Hellboy in Mexico (Or, A Drunken Blur) – Review

by Mike Mignola (writer), Richard Corben (art), Dave Stewart (colors), and Clem Robins

The Story: Hellboy teams up with a trio of luchadores to fight vampires in 1950s Mexico.

What’s Good: Believe me when I say that Mignola definitely delivers on the insanity of that hook I typed out above.  With all the big powers and heavy talk of destiny that’s been going on in Hellboy lately, it’s sort of satisfying to get a Hellboy issue that kicks back and brings the sort of “out there” nuttiness that’s always been at least a small part of the comic’s appeal.

For the most part, this is a rollicking good time.  Seeing Hellboy party and fight alongside a group of luchadores (who stay in costume at all times) is a blast and when he has a full-on match with a vampire luchador, it’s all kinds of fun.  It’s about as much fun as writing “vampire luchador.”

I also found Mignola’s dialogue between Hellboy and his new friend, Esteban, the youngest of the three luchadors, to be particularly amusing.  Mignola effectively uses the old trick of having two characters converse with each of them exclusively speaking a different language, yet oddly being able to understand each other perfectly.  When Esteban says that Hellboy is his best friend in Spanish, only for Hellboy to respond in kind in English, it’s a guaranteed grin for all by the most stone-hearted of readers.

Despite all the comedy, the ending of the issue is beautifully tragic and a sharp, surprising bit of poignancy after an issue of vampire-wrestling and vampire-slaying.  The fact that such a wacky issue could have such a sad, but honest, ending and still feel completely organic is proof of Mignola’s skill as a writer.