Smash Pages Q&A: Evan Dorkin

The writer and co-creator of ‘Beasts of Burden’ discusses his long career in comics, his collaborations, ‘Blackwood’ and much more.

Evan Dorkin seems to have many careers. For many comics readers, he’s the writer and artist behind Dork, Milk and Cheese and The Elitingville Club. He wrote and drew Bill and Ted’s Excellent Comic Book series for Marvel back in 1991-92, which has since been reprinted. He’s contributed to MAD Magazine and other outlets. In television, he’s worked extensively with his wife, the noted creator Sarah Dyer, on shows like Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Superman: The Animated Series and others.

He is also the writer and co-creator of the award winning comic series Beasts of Burden. Dorkin’s approach to horror and suspense and his skill at writing animal protagonists — combined with the painted artwork of initially Jill Thompson and later Benjamin Dewey — have made the books a favorite among readers and critics. Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch was just released by Dark Horse, which collects a lot of the one-shots and other stories featuring the supernatural-battling pets, including a crossover with Hellboy co-written by Mike Mignola.

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‘Witchfinder’ takes on Jack the Ripper this fall

Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson, Christopher Mitten and Michelle Madsen tell the story ‘Witchfinder’ fans have been waiting for.

Mike Mignola’s Witchfinder will return in November with a new miniseries by Mignola, Chris Roberson, Christopher Mitten and Michelle Madsen.

Witchfinder: Reign of Darkness pits its hero, Sir Edward Grey, against Jack the Ripper in a story that longtime Witchfinder readers know has been brewing for a while.

“It’s been long-established that Sir Edward Grey was involved in some capacity in the investigation into the Ripper killings in 1888, and that shortly afterward he left government service for good,” said Roberson. “But we’ve never known just what Sir Edward discovered during his investigation, or who was behind the Ripper murders in the world of Hellboy, or what happened that caused the royal Witchfinder to having a falling-out with Queen Victoria…until now, at least. In the pages of Witchfinder: Reign of Darkness, we’ll be exploring all of those questions, and more, as Sir Edward’s investigation into a string of grisly murders leads him in directions he couldn’t have guessed, encountering new enemies and new allies along the way.”

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Slap a demonic groove on this Hellboy 5-string bass

Dingwall Guitars and Dark Horse team up for a hellish new instrument featuring Mike Mignola’s most famous creation.

Mike Mignola’s Hellboy can be found everywhere from comics to movies to whiskey to action figures — and now you can add “bass” to that list.

Dingwall Guitars has partnered with Dark Horse and Rob van der Loo from (of course!) the Dutch metal band Epica to release the New D-Roc Rob van der Loo “Hellboy” Limited Edition 5-string bass.

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Mignola, CCI celebrate 25 years of Hellboy

Mike Mignola’s monster-fighting monster returns with three new projects from Dark Horse and a tribute cover on the CCI events guide.

This week’s Comic-Con International celebrates 25 years of Hellboy by placing Mike Mignola’s most famous creation on the cover of their annual events guide — while publisher Dark Horse Comics has taken the occasion to announce three new Hellboy-related titles.

“From the beginning I knew Hellboy was going to be a book about monsters fighting monsters,” Mignola said in a press release. “I started off with a 4-page teaser about a shabby dog at a gas station turning into the Egypian god Anubis, and since I got away with that I just kept going—the Baba Yaga, the Penanggalan, demonic Mexican wrestlers, Irish goblins, flying Japanese heads—there’s a whole world of monsters out there, so still plenty of work for Hellboy to do.”

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Skottie Young, Tom King, ‘March: Book Three’ and more take home Ringo Awards

Named for artist Mike Mike Wieringo, the awards were presented over the weekend at the Baltimore Comic-Con.

The winners for the first-ever Ringo Awards were announced this weekend at the Baltimore Comic-Con. The awards are named for artist Mike Wieringo, who passed away in 2007.

The Ringos showed Skottie Young’s I Hate Fairyland some love, as the creator took home awards for Best Cartoonist and Best Humor Comic. March: Book Three by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell continued to rack up accolades as it took home the awards for Best Non-fiction Comic Work and Best Original Graphic Novel. And Tom King, writer of Best Series winner The Vision, won for Best Writer. Other winners included Fiona Staples, Sean Murphy, Todd Klein, Laura Martin, Bloom County and Dean Haspiel’s The Red Hook.

The nomination process was open to anyone, while comic professionals voted on the final winners. Check out the full list of nominees below, with the winners in bold.

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‘Hellboy Omnibus Collection’ collects the series from the start

The adventures of Mike Mignola’s heroic half-demon will be collected in six volumes.

Clear some room — a lot of room — on your bookshelves. Dark Horse Comics will publish Mike Mignola’s signature, award-winning series Hellboy in Omnibus format, collecting the entire run in chronological order.

“I’m very excited to finally have all the Hellboy stories collected in chronological order,” Mignola said. “And I’m especially excited to have the three Duncan Fegredo books—all the stuff with Alice and the Queen of Blood—together in one collection for the first time.”

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Mignola, Stewart, Dark Horse support Hurricane Harvey victims with special print

Limited Edition Hellboy print will be available at this weekend’s Rose City Comic Con, with proceeds going to the Houston Food Bank.

Portland may be a long way from Houston, but comic fans attending this week’s Rose City Comic Con can lend a hand to people in Texas by purchasing a limited edition Hellboy print by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart.

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Mignola brings out the bad guys this winter

“Hellboy” creator MIke Mignola teams up with Adam Hughes, Chris Roberson, Christopher Mitten, Ben Stenbeck and more to tell new stories about Rasputin, Krampus and Koshchei the Deathless.

The “Mignolaverse” will continue to grow this coming winter with a pair of miniseries and a one-shot focusing on some of the unsavory characters Hellboy has encountered — namely Rasputin, Krampus and Koshchei the Deathless.

“We didn’t set out to publish three stories about bad guys for the holidays, it just worked out that way—and, really, at least one of these guys isn’t ALL bad,” Mignola said in a press release. “It’s been a real pleasure working with Chris Roberson and Christopher Mitten again to flesh out more of the history of the Hellboy world—focusing on Rasputin before the arrival of Hellboy. You just knew there had to be more to say about that guy. Just like I’ve always known there was a lot more to say about Koshchei the Deathless, who I’ve loved since Hellboy: Darkness Calls. Now thanks to the great Ben Stenbeck, we get his full, odd, and tragic life story. And then what is there to say about the Krampus? This grim little Christmas story has been gathering dust for years on my mental shelf, apparently just waiting for the right artist to come along and ask to draw it. I just never imagined that the right artist would be Adam Hughes!”

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Raise a glass of Hellboy Hell Water to everyone’s favorite demon

6.66 proof whiskey now available from Dark Horse Comics, XXX Distillery and Prestige Imports.

Given that his name has appeared on an ale, a wine and now a whiskey, maybe the new Hellboy movie should simply be about him opening a bar.

Officially announced this week, Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey is a craft distilled, small batch, naturally flavored cinnamon whiskey retailing for $19.99 for a 750ml bottle by Dark Horse Comics, XXX Distillery LLC and Prestige Imports LLC. 66.6 proof whiskey, that is.

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Mignola tackles vampires in ‘Mr. Higgins Comes Home’

Mike Mignola, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell team up on an original graphic novel set outside the Mignolaverse.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is teaming with Warwick Johnson-Cadwell on an original graphic novel about vampires titled Mr. Higgins Comes Home.

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Hellboy sets sail — with ghosts! — in ‘Into the Silent Sea’

Check out a preview of the original graphic novel, coming next spring from Dark Horse.

Next spring a third Hellboy original graphic novel will arrive from Mike Mignola, Gary Gianni and Dave Stewart. Titled Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea, the OGN follows up on 2002’s “The Island” as we learn what happened next to our brave hero.

“The biblical Jonah was vomited up by a whale, but Hellboy might not be as lucky,” Gianni said in a press release. “A superstitious crew and a figure in black will make sure there’s no escaping the silent sea.” Taken captive by the phantom crew that plans to sell him to the circus, Hellboy is dragged along by a captain who will stop at nothing in pursuit of a powerful sea creature.

In the spirit of Halloween, Dark Horse has provided a preview of the upcoming OGN:

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Mignola, Roberson, Grist reveal ‘The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed’

The five-issue miniseries will cast a light on a long-brewing Hellboy mystery.

Hellboy’s universe is populated by all sorts of strange, magical characters drawn from myths and legends around the world — but also, on a couple occasions, from out of this world. Fans of the characters over the years may have noticed — and wondered about — a group of aliens seen in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction and Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm, and come next year, they’ll get some answers.

Due out next February is The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed, a five-issue series by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, featuring art by Paul Grist. (Grist! Seeing his promo art in the trailer, available below, makes you wonder why he’s never worked in the Mignolaverse before. He’s a natural for it. Also, I sure miss Mudman and Jack Staff). The book will feature these mysterious aliens and will “probe into a pivotal moment in Hellboy’s past for a surprising tale that harkens back to the character’s first ever appearance.”

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