Goodbye Hellboy – comic book and film character’s creator puts horned big boy to bed
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola talks about saying goodbye to One of the most lauded comic book heroes of the past 30 years, his artwork, and why there will probably never be a Hellboy 3 movie
Mike Mignola’s Hellboy is one of the most widely praised and visually distinctive comics of the past three decades, spawning two critically acclaimed Guillermo del Toro movies, several spin-off comic books and assorted paraphernalia from action figures to video games.
Now, the character’s high-contrast, minimalist adventures are concluding with the hero ending his days where he began them: hell itself, where Mignola says he has found unexpected artistic freedom. The final issue shipped last Wednesday.
Over 22 years writing and drawing Hellboy – the first comic was published in October 1994 – Mignola has won virtually every major award in comics, some of them several times. Now, he says, he wants to narrow his focus still further. Mignola has cleared his schedule so he can take up watercolour painting, which is not a medium he’s used to.
In conversation, Mignola is a good-humoured pessimist, his dire expectations perpetually thwarted by what he calls an incredible run of good luck. He still speaks with amazement about being surprised by the best in the midst of preparing for the worst, whether he was creating a spare character in case everyone hated Hellboy or getting green lights for movies he was certain would fall apart.
What made you decide to call it a day?