ARTISTS ASSEMBLE: Hellboy

Artists Assemble is a weekly event where artists in the Facebook group can submit art based on a specific theme. Everyone can join in, its just for fun! 

This weeks theme is celebrating 20 years of Hellboy. 

Hellboy by Richard Chin

Hellboy by Thorsten Schmitz

Roger by Patrick Mohlmann 

Hellboy by Mike Wilson

Hellboy in CBNAH Merch by Adam Bayes

Nasty Old Girl by Ha Jim Mi

Hellboy by Christopher Masson

Hellboy by Kevin Miller

Hellboy by Richard Chin

Hellboy by Jason Graziano

Hellboy Flamingo WIP by Adam Bayes

Hellboy by Franklin O'Neal

Hellboy by Christopher Masson

Hellboy by Thorsten Schmitz

Hellboy by Franklin O'Neal

50 Most Influential Fictional Characters #30-26

From November 28th to December 25th 2013, we collected top ten lists from both members of the Facebook group and visitors to the site to compile the list of CBNAH Top 50 Most Influential Fictional Characters of All Time. Today we bring counting down from #30-26.

30. Gandalf

Created By: J. R. R. Tolkien
From: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
First Appearance: The Hobbit (1937)

When it comes wizards, Gandalf is the most iconic and influential wizards in fiction. Inspiring many fantasy writers to create their own magician wielders in the process. Gandalf is not only a wizard but acts as a wise mentor to both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.  

29. Odysseus 

Created By: Homer
From: The Odyssey
First Appearance: The Odyssey

The hero from Homer's poem The Odyssey, Odysseus is best known for fighting in the Trojan War and his brilliant plan to capture the city of Troy with the wooden Trojan Horse. The journey of the hero returning home is a tale that has inspired many storytellers.

28. Spock

Created By: Gene Roddenberry
From: Star Trek
First Appearance: The Man Trap (1966)

Spock is Half-Vulcan and Half-Human and is one of Star Trek's most endearing characters. Spock constant struggle with his duality of being a human and Vulcan is a highlight of his development as a character. Spock is Sci-Fi's most inspirational and parodied character in the genre.

27. Mickey Mouse

Created By: Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks
From: Disney Cartoons
First Appearance: Steamboat Willie (1928)

Mickey Mouse is the first cartoon superstar. Starred in over one hundred films and had a successful run in comics under the pen of Floyd Gottfredson. Mickey is Disney's mascot, icon in pop culture, merchandise machine and influenced many animators to get into the field of animation.

26. Hellboy

Created By: Mike Mignola
From: Helboy
First Appearance: San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (1993)

From the mind of Mike Mignola, comes one of the most successful creator-own comics ever, Hellboy. The main agent of the paranormal group BPRD, is a demon fighting on the side of good. Hellboy is all around a great character with a great sense of humor and loves pancakes too.

Parenting with the Soylent Greens: A Nerds Guide

Firstly I have to apologize for the format. I am working towards a video format that will include the kids giving their reviews but editing is confusing to me at the moment. I will eventually get there though.

What is parenting with the soylent greens? As a parent I spend a lot o my time sharing my interests with my family and friends but as I have 2 small girls I cant always show the full extent of nerd culture for reasons ranging from explicit images to the use of bad language. I also find that as I've grown up so has a lot of the material making it quite inaccessible for younger viewers. Parenting with the Soylent Greens aims to level the playing field for us adults a bit by finding the best FAMILY FRIENDLY material. This means material that you as parents can enjoy WITH your family.

For this first feature we took the time to read Itty Bity Hellboy (Artist: Art Baltazar Story: Art Baltazar, Franco). This was a great find for me as a huge Hellboy fan and so it gave me a chance to introduce the character to my kids without any of the darker elements or quite frankly older themes of the original comic books.

Mat: I'm a huge Hellboy fan especially when Mignola himself is on art so this book was really exciting to me. The first thing that took me was the cover art showing some of Hellboys more exciting friends including Lobster Johnson and Abe Sapien. The interior artwork is bright and colourful and hits you right in the eye, nothing like the original source material but not in a bad way. The child like element of the art adds to the flavour of the book but I did really miss hellboy's classic brooding look, there's just something missing without the heavy shading. The story is broken up into a couple of shorter stories that could act as a comic strip in its own right but then adds up to a bigger overall story. This wasn't a bad thing because i noticed that Megan couldn't possibly read the whole thing in one go. This style let her read what she could manage to concentrate, without needing to sacrifice the story.

Megan: I like this comic because it was easy to read and I liked the story and colours. I like it because daddy likes Hellboy and its like the film but without the monsters and its funny.

Overall the comic has earned a very respectable 7/10 as an average score from the Soylent Greens. Whilst it appealed to the Megan, it did suffer from missing the quirks that make Hellboy who he is and I found that the characters came across as bratty. I will be buying the rest of the mini series however because it is accessible to younger readers and you just cant say no to the artwork.

Buttery Flow Presents: Buttery Comic Roundup 3...

In this 50-min session, I review Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier for DC, Terry Moore's SiP vol.7, Larry Hama's run on Wolverine, Alan Moore's Tom Strong Omnibus Ed. vol.2, Scott Lobdell's run on Generation X, Ken Garing's Planetoid, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mignola and Sandman vol.2 "a Doll's House' by Neil Gaiman.

*phew*

Review: Hellboy: House of the Living Dead

Ever since high school, Hellboy has been one of my favorite comic book characters, but I feel like I've been chasing that Hellboy dragon. The first taste is always the best. And with Hellboy: House of the Living Dead, I think I've recaptured that sense of wonder and excitement I felt the first time I read Wake the Devil.

Hellboy: House of the Living Dead, written by Mike Mignola and beautifully illustrated by Richard Corben, has reignited my flame for Hellboy. Not only is the book gorgeous to look at, it also captures what I love about Hellboy- action, humor, sadness and triumph.