After reading ‘The Wild Hunt’ all together I think my criticism was a bit harsh, but still valid. It’s not a badly written story by any means, but it just moved way to slow even for a Hellboy story. There were points where it really felt like Mignola was stalling for time and it also didn’t help that Mignola planned a hitaus….without really telling anyone till it happened. After the shocking ending to reveal Hellboy’s lineage though, I was stoked to see where Mignola is taking it. The Storm has arrived, but will it be Hellboy gold or will it continue the uneven pacing that ‘The Wild Hunt’ gave us?

There is a lot of exposition in this. A good chunk of the issue is recapping not only the last storyline but to actually explain what short stories are important for this storyline in general. While that is to be expected for a #1, we do have to remember that there is only three issues of this mini (then the sequel ‘The Fury’ won’t come out till next year!). So it’s a bit disappointing that Mignola spends the time to put so much exposition in here. But just because there is a lot of that going, doesn’t mean it’s a bad issue. This was a solid read and it’s more of the Hellboy goodness you would expect. The fight towards the end was exciting and I hope to see even more in the future. Plus I like it how the Sword is just thrown in the back of a bad rental car; shows how Mignola can sprinkle in some humor in a serious moment.

Duncan Fegredo is just perfect for Hellboy man. I mean I want Richard Corben to do Hellboy full time; but I wouldn’t complain if Fegredo continues on the character even after ‘The Fury’. Trying to explain why it’s gorgeous is not going to do it justice, since I am no scholar when it comes to explain art. But every page has a great sense of detail and beauty into them. When a fight starts and Dave Stewart adds in some yellow’s and oranges? There isn’t a prettier site then that my friends.

While the huge portions of exposition was a bit disappointing, this was a solid first issue of a short mini. Mignola is definitely setting some big and epic fight coming into Hellboy’s future. It’s just a shame I really didn’t get much of a sense for that in this. Hopefully the next issue will deliever some magic but as it is: A solid issue but with some storytelling problems. At least the gorgeous artwork by Fegredo keeps it all gravy.