Hellboy: Darkness Calls

* Bibliographic information
Mignola, M. Hellboy: Darkness Calls. Dark Horse Comics, 2008. ISBN: 9781593078966. Art by Fegredo, D.


* Plot Summary
Hellboy’s longtime foe Baba Yaga, an ancient witch, is after him again; she wants his eye because the last time they met, he took hers. Meanwhile the rest of the witches are gathering and searching for a new leader; their main choice, Hellboy turned them down. Baba Yaga sends an army of skeletons after Hellboy and true to his nature he decides to fight them all on his own, until he has a moment of awareness and turns tail to run into the woods. Here, he gets an unlikely ally; someone who hates Baba Yaga just as much as him. When the skeletons do not do the trick she sends Koshchei after him; a warrior she has enslaved who cannot die. The story follows Hellboy as he tries to keep away from Baba Yaga and those who do her bidding so he can stay alive.


* Critical Evaluation
An exciting story that is beautifully drawn. I read that this is the first time the author Mignola has given the illustrating duties away, but from what I can tell, Duncan Fegredo does an amazing job. If someone is just picking up this issue and reading Hellboy for the first time they will have trouble following along. I had to do some background work to understand what was happening and to find out who everyone was. However, the action is great and the scenes are extremely well drawn. Many people may be turned off by the gore but I think it is not too over the top. The novel provided an introduction and I would have liked to see more of a set-up for the story other than general information about the series. Overall a good read with plenty of action and suspense.


* Reader’s Annotation
Hellboy is at it again; making people angry so they want to fight him is just a typical day in his world. This time it is a longtime foe, the ancient witch Baba Yaga, and she wants payback for Hellboy taking her eye.


* Information about the author
Mignola is an American comic book writer and artist who was born in California. He is most famous for creating the Hellboy series in 1994. He won the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Writer/Artist in 1995 and 1996; both for Hellboy stories. To learn more about Hellboy or Mignola’s other work, check out http://www.darkhorse.com/Zones/Hellboy.


* Genre
Teen Fiction; Graphic Novel, Action, Horror


* Curriculum Ties, if any
N/A


* Booktalking Ideas
1) What aspects of Hellboy’s personality cause him to take on fights with huge armies of skeletons?
2) Talk about the character of Hellboy, why is he so entertaining? Why do fans love the character so much?
3) Talk about the group of witches who wanted Hellboy as their leader. Why are they befriending him when their fellow witch Baba Yaga hates him?


* Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 10 and Up / 16 and Up


* Challenge Issues and Defense
Challenge Issues: Nudity, Horror, Language, and Violence.

Defense Ideas:
1) Ask the patron about the book and issue in question and find out how much they know about the book.
2) Help the patron become more familiar with the book and its content.
3) Show the patron positive reviews for this book if they can be found online or in an electronic database; http://comicbooks.about.com/od/comicbookreviews/fr/hellboydarkness.htm#.
4) If available, introduce the patron to people who have read it in the library or tell the patron what you thought of the book if you have read it.
5) Show the patron the collection development policy for that particular library. For example, the one for the San Diego County library, http://dbpcosdcsgt.co.san-diego.ca.us/screens/Intranet/policy/sdcl-policy_O.41_material-selection.pdf
6) If they still want to file a grievance about the book begin the necessary paperwork by giving them the forms they need to fill out. In the San Diego County system, the grievance will then go to The Challenged Materials Team. If the committee cannot resolve the issue, it then goes to the County Library Director for a final decision. http://dbpcosdcsgt.co.san-diego.ca.us/screens/Intranet/policy/sdcl-policy_O.34_intellectual_freedom.pdf


* Why did you include this book in your titles you selected?
I wanted to make sure I had some good graphic novels in my selection so I grabbed a Hellboy story that had an interesting cover. I love the first Hellboy movie so I have always wanted to read the graphic novels that inspired the movie. Older teens like the more mature illustrations and the gore that come with Hellboy graphic novels so I thought this would fit in nice with other books geared towards older teens. Hellboy can almost be seen as an adult graphic novel because of the content so it is a clear choice for this collection.