Written by: Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden
Art by: Daniele Serra
Lettering by: Clem Robins
Cover by: Daniele Serra
Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Summary:
The one-shot starts out on the highway, as Hellboy passes an elderly woman that’s driving in the opposite direction; as little words are exchanged before the point of view switches to that of the elderly woman. Three nuns appear after a few panels showing the decay of the streets of Nivola, and they whisper a few words that seem concerning at first glance.
The elderly woman begins to walk with the nuns as they describe the influx of visitors that come to Nivola based on rumors and whispers of monsters. The nuns continue to explain that the mysterious monster wrecks havoc on the synagogue and other tourist attractions in order to scare away people. In return, the nuns decided to call up an agent from B.P.R.D., which happens to be Hellboy.
The issue starts to ramp up as it’s revealed that the monster is the elderly woman’s husband. The nuns retell the story of how they kept the monster at bay from the rest of Nivola, only for the monster to rebel. Hellboy confronts the monster and brawls with it in order to restore some kind of order to the Gothic town. The end of the issue hits a moral crossroads concerning Hellboy; a moral question of sorts.
Daniele Serra has picked a great choice with using watercolours for the story, as it gives the story a mystical feeling; the feeling of bringing a faded memory back to mind. The first half of the story focuses on three color tones: red, black and gray. The red colors are switched for a cooler blue in the second half of the story. Clem Robins has clear, clean-cut lettering that’s easy for the reader to follow. Solid short story for a one-shot. Readers do not need to read previous B.P.RD. Stories in order to enjoy this one.
Overall: 9/10
India Williams is a comic writer and reviewer based in Florida. She is a lifelong comics fan, with favorites including Thor, Conan, G.I. Joe, and Speed Racer. When she’s not writing comics or reviewing them, she enjoys toy photography.
