- Written by: Mike Mignola & Scott Allie
- Art by: Christopher Mitten
- Colouring by: Brennan Wagner
- Lettering by: Clem Robins
- Cover by: Christopher Mitten
Intro:
Continuing on from the last issue, the second instalment of this three part mini series shows us the story unravelling at a rather sudden pace. Agent Kinsley unravels more of the mystery, Hellboy faces off against the creature they’ve been hunting, and Liz has found some new friends on the streets after her escape from the B.P.R.D. headquarters. However, things never go smoothly in these comics.
Plot:
The first page of the book gives us a quick flash back, as Mrs. Caprolione, the daughter of one of the possible victims found in the first issue, is questioned by Mr. Oates. Her father disappeared when she was a little girl, she witnessed him vanish, and her theory is that it was aliens that took him.
Liz Sherman is walking the streets of New Haven, Connecticut with some new friends she’s made, who have questionable lives, since we later see them dealing with what seems to be a mob boss or loan shark of some sort, the kind with goons for backup. After the situation turns nasty, Liz is forced into revealing her powers to help her friends, though no one realises the fire has appeared because of any paranormal abilities. She reveals her secret to one of her friends, who then tries to turn her in to the B.P.R.D., so once again, Liz is feeling upset and alone, unable to trust anyone.
Meanwhile, during an investigation into the woods where the victims were found, Hellboy and the team of local Police, as well as FBI, run into the creature that seems to be terrorising the area. Hellboy is able to fight it off but it escapes shortly after into the darkness. What the creature is exactly is still unknown, as the ghoulish creature is too skinny and hairless to be a werewolf, too alive to be a zombie, and yet it doesn’t appear to be a demon according to Hellboy. So whilst we now have a good idea of what the creature looks like, we still have no clue what it is, which makes going after it somewhat trickier.
As the mystery begins to unravel, and the team learns more of Mrs. Caprolione’s father, they realise that this creature must be him, since he is the only body not found from the multiple cases of missing persons that have been reported.
Art:
Having talked about the art in the previous review for the first issue, there’s not much more I can say besides the continuation of the excellent work. The action scenes look greats and involve lots of environmental damage as well as the blood to portray the impact of the fight from both opponents. Of course this cannot be fully realised without the excellent use of colours by Brennan Wagner, who gives the forest a lot of warm yet dark colours, and the creature itself appears to be a pale blue/purple-ish colour which adds to it’s concept of being paranormal and horrifying.
Overall:
This issue very quickly picked up the pace from the last issue, with a fast paced action scene as Hellboy fights off the creature, to the sudden escalation of Liz Sherman’s situation with her friends. A really enjoyable issue, which I hope will continue into the third and final issue of this mini series.
Media Mallrat 
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