In 2001, Hellboy’s second novel, The Bones of Giants, took us on an adventure of Nordic mythological mayhem, as everyone’s favorite paranormal investigator found himself on the trail of giant’s corpse and a certain mysterious hammer. But now, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the novel is becoming a new comic series.
io9 can exclusively reveal the first look at Hellboy: The Bones of Giants, a four issue miniseries adapting the 2001 Christopher Golden novel. Hellboy architect Mike Mignola, alongside Golden himself, will co-write the series, while Barbarian Lord creator Matt Smith will provide art, with colors from Chris O’Halloran (Ice Cream Man) and lettering by Clem Robins.
“Back in the fifth grade, I discovered a collection of retellings of Norse myths in my school library. Thunder of the Gods by Dorothy Hosford profoundly changed me. I think I read it 15 times, falling in love with so many characters and their adventures,” Golden said in a statement provided to io9. “Those stories are part of my creative DNA. Twenty years ago, Mike Mignola and I were talking about me doing a second Hellboy novel, and he described the opening scene to me in the kind of wonderful detail that’s so common for him when he’s envisioned something in his head. I knew instantly that I was going to have some of the most fun I’d ever have writing anything.”
“I pulled so many of my favorite elements of Norse myth into the novel—from Fenrir the wolf to Ratatosk the squirrel, who deserves a whole comic just for himself,” Golden continued. “When Mike told me that the brilliant Matt Smith wanted to adapt the novel into comics, and I found out what a massive Norse mythology nerd Matt was, I was excited all over again. Wait until you see what Matt has done with this story. Hellboy with Mjollnir welded to his hand? Who doesn’t want to see that?”
“Matt Smith’s Barbarian Lord is one of my favorite contemporary comics,” Mignola added in a provided press release. “It’s awfully hard to imagine an artist who is a better fit than Matt to draw Hellboy: The Bones of Giants, with its mix of Norse mythology and action-packed drama.”
And you can see exactly that for yourself in the cover to Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #1 below, illustrated by Smith!
Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #1 hits shelves on November 3.
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