Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Hellboy: House of the Living Dead HC
Dark Horse Comics
Mignola & Corben
Following up on a previous one-shot where Hellboy befriends and then watches a Lucha Libre die at the hands of a demon while Hellboy appears to be on a bender in Mexico back in the 1950s. This story is a step in another direction as a man approaches Hellboy and says he is needed to fight a demon or an innocent girl dies. This launches Hellboy into a battle that includes the likes of Frankenstein and other monsters. It's a fun story but I question why it's pushed across as a graphic novel in hardcover format. Overall it's a good Hellboy one-shot to checkout.
Hellboy is forced to tussle with a powered-up Frankenstein because if Frankenstein wins then his mad scientist master is promised a high status among the Hell-demons. Hellboy complies because he wants to rescue the girl and he may be a little drunk as well.
Shortly after the battle begins it becomes clear that other monster favorites creep out of the woodwork, such as the wolfman and undead sirens. The book moves fast and provides plenty of fun action. How often do you get to see Hellboy fight Frankenstein in a wrestling ring?
The book's art is good but not great and no this isn't about "Hellboy can only be drawn by Mike Mignola". I found some of the figures in some of the panels to be disjointed. This includes some of the Hellboy depictions. Overall the comic book flowed well and had plenty of action but I just didn't find the art to be up the standards I expect from Corben at this point in his Hellboy career.
However, the real concern I have with this issue is cost. It's a fifteen dollar, regular sized, hardcover for only forty-nine pages of story. That's seems awful aggressive when no extra content is provided. Sure, this can be purchased at a bigger discount than a normal comic book but this is basically two issues bound in a hardcover at seven bucks a shot. That's overkill the likes of Marvel haven't even tried yet.
I liked this story. I liked the premise. I liked the artwork. All of this adds up to something I recommend. However, the price point leaves something to be desired. I can't imagine someone who has never read Hellboy picking this up as their first foray into the Hellboy universe. Pick up the dollar Corpse story instead. This one is for the die-hards out there.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
