I think Hellboy might very well be the best comic book hero created in the last 20 years.  From scary and expansive tales like Hellboy’s continuing discovery of his origin to humorous and entertaining short tales like “Pancakes.”  After a solid 2004 movie and an upcoming sequel coming down in a week or so, Dark Horse is shelling out the BPRD-verse in full force with one shots with Roger the Homunculus, Johann Kraus, and presumably others.  This week, we finally get Big Red himself as Hellboy: The Crooked Man (1 of 3) comes out this week.

As always, Mignola and guest artist Richard Corben give a good, solid story.  The Crooked Man is a story of the Appalachian mountains in 1958.  Hellboy’s called in to investigate the case of a catatonic woman the locals believed to have been “witched.” The primary character beyond Hellboy is Tom Ferrell, a local who ran away years ago to escape the evil that tried to take his soul, who returns to find his old stomping grounds bewitched by the Devil.  Several people have become “skin-changers”, beings who leave their skin and become animals.

The overall set-up for the story is intriguing and well-paced feel.  The setting is one removed typically from Hellboy’s usual settings (usually set in Europe or another continent) but the American South atmosphere works in its own way, with the kind of superstition and spirituality that fills the issue and necessitates Hellboy’s presence.  The art from Richard Corben is well paced and well-done, fitting the eerie and and isolated tone of the story.  I think the art is also benefited from the fact that Hellboy has a simple and effective design that always look very much like Mignola draws no matter if it’s from Corben, Frank Miller, or John Cassaday.  Nevertheless, like just about all the Hellboy tales I’ve read, this has me for the next two issues.  If you like Hellboy stories, this is sure to be another good one.