The latest installment of the Hellboy in Love series releases this week with a story entitled The Art of Fire written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden with art from Alex Nieto. The Hellboy in Love books center on Hellboy’s relationship with Dr. Anastasia Bransfield, a prominent Archaeologist, between the years of 1979 and 1981.
At the point of The Art of Fire, Hellboy has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the B.P.R.D. to be with Anastasia. Anastasia is experiencing difficulties in her career, as her superiors believe her relationship with Hellboy has negatively impacted her focus and they want her to give up her field work. There is a strong melancholic undertone to the opening of this book. Nieto’s panel choices slowly draw us in to Hellboy and Anastasia in a series of long, horizontal panels that allow the reader to see how peaceful and bucolic Hellboy’s life has become. Since longtime fans of Hellboy know he will eventually return to the B.P.R.D., one can’t help but feel sympathy knowing how fragile and brief this moment of happiness is with Anastasia.
Alex Nieto’s art using only one panel punctuates the fact that, though they may never say it aloud, the two lovers know their relationship is nearing its end. This moment occurs right after Anastasia vents over her conversation with her boss. Nieto pulls us back to a wide-angle of the two sitting on a bench in a brief moment of silence in their conversation, holding hands, and staring out at the reader, eyes closed, seeming to relish a point in time that may never come again. A wonderful piece of work that captures the emotional impact of Mignola and Golden’s script. Nieto’s work walks the line between Mignola’s aesthetic while also giving the reader his own take on this world. Hellboy and Anastasia decide to travel to Iceland later in the issue to investigate an old dig site of Anastasia’s to study the body of a long-dead witch. Letterer Clem Robins captures the power and ferocity of the witch with his well-placed sound effects. It really feels like the witch is about to burst from the page.
Sadly, this latest chapter in the Hellboy in Love series will conclude in the next issue. Luckily, in the past few months, we’ve had plenty of Mignolaverse projects to enjoy, and I’m sure we’ll have more adventures with Hellboy and Anastasia in the near future. I always enjoy my time in this comic universe, and this issue was no different. A compelling tale from Hellboy’s past that all Mignolverse fans should pick up.
Creative Team: Mike Mignola (writer), Christopher Golden (writer), Alex Nieto (artist/colorist), Clem Robins (letterer)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
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