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The iconic Dark Horse character is back in Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1957: Family Ties, an unnerving one-shot that’s full of comedic horror.
Mike Mignola’s Hellboy is back with a new one-shot issue from Dark Horse Comics. Written by Mignola and cowriter Chris Roberton with art by Laurence Campbell and colorist Dave Stewart, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1957: Family Ties is a darkly comedic story that’s perfect for readers new to Hellboy and longtime fans. In Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1957: Family Ties, Hellboy takes on the idyllic perception of 50s Americana with a story of demonic possession in a bright suburban neighborhood, which doubles as a metaphor for 20th century America’s hidden truths. This issue is the first in a series of five standalone stories set in 1957.
The year is 1957. Hellboy and B.P.R.D. agent Sue Xiang track down a cursed magic book that was distributed in stores to the unsuspecting public. This book, “Witchcraft and Demonology,” contains genuine spells and dark secrets that could lead to disaster. They track down the last copy to an idyllic suburb in Dayton, Ohio, and into an unassuming home where the family relationships hold dark secrets and horrors that belie the picket fence setting.
Mignola’s script and dialogue are as sharp as ever, balancing a sense of genuine dread with Hellboy’s unflappable attitude. This creates a humorous juxtaposition even amid the story’s darkest moments. Mignola and Roberson’s pacing gradually builds the tension with each new page. As Hellboy delves deeper and deeper into the house, more unsettling horrors are exposed.
While the art is not as stylized and graphically distinctive as Mignola’s heavily angled and shadowed signature look, Campbell and Stewart nonetheless evoke a similar sensibility. By refusing to show the demonic creature for most of the book, the book slowly builds an unsettling tension which is amplified by the otherwise mundane surroundings. The letters by Clem Robins draw the readers in as the creature’s voice and word balloon tails taper off into the corner of a panel or the background as a whisp. It lures the reader and Hellboy alike deeper into the mystery. While the tension in the book is lightened by Hellboy’s blasé attitude, Campbell’s art occasionally falls flat where the dialogue implies an expression or tone of voice the facial features do not match. He is not able to make Hellboy quite as expressive as Mignola.
Minor issues with flat expressions aside, the writing and art come together to make a moody and unnerving story. Stewart’s colors give the issue a muted palette that makes Hellboy’s vibrant red stand out in its mundane surroundings. Stewart avoids the temptation to make the backgrounds gaudy and bright in a simple parody of 50s nostalgia. Instead, he leans into the mundanity of life in the suburbs which emphasizes how a pedestrian conflict has been twisted into a monstrous haunting. The interpersonal family drama that unfolds in the suburbs and the way it is twisted is an effective metaphor for the secrets that can lurk behind closed doors in what might otherwise be perceived as picture-perfect families. The story’s resolutions — both supernatural and very human — make for an ending that is emotional and funny.
With the character’s long publishing history, getting into Hellboy can sometimes be intimidating; but this single-issue story serves as an excellent introduction to the character and his world. Balancing horror and humor in equal measure, much of what makes Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. so enduring is on display here. While Mignola may no longer be writing and drawing his larger Hellboy epic, this issue proves that there is still plenty to mine from his world.
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