Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom
Encyclopedia
The Right Hand of Doom is the fourth trade paperback collection in the Hellboy
series created by Mike Mignola
published by Dark Horse Comics
on February 4, 2004
which collects various mini-series, one-shots and back-up features featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy
.
Dark Horse Presents Annual
and was colored for this collection.
Mignola claims he wrote this story as a joke after stating he wasn't interested in writing about a young Hellboy only for it to prove a popular success.
In the story the young Hellboy eats pancakes for the first time and the demons of Pandemonium
subsequently lament that he will never return to them now.
issue 151 and was colored for this collection.
Mignola claims that this story based on the 6th century English folktale
about St. Leonard was one of the first Hellboy stories he thought of back in 1994 but it took him 5 years to write it up.
In the story Hellboy is asked by the Osiris Club to slay the Saint Leonard Worm as a test of his virtue, but his dubious success (and lilies that grow from his shed blood) make the outcome of the test unclear.
Mignola claims that this story based on the Norwegian folktales such as The Flying Huntsman and The Green Giant was completed thanks to a fan who supplied a photobook of Norway
for inspiration.
In the story Professor Bruttenholm
sends Hellboy to help Professor Edmond Aickman (who worked with Bruttenholm in Burma and Chengdu
) research the King Vold myth.
).
Mignola has stated that this is one of his favorite Hellboy stories but it was one of the hardest to do as it was a very close adaptation of a Japanese folktale
that he wanted to have an authentic feel despite knowing nothing about the country.
In the story Hellboy takes shelter at a rural Japanese home where he encounters some demonic floating heads called nuke-kubi
(抜首).
The story was adapted as an animated segment in the movie Hellboy: Sword of Storms.
as the back-up feature in Gary Gianni's The Monster Men.
Mignola claims that the story developed from a reworked the opening for a non-Hellboy mini-series that he eventually dropped that demonstrates his fascination with the works of H.P. Lovecraft and with ectoplasm
.
In the story Hellboy battles a space-borne monster that attempts to enter the earthly plane through the bodily ectoplasm
of physical medium
The Amazing Tod.
Mignola claims that the story was inspired by a single paragraph he had read 20 years previously describing the eponymous celestial body-devouring Romanian vampire and that the hardest thing about writing it was finding the book again to get the monster’s name.
In the story Hellboy faces the vampiric Countess Ilona Kakosy who summons the vârcolac to her defense.
Dark Horse Presents Annual
and was colored for this collection.
Mignola claims that after 5 years of writing Hellboy he decided to direct the readers' attention to the characters' mysterious right hand.
In the story Hellboy meets the son of Professor Malcolm Frost, who had once tried to have him destroyed, to learn the reason for the professor's antipathy.
This story, written by Mike Mignola and penciled by Matthew Dow Smith
, was originally published in two-issue mini-series Hellboy: Box Full of Evil (August-September 1999
) along with back-up features The Killer in My Skull and Abe Sapien versus Science.
Mignola has stated that the story featuring the hand of glory
and St. Dunstan was written to bring a final end to the Beast of the Apocalypse story-arc. A four-page epilogue was added for this collection to tie-in this conclusion with the preceding The Right Hand of Doom story.
In the story a mysterious robbery in an ancient English mansion called Guarino's castle sets Hellboy and Abe Sapien on the trail of a saint, a warlock, a demon, an archduke of Hell, and a gun-wielding monkey. After Igor Bromhead releases minor demon Ualac
, the crown of the Beast of the Apocalypse becomes the main prize in the resulting conflict that summons forth the demon Astaroth
.
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
series created by Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
on February 4, 2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
which collects various mini-series, one-shots and back-up features featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy
Hellboy
Hellboy is a comic book superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 , and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers...
.
Pancakes
This two-page story by Mike Mignola was originally published in the 19991999 in comics
-February:* February 3: Pioneering editor Vin Sullivan dies at age 87.* February 26: John L. Goldwater, co-founder of Archie Comics, dies at age 82.-March:* Incredible Hulk is canceled by Marvel with issue #474.-May:...
Dark Horse Presents Annual
Dark Horse Presents
Dark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, running from July 2007 until August 2010...
and was colored for this collection.
Mignola claims he wrote this story as a joke after stating he wasn't interested in writing about a young Hellboy only for it to prove a popular success.
In the story the young Hellboy eats pancakes for the first time and the demons of Pandemonium
Pandæmonium (Paradise Lost)
Pandæmonium is the capital of Hell in the epic poem Paradise Lost by the 17th century English poet John Milton."Pandæmonium" stems from Greek "παν", meaning "all" or "every", and "δαιμόνιον", meaning "little spirit" or "little angel", or, as Christians interpreted it, "little daemon", and later,...
subsequently lament that he will never return to them now.
The Nature of the Beast
This story by Mike Mignola was originally published in Dark Horse PresentsDark Horse Presents
Dark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, running from July 2007 until August 2010...
issue 151 and was colored for this collection.
Mignola claims that this story based on the 6th century English folktale
English folklore
English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries. Some stories can be traced back to their roots, while the origin of others is uncertain or disputed...
about St. Leonard was one of the first Hellboy stories he thought of back in 1994 but it took him 5 years to write it up.
In the story Hellboy is asked by the Osiris Club to slay the Saint Leonard Worm as a test of his virtue, but his dubious success (and lilies that grow from his shed blood) make the outcome of the test unclear.
King Vold
This story by Mike Mignola was created specially for this collection.Mignola claims that this story based on the Norwegian folktales such as The Flying Huntsman and The Green Giant was completed thanks to a fan who supplied a photobook of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
for inspiration.
In the story Professor Bruttenholm
Trevor Bruttenholm
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is a fictional character in the Hellboy comic book universe, created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne. His first appearance was in the comic book Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, issue #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
sends Hellboy to help Professor Edmond Aickman (who worked with Bruttenholm in Burma and Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
) research the King Vold myth.
Heads
This story by Mike Mignola was originally published in as the back-up feature in the one-shot Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead (March 4, 19981998 in comics
-Spring:* Gay Comix , with issue #25, publishes its final issue -October:* Toy Biz buys Marvel Comics* Excalibur is canceled by Marvel with issue #125.-November:...
).
Mignola has stated that this is one of his favorite Hellboy stories but it was one of the hardest to do as it was a very close adaptation of a Japanese folktale
Japanese folklore
The folklore of Japan is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country. It often involves humorous or bizarre characters and situations and also includes an assortment of supernatural beings, such as bodhisattva, kami , yōkai , yūrei ,...
that he wanted to have an authentic feel despite knowing nothing about the country.
In the story Hellboy takes shelter at a rural Japanese home where he encounters some demonic floating heads called nuke-kubi
Nukekubi
are monsters found in Japanese folklore. By day, nukekubi appear to be normal human beings. By night, however, their heads detach at the neck smoothly from their bodies and fly about independently in search of human prey. These heads attack by screaming , then closing in and biting.While the head...
(抜首).
The story was adapted as an animated segment in the movie Hellboy: Sword of Storms.
Goodbye, Mister Tod
This story by Mike Mignola was originally published in August, 19991999 in comics
-February:* February 3: Pioneering editor Vin Sullivan dies at age 87.* February 26: John L. Goldwater, co-founder of Archie Comics, dies at age 82.-March:* Incredible Hulk is canceled by Marvel with issue #474.-May:...
as the back-up feature in Gary Gianni's The Monster Men.
Mignola claims that the story developed from a reworked the opening for a non-Hellboy mini-series that he eventually dropped that demonstrates his fascination with the works of H.P. Lovecraft and with ectoplasm
Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm may refer to:* Ectoplasm , the outer part of the cytoplasm* Ectoplasm , supposed physical substance that manifests as a result of spiritual energy or psychic phenomenon...
.
In the story Hellboy battles a space-borne monster that attempts to enter the earthly plane through the bodily ectoplasm
Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm may refer to:* Ectoplasm , the outer part of the cytoplasm* Ectoplasm , supposed physical substance that manifests as a result of spiritual energy or psychic phenomenon...
of physical medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
The Amazing Tod.
The Vârcolac
This story by Mike Mignola was originally published in Sunday-newspaper-strip format in Dark Horse Extra and was reformatted for this collection.Mignola claims that the story was inspired by a single paragraph he had read 20 years previously describing the eponymous celestial body-devouring Romanian vampire and that the hardest thing about writing it was finding the book again to get the monster’s name.
In the story Hellboy faces the vampiric Countess Ilona Kakosy who summons the vârcolac to her defense.
The Right Hand of Doom
This story by Mike Mignola was originally published in Sunday-newspaper-strip format in the 19981998 in comics
-Spring:* Gay Comix , with issue #25, publishes its final issue -October:* Toy Biz buys Marvel Comics* Excalibur is canceled by Marvel with issue #125.-November:...
Dark Horse Presents Annual
Dark Horse Presents
Dark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, running from July 2007 until August 2010...
and was colored for this collection.
Mignola claims that after 5 years of writing Hellboy he decided to direct the readers' attention to the characters' mysterious right hand.
In the story Hellboy meets the son of Professor Malcolm Frost, who had once tried to have him destroyed, to learn the reason for the professor's antipathy.
Box Full of Evil
Matthew Dow Smith
Matthew Dow Smith is an American comic book artist.- Bibliography :* Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon #1 and #2* The Book of Fate #11* Day of Judgment #1-5...
, was originally published in two-issue mini-series Hellboy: Box Full of Evil (August-September 1999
1999 in comics
-February:* February 3: Pioneering editor Vin Sullivan dies at age 87.* February 26: John L. Goldwater, co-founder of Archie Comics, dies at age 82.-March:* Incredible Hulk is canceled by Marvel with issue #474.-May:...
) along with back-up features The Killer in My Skull and Abe Sapien versus Science.
Mignola has stated that the story featuring the hand of glory
Hand of Glory
The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."...
and St. Dunstan was written to bring a final end to the Beast of the Apocalypse story-arc. A four-page epilogue was added for this collection to tie-in this conclusion with the preceding The Right Hand of Doom story.
In the story a mysterious robbery in an ancient English mansion called Guarino's castle sets Hellboy and Abe Sapien on the trail of a saint, a warlock, a demon, an archduke of Hell, and a gun-wielding monkey. After Igor Bromhead releases minor demon Ualac
Valac
In demonology, Valac is the mighty Great President of Hell, having thirty legions of demons under his command. Valac is said to give true answers about hidden treasures; he reveals where serpents can be seen, and delivers them harmless to the magician...
, the crown of the Beast of the Apocalypse becomes the main prize in the resulting conflict that summons forth the demon Astaroth
Astaroth
Astaroth , in demonology, is a Crowned Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.-Background:...
.