GIANT ROBOT HELLBOY- October 2023

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ve-1235539248/



Duncan Fegredo joins Mignola as the artist for this miniseries. The plot focuses on Hellboy being kidnapped and attached to a giant robot as its pilot.

[thwhtGuardian]

The plot seems weird but more Fegredo is always good so I'm open to it.

[M@Bowers2014]

The plot seems weird but more Fegredo is always good so I'm open to it.

Yeah same. I'll buy any Hellboy comic by Mignola and Fegredo. Hell I'll buy ANY comic they make it doesn't have to be related to Hellboy.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp...ine-sketchbook

A preview for GIANT ROBOT HELLBOY.

[thwhtGuardian]

Yeah... that looks awesome. I don't care about how or where it fits, I'm in.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

https://www.gamesradar.com/giant-rob...uncan-fegredo/

https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview...uncan-fegredo/

Interviews with artist Duncan Fegredo.

[thwhtGuardian]

This was really light on plot and more than a little decompressed but it might get better when we actually get Robot Hellboy punching things. Despite those shortcomings the art was as amazing as always when Fegredo is involved.

[Kirby101]

Loved it. All set up and mystery with amazing art. No complaint about the sparseness of the plot because they were setting up a lot of elements.

[thwhtGuardian]

Loved it. All set up and mystery with amazing art. No complaint about the sparseness of the plot because they were setting up a lot of elements.

I wouldn't complain about the pacing normally...except Mignola has had serious issues with pacing over the last few years so seeing it here made it more troubling. We're a third of the way through the book but we didn't get a third of the story.

[Kirby101]

Classic 3 act play structure.

Act 1 Exposition: The setup of the conflict and the introduction of characters and setting.

Act2 Climax: The climax is when the protagonist faces their biggest challenge, and the stakes are raised.

Act 3 Resolution: The resolution is the end of the story. It might be a moment of victory for the protagonist or it might be a defeat.

[thwhtGuardian]

Classic 3 act play structure.

Act 1 Exposition: The setup of the conflict and the introduction of characters and setting.

Act2 Climax: The climax is when the protagonist faces their biggest challenge, and the stakes are raised.

Act 3 Resolution: The resolution is the end of the story. It might be a moment of victory for the protagonist or it might be a defeat.

Except in a three act set up each act is equal. We're finished with the first act...but we didn't get the name of the group of the people who kidnapped Hellboy, why it has to be him, or what they are after. Those are all things that should be pretty clear going into the second act. We're a third of the way through the length of the book but we haven't seen a third of the actual plot.

I don't need all the answers but I don't think we should be privy to exactly zero of them when one third of the story is done.

And if this was the first time this kind of pacing issue had come up I'd be hopeful that it would work out in the end but Mignola's had this issue for a while now so I'm not exactly hopeful that it will feel like a fully fleshed out story.

[Kirby101]

You're not wrong TWG, but I still liked it.

[thwhtGuardian]

You're not wrong TWG, but I still liked it.

Certainly fair enough, the art was fantastic so I'm not saying I feel my money was wasted and I'm still looking forward to the story.

[thwhtGuardian]

Man, I really want to love this. The art is glorious and the idea that somehow other warriors Hellboy has fought are somehow controlling the robot that was teased at the end was interesting ... but there is so little plot here and even less characterization. I think the latter is the big miss, so much of what makes Hellboy stories fun is his big personality and the dead pan way he reacts to wondrous things so having him detached from the action makes it just feel hollow to me.

A giant robot punching a giant lizard monster and tangling with a giant octopus is fun, but without any personality to it there just isn't any emotion to it. We need Hellboy's reactions to these things, we need his thoughts and emotions(even if they're just, "Ah, crap...") as things go from bad to worse...otherwise why care?

[Kirby101]

Unfortunately, I agree. I am at a loss as to what is going on. Who put Hellboy in the robot, what they are after, what is the place Jian is in? and so on. It might be explained in the last issue, but I think it will be too little , too late. Great art in a story that is a bit of a mess.