Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others

By Mike Mignola

1st set in American folklore, comes 1 with Appalachian folktale background. In Virginia 1958, HB is investigating a lady falling ill from a witchball, which the bruise marked on her neck, she unable to move. The young man, Tom shows HB the witchball from outside, leading him to the last lady to speak, and fight with the fallen lady. They reach Cora's house, and no one is inside to answer, they looking and finding more witchballs, Tom seeing Cora's skin on her bed, HB and he waiting for her to come back for it.

In the meantime, Tom tells how he'd met the devil when he was 15. After, HB and Tom see Cora sneak back in with the bod of a racoon, then Effie interrupts them from outside, on a horse, leaving by flying off, Tom reunited with his pop temporarily, he having changed back from a horse, and dies. Tom next decides to confront the devil to release Cora, hoping HB'd join him. As they walk closer, Cora stops for hearing her name called from underground by old witches of the land, the 2 seeing her puff up and explode green insects, Effie returning to rub in how owned Tom was, now for using the lucky bone he'd gotten from the devil.

They get to the church where the blind preacher admits of ghostly Cora telling him they were coming, and would help them bury Tom's pop by morning. The Crooked Man comes after the witches surround the church outside its hallowed grounds. After listening to the Crooked man guilt-tripping Tom, HB goes out and confronts the fool.

They throw knives at him, so the priest comes to order he stop, the Crooked Man attempting to bribe him with youth and his vision again, but the priest isn't swayed. He later discovers a way for HB to knock the Crooked Man a few blows using the bone power, HB and Tom leaving to finish him off, and get rid of the bone, the priest back to normal and waiting for their help to clean up when they get back. The 2 return the bone to the rest, and Effie is discovered looking old, on their way back, Tom putting her in the saddle she'd used on his pop, painting the word of she being a witch on the side of her horse body before leaving.

The next story is based on Blackbeard's headless ghost. MA '86, a man comes in to get out of the rain, explaining he plays tarot for tourists, and when he doesn't succeed in getting the shop owner to have a reading, he sees a half skull he wants, but doesn't have the cash for, the owner gets punched for it, even though he tries to oblige by saving saving the piece for him. A month later in N. Carolina, Abe comes onto shore on a blocky cell phone, talking to HB about meeting up as the guy with the skull goes in search of Blackbeard's treasure.

Abe walks up to a hooded figure sitting on the shore talking about how evil Blackbeard was toward those around him. Well, this still suits, since the fella who had helped the thief, shoots him, and HB sees this guy get cut in half by Blackbeard, who is ready to fight HB. In the end, Abe sees Blackbeard get dragged underwater by corpses, and he and HB get the old man who had helped them return back home.

Much of the art is based on Goya paintings, and Mignola easing himself back into writing a story himself. Portugal '92, HB goes to an old church where the new renter tells of his client holing up there to paint, and when he comes back to check on him, discovers he'd sculpted a huge goat figure, and hadn't been known for sculpting, anything. HB decides they should hide inside the church and wait for the painter to enter, since the doors somehow lock behind him, the last time the man had tried to follow him in. HB sees a creature come out and attach itself to the man's back when the painter enters, HB next using a magic coin to see if it'd repel like it was meant to do. It releases the creature into a big boi, and HB fights him, and after the sculpture is destroyed, HB suggests the 2 get out ASAP, and to tell the owner it'd be best to destroy the place, or at least seal the hole the creature'd come out from.

The next story fleshes out the ghostly Middleton story. England, 2 weeks before the story of Darkness Calls. As HB is playing a game of cards with Middleton and a couple other ghosts, a mole is noticed on HB's hand which he dismisses. Then, it bulges and craps out a dark monster, HB looking like a skin husk blowing in the wind before he wakes up, takes a shot, and acknowledges what a crazy dream he had. Great bunch, yet again! These are seriously so easy and fun to go through. I didn't even notice the one I reread. If only more comics could be so easily story-lined.