InnerViews: Hellboy, a Monster Success—Mike Mignola Interview
By Spencer Carney / Self-portrait by Mike Mignola
Article Tools Sponsor
IT'S NO SECRET THAT HOLLYWOOD HAS OFTEN struck gold while mining the rich ground of comic books for movie story lines, and the approach shows no sign of slowing. This summer features superhero movies starring Batman, Iron Man, and the Hulk. But another upcoming comic—inspired movie and the books it's based on stand the superhero formula on its head. The comic book is Hellboy, the movie is Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and the man behind them is Mike Mignola.
Mignola began working in the comics field in the early 1980s and has won more than a dozen industry awards for a distinctive illustration style that makes liberal use of shadows and features Victorian and Gothic settings. He is in his 15th year chronicling Hellboy's exploits. The character—a good guy who looks like a bad guy—is the unlikely hero of adventures that are equal parts horror, humor, and unbridled imagination, as told by an artist at the top of his game.
Comics aren't the only outlet for Mignola's prolific talent. He's done design and storyboarding for Francis Ford Coppola on Bram Stoker's Dracula, was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and did visual consulting for Guillermo del Toro on Blade II and the 2004 film version of Hellboy. Mignola also cowrote and illustrated the novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, published last year by Spectra (Bantam). But Hellboy is his crown jewel, a property he owns and the one that does the best job of showcasing his art, his humor, and his passion for telling a really good story.
HEMISPHERES recently spoke with Mignola to find out what it's like to be a comics creator, how he met with commercial success, and, perhaps most importantly, how he came to create a character named Hellboy.
Continue to the Mike Mignola interview...
Page » Intro | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Spencer Carney is Hemispheres’ managing editor. Comic books constitute a healthly part of his literary diet.
Podcasts 
Berlin—Bonus Slideshow
It’s simple! You could pocket 15,000 United Mileage Plus bonus miles and a Soundview Executive Book Summaries subscription. 
