Hellboy in Hell: Nothing But Blood #1: A Lot of Meat Left on the Bone

Let’s talk about the art first. This is Mike Mignola’s signature character in the style you are used to seeing him in. This character has been around for so long now; either you like the style, or you don’t. For me, I have never been drawn to this art style, but the character and the dynamics of the people, places, and things placed around him have kept me as a fan for all this time. I have always found Hellboy a much more interesting character when he has someone to play off.  In a way, the character of Reacher reminds me of him, where they are such loners; the stories can be dense without a strong supporting cast with them.

In issue one of Hellboy in Hell: Nothing But Blood, we get right to the point; the writers waste no time. We have Hellboy talking to someone, and then he sees a young woman being chased by demons. Hellboy punches one of them, and the demons warn him this has nothing to do with him and to mind his own business. But this is Hellboy; he won’t do that no matter what. After saving the young lady, he follows her to a place she says they can both hide from the demons. My first thought was “This seems shady but whatever.” The young lady tries to get Hellboy to drink something, and after he declines, she uses her powers of manipulation on him.

We did not know she had these powers until now. Another demon comes out of nowhere to tell Hellboy she is trying to poison him. The young lady tells the demon to shut up, and the two argue, but it is not clear to me what or who they are arguing about. I read this part over like four or five times.  Essentially, it looks like they are arguing over Hellboy and the demons that have been unleashed into Hell.

But they are both so cavalier about this that I cannot tell what they want from Hellboy, which may have been the point by the writers. Neither one of these characters comes off looking like allies. Meanwhile, Hellboy knows he is in hell, but he doesn’t know his name or how long he has been in hell. A lot of confusion in this first issue, and the cliffhanger that it leaves on is that more demons are coming, but it is not clear who they are coming for.