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numbat's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
colonel2sheds's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
f4ustu5's review
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars - I liked it
This was an interesting and Norse legend filled mission for Hellboy and Abe. Seeing Hellboy wield Thor’s hammer, Mjollnir, was great, especially since it fit with his fighting style of hit first and ask questions later. I enjoyed this one overall.
nlord's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
Hellboy gets Thor's hammer and uses it to beat the tar out of the king of the frost giants. Great fun! The art as always is superb.
lacee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
stilldirty's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book at all. Kind of a nice read, with very excellent attention to mood. I didn't think I'd care much about this book, and really only borrowed it from the library for the sake of "sampling" it, but the story and the mythology drew me in. ★★★½ is more fair, because it truly is well-written.
kylepinion's review against another edition
2.0
Being a longtime Hellboy reader that’s basically exhausted everything in the universe, I thought I’d finally read one of Christopher Golden’s two canon novels. This one seemed a little more intriguing to me, because it came out in 97, right after Mignola had released both The Corpse and Wake the Devil and figured out what a Hellboy story looks like. Golden takes that pattern and runs with it, and the results mostly just feel like an inventory list of Hellboy tropes…mysterious artifacts? Check! Ancient Sorcerer? Check! A plot to use Hellboy to bring about cataclysm? Check! Tentacle monster? Check! Underground society…you get it.
It’s all the stuff you’ve come to expect but without Mignola’s evocative art, except in small doses within chapters (always a thrill to see it when it pops up), or his dry humor. Basically the most worthwhile aspect Golden brings to the table is the introduction of a love interest for our big red hero, which is done well and pretty sweet. Again this was pretty early on, so Hellboy being in a romantic entanglement would have been especially novel then. And I liked the desert setting, which is atypical territory for the series.
Still, unless you want to see what Anastasia is all about before reading the current comic that brought her back, or are just desperate to read every canon Hellboy story, this is definitely skippable. More a historical curio that both established Mignola and Golden’s creative partnership, and also highlighting Dark Horse’s attempts to break into the book market of the late 90’s.
It’s all the stuff you’ve come to expect but without Mignola’s evocative art, except in small doses within chapters (always a thrill to see it when it pops up), or his dry humor. Basically the most worthwhile aspect Golden brings to the table is the introduction of a love interest for our big red hero, which is done well and pretty sweet. Again this was pretty early on, so Hellboy being in a romantic entanglement would have been especially novel then. And I liked the desert setting, which is atypical territory for the series.
Still, unless you want to see what Anastasia is all about before reading the current comic that brought her back, or are just desperate to read every canon Hellboy story, this is definitely skippable. More a historical curio that both established Mignola and Golden’s creative partnership, and also highlighting Dark Horse’s attempts to break into the book market of the late 90’s.