1 definition by Animal Magic
Originally a Darkhorse comic which debuted in '94, it was created by Mike Mignola, who based it upon a number of different things, but namely his father.
Mignola's dad was a normal, blue-collar guy who worked in a machine shop- every day he'd come home with lacerations and cuts on his arms, which would horrify/amaze Mike-
"Jeez Dad- what happened to your arms?!?!"
"Ahh I got 'em caught in a machine, couldn't pull 'em out untill Larry turned of the power."
(Mike faints.)
The comic 'Hellboy' is an amalganation of everything Mignola likes to draw and read- monsters, Lovecraftian literature, gothic/Victorian arcitecture and art, etc....
Hellboy himself was summoned here to Earth as a baby by the Nazis right before the war ended, to awaken the Ogdru-Jahad, seven monstrous entities bound in golden cocoons in the place between Earth and Heaven- the coldest region of space. However, the Allies interveened just in time, defeated the Nazis, and instead of killing Hellboy, raise him to be good- the Worlds Greatest Paranormal Investigator, as it was!
This was later adopted into a movie by Guillermo Del Toro, who also did Devil's Backbone and Cronos- he loved the comics (this is why it turned out so good) but changed many things to add himself to the project, giving him a love interest and downplaying Rasputin, the Villain a bit.
But the movie was still beautiful, and a sequel is coming in 2006- which will be much better, in the same way X-Men 2 was better than XM1- the first got the character developement out of the way. Del Toro will now have his gloves off with this one- it looks very promising.
The reason why Hellboy is so great is that he was created just for releasing the Ogdru Jahad- it is his purpose, his reason to be, his destiny- but no matter what happens and how he is tempted or how the odds seem against him, he always chooses not to lose himself, and to save the Earth- showing us that we are not pre-determined to live our destiny.
Mignola's dad was a normal, blue-collar guy who worked in a machine shop- every day he'd come home with lacerations and cuts on his arms, which would horrify/amaze Mike-
"Jeez Dad- what happened to your arms?!?!"
"Ahh I got 'em caught in a machine, couldn't pull 'em out untill Larry turned of the power."
(Mike faints.)
The comic 'Hellboy' is an amalganation of everything Mignola likes to draw and read- monsters, Lovecraftian literature, gothic/Victorian arcitecture and art, etc....
Hellboy himself was summoned here to Earth as a baby by the Nazis right before the war ended, to awaken the Ogdru-Jahad, seven monstrous entities bound in golden cocoons in the place between Earth and Heaven- the coldest region of space. However, the Allies interveened just in time, defeated the Nazis, and instead of killing Hellboy, raise him to be good- the Worlds Greatest Paranormal Investigator, as it was!
This was later adopted into a movie by Guillermo Del Toro, who also did Devil's Backbone and Cronos- he loved the comics (this is why it turned out so good) but changed many things to add himself to the project, giving him a love interest and downplaying Rasputin, the Villain a bit.
But the movie was still beautiful, and a sequel is coming in 2006- which will be much better, in the same way X-Men 2 was better than XM1- the first got the character developement out of the way. Del Toro will now have his gloves off with this one- it looks very promising.
The reason why Hellboy is so great is that he was created just for releasing the Ogdru Jahad- it is his purpose, his reason to be, his destiny- but no matter what happens and how he is tempted or how the odds seem against him, he always chooses not to lose himself, and to save the Earth- showing us that we are not pre-determined to live our destiny.
Hellboy, after strapping a bomb to himself, allowing himself to be eaten by a many-armed behemoth, blowing it up from the inside and landing on his back:
(getting up)
"I'm gonna be sore in the morning."
(as if it was nothing!)
(getting up)
"I'm gonna be sore in the morning."
(as if it was nothing!)
by Animal Magic February 9, 2005