Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Secret of Chesbro House #1 (of 2)

On sale this week (July 7th, 2021):
[quote][img]https://i67.servimg.com/u/f67/18/91/37/14/30071410.jpg[/img]

[B][B]Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Secret of Chesbro House #1[/B][/B]
Hellboy works with a psychic to clear a haunted mansion for auction. But the ghosts in residence aren't quite ready to go gentle into that good night, and the answer may lie in a connection with the living world . . .
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams with longtime collaborator Christopher Golden and artist extraordinaire Shawn McManus to bring you a brand-new frightful delight from the world of Hellboy!
* First of a new two-part story.

Creators
Writer: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden
Artist / Cover Artist: Shawn McManus
Letterer: Clem Robins
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publication Date: July 07, 2021
Format: FC, 32 pages; Miniseries
(U.S.) cover Price: $3.99
UPC:7 61568 00827 2 00111[/quote][SIZE=1][URL="https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/3007-146/Hellboy-and-the-B-P-R-D-The-Secret-of-Chesbro-House-1"]https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/3007-146/Hellboy-and-the-B-P-R-D-The-Secret-of-Chesbro-House-1[/URL][/SIZE]

There's also the Ben Stenbeck variant cover:
[img]https://i67.servimg.com/u/f67/18/91/37/14/30071411.jpg[/img]

For a couple years Mignola's out put with the Hellboy and the BPRD book had been pretty hit or miss but of late it has seemed like he got his mojo back and this latest collaboration with Christopher Golden continues to build on that trend. While there is nothing earth shattering here plot wise and we don't really learn anything new about Hellboy as a character it's a really solid haunted house story that instantly brings to mind such classics as Poe's [I]Fall of the House of Usher[/I], Shirley Jackson's [I]House on Haunted Hill[/I] and even a little of Oscar Wilde's [I]Canterville Ghost[/I]. Mignola's [I]Chesboro House[/I] has a lot of atmosphere and a mix of ghost hunters who are firm believers and skeptics that provides some fun dialogue as the mystery of the house is laid out. Surprisingly, this entry is only one of a few haunted house stories that Mignola has done; while he's done plenty of vampire stories, fought werewolves and even met Frankenstein's Monster, haunted houses are tropes that have been seldom done so it makes this story feel a little bit special despite its relative small stakes. With this first of a two part story mostly being exposition though the second part has a lot of heavy lifting left to do but I'm hoping Mignola can keep his winning streak going and stick the landing with this one.

While McManus does a great job with his portrayals of the house, the human characters and especially the ghosts...his Helboy is sadly lacking. He nails the facial expressions, which often seems to drive artists crazy, but the rest of Hellboy's proportions are just really off giving him a really emaciated, lanky look that just doesn't fit his character at all

Overall agree. I did notice on the first page that HB's face didn't look right at all. Too angled rather than square-jawed, and leaning into standard demonic features too hard. But the story was a lot of fun so I'm willing to calm down about it a little.

I just took HB as a different artistic take. Love seeing some good art in a Mignola book. I have been vocal about my disappointment of late. (Except for C the Skinner)
Liked everything about the art here, and loved Hellboy's attitude through out.