Book Reviews Of The Month – Hellboy #53

Hellboy #53: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish
Darkhorse Comics
Written by Mike Mignola
Art by Kevin Nowlan

Here’s a fun thought and, for some of you, not a hard one to do. Put yourself in the middle of Kansas, Rooks County to be exact, in 1985. You’ve got farmland and woods all around you and the only speck of civilization is about an hour’s drive. You’re an impressionable teenager, what do you do to pass the time? Most of you turned to comics, hence why you’re reading this. Others, on the other hand, turned to the occult and started worshiping odd things. Well, that’s what starts off this most recent copy of Hellboy that I just read. Kids with way too much time on their hands and not much of an imagination, from there, Hellboy is called out to investigate missing cows (yes, he is looking into missing cows, I said the same thing). And the fun rolls out from there.

Reading through this little story, I found it, well a little odd. But, it worked for the story being told and the writing fit well. Hellboy has his comments in a deadpan voice that only his character could pull off. The kids feel as if they’re just trying to find something to do and the other characters are unique. The art fits with what’s being portrayed and what is trying to be said. With the characters, the expressions fit with what’s being done. The paneling is easy to follow and work to add to the story. The feel is dark but funny at the same time.

Overall, I wanted to see where the story took poor Hellboy, who seemed to just to be mixed up in something that was a little over his head and something he really didn’t want to be involved in. The action is funny and right along the same lines as the other things Hellboy’s been in. In my humble opinion, read this. It’s worth it. If you have an older child, maybe in their pre-teen years, this would be good for them to read. It’s light, fun, and they can see why Hellboy is a winning character. I give this 5 caps out of 5.