Mike Mignola reveals the classic fantasy hero who inspired his favorite Hellboy story

The most popular Hellboy story to date, The Crooked Man, is getting a new release and a film adaptation in 2024. Series creator Mike Mignola explains to Dexerto why the story is so near and dear to him.

There’s a new Hellboy movie coming out in 2024, believe it or not. The upcoming film puts 12 Strong star Jack Kesy in the title role, the latest to play the famed character.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man adapts one of writer Mike Mignola’s most popular stories of all time. It should be no surprise, then, that Mignola regards it as his favorite Hellboy story.

To celebrate the film’s upcoming release, Dark Horse will be republishing the original story and its sequel, the Return of Effie Kolb. Ahead of the book’s re-release, Mike Mignola spoke to Dexerto about why Crooked Man is so near and dear to his heart.

Mike Mignola explains why Crooked Man is his favorite Hellboy story

Released in 2008, The Crooked Man sees Hellboy in the Appalachian Mountains, where he must help Tom Ferrell carry his father’s remains to a church. However, near the church waits The Crooked Man, a miser who returned from hell as a devil, waiting to collect Tom’s soul after he bargained for a protective witch-bone as a child.

Dark Horse

Dark Horse

It’s that Appalachian setting that appealed to Mignola, who sought to recapture the feel of one of his favorite classic stories.

“I’d wanted to do a Hellboy story set in the Appalachian mountains for a long time,” Mignola tells Dexerto, “a nod to the wonderful “Silver John” stories by Manly Wade Wellman, but I don’t know if I’d have ever actually done it had I not started working with the great Richard Corben. That was really a dream come true. For whatever reason, the story came easy, and Richard made it better—So much better than had I drawn it myself.”

Debuting in the ’60s, Silver John was an American fictional hero created by Manly Wade Wellman, a science fiction and fantasy writer who was popular in pulp magazines at the time. Silver John is a Korean war veteran who lives in Appalachia, roaming the land and encountering various creatures and superstitions from folk talks.

Dark Horse

Dark Horse

At a surface level, the impression Silver John stories left for the Hellboy character should be obvious. Silver John, like Hellboy, is a loner who survives his encounters with a knowledge of the mystical, unparalleled courage, and a kind heart.

Though Hellboy has grown and evolved into his own deep mythological character over the years, it is fascinating to see a story tied so closely to his roots. That tie to a simple yet effective story is what makes The Crooked Man such a beloved and seminal Hellboy tale, and what makes it perfect for the next film.

Dark Horse

Dark Horse

“To this day, The Crooked Man remains my favorite Hellboy story,” Mignola says. “And while I had some idea what would happen with these characters beyond that one story, I never seriously considered doing a sequel till—one day I saw a beautiful Zach Howard drawing of a forest, and all those characters came rushing back. The Return of Effie Kolb was another one that seemed to write itself, and I’m happy to finally see them collected together.”

Hellboy: The Crooked Man & The Return of Effie Kolb releases June 19. The next new Hellboy story, The Fortune Teller, will be part of Dark Horse’s Free Comic Book Day offerings.

If you click on a product link on this page, we may earn a small affiliate commission.