The Monsters of the Week and Their Day Job – B.P.R.D. Plague of Frogs: Volume One

You have no idea how excited I am to have gotten here. I’ve tried not to show my hand too much over these past few months, but as much as I love the Hellboy series, I think I love B.P.R.D. more. I picked it up originally after I got through the Hellboy books, thinking it…

I Wish My Childhood Summer Camps Had This Many Dinosaurs – Lumberjanes

It’s not uncommon that I find a book or show on a recommendation list somewhere that’s meant for younger readers, but deserves attention from adults as well. Lumberjanes is one of those – a series of comics meant for middle-grade kids, with a particular point of empowering young women through surreal and often humorous fantasy…

You Know I Love Dysfunctional Family Dinners – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Six

The season builds tension this episode as the Umbrella Academy siblings prepare to face their biggest challenge yet: a dinner with their father. It's been years since most of them have seen him, and no one (other than perhaps Five and Vanya) is particularly looking forward to it, given their contentious relationship with the now-dead…

Out of the Shadows – Hellboy: Complete Short Stories, Book Two

I’ll be honest, this is not my favorite Hellboy book. It’s not bad, but it’s similar to the previous short story collection, and of the two, I think this one has fewer stories that I love. Fewer. Not none. ___________________________ 3P Reviews Series: Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume Two ___________________________ Spoilers: Yes Audience Assumptions: Familiarity…

A Gay Old Time at Disneyland – Welcome to Wanderland

Look, sometimes when I’m thinking of titles, there’s one obvious low-hanging fruit, and nine times out of ten, that’s the one that calls out to me. We're both just going to have to live with that, I'm afraid. Welcome to Wanderland is a little 150 page graphic novel about a kid who gets magically transported…

Sandman, Take Note – Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume One

About two and a half years ago -- Jesus, I've been at this for that long? -- I was working on my Sandman reviews and I kept running into the same issue: constant short stories interrupting the flow of the main narrative. They weren't bad short stories, necessarily, and I understand why the series did…

Well, Here We Are. We Made It. – Hellboy in Hell

I think we all knew it would end here, didn't we? Hell's inhabitants have lingered in the background as puppet masters throughout Hellboy's adventures, and with how fond Mignola is of demons and monsters, I frankly would have been disappointed if we didn't have at least one decent tour around the place. And decent tour…

This Fish, I Like Him – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Two

Guess who figured out how to auto-trace bitmap images? I definitely didn't work that out after completing 75% of the drawings for this review, that's for sure... We continue our reviews of season two of The Umbrella Academy, hopefully with greater velocity from now on, as things start to escalate. The kids are moving closer…

Greater Depths – Hellboy, Book Two

Sometimes you need to shake things up a bit and turn your monster-of-the-week serial into Moby Dick and get your main character lost at sea for several years to vividly hallucinate and find himself. It happens. Hellboy Omnibus Volume Two takes an unexpected twist as the titular character continues to run into reminders of his…

I’ll Meet You at the Crossroads – Hellboy, Book One

I have a fondness for monsters — the fanged, scaled, hairy, be-tentacled sort. They make our world a more interesting place, give us some respite from the darker things out there that aren’t as up front about what they really are. You know what to expect from a scary-looking monster. And when they prove you…