The holiday season is full of cherished traditions: gatherings with family and friends, exchanging gifts, and, for discerning readers, the publication of the annual Hellboy Winter Special. This year, ahead of the winter solstice, Dark Horse Comics will publish the Hellboy Winter Special: The Yule Cat one-shot, written and illustrated by Barbarian Lord creator and acclaimed cartoonist Matt Smith, colored by Chris O’Halloran, lettered by Clem Robins, and featuring a variant cover

by legendary Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. The special one-shot is inspired by the stories of Jólakötturinn, the ferocious Yule Cat of Icelandic folklore, who is said to come down from the mountains, on the prowl for people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.

Hellboy Winter Special: The Yule Cat marks Hellboy’s first visit to Iceland in the character’s 30+ year years of publication. In the one-shot, Hellboy travels to Reykjavik, where children are disappearing and a giant beast has been spotted…could it be the infamous Yule Cat of Icelandic lore?

Hellboy Winter Special: The Yule Cat will be published on December 6, 2023.