The best stories are about swords.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mike Mignola, Rob Williams
Art: Laurence Campbell
Colors: Quinton Winter, Dave Stewart
Letters: Clem Robins
What They Say:
From the ancient warrior Gall Dennar, to Sir Edward Grey, to the B.P.R.D.’s Agent Howards, the iconic Hyperborean sword from the world of Hellboy has landed in many influential hands. And this has been no accident. Trace the sword’s path through the adventures and encounters that finally brought it to Ragna Rok, at the end of the world, and witness the sword’s journey through history.
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola gives us a new tale from the world of Hellboy, cowritten by Rob Williams and featuring the art of Mignolaverse veteran Laurence Campbell to deliver never-before-seen Hellboy lore!
* The story of the Hyperborean blade!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I have a confession to make: I’m a huge Mike Mignola fan, but the past few years, I’ve not been able to keep up with the Mignolaverse, especially not in floppies. I’ve been catching up where I can with trades, but that typically means I’m a day late and a dollar short the rare times when I read something hot off the presses.
All of this is to say that I’m sure I’m missing subtext and nuance in this issue. The good thing, though, is that I don’t know if I need it. It’s to Mignola and Williams credit that I can come to this with only spotty knowledge of what’s been happening to Hellboy and the BPRD and still walk away understanding the plot, and enjoying the story. It’s not exactly new-reader friendly, but it is casual-reader friendly, and I appreciate that.
Sword of Hyperborea starts, as these stories often do, with the end of the world. A BPRD helicarrier sits in the middle of Lake Talutan in upstate New York, fending off an attack by a Lovecraftian tentacled monstrosity. Liz Sherman and Agent Howards share one final kiss and go off to war, and certain annihilation. Liz is a pyrokinetic, basically “a superhero” as she put it, and Agent Howards? Well, he wields the fabled Sword of Hyperborea, a powerful artifact from humanity’s earliest history. With the sword, Agent Howards stands at the proverbial bridge, hoping to save as many lives as he can.
He fails. He falls.
But he doesn’t die. He wakes up on a funeral pyre, surrounded by his tribe. He’s no longer just Agent Howards—he’s also Gall Dennar, fabled wielder of the Sword of Hyperborea, and a hero. He retains the memories and motivations of both men, and he sets out to do the impossible: prevent Ragnarok.
To do this, he travels north to where his grandfather discovered the sword. He hopes to find one of the mythic warriors who either created or used the sword, but other forces stand in the way. Forces that know the future, and like what happens just fine.
As I said, this comic isn’t new-reader friendly, but those of you, like me, who have a passing knowledge of Hellboy and the BPRD should have no trouble navigating the story. The important plot and character information is here, and while I might miss some subtle nuance or callback, it didn’t get in the way of my understanding or enjoying the story.
The plot moves along at a good place, and never lingers on scenes for too long. Although momentous events do occur, there isn’t a lot of story here yet. Mostly, this sets up the first act of the series, so there isn’t a great deal of meat on the narrative bone, but what is there is satisfying enough to whet a reader’s appetite.
It’s also enjoyable picking out the narrative influences on this book. Sword of Hyperborea comes steeped in pulp fiction, especially the works of Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Gall Dennar incorporates elements of Howard’s Conan and Kull of Atlantis, along with that is a dash of Tarzan. One can even see a bit of Philip Jose Farmer here. I won’t spoil the book, but there’s an element to this story and character that remind me of Farmer’s Time’s Last Gift.
Where the comic really shines is the art, and “shines” might be a tad misleading, because this is a dark comic in terms of the inking, color scheme, and subject matter. The line work is clean, but the inks add a heaviness to the lines that fits the comic’s overall mood. Campbell opts for a more realistic style than cartoony, and that also helps lend gravitas to the story.
The backgrounds are also amazing. The scenes where Gall Dennar are in the mountains at night are gorgeous, and a lot of credit for that must go to Winter and Stewart’s colors. For the most part, the pair chose a cool color palette of mostly blacks, blues, and grays, but there are times when they break out and use oranges, reds, and greens. Those breakout moments are rare, though, and they make the scenes stand out all the better.
In Summary:
Sword of Hyperborea 1 is a solid first issue that pulls from classic pulp stories and characters and incorporates them into Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe. While not a ton goes on here, storywise, what is here provides a solid setup for what should be a very enjoyable miniseries. Dr. J gives this a…
Grade: B+
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: January 12th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
