Violet
...I really wish this had been a truly trans story as I know reading something like this when I had been in middle school would've have been so so impactful. As it stands it is ever so slightly gender queer but at it's core it really does seem to be another story about a boy and a girl falling in love.
I adored the art throughout and there were certainly plenty of cute moments, I just think I wanted more than the story was willing to give.
Didn't find these AS interesting as the previous issue but I still enjoyed them. There's something to be said about how addicting Corben's art can be. I come for the classic premises and monster designs, nothing more and nothing less. In improvements, the Greek epic had a wonderfully Harryhausen Cyclops. Rendered perfectly in Corben's style. I actually found the short format to work notably well in βTHE THING IN THE SWAMP', with the sudden ending making it all the more horrific.
Easily my favorite Hellboy Short Story collection of the bunch. Every story is a heavy hitter for me personally, each sporting incredible guest artists (and even one by Mignola himself). I wish Corben could have drawn Hellboy more often, their always some of my favorites.
