Well, that’s one way to bring on the apocalypse. Since the creation of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, the writer/artist has been promising the end of the world. With this week’s conclusion to the mini-series The Fury, Mignola brings it on, in spades. Spoilers on, by the way.
How’s this for a spoiler right off the bat: Hellboy is dead at the end of this series. Yes, I realize I just ruined the ending for you, but that’s what’s promised by The Fury, the final fight between Hellboy, the demonic champion of man, and the forces of evil. There’s no getting out of this one, and Hellboy makes the ultimate sacrifice against the ultimate evil… Proving that he’s more boy than hell.
The plot is this (though it’s adequately explained for new readers in the opening pages of issue one): Hellboy refused to be crowned king of the witches, so they turned to a witch named Nimue, who made things go from bad to worse. Along with a gigantic army of demons, and some plot threads sewn since the very first issue of Hellboy, she’s about to bring about Ragnarok. If you like your villains evil, and your heroes heroic (or, at least, sarcastically heroic), then look no further than this book.
The art, too is appropriately epic… Duncan Fegredo draws gigantic fight scenes, unimaginable armies, and even small emotional moments equally well, in the style of Mignola; though giving each his own touch. I particularly liked some of the final images in the third issue, which I won’t spoil (I know, right? Seems like I already spoiled everything); and the scenes of massive destruction that open issue three rival anything you’ll see in other companies “event” comics all year.
What makes this unique, though, is the lack of a reset button. Creator comics like Hellboy have the opportunity to destroy a major city… And then leave it that way. This means Mignola and company will actually have to deal with the repercussions, which is huge. And there is the plot point we mentioned up top, the whole Hellboy dying thing, which will, you know, be dealt with too. I also won’t spoil what happens next – there’s a teaser at the end of the issue – but just known that it should have Hellboy fans chomping at the bit.
All and all, if this was, in fact, the end of the Hellboy universe, Mignola could be justly lauded for bringing the big red guy’s story to a satisfying close. Lucky for us, it’s not, though; 2012 can’t come soon enough. Until then, whether you’re a Hellboy fan, or a new reader, pick up The Fury to read an event comic that actually matters.
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