Hellboy

Abe was underutilized especially in light of the level of his involvement in the comics. I agree that psychic-Abe was a strange twist that I didn't care for.

Agreed on the relatively weak ending, but considering the entire movie, I didn't mind. And the crown of fire gave me fanboy chills.

As for HB being Son of Satan... I won't say anything due to minor spoiler issues.

Jordan, I agree with you about how Mignola usually resolves his arcs e.g. HB invariably punches out the given bad guy -- which I actually appreciate, since it grounds itself fully in the mode of superhero comics (though distinct from spandex comics that feel the need to "elevate" its prose for the purpose of "literary" ends). HB blowing things up inspires pure action-oriented joy in me, that despite the foreboding ruminations on destiny and free will, the purpose of the series is visceral thrill i.e. FUN.

1) Is this the first time a comic creator has contributed a commentary track to the movie based on his work, or did Jim O'Barr do one for The Crow? I was always disappointed Stan Lee didn't do one for Spider-Man.

2) What is the secret Hellboy-Gerald McBoing Boing connection? The DVD comes with like four GMcBB cartoons!

Spiderman 2 has overwhelmed my comics-movie brane and Hellboy has lost its appeal to me.

(The weather outside is lovely, but I am staying in watching a movie, then the documentary on Disc 2. I am Comic Geek Of The Year.)

i like it! i think yeah it is a little light on the storytelling but the art is great & i really like the conceit of the stories being based on old folk tales and stuff.

(as far as the movie goes i loved the 1st half and then it went depressingly downhill)

"The Island" doesn't fare quite as well -- still too talky with an awkwardly abrupt deus ex machina resolution.

Wait, so is that it? Is it just over now?

Trying to wrap my head around all the main titles being collected in 6 volumes. This is a great deal. Been hesitant a long time but I'm probably going to spring for this. Four volumes for the main story and two for the short stories. Not sure all covers are included.

Some people are saying the binding is very weak though.

Comixology had a sale on the digital editions just before Christmas so I sprung for volumes 3 and 4 (which should cover the things I don't have in floppies). Art is great but the writing seems a bit muddled for these later stories - he's picking bits from everywhere, Norse stuff, Russian stuff, Irish stuff, mashing it all together.