An issue of Hellboy & The B.P.R.D. that I worked on, “Forgotten Lives” with art by Stephen Green, has appeared on Multiversity Comics list of the Best Single Issues of 2022. Here’s a bit of what reviewer Ryan Fitzmartin has to say about it:

“Mignola and Roberson use the story of a ghost in a mass grave in the Bronx as an entry point to explore death and legacy. Hellboy and Trever Bruttenholm are investigating a ghost, but their heads are really occupied by the thoughts of recently departed friends. It’s an elegiac, sad story, with great dialogue that really understands how people cope. The overarching narrative, of the death of a forgotten comic-book writer, feels in some ways as if Mignola and Roberson are wondering about what they’ll leave behind when they depart.

“The art in ‘Forgotten Lives’ likewise is somber, and constrained, lending gravity and weight to a heavy issue. Many artists have drawn Hellboy over the past two decades, but Stephen Green’s pencils manage to do a standout job. Hellboy’s face is expressive and deeply emotive. Green does great work with his eyes, which speak as much as the words do. Dave Stewarts’s coloring is of course completely on point, albeit a little more muted than normal, perhaps to allow the dialogue to take more weight.”

Another of Mignola’s titles, Koschei in Hell, appears higher up on the list, along with one of my absolute favorite single issues of the year, Nightwing #87, so we’re in pretty good company!

It’s been a LONG time since I posted anything about one of my own projects here, but something that I was extremely thrilled to get to do has just been announced and I felt like sharing. Stranger Things Winter Special, due out in November 2021. 

Stranger Things Winter Special Chris Roberson (W), ABEL (A), Steve Morris (Cover A), and Jonathan Case (Cover B) On sale Nov 3 FC, 48 pages $6.99 One-shot
The winter holidays are upon us and the kids of Hawkins are in full spirit. As they recall stories from their childhood to teach Eleven about Christmas, tensions run high as Dustin swears he saw something lurking in the forest outside.

I was exactly the age of the younger characters on Stranger Things back in the time that the story is set, and I’m now the age of the adult characters, so every time I rewatch the series I find myself in a strange echo chamber, remembering what it was like to be those kids while understanding what their parents are now going through. And getting the chance to navigate all of them through some of my favorite holiday stories was simply too much fun. 

As most visitors to this site are probably aware, for the last few years I’ve been helping steer the “Mignolaverse” with scripting duties on various titles set in the world of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, the lovable red demon dude with the rocky right hand. And the publisher Dark Horse Comics has just announced that, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the character on March 23rd of next year, they’ll be releasing a special edition of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1 and several other goodies, including a “new, folded version of the Hellboy double-sided poster and Mignolaverse timeline that debuted at New York Comic Con.”

Here’s a thumbnail of that timeline, which includes a number of my contributions to that world in recent years (and click through for a full-sized version). And readers new to the Hellboy comics shouldn’t worry, it’s a lot easier to follow that it might appear at first glance.

So yeah, I’ve got a pretty cool job. (And to think, it’s only been ten years since I was just a dude who occasionally ranted about his favorite comic series on his blog…)