Hellboy, Etc With Mike Mignola

San Diego Comic Con 2012 was, in a word, bonkers. I had the opportunity to commune with my fellow nerds and hear some of our most revered speak. Specifically, I made my way into the Mike Mignola and Friends panel, with Dark Horse’s Mignola and Scott Allie, and artists Cameron Stewart, James Harren, and Tyler Crook. They talked Big Red and the trials of publishing.

Also, spoilers abound in the paragraphs below!

So, it’s confession time: I love the Hellboy movie. Sure, there are plenty of flaws if someone wanted to be nit-picky, but I dig it. And after seeing it, and being coaxed by buddies, I picked up Seed of Destruction. It was good, but I was more into Marvel then, and so I stopped reading until coming across Pancakes. Holy moly that’s a great story, and I’ve been hooked on the character and art ever since.

Currently, Hellboy is having his adventures in hell, which gives writers and artists free reign over the atmosphere. For instance, Mignola mentioned that he would love to let Hellboy run around in Asia, but it’s tricky to get specific references worked into the books. So in the current environment, they can make an Asia-influenced area of hell and not have to worry about specifics.

Regarding The Corpse, the Hellboy story that kicked off Big Red’s decent to the netherworld, “I had no idea it would start the ball rolling on Hellboy dying and going to hell.” Originally it was published as 2 pages per month in Capital City’s Advance Comics #75-80, March through August, 1995, so it had to be paced correctly and a payoff was required every 2 pages. Mignola said it was a fun format to be forced into, and he loved working on it. But when it was complete, he thought it was un-publishable as its own story. Now it’s a classic, and one of the author’s favorite works.

Mignola doesn’t want to water down the story and wants to make sure they all feel like part of a whole, so they’re taking their time with releasing books. The artist is particular about his work. For instance, when asked if he would do another The Amazing Screw On Head, he said that there is no need to do more issues, it was done well and is now finished.

The panelists also noted that it can be tricky to get issues out in order, since each of their artists work at a different pace. And priority of other projects can interfere with timing – Duncan Fegredo is reported to have a script for a Hellboy graphic novel on his desk, but there’s no release date yet due to his over-stuffed schedule. So the team works to adjust timing of releases to make sure nothing gets behind.

Mike tries to manage keeping all the threads connected, saying “I only know when it’s wrong.” He also references the Hellboy Companion, noting “that book was a bitch. We only did it so we could keep things straight.” The companion’s timeline tied writers hands, and fun fact: in building it, the writers decided the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) was created in 1946.

Mignola tried to make any prophesies in the early issues of Hellboy vague and general enough that it wouldn’t force him into a corner with the character. But in Wake the Devil, it was hard to do dialogue with so much fighting. Each panel can’t be one saying “ooh, you missed me,” or “oh rats, you got me,” so Mignola instead decided to let Hellboy know that he’s the beast of the apocalypse. I had assumed that it was part of some master plan when Mignola originally came up with the character, but nope. Just happened organically.

Well, as organic as the beast of the apocalypse can be.

Just in case prophesies and previous story lines don’t make writing new stories tricky enough, Hellboy jumps throughout time on a regular basis, making other stories hard to tell. Mignola noted, “it’s hard to do an earth-shattering event in the past, since it isn’t mentioned in the future.” He also added with a smile, “the more walls you set up, the more fun it is. Instead of running in a big open field, you’re in a hedge maze.”

They’ve got a great team working on keeping all this madness contained. Editor Allie let Cameron Stewart write at Stewart’s insistence. When Cameron expressed interest, they found a character in the universe that was already created, but wasn’t being worked on, and gave him that to play with. So while Allie’s main job is to say, “that’s a nice idea, maybe we’ll do that someday,” he also helps cultivate talent at Dark Horse. Stewart is an award-winning talent and a huge part of the B.P.R.D. team.

When asked about his artistic influences, Mr. Mignola summed up by saying, “different stuff.” (Well said, sir.) He uses old impressionist paintings along with silent movies for shape and shadow, which is evident in his stories.

The team was also asked about their opinion of digital comics. All of the panelists were on board for the new digital media, and noted that it’s a more accurate way to show the image the artist was trying to produce. The 2-page spreads can be tricky, but all agreed that digital is the future of comics.

The panel was fantastic, and it was incredible being around such passionate, fabulous folks. If you have a chance to go to SDCC 2013, definitely stop by and see the Hellboy team. Or go dressed as Hellboy. Either way, you’ll be glad you did.

Nicki Wright

Hellboy, Etc With Mike Mignola