Mike Mignola and Dark Horse continue to desperately milk the Hellboy franchise for all its worth, this time focusing on an obscure supporting character from the series, Koschei the Deathless. And, like most Hellboy-related stuff published these days, it’s absolutely boring!
Do we really need to be told how this dude became “deathless”? The answer was always going to be “magic”! And why do we need to see where his timeline syncs up with Hellboy’s? Or see Koschei and Hellboy drinking in a bar in Hell (which is the story’s framing)? It’s just pointless fan service bullshit.
A story about an invincible tough guy with little personality who demolishes everything in his way - dragons, other monsters, etc. - is not interesting to read. The Baba Yaga stuff is just a rehash of better material from the original Hellboy run. I got nothing from Mignola’s writing in this one.
Ben Stenbeck’s artwork is outstanding - the linework and layouts created some really powerful and striking imagery - and Dave Stewart’s colours are dependably on point. But unless you’re a fanboy and/or completionist, Koschei the Deathless is a completely superfluous add-on to the Hellboy series. Books like this are the definition of “scraping the bottom of the barrel”!
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