatura ao caçar a condessa Ilona Kakosky, que também é um vampiro. A história nos dá mais uma pista sobre a identidade de Hellboy quando a condessa diz:

“Ele vai destruí-lo completamente, não pelo que você é, mas pelo que poderia ser e não é.”

Aqui começa o terceiro arco onde temos as duas histórias que considero mais importantes nessa edição: A mão direita da perdição e A Caixa do mal(cujo título ainda prefiro no original “Box full of evil”). Estas histórias não são datadas o que nos faz crer que se passam nos dias atuais. Na primeira história Mignola faz uma retrospectiva da origem de Hellboy, na qual o próprio demônio conta sua história para um padre chamado Adrian Frost, filho de um grande inimigo de Hellboy o Professor Malcolm Frost. Ao final da história o padre entrega a Hellboy uma pista intrigante que faz referência a sua mão de pedra e o perigo dela cair em mãos erradas.

A última história, A caixa do Mal, nos traz a dupla Hellboy e Abe Sapien em uma investigação sobre um misterioso assalto, no qual foi usada inclusive uma ‘mão da glória’, um artefato de magia negra capaz de abrir todas as portas e paralisar pessoas. A mão da glória é feita a partir da mão decepada de um enforcado. Com o decorrer das investigações descobrimos que um homem chamado Igor Bromhead, roubou uma caixa na qual um demônio foi aprisionado.

Mais adiante o demônio é libertado e sob o controle de Igor conta que Hellboy carrega a coroa do apocalipse e que sua mão carrega um valioso poder. Para se apossar dos dois itens Igor terá que acabar com Hellboy, mas as coisas não saem como planejado. Esta história é interessante pois mostra um Abe Sapien muito mais durão do que o visto no filme e novamente explica muita coisa sobre a origem de Hellboy.

Estas são as histórias de Hellboy – A mão direita da perdição, lançada aqui no Brasil em 2004 pela editora Mythos, em uma qualidade que deixa a desejar, mas ainda sim cheia de extras entre eles as capas originais das edições publicadas nos EUA, esboços e comentários do próprio Mignola sobre cada uma das histórias e ainda traz a opinião de ícones dos quadrinhos como Will Eisner, Frank Miller e Sergio Aragonés.

Ou seja, é uma edição imperdível, quer dizer imperdível não, porque eu tinha a minha guardadinha e ela foi roubada. Roubada. R-O-U-B-A-D-A. E eu espero que o meliante vá para inferno sentar no colo do Astaroth. Mas a boa notícia é que a Mythos começou a republicar este ano uma coletânea chamada Hellboy: Edição Histórica e é uma oportunidade para quem não conhece (e também para quem foi roubado…) iniciar uma incursão pelo mundo sombrio e divertido de Hellboy.

Wir kämpfen gerade durch einen ganzen Haufen von Hörspiel-Erscheinungen, die alle im fantastischen Sektor angesiedelt sind: Sacred, DSA, Punktown und Hellboy. Letzteres hat Christoph am schnellsten fertiggekriegt, also, bitte, Du hast das Wort!

Während sich Schauspieler Ron Perlman derzeit auf der Leinwand als Hellboy einer goldenen Armee in den Weg stellt, stellt sich seine deutsche Synchronstimme Tilo Schmitz ganz anderen Gefahren. Denn pünktlich zum Starttermin des zweiten Hellboy-Kinofilms bringt der LAUSCH Verlag eine eigene Hörspielreihe rund um den großen roten Sonderermittler heraus, die sich an der Comic-Vorlage des US-Autors Mike Mignola orientiert. Zwei Doppelfolgen haben die LAUSCHer bislang produziert. Der vorliegende erste Teil, »Die Saat der Zerstörung«, beleuchtet vor allem die Entstehungsgeschichte des Höllenjungen und seine Konfrontation mit seinem Beschwörer, dem russischen Mystiker und Mönch Rasputin. Die Hamburger haben es sich nicht nehmen lassen, ihre Werke mit den Synchronsprechern der Leinwandfassung zu veredeln. Herausgekommen ist eine Produktion, die vor allem eines macht: Laune!

STORY

Im Winter des Jahres 1944 versuchen die Nazis der drohenden Kriegsniederlage zu entgehen, indem sie, mit Hilfe eines Magiers, ein Bündnis mit den Mächten der Finsternis schließen. Doch die grausamen Pläne scheitern und der Abgesandte der Hölle landet bei den Alliierten.
Als Ermittler bei B.U.A.P. (Behörde zur Untersuchung und Abwehr paranormaler Erscheinungen), trifft Hellboy ein halbes Jahrhundert später auf den Mann, der ihn einst heraufbeschwor und ihn nun endgültig für seine apokalyptischen Pläne einsetzen will…..

KRITIK

»Hellboy« ist, produktionstechnisch betrachtet, im besten Sinne eine Mischung aus den anderen LAUSCH-Publikationen »Caine« und »Die schwarze Sonne« – derbe Sprüche und satte Action treffen auf eine atmosphärisch dicht gewobene, aber komplexe Erzählstruktur. Klingt ungewöhnlich, wurde aber gekonnt zusammengeführt. So kommt beim Zuhören keine Langeweile auf. Zwar zwingen Situationen wie unangekündigte Szenenwechsel zum genauen Hinhören, doch in ein Gehirnknoten-Monster wie »Die schwarze Sonne« verwandelt sich »Saat der Zerstörung« nie. Dem Handlungsverlauf lässt sich stets folgen.

Die Stimmen von Tilo Schmitz (Hellboy), Ranja Bonalana (Liz Sherman) und Joachim Tennstedt (Abe Sapien) verleihen dem Hörspiel zudem ordentliches Hollywood-Flair. Unterstrichen wird das Ganze durch den Einsatz des Hamburger Hörspiel-Orchesters, das mal pompös, mal melancholisch-ruhig für musikalische Untermalung sorgt und den hohen Anspruch hervorhebt, den der LAUSCH Verlag an die eigene Produktion stellt. Lediglich der Einsatz einiger weniger “Nichtprofi”-Sprecher stört das Gesamtbild etwas, wird aber durch Michael Prelles’ wunderbar bösen Einsatz als Rasputin mehr als wett gemacht (Herrgott nochmal, gebt diesem Mann doch endlich mal ‘ne Auszeichnung!).

FAZIT

Die Hölle scheint kein schlechter Ort zu sein, wenn sie schon Protagonisten wie Hellboy ausspuckt: Mit markigen Sprüchen zieht der rote Ermittler eine Spur der guten Unterhaltung durch’s komplexe Erzählwerk und punktet außerdem mit gewohnt hohen LAUSCH-Produktionsstandards.

Christoph Memmert

Hell Boy II theme song (Rammstein – Mein Herz Brennt) The Dark Knight sure raised the bar for super-hero action/special effects movies just as Harry Potter raised the bar for children’s fantasy books. Over the next few years the movie-going public will see a proliferation of super-hero movies, all trying to “cash-in” on the success of Dark Knight.  Just as we did following the success of Spiderman. (Which may or may not have been the incentive for making the new round of Batman movies  that had already been done by Tim Burton).

Jack Nicholson’s Joker or Heath Ledger? Both were superb! Just different.

Most of the new super-hero movies will be God-awful.

They will resurrect every super-hero from Hell-Boy, Spawn, to Green Lantern and a renewed interest in America’s number-one super-hero, Superman; along with every super villan from The Joker to Lex Luther and Solomon Grundy. (Green Lantern).

We will see more sophisticated plots,  even more spectacular special- effects and villians as the special-effects and villians that have already been tired out by Dark Knight and others,  simply won’t excite us anymore. We will also read newspaper accounts about stunt-men being injured or killed in bringing us these new never before seen spectacular stunts for these new super-hero movies. The pressure to “cash-in” by Hollywood producers will ramp up the competition as well as stress-levels in Hollywood to have that big blockbuster movie of the summer. We used to have one or two blockbuster movies every summer (Independence Day)  now we seem to have a half dozen. Usually one movie breaks out of the pack like Iron Man and Dark Knight. Timing and release dates will be critical in Hollywood as well for success. An ill-timed release date has sent many a shipwrecked movie onto the rocks. (Deep Impact, Mars Attacks!, Volcano, The Forbidden Dance, Red Planet, Wyatt Earp and Valmont).

Hollywood- I would like to see new super-hero’s that we have not seen before.

Green Lantern is a good start. Marvel Comics, the creator of Spiderman gave us a plethora of super-hero’s and super-villans in the 1960’s and ’70’s. I had never read the Hell-Boy comics growing up as I was into Spidey and Green Lantern so I did enjoy the last two Hell-Boy movies. Ron Pearlman is a hoot and a holler. Everyone needs to watch the recent Golden Army movie just for the scene where Hell-Boy (Pearlman) and Dr. Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) get roaring drunk and start commiserating about their prospective love-lives while singing the Barry Manilow tune, “Can’t Smile Without You.“  It’s is up-roaringly hilarious. This is the kind of sophisticated writing I wish to see in any future super-hero movie. I wonder if Barry liked it.

Hollywood- I want to see good writing/good acting and not so many special-effects. You’ll remember Johnny Depp’s performance in Pirates Caribbean 3 was underscored by too many special effects.

So Hollywood … get busy and continue to give us the superb writing and acting that we, the viewers witnessed in Dark Knight while trying to keep the sense of humor as in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

KILBURN HALL