Sunday, April 11, 2004
Seed of Destruction...
So, I got the first Hellboy volume today. Media Play seems to have all of the volumes at 30% off (even if there is no sign, ask at the register), so a pretty nice deal. For once, I actually read something that I just bought and it is pretty neat. It is fun in an old pulp type way (alluded to somewhat by the intro text I think), and the artwork is really nice. There are probably spoilers below, so beware:
Hellboy himself is a pretty neat character. I see what people were saying now about him being a resigned fix-it type guy. Reminds me a little of Bannon from Johnny Quest actually. It is pretty neat that Hellboy is technically 50 years old, actually. I think he probably captures how someone who is older but still in top condition might be like. Abe Sapien seems like an interesting character, as well as Liz. The designs on all the various characters are very interesting.
As for faults? Well, maybe it is from being so used to manga, but it almost seems kind of rushed. Like there isn't a lot of time for any kind of real buildup. The stuff with Rasputin (was a nice touch that he was never actually named in the book that I could see btw) and the end of the world, it almost seems like something you'd have happen at the end of a series. Like he'd be manipuating thigns from the shadows and it'd all build up to that fateful encounter. Then again, perhaps Mike wants to stick to interesting episodic stories and wanted to get that arc-ish stuff out of the way? Of course maybe Rasputin is alive and there's the mystery of Hellboy's hand and all of that, so I suppose it could all come back eventually...
I guess my other thing is the lack of development on the characters. It makes sense in that they've all been working together for some time, but Abe and especially Liz barely get any "screentime". Also, Liz gets stuck as the damsel in distress pretty quick it seems... I take it Abe and Liz get explored a bit more in the future volumes?
So, in the end I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if it felt like it had too too much impact on me. Then again, I'm thinking this might be one to grow on me over time. I wasn't much into Cowboy Bebop or Kenshin at first either, but they did grow on me over time..
Hellboy himself is a pretty neat character. I see what people were saying now about him being a resigned fix-it type guy. Reminds me a little of Bannon from Johnny Quest actually. It is pretty neat that Hellboy is technically 50 years old, actually. I think he probably captures how someone who is older but still in top condition might be like. Abe Sapien seems like an interesting character, as well as Liz. The designs on all the various characters are very interesting.
As for faults? Well, maybe it is from being so used to manga, but it almost seems kind of rushed. Like there isn't a lot of time for any kind of real buildup. The stuff with Rasputin (was a nice touch that he was never actually named in the book that I could see btw) and the end of the world, it almost seems like something you'd have happen at the end of a series. Like he'd be manipuating thigns from the shadows and it'd all build up to that fateful encounter. Then again, perhaps Mike wants to stick to interesting episodic stories and wanted to get that arc-ish stuff out of the way? Of course maybe Rasputin is alive and there's the mystery of Hellboy's hand and all of that, so I suppose it could all come back eventually...
I guess my other thing is the lack of development on the characters. It makes sense in that they've all been working together for some time, but Abe and especially Liz barely get any "screentime". Also, Liz gets stuck as the damsel in distress pretty quick it seems... I take it Abe and Liz get explored a bit more in the future volumes?
So, in the end I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if it felt like it had too too much impact on me. Then again, I'm thinking this might be one to grow on me over time. I wasn't much into Cowboy Bebop or Kenshin at first either, but they did grow on me over time..
