Hellboy (2004) – Review

In the last days of WWII, desperate to change the course of the war, occult Nazis open a portal to hell; this is a classic occult Nazi tactic that will doubtless be familiar to you. Although US special forces eventually manage to close the portal before reality itself is unwritten, something still manages to come through.

That something is a juvenile demon, named “Hellboy” by the remaining allied troops. Initially intended to be a world-ending weapon for the Third Reich, the baby monster is instead adopted by a scientist and taken to the US. Years pass, and the demon becomes a vital asset to humanity, fighting monsters as part of the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence).

In 2004, occult Nazis are nothing but a distant memory, except – surprise! – they’re all still alive and now they’re back to open a new portal to hell and unleash chaos. Hellboy’s attempts to stop them are hampered by both his complicated personal life and the way that everything he does plays right into their hands.

Continue reading “Hellboy (2004) – Review”

Witchfinder (Review)

WitchfinderContinuing my practice of reading Hellboy-related things without Hellboy in them, I was given Witchfinder. Or, to give it its full title, Witchfinder Volume 1: In the service of angels. Continue reading “Witchfinder (Review)”

B.P.R.D. 1946-1948 (Review)

BPRDI’ve said before that the one thing I dislike about Hellboy is Hellboy. He’s brash, crude, and vulgar; I like my paranormal investigators to have a touch of sophistication about them. Hellboy is an all-American hero in the worst way.

The B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) comics are therefore something I approve of. They keep the dark tone, the Gothic architecture, and the Nazi occultists that make Hellboy interesting, and dispense with Hellboy. This is the story of normal, mortal men fighting powers beyond their comprehension, dealing with horrors that do not belong in their modern world.  Continue reading “B.P.R.D. 1946-1948 (Review)”

Hellboy – Volume 1 (Review)

Hellboy Volume 1

I don’t really like the Hellboy films. They’re somehow too cartoonish. I don’t have anything against cartoons, but I do have an issue with films that have no consistency in their tone. Hellboy is a film that can’t make up its mind whether it wants to be a dark and broody Gothic film, or a zany slapstick one – Sin City or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Continue reading “Hellboy – Volume 1 (Review)”