Hellboy's Greatest Crossover Adventures
-
9. Next Men # 21
Hellboy and Mike Mignola owe a debt to John Byrne, the writer and artist of Next Men. Byrne collaborated with Mignola as the scripter for the very first Hellboy miniseries, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction. That was the storyline that ultimately inspired the first Hellboy movie.
But prior to that, Hellboy made his first appearance (outside of special comic book convention comics) in Next Men # 21. Mignola drew Hellboy’s pages here, although technically this wasn’t the real Hellboy. This was a version of Hellboy that was brought to life by someone who could make dreams and thoughts into reality. In this world, Hellboy was only a fictional character in comic books.
The following year, Hellboy finally got his own miniseries and made that prediction a reality.
-
8. Madman Comics # 5
Mike Allred’s Madman has always been one of the most charmingly insane comics. Back in 1995, Allred was publishing Madman through Dark Horse and he and Mignola placed Hellboy in Madman # 5 for a quick appearance.
It’s just a fun cameo, but it was far from the last time that Hellboy met an existing character in comics.
-
7. Painkiller Jane/Hellboy
Painkiller Jane doesn’t have quite the following that Hellboy has, although she’s co-starred in several crossover comics of her own in addition to a short-lived TV series. Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada created Painkiller Jane in 1996 as a former cop turned vigilante who gained the ability to heal from almost any injury. Her name comes from her use of painkillers to dull the pain of her frequent wounds.
For the Painkiller Jane/Hellboy crossover, writer Brian Augustyn, Mignola and veteran artist Rick Leonardi brought the story to life as the two heroes teamed up to prevent a supernatural creature from transforming a city into an ancient forest.
-
6. Savage Dragon # 34 & # 35
The unique aspect of Hellboy’s team up with Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon is that it actually took place within the regular Savage Dragon comic book. Mignola once again co-scripted his creation’s guest appearance as Hellboy and Dragon were forced to fight each other... and a giant sea monster.
It’s an insane story and a lot of fun.
-
5. Hellboy/Beasts of Burden: Sacrifice
Back in 2009, Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson created Beasts of Burden at Dark Horse, which followed the adventures of seemingly ordinary neighborhood dogs and cats who confronted supernatural threats in their midst.
It seems like a Hellboy team up is a rite of passage among Dark Horse’s supernatural characters. And in 2010, Mignola’s famous creation shared the stage with the Beasts of Burden when they inadvertently summoned Hellboy to help them with an occult problem that they couldn’t solve on their own.
-
4. Ghost/Hellboy
Ghost was a supernatural heroine whose adventures were published by Dark Horse in the ‘90s before her more recent revival at the publisher. Ghost is Elisa Cameron, a woman whose apparent death set her on a rampage of murder and revenge. Naturally, Mignola wrote the story about Hellboy investigating the Ghost who can kill people with her guns.
Scott Benefiel was the artist for the two issue Ghost/Hellboy miniseries. One unique aspect of this team up was that Ghost referred to it within the pages of her own series. Elisa mentions that she lost the card of the World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator. But it was her own fault. Hellboy gave Elisa his card, but she let it float through her intangible hand.
-
3. The Goon # 7
Eric Powell is another writer and artist at Dark Horse who has found considerable success with his bizarre supernatural comic book, The Goon. Once again, a Hellboy team up was inevitable.
Powell and Mignola actually shared the art and the writing duties of this story as Hellboy found himself in a world that was even crazier than his own.
Out of all of Hellboy’s team ups, this is the funniest.
-
2. Batman/Hellboy
The story goes that Mike Mignola and James Robinson were admirers of their respective ‘90s comics, Hellboy and Starman; which was published by DC Comics. But when Mignola and Robinson approached DC about the crossover, they insisted that Batman be added to the mix. Presumably this was to ensure that the project would sell.
Batman/Hellboy/Starman definitely sold and it was a great two issue miniseries that featured Robinson’s script and Mignola’s art. For the first issue, the young Starman, Jack Knight is largely absent while Batman and Hellboy try to rescue Jack’s father, the original Starman, Ted Knight from the fanatical Knights of October.
Although Batman isn’t known to instantly get along with other heroes, he and Hellboy actually have a cool rapport here. For any other character, this would be the highlight of their crossover adventures.
But not for Hellboy.
-
1. Hellboy/Starman
In the second issue of Batman/Hellboy/Starman, Robinson and Mignola finally got to tell the Starman and Hellboy team up that they envisioned... and it’s glorious. Hellboy and Starman were two of the most critically acclaimed comics of the ‘90s and their crossover delivered everything that was great about both characters.
It’s rare enough to get a crossover that remains true to both characters. But this one featured both of their signature creators at the peak of their abilities. Both DC Comics and Dark Horse have reprinted the Batman/Hellboy/Starman story, so it should be easy to find.
For Hellboy, this was his greatest crossover adventure. And in the next 20 years and beyond, it will probably still be the one to beat.
