With bombshells dropping like haymakers from the Right Hand of Doom in issue #2, the change in gears found between the covers of Hellboy in Hell #3 is a welcome opportunity to decompress a little. The drama is still waist-deep in this issue, but a little action is quite welcome as Hellboy learns more – much more – about his family in Pandemonium.
Mike Mignola continues to carve this arc using the well-loved mold of classic storytelling, placing his famously reluctant hero in a drama reminiscent of some of Shakespeare's most evocative tragedies. The unique spice is Hellboy's characteristic flippancy, which sets him apart from his co-stars and riffs on the reader's expectations for dominance structures. As others try to saddle Hellboy with a destiny that he refuses, revelations about Hellboy's father and their relationship throw the natural order into disarray. The resulting cognitive dissonance experienced by the reader artfully explains the sense of stunned confusion that Hellboy must be feeling as his mind races to keep up with what he is being told about his situation.
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