Customer Reviews

Conqueror Worm and Strange Places (Hellboy Library Edition, Vol. 3)

5 star:		(7)
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In the comic book medium there's nothing quite like Hellboy or the phenomenon the he's become. Mike Mignola is a storyteller with a unique but also effective style. This volume collects two very different stories.
The first Conqueror Worm is a mix of old pulp fiction, Lovecraftian mythology and science fiction. How Mignola manages to bridge these genres as well as he does is a testimony to carefully created structure that's supported by art that accommodates the stories.
The next pair of stories constitute Strange Places and the are Hellboy's weird adventures after he's left the BPRD. These are mythologically and horror based stories but they are also a new and decidedly different direction as Hellboy literally walks between the worlds of legends and nightmares. Visually these are more dismal but also more exotic places, but Hellboy seems to have prepared his whole lifetime for this plunge into these very strange places. The story featuring Hellboy's experience with the deep ocean denizens, mermaids and an evil sea hag was particularly interesting. Artistically it looks like it was a lot of fun to design. Mignola's artwork has changed over the years and the emphasis on design has never been stronger than in the stories featured here. Dave Stewart's colors throughout this volume are perfect

This volume, like the previous two, is big and just a little bit unwieldy. I like that. Sitting and reading it, studying every page and panel is the point. The hardcover (with the nice little color plate inset on the cover) is solid with tight binding, but has such a large format and heavy paper stock that makes it durable but it also makes it easy to stay open to read. Couple all that with the great extra material like the introduction written by film writer/director and producer, Guillermo del Toro, the director of the two Hellboy films, as well as an afterword by Mike Mignola and slap in sketchbook material and unused pages from the stories themselves and you have a solid book with great contents.
For me this is as perfect as it could be.

If you haven't read any Hellboy comics by now - buy this collection! Dark Horse and Mike Mignola continue to release the Hellboy stories in hardcover form with Hellboy Library Edition Volume 3. This collection includes Conqueror Worm and Strange Places - two very distinct stories. Conqueror Worm is a continuation of the storyline shown in previous editions while Strange Places pits Hellboy against strange creatures without the BPRD in his corner.

The quality of this book is outstanding - easily the showcase of my comic book hardcover collection. These books are a bit big, so you might have some issues throwing it in your bag to read on the go. The larger format really showcases Mignola's beautiful art.

Overall, I think I like this edition more than the first 2 editions - if only for the introduction of Lobster Johnson. I would recommend this book to any fan of Hellboy or comics in general.

To start with the actual printing is significantly nicer than the paperbacks. The size is a good deal bigger and the printing is stunning. The colors and ink are both very vibrant, and it is a delight to look at. Just opening the book it looks striking. The hardback is a nice touch, and thus far the binding has held up very well. The covers are cloth-covered and very nice to handle despite the somewhat massive size. My only real complaint is that the cover panel is essentially just glued on, and it feels like they could come off rather easily (it's very similar to the calvin and hobbes collection hardbacks).

As far as the story, I think Conqueror Worm is the tightest and one of the best stories I've seen Mignola produce. The pace is rapid and there is enough strangeness (and nazis) to stand up to the rest of the series. The second collection, Strange Places, has some really fun shorts as well as the first presentation of Mignola's cosmology. In particular I really liked his 'little mermaid' story. Through all of it the artwork stays very sharp.

Honestly though I've got to say that if you want to buy this, buy them all. It's well worth it for the size and printing alone, and they're more resilient than the TPBs (which I've had one or two of just disintigrate). Overall this is my favorite of the 3 library editions.

Gorgeous volume. Amazing artwork, captivating story in a very elegant package. Arrived quickly and in great condition.

I already had vols. 1 and 2 and as soon as I knew that vol. 3 was out I decided to buy it. Not only the way it is presented, and obviously the stories it includes, but also the bonus contents such as the sketchbook or the unused pages are simply superb.

Guillermo del Toro's collaboration is also worth reading . With these three volumes you can have a really good time sitting relaxed at home discovering each time you take a look at it new features. It is not just a book you wiil read and forget, it is a durable state-of-the-art compilation of some of the best Hellboy stories Definitely, not only Mignola, but all the group of artists that helped to create the three volumes did a perfect job so that we, readers everywhere can enjoy it. The sometimes bizarre and dark atmosphere that permeates the stories , as well as the eternal struggle between good and evil, and the way he introduces a whole universe of mythical creatures are worth taking a glance at.

Summarizing, great books with tons of fun. Highly recommended

The Hardback selection of Hellboy is nice because it does away with the paperback settings that are so prone to damage, looks good no matter where you set it, does not damage at the spine easily, and it combines different books under one room. Take this selection for example:

In the CW (A shout out to Poe with some tentacle funderland under it), you have a story that still deals with the Seven and with the deal that brought Hellboy into play. In some ways it even feels like things were building towards this horror. We all know the Nazis had secret projects but we were not privy to their space program or the fact that it worked. It had been left behind, too, and death had visited the pilot. Since death is only a starting point for some things this meant that a vessel had been shot into space and its targets - they noticed and sent something back. This also deals with the death Lobster Johnson, the selection of people that are pointed out in the first movie (but that look sexy as they move through the pages of this book), and with Rasputin and what can happen to someone that keeps a certain Mortar lovin' manna floatin' around (man, he must hate acorns because of this). I liked this book a lot because it had the mood and the structure of a Mignola piece, it dealt with the last of the big books o' Nazis, and it had some primetime players. The thing in it showed its face, revealed more on the reason Hellboy could doom humanity (there are SOOO many ways), and made me think "what a tale" in the end.
I liked it quite a bit.

Next, we have Strange Places:

The main things about this book are as follows - The Third Wish
In The Third Wish, Hellboy find himself in Africa seeking answers as to why he exists. He seeks council from a holyman, and in the process he finds himself ensnared in another battled that seeks to claim his soul and, respectively, his hand. This leads him into the depths with three Merfolk, all wanting a wish from a seahag called the Bog Roosh, and it is here, in the cave of the Bog Roosh, that Hellboy finds out how the things he has seen and the other things, Hecate and Baba Yaga amongst those, play out as pieces in a game that can undo the world - and more.

In The Island even more is uncovered, explaining everything that Hellboy is and even more in an attempt to bring fans up to the place they need to be so they can see the coming tide. This is possibly the one story that covers every angle that could be covered with Hellboy, telling of the dragon and the hand and the things that came before. While I cannot say much on the subject without giving something beautifully-conceived away, I can say that this is one of the most important stories made that covers what Hellboy is and what the prophecy is all about.
It also shows that Mignola wants to make things move; he has made things and he has contorted reality and now he is taking the three major stories he has produced and begin the motion of a clock he has always meant to tick.

I really liked both stories and I like the way they hook together. Hellboy quits the BPRD in the CW and wanders, finding Africa. This takes him to the weird stories we find in Strange Places and it takes us to lands that are sexy and fun. I personally love The Third Wish and think that all stories should have Mignola at the helm. Without him it is just a shot in the dark.

Buy it? O yeah.

It's all about consistency and quality with Mignola and his incredible art style. This collection is no exception. I own all three volumes (including the original Art of Hellboy hardcover) and they're all excellent collections of his work. Highly recommended if you're familiar with and enjoy Mike Mignola's illustrations and storytelling.