Mignola takes us into a Russian fairy tale and turns it into an adventure.
When I was a little girl I had a book by Alexander Afanasyev with beautiful illustrations: it told the adventures of Ivan of the seven Ivans, of Vasilissa the Beautiful, and of Father Frost. It also told about Koshchei the Deathless and of the infamous witch, Baba Yaga.
I loved that book, and read it over and over again. It had a way of being like and unlike the Grimm′s fairy stories; it had its own flavor and magic. Sometimes the powers behind it all were darker, and sometimes the enchantments and the situations where just magical and unique. This comic honors that kind of storytelling and has its own magical flavor, as all Hellboy does.
In this first number, Hellboy is in hell, having a drink with Koshchei. They had issues in the past, but they are forgotten now. And Koshchei wants to tell him his story, which, of course, begins a long time ago… and it will take the shape so familiar to us since the Arabian Nights: all stories begin with a person, but that person in turn meets others, who have their own stories to tell in return…
The miniseries will follow the acts of Koshchei in his road to immortality and the reasons that led him to be enslaved to the Russian witch, in a tale that starts with a dragon and will end with the scenes of Hellboy: Darkness Calls; but that concentrates on the story, and how the story is told, as all good fairy tales should.
The debut issue of Koshchei the Deathless is on sale on January 3, 2018.
Koshchei the Deathless #1 (of 6)
Mike Mignola (W/Cover), Ben Stenbeck (A), and Dave Stewart (C)
On sale Jan 03
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
