Customer Reviews

Hellboy: Odd Jobs

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll admit that I'm a Hellboy neophyte. Other than this collection of short stories, I know nothing of the Hellboy universe, and I've not even seen any of the comic book issues.

Fortunately, a detailed understanding of the life and times of Hellboy is not necessary, because the short stories published here serve to provide plenty of background material. In any event, none of the plots hinge upon some fan-boy level of knowledge about our hero.

To some degree, these stories can be described as a mutation of "The X-Files", except with Scully and Mulder being replaced by a cynical and world-weary demonic hellspawn with a heart of gold and a burning passion to kick butt. Hellboy is, as his name might suggest, literally from Hell, and has been on this Earth since the middle of World War II, when a failed Nazi occult ceremony evidently zapped the young demonlet into England. Since then, he's been helping the BPRD track down and eliminate paranormal threats to humanity.

Most of the stories, unfortunately, follow a very standard formula: think of a cool ghost story or legend or myth, and then inject Hellboy in the midst. Hence, despite whatever technical merits they might have, Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola's "The Nuckelavee", Matthew Costello's "A Night at the Beach", and Max Collins' "I Had Bigfoot's Baby" are not particularly gripping, and they largely reduce Hellboy to a bystander or an observer, who occasionally throws a punch.

Other stories are much more successful. Brian Hodge gives us "Far Flew the Boast of Him", which is both horrifying and poignant, and which, with its inclusion of a certain monster, offers a reward for those with degrees in English literature. Stephen Bissette's "Jigsaw" is disturbing and painful and has a beautifully sad ending. In a more lighthearted vein, Greg Rucka's "Delivered" shows that Hellboy isn't always fightin' mad and that not every encounter with the arcane ends in tragedy. And in "A Mother Cries at Midnight", Phillip Nutman explores the Mexican folk tale of the Weeping Woman, and its parallel to the childhood of Hellboy himself.

The contributions from the other authors are not altogether memorable, but are at least sturdy and well-crafted, although a couple of them really fail to reach a meaningful conclusion.

Illustrations are provided throughout the text by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. It's a handsome volume and a good way to pass a dark and rainy evening alone. Certainly, it's provocative enough to make me want to seek out more Hellboy material.

The Hellboy comics take much of its material from Lovecraftian sources and folklore. Such a literary heritage makes the Odd Jobs anthology an excellent read. Legends, Hellboy, and prose blend quite nicely to produce a multi-faceted look at the greatest paranormal investigator.

Highlights include the quirjy humor of Greg Rucka's "Delivered," Nancy Holder's brutal "Folie a Deux," the sad beauty of Craig Shaw Gardner's "Demon Politics," and Poppy Z. Brite's "Burn, Baby, Burn," a rare look at Liz, on of the most intriguing characters in the Hellboy world. But the diamond amongst this collection is "Jigsaw," by Stephen R. Bissette. Horrifying, touching, delicate and perfect would be the best way to describe this story.

There are some uneven points in the collection, some repetitive moments; but the strengths are far more common. If nothing else, "Jigsaw" itself is worth the price, and then some.

Well this book is full of another looks on Hellboy himself and his world. Each story is pleasant and leads to a new contact with the stone handed red tall guy. From childhood to some pretty piece of horror, you'll have all the keys to unlock what was missing to the original comics: a character study...

I read these books awhile ago but thought I'd go back and give them a quick review. I like all 3 books and I think most Hellboy fans will enjoy them. Like the comics these books have a great blend of Horror, Sci Fi, Fantasy and Humor. Here are a few of favorite and least favorite stories in the books.

ODD JOBS:
Jigsaw is dark, creepy and just weird enough to be great. I actually recommend reading that one last because it was my favorite in all 3 books. Delivered is the lightest and funniest story of all 3 books.

ODDER JOBS:
I only remember wanting to skip one story in this book, Water Music. I found the story boring and I didn't understand why it was happening. I actually skipped the end which I never do. However this is the best book of the 3, because it's got so many good stories in it, even though my two favorite stories are in Odd Jobs.

ODDEST JOBS:
I only remember wanting to skip one story in this one as well, Second Honeymoon. I found that story confusing and boring. I liked the first 2 books better but this one still has enough good stories in it to be worth picking up.

Another good Hellboy book, like Odder Jobs, this has a reasonable number of Mignola illustrations throughout.

There are some good stories here, including one with Bigfoot, some remniscing over a lost colleague because of a scarecrow demon, an encounter with a Medusa, and a ratboss that wants to help the BPRD for employee services reasons.

Hellboy Odd Jobs : 01 Medusa's Revenge - Yvonne Navarro
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 02 Jigsaw - Stephen R. Bissette
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 03 A Mother Cries at Midnight - Philip Nutman
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 04 Delivered - Greg Rucka
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 05 Folie a Deux - Nancy Holder
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 06 Demon Politics - Craig Shaw Gardner
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 07 A Grim Fairy Tale - Nancy A. Collins
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 08 Scared Crows - Rick Hautala and Jim Connolly
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 09 Where Their Fire is Not Quenched - Chet Williamson
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 10 I had Bigfoot's Baby! - Max Allan Collins
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 11 The Nuckelavee - Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 12 A Night at the Beach - Matthew J. Costello
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 13 Burn Baby Burn - Poppy Z. Brite
Hellboy Odd Jobs : 14 Far Flew the Boast of Him - Brian Hodge

Shield support snake lady staking.

3.5 out of 5


Hotel hell, bad books and a demon.

4 out of 5


Nuke man and lost boy.

2.5 out of 5


Ratman wants better conditions.

4 out of 5


Soldier's demon suicide.

4 out of 5


Captain America analogue and old ally possessed.

3.5 out of 5


Fairy's baby snacks.

4 out of 5


Scarecrow spirit monster.

4 out of 5


Evil congregates.

4 out of 5


Drug ring and interbreeding, sasquatch style.

4 out of 5


Garden variety skinless horse monster.

3 out of 5


Coney Island sea creepies.

3 out of 5


Liz learning.

2 out of 5


Grendel re-enactment rampage revenged.

3.5 out of 5

I gotta start reading the fine print on these titles; I got totally fooled. I thought it was a comic book, just like the titles right above and below it. It's prose fiction. As in short stories. Yes there are some illustrations by Mike Mignola, but I thought I was getting a collection of Hellboy comics! ...

The book was better than I had expected. Having read some of the earlier comics where hellboy is first descovered this is a huge leap of discovery. The first of the short stories leads you to read more and more into how hellboy reacts and thinks. His charecter is dimensional having feelings of Good over Evil and cares for his friends more than he would any thing else in the world. It is a good book and would be well worth the buying.

I truly thought this was one of the weaker Hellboy collections. After Seed of Destruction, nothing much else will hold up. However, this is still an excellent book, and Mignola again captures the feel and creepiness of Lovecraft. Hopefully, we'll get another mini-series soon.