Dark Horse Comics has announced Hellboy in Hell: Parade of Horrors, a new two-issue series by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and artist Márk László, with colors by Dave Stewart and letters by Clem Robins. The series launches in December and immediately follows Hellboy in Hell: Nothing But Blood, which kicks off in October.
The series reunites Mignola with László, who previously worked with the creator on Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Time is a River.
“I hadn’t planned to return to Hellboy’s HELL — I certainly didn’t think I’d ever let anyone else in there. But I love Márk’s work, and when we met he said he wanted to do a story set there. Well, how could I say no?” Mignola said. “Fortunately, there were a couple big holes between the chapters I’d drawn and I thought Márk would have fun with those two dead soldiers we meet in ‘The Three Gold Whips’ — and he did! I only gave him a rough outline for a story, and he took it from there. And as things took shape, we found a place to introduce a bit more of the history of the place. Every time I think we are done with this thing it seems we find there are just a few more bits and pieces to explore, which I guess is a good thing.”
The story takes place after the events of Hellboy in Hell: Nothing But Blood, as Hellboy goes off in search of drink. Instead he finds himself in a cemetery, where a macabre procession is celebrating the death of Satan.
The resulting celebration in the pits of Pandemonium will introduce a host of new characters while sending Hellboy on another strange and bloody journey through the underworld.
For László, the opportunity to explore that world was one he couldn’t pass up.
“Ever since reading Hellboy in Hell, Mike’s version of the place (Hell) always felt like such a fun, rich visual playground to me: all those dark landscapes, the endless, bleak villages, the set of characters lurking inside,” László said. “When I spoke with Mike about what could I do as a next Hellboy project, I knew I wanted to draw a story that is set in there. To my delight, he found a spot between two of the chapters of his original run where I could expand the story a little, and the whole thing was built up from there. It’s all made up of stuff I’m very happy to draw: Hellboy stumbling through parading demons, dancing skeletons, bloody fights, and I even got to draw a few glimpses from the history behind this version of Hell.”
Originally published between 2012 and 2016, Hellboy in Hell explored the aftermath of Hellboy’s death and finally revealed the truth about his origins.
Hellboy in Hell: Parade of Horrors #1 features a cover by László, shown above, along with a variant cover by Mignola:
Hellboy in Hell: Parade of Horrors #1 arrives in stores Dec. 16.