The Hellboy universe has not begun and stopped with just Hellboy as we have gotten a numerous amount of spin offs and sequels. Last week I reviewed Witchfinder City of the Dead set in the same universe and this week I bring to you Rise of the Black Flame. But is this limited series going to have the appeal to draw you in like a moth to a flame? Or should you just snuff this one out?
Rise of the Black Flame is set in 1923 in the British Colony of Rangoon in the city of Burma. In this city young girls are going missing every day. However, when the daughter of Mr. Aylesworth goes missing they call in someone with experience in these matters. Sergeant Geoffrey McAllister is dispatched all the way from Britain to assist in finding Aylesworth’s daughter. It seems that Emily went to the Cantonment Gardens the previous day with her governess as she loved to spend time there. But when they found the body of the governess and it showed that she had been dead for sometime it caused the parents to panic and wonder what happened to their daughter. Will Mr. McAllister be successful and not only find their daughter but figure out why these girls are going missing?
This story is written by none other than Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson. Mr. Mignola needs no introduction as he is the creative genius that has given birth to Hellboy. Chris Roberson is a well acclaimed author and has also written for Fables from DC Comics. This team brings a story that is a period piece set in the past of a foreign country dominated by British rule. It is an amazing story and transports you back in time as you read it. Christopher Mitten lends his artistic talents to the book and you have seen him work for other publishers such as DC but, you might know him from the popular book Wasteland. Mr. Mitten has a great style of capturing this foreign land as well as the characters as they search for her daughter but also discover something more sinister than they could ever imagine.
If you are a fan of the Hellboy universe I would strongly urge you to check out this book. The first issue sets up the story quite nicely and it looks like we are going to be in for a hell of a ride. For more information on this and other comics head over to www.darkhorsecomics.com and get ready to dive into the mysterious city of Burma.
