Dark Horse Comics has a great track record with Hellboy-centric one shots. From Hellboy: Being Human to Hellboy: Winter Special, and so, so much in between, it’s clear that some stories need just one issue to flourish. The latest such release very much continues this long-standing tradition. Due out this week, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Her Fatal Hour is actually a follow-up to the “The Beast of Vargu,” which was collected this past summer. Mike Mignola wrote the script alongside artist and franchise newcomer Tiernen Trevallion.
Trevallion has a unique style that suits the boundless oddities of the Hellboy universe, so it was an especially great opportunity to ask him some questions and get a fresh perspective on a tried and true story. Read the interview below, followed by a full preview of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: Her Fatal Hour.
The one-shot is available starting December 2.
AIPT: Thanks for taking the time, Tiernen! You’re not new to monster and monster design, are there any favorite monsters you’ve enjoyed drawing over the years, and any you’d love to draw in Hellboy someday?
Tiernen Trevallion: You’re welcome! I’m quite fond of some of the inhabitants of “The Mills” in the final series of Absalom (with Gordon Rennie — 2000 AD) but I think some of my favorite monsters have been drawn for my own entertainment. These are often somewhere between Bosch and Lovecraft. Most recently I’ve been spoiled for choice working with Ian Edginton on Fiends of the Eastern Front: Constanta. I enjoyed all the creatures in that, from giant wolves to the Japanese Rokurokubi (a woman’s body with an unfeasibly long neck…and lots of sharp teeth). As far as any monsters I’d like to draw in Hellboy…? Not sure, something genuinely creepy. But I also like the brutes and the beasts. The thing is, Mike’s covered all the basics so effectively. It’s all good!
Hellboy’s dreams turn into reality. Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
AIPT: What do you think every Hellboy story needs to get right when it comes to visuals?
TT: Difficult…? Well, I think it comes off the pages of the script. I hope I at least came close to the pacing required from Mike’s writing. Hellboy stories often combine humor, horror, and pathos. And, of course, punching the tar out of some horrible thing.
AIPT: What is the process like working off a Mike Mignola script? Do you take a lot of meetings?
TT: Very straightforward, really. I did some prep sketches from the script, and there was a little back-and-forth, with Hellboy in particular. We didn’t take any meetings, just a few emails.
Put some pants on, dude! Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
AIPT: What has the process been like to work with color artist Dave Stewart?
TT: As you know, I’m sure, Mike and Dave work closely together. I think Mike had some ideas about how he wanted the finished pages to look, so he worked with Dave directly. Dave is another genius! I am in awe of the work these guys produce. Dave’s palette choice is always amazing, he’s a great inspiration.
AIPT: Hellboy is wearing a robe for a chunk of “Her Fatal Hour,” which helps accentuate his long frame. In fact, there’s a sense of length in a lot of the characters in this comic. What would you say defines your style of art?
TT: Erm, it’s not something I’ve ever considered…. True that Hellboy has a long frame. But in answer to your question, no.
HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D.: HER FATAL HOUR ONE-SHOT
Gone, but not forgotten!Years after Hellboy’s ill-fated tangle with the Beast of Vargu, the Romani women who helped him need that debt repaid. Claimed by a demon in a romance gone wrong, the younger woman reaches out to Hellboy through the power of a familiar old puppet, and a supernatural confrontation full of magic and mayhem ensures! In a second short story, Hellboy goes head to head with a phantom who is looking for an object completely unknown to the living people the ghost is terrorizing.
Master of horror Mike Mignola is joined by artist extraordinaire Tiernen Trevallion and award-winning colorist Dave Stewart to bring you the follow-up to smash Hellboy hit ”The Beast of Vargu”!
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Tiernen Trevallion
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Cover Artist: Tiernen Trevallion
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