- Story by: Mike Mignola
- Art by: Matt Smith
- Colors by: Dave Stewart
- Letters by: Clem Robins
- Cover by: Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart
Though I have not had chance yet to read up on ‘Hellboy and the B.P.R.D: Saturn Returns’ trilogy due to the fact I still haven’t nabbed myself a copy of issue one, I have been excited for Mignola’s return to the Hellboy series and so when I saw this new book on the shelf without an issue number, I had to grab it and give it a read as soon as I could. My bus hadn’t even left the station yet before I opened up the pages of this comic, and I took myself out of the real world, and delved deep into the world of Hellboy.
‘Long Night at Goloski Station’ is a fun little tale following one of Hellboy’s missions which sees him travelling to somewhere in Russia, in 1967, in search of a man named Professor Onchukov. Instead of the professor however, he meets an old gentlemen by the name of Yad Tovich who claims to be a hunter, and not just any hunter, but one who knows all the well how to hunt the supernatural beings of this world.
We get a quick flashback of Hellboy fighting the dreadful Baba Yaga as Yad Tovich tells him that he should have killed her and not just took her eye out, but their time of story telling is soon interrupted by three men, who Yad Tovich warns Hellboy about, as he recognises the two henchmen as being nothing more than Demon’s in human flesh for disguise. After locking these three in the station house, Hellboy and Yad share more tales and relax out in front of the house as Yad regales Hellboy with strange tales from the past, including a farmer chasing off the Devil in goat form, and the story of a famous hunter from England known as Edward Grey, who Yad claims to have known and shared drinks with before the case of Jack the Ripper, but Hellboy is flabbergasted by this notion as those crimes were committed eighty years prior to this present day, and Mr. Tovich didn’t appear that old.
Before Tovich could finish the tale of Edward Grey though, action begins as the demons break out and we get to see Hellboy in action, which we all love to see. Meanwhile Yad is given a proposition by the third man in the house, and whilst it seems that Mr. Tovich is thinking about accepting, Yad is a stronger being than originally perceived by both the demons and the reader.
When Hellboy returns to the B.P.R.D headquarters, he tells his company superiors of his journey and his meeting with Yad, but despite their research, none of them can find the name anywhere, only a peculiar story of a hunter who sold the souls of his wife and children to the devil, in hopes to avoid becoming a wolf after being attacked by one, and soon after signing the document, a huge wolf burst in and murders his wife and daughter, but according to one of the B.P.R.D Members, the son was recorded to have escaped, and legend has it this boy refuses to die, for fear of burning in hell.
Mike Mignola’s stories are always an entertaining read as he uses plenty of mythology and folklore to help a story come to life, allowing it to adapt itself around the character of Hellboy so that the big red demon doesn’t stand out more than he already does. The dark tales of Demonic deals, werewolves and character who have lived for more than a lifetime, always make for incredible stories that peak your interests and add mystery to the world. The entire story is set around Hellboy and Yad Tovich, sitting around a single location in one night, talking about the past and fighting in the present, which proves that great stories don’t need to be jumping from location to location. Whilst we do get new locations in the flashback panels, the main plot is set firmly in the same location and so much happens here that it turns a dull station house in the middle of nowhere Russia, into a memorable setting for the reader.
The art of the book is, as always, dark yet gripping, with dull colours that really transport you into this world, with a few panels being given some more vibrant colours, but set in a darker tone so as to not completely disrupt the overall design of the art. The fight sequence of panels are lit up with an orange backdrop so that we get to feel the heat of the action and to portray the burning sensation given off by the silver buttons Hellboy uses against the demons.
Overall the book is a fun little story that doesn’t require the reader to have any previous knowledge of the franchise. It’s a book that can be picked up and read by anyone, which is why I could recommend this to any of my friends and twitter followers. It’s a nice little book to give you some idea of the way the Hellboy world works, with enough action and humour to give the reader that entertainment to enjoy from a story that doesn’t have a follow up.
Media Mallrat 
Leave a Reply