I love pulp adventures and stories. There’s a fun aspect to them where you accept the over-the-top sequences and enjoy it all. Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #1 kicks off a “lost tale” of a young Hellboy infused with the over-the-top nature of those types of stories.

On their way to South America, Hellboy and Professor Bruttenholm are stranded on a strange island after their plane crashes. The mysterious island is full of the crazy experiences and dangers you’d expect. From giant crabs to attacking gorillas, Hellboy and Bruttenholm must figure out where they are and how to survive.

With a story by Mike Mignola and Thomas Sniegoski, Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #1 is a solid read that you can just pick up and enjoy. It bathes itself in the moments you’d expect from this type of story. It takes its inspiration from the old reels and films full of adventure. It’s the type of story where the action is the focus and the “what” isn’t quite the focus at all. You just roll with what’s thrown at you and enjoy the ride.

Mignola and Sniegoski fills the issue with enthusiasm with a young Hellboy that’s full of excitement. Like a kid of that age, he wants to know what’s going on with glee. A lot of the fun comes from that aspect and it brings a bit of youthful energy to the comic.

Craig Rousseau‘s art is great. Dave Stewart provides colors with lettering by Clem Robins. Much like the story itself, the visuals feel a bit over the top. Things feel exaggerated in a good way adding to the fun aspect of it all. Hellboy comics can fall into the horror genre in both stories and visuals but this issue brings a bit of the lighter side of things.

Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #1 is an entertaining comic. It’s one you can just pick up and enjoy without having to know anything about the world or character. It shares a lot of its DNA with adventures like Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones, and Tarzan. There’s an aspect where it doesn’t take itself too seriously and knows exactly what it wants to be and that’s a lot of fun.

Story: Mike Mignola, Thomas Sniegoski Art: Craig Rousseau
Color: Dave Stewart Letterer: Clem Robins
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW