Hellboy: Weird Tales

Hellboy: Weird Tales is a Dark Horse Comics bimonthly eight-issue comic book limited series that offered a variety of guest writers and artists the chance to give their own take on the Hellboy characters created by Mike Mignola whilst he was in Prague working on the first Hellboy movie. The issues were published bi-monthly to alternate with a series of B.P.R.D. one-shots and were collected in two trade paperback volumes.[1][2]

Hellboy: Weird Tales
Issue #1 Comic Book Cover
Publication information
PublisherDark Horse Comics
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateFebruary 2003 - April 2004
No. of issues8
Main character(s)
Creative team
Created byMike Mignola
Written byVarious
Artist(s)Various
Editor(s)Scott Allie
Collected editions
'Hellboy: Weird Tales Volume 1'ISBN 978-1-56971-622-9
'Hellboy: Weird Tales Volume 2'ISBN 978-1-56971-953-4

Issues

Issue #1

Published February 26, 2003 cover by John Cassaday.[3]

TitleCreators
Big-Top HellboyStory & Art: John Cassaday
Hellboy, Sherman and Sapien go to the site of a spectral circus in Marktleuthen, Germany, 1994 that has been abducting children in revenge for its destruction at the hand of the local villagers at the turn of the 20th century.
Sugar Coated Wire feat. Dr. Karl Ruprect KroenenArt: TyRuben Ellingson
The first comic book pinup by Ellingson who worked alongside Mignola as designer on the movies Blade II and Hellboy.
Party PooperStory & Art: Andi Watson
Corrigan distracts Hellboy whilst Sherman, Sapien and Roger prepare a surprise birthday party complete with pancakes but reflected in the candle Hellboy sees a demonic presence and the Crown of Destruction.
Children of the Black Mound
An Orthodox priest in Tbilisi, Georgia, 1898, relates the cautionary tale of Staynivolk, which fell victim to Baba Yaga in 1788 for renouncing its faith, to a seminary student Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili who goes on to face the Russian witch.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 1Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson attempts to apprehend the Crimson Hood but he uses trickery to escape.

Issue #2

Published April 23, 2003 cover by Jason Pearson.[4]

TitleCreators
Lloyd McCay in Flight Risk
Hellboy accompanies Lloyd McCay to Nevada, U.S.A. where an attempt to regain his freestyle jet-packing altitude record leads to an encounter with giant desert bats.
Hot
Hellboy and Hennessey travel to Shuzenji, Japan, 1967 to rid the Fukushima hot spring of a Tengu infestation that has been devouring tourists.
Curse of the Haunted Doily
A family heirloom brings back the ghost of Corrigan’s mother to nag her from beyond the grave.
Midnight Cowboy
A young Hellboy and his dog Mac penetrate the forbidden Hangar 7 at their airforce base home in New Mexico, U.S.A., 1947 to make a transforming discovery.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 2Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson interrogates one of the Crimson Hood’s henchman to reveal the villains location.

Issue #3

Published June 25, 2003 cover by Alex Maleev.[5]

TitleCreators
Still Born
Hellboy, Sapien and Sherman rush to hospital to preside over a demonic birth.
Down TimeStory & Art: Bob Fingerman
Hellboy suffers from technical difficulties after insulting the B.R.P.D’s new intern demon, Irving Goblinski.
Hellboy v. RasputinArt: Galen Showman
Full page pin-up.
Family Story
Hellboy finds himself in the midst of a domestic disturbance whilst researching in the library of a stately home.
Hellboy at the Mountains of MadnessArt: William Stout
Full page pin-up.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 3Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson tracks down his kidnapped assistant to a mansion in upstate New York.

Issue #4

Published August 27, 2003 cover by Leinil Francis Yu.[6]

TitleCreators
The Dread WithinStory & Art: Jason Pearson
Sherman, Ipswich and Apon go to confront the ghosts in a haunted house in Portland, Oregon, on the anniversary of the death of Sherman’s parents.
Abe Sapien: Star of the B.P.R.D.
A day dreaming Sapien imagines an alternate universe where he has taken Hellboy’s place as the B.P.R.D’s top agent.
Haunted
Hellboy goes to the Ravenschild Estate to investigate a reported haunting.
ShredArt: Rick Cortes
Full page pin-up.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 4Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson bust up a meeting between the Crimson Hood and his Nazi contacts.

Issue #5

Published October 15, 2003 cover by J.H. Williams III.[7]

TitleCreators
Love is Scarier Than Monsters
Hellboy and FBI Agent Emma Granger go on stakeout in Prince George's County, Maryland to capture the Goatman.
Cool Your HeadStory & Art: Scott Morse
Hellboy goes on holiday to Yosemite National Park, California where he runs in to an aging beatnik.
Shattered
Hellboy travels to Guatemala, 1979 to recover a mysterious Mayan artifact known as the Xul Chalak.
PinupArt: Cameron Stewart
Full page pin-up.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 5Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson unmasks the true identity of the villainous Crimson Hood.

Issue #6

Published December 10, 2003 cover by Frank Cho.[8]

TitleCreators
Command Performance
Hellboy travels to Paris 1991 to end the murderous run of the Grand Guignol Theater Troupe.
Friday
Sherman and Sapien go after a demon in an aquarium.
My Vacation in HellStory & Art: Craig Thompson
Hellboy introduces a slideshow of his holiday in Hell.
PinupArt: Steve Purcell
Full page pin-up.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 6Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson battles the Nazis but in the ensuing chaos the vibration machine starts-up.

Issue #7

Published February 11, 2004 cover by Phil Noto.[9]

TitleCreators
A Love StoryStory & Art: Tommy Lee Edwards
Hellboy travels to India, 1964 to investigate a restored World War II era P-40 plane that appears haunted.
Theater of the Dead
  • Story: Jim Pascoe & Tom Fassbender
  • Art: Simeon Wilkins
Hellboy and Sapien face a gun toting headless corpse, a zombie orchestra, and a bunch of gangsters.
Long Distance CallerStory & Art: Kev Walker
Krauss deals with the alien takeover of an Australian SETI station whilst on an insomnia-driven astral journey.
PinupArt: Dave Stevens
Full page pin-up.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 7Story & Art: John Cassaday
The vibration machine brings the building crashing down around Johnson and his assistant.

Issue #8

Published April 14, 2004 cover by Michael William Kaluta.[10]

TitleCreators
Fifteen Minutes...Story & Art: Jill Thompson
A group of living skeletons sign-up to be set decoration for Hellboy’s battle with a giant rat in order to get their S.A.G. cards.
Toy Soldier
Hellboy and Sasaki attempt to rid the Dai Bang toy company of the child spirits in its warehouse.
Professional HelpStory & Art: Evan Dorkin
A mission to Oslo, Norway with Agent Izzy Kemper leaves Roger seeking the services of psychiatrist Dr. Ramsey.
PinupArt: Gary Fields
Full page pin-up.
Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 8Story & Art: John Cassaday
Johnson and his assistant escape the collapsing building but the Nazis get away. Johnson vows to pursue them to Hunte Castle, Austria.

Collected editions

The series has been collected into two trade paperbacks and one hardcover edition:

  • Volume 1 (collects Hellboy: Weird Tales #1-4, February 2003, ISBN 978-1-56971-622-9)
  • Volume 2 (collects Hellboy: Weird Tales #5-8, October 2004, ISBN 978-1-56971-953-4)
  • HC - Hardcover (collects Hellboy: Weird Tales #1-8 (Volume 1 & 2) and the "How Koshchei Became Deathless" and "Baba Yaga's Feast" back-ups from Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #2-4, December 2014, ISBN 978-1-61655-510-8)

Awards
  • The character Hellboy in Hellboy: Weird Tales was nominated for the 2003 "Favourite Hero" Wizard Fan Award.
  • John Cassady won the 2004 "Best Artist/Penciller/Inker" Eisner Award in part for his work on this title.

Notes
  1. Hellboy: Weird Tales Volume 1. Dark Horse Comics. 2006. ISBN 978-1-56971-622-9.
  2. Hellboy: Weird Tales Volume 2. Dark Horse Comics. 2006. ISBN 978-1-56971-953-4.
  3. "Hellboy Weird Tales #1". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  4. "Hellboy Weird Tales #2". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  5. "Hellboy Weird Tales #3". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  6. "Hellboy Weird Tales #4". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  7. "Hellboy Weird Tales #5". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  8. "Hellboy Weird Tales #6". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  9. "Hellboy Weird Tales #7". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  10. "Hellboy Weird Tales #8". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 19, 2009.

References
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