Herman von Klempt, his red adversary, and the haunted fortress
The opening scene of Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy" took place during the final year of World War II. The Nazi side was losing the war. Adolf Hitler was getting desperate, so he hired Grigori Rasputin to bring monstrous entities into the world and helped the Nazis defeat the Allies. But it was a youthful demon that appeared at the coast off Scotland. Trevor Bruttenholm, a member of the British Paranormal Society who was an adviser to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, witnessed the happenings. He was backed up by Allied forces. They vanquished the Russian mystic and the Nazis (who backed him). Professor Bruttenholm adopted the demon.
The next scene showed the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B. P. R. D) in America. It had been sixty years since the harrowing events of 1944, prompting some fans to wonder what happened during those decades. Mike Mignola, who created the "Hellboy" series, would release new editions to narrate Hellboy's younger years. He was far from the self-assured individual, but fans of Mignola's series would notice his wry sense of humor right away. (Professor Bruttenholm was an Englishman.) Moreover, they would be introduced to the early members of the B. F. R. D. It won't be Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, who would accompany Hellboy in his dangerous missions.
The Nazis were not done yet
"Hellboy and the B. F. R. D. 1952" had all the elements that fans (of the series) would look to. Atmospheric setting, hair-raising incidents, dry wit. Mignola didn't have second thoughts on paranormal powers. After all, the young Hellboy came from the Underworld. And he was about to embark on his first mission.
Professor Bruttenholm received disturbing news about a mysterious monster terrorizing a small community in Brazil. He called on the B. F. R. D. affiliates, who fought during the Second World War. Archie Muraro, B-24 pilot in the 8th Air Force. Jacob Stegner, former corporal in the 4th Infantry Division. Susan Xiang, former intelligence analyst for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). And Robert Amsel, former security adviser at Princeton University. The professor told the quartet to bring Hellboy with them, as he sensed how the young demon hated being cooped inside the headquarters. It turned out that Hellboy uncovered a sinister project.
Herman von Klempt, who headed Nazi's Doomsday Projects, survived the attack (and incarceration) on Hunte Castle (in Austria). His head was kept alive in a jar, with a robotic body attached to it. A swastika was tattooed on his forehead. He trained monkeys to attack the inhabitants, forcing them to leave their village. In the old Portuguese fortress, the German scientist formed an Apocalypse Army. And Hellboy and the rest of the B. F. R. D. team arrived on time.
Mignola's story was better than the screenplay that Peter Briggs and del Toro wrote (for the 2004 film). Alex Maleev's illustrations featured Gothic structures, dark hues, and melancholic faces. It would be good enough, but "Hellboy and the B. F. R. D. 1952" offered more to fans. This comics depicted the Brazilian countryside as an economic backwater, a perfect hideaway for Nazi officers who fled prosecution in Europe. There was a factual basis behind it, which could have been terrifying if it remained unchecked. The modern world should be thankful to those who were part of the missions, all zealous individuals. But hate could be their driving force.
Twilight zone
It wasn't hard to perceive the hate in Maleev's illustrations, as if Mignola wrote an alternative world where Herman von Klempt and his cohorts were about to do another attempt on global domination. And it was Hellboy's awkward gestures and laconic replies that kept the story grounded. Interestingly, the supernatural would play a key role. (A huge Amazon crocodile could've torn Hellboy to pieces, but a member of the uncontacted tribe told the mammal that the demon was on the good side.) Some pages revealed Professor Bruttenholm's past, where he had a young daughter who perished during an explosion (in France in 1946).
Amsel tried to kill Hellboy, but without success. He turned out to be working for Malcolm Frost, who was Professor Bruttenholm's colleague. Professor Frost believed Hellboy was a threat to humanity, so he thought of any means to exterminate him. The ghost of Professor Bruttenholm's little girl would appear to them unexpectedly. And she had a companion to introduce to them. A scary scenario, which Mignola depicted in a fascinating manner. If it would leave you wanting more, then you won't be the only one.
