Hellboy in Hell #4 is not your typical comic. Really the series as whole isn’t typical. It asks of readers what most “traditional” comic’s do not: An investment in time and patience. Going for the long haul rather than the quick answer. It’s a commitment but it’s absolutely worth it.
Story wise this issue moves forward major plot threads that have been years in the making. The fate of Edward Grey. The battle for the Right Hand of Doom. Mignola isn’t as nuanced a writer a Vaughan or Bendis, but he’s telling Hellboy the way he wants to, and for that I totally respect him.
As for the art, it’s a little more return to form than prior issues of this series. The sparseness and empty backgrounds of last issue are gone. Taking place primarily in a Victorian house that’s been pulled down to hell, Mignola fills it with atmosphere and shadow. It feels haunted, and appropriately moody. Perhaps Mignola was at his peak with Conqueror Worm, and he hasn’t ever made it back to that level but this issue was coming close.
The book may have waned in popularity for some, to this reader its as amazing as it ever was, and continues to show that a book can be done outside of the traditional comic norms and how the creator envisions it.