#mark ricketts

Hellboy: Weird Tales #2 -April 2003- Dark Horse Comics

cover art by Jason Pearson, cover colors by Dave Stewart

Lloyd McCay in "Flight Risk" story by Joe Casey

art by Steve Parkhouse

"Hot" story by Randy Stradley

art by Seung Kim

letters by Michelle Madsen

"Curse of the Haunted Doiley" story by Mark Ricketts

art by Eric Wight, color and letters by Michelle Madsen

"Midnight Cowboy" story and art by Eric Powell

colors by Eric and Robin Powell, letters by Michelle Madsen

Lobster Johnson in "Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine: Episode 2"

story and art by John Cassaday

Sophia was still on the couch when I got home, rubbing her belly ever so tenderly. Knowing Dr. McKnight prescribed rest, I wondered if a little exercise would be okay. All that sitting couldn't be good for her health, but our focus was the baby for the time being. Besides, Sophia was perfectly happy to sit there and host our girl until check-out time; she was so beautiful doing it, too.

"Looks like our sweet potato is not a sweet potato anymore," I said.

"Nope," she replied, still rubbing her belly. "She is fully grown and ready to rule the world!"

"World domination already? I thought we'd have time for a few rounds of hopscotch before then."

She laughed heartily.

"I'm sure she will pencil you in."

"I hope so."

"So how is Maira? Is she coping alright?"

I paused for a moment, thinking about how to answer without going into too much detail. It wasn't that I didn't want her to know what we spoke about. I just didn't want to worry her...because of the baby.

"She, uhhh... She's got a lot on her mind. I think she'll be okay, though. She was talking about corrupting our child, so I'd say she's back, heh."

Sophia chuckled and shook her head.

"Hopefully she'll wait until she's at least a teenager! But I'm glad she's alright. It's so tragic what happened! That's way too young to die."

"Yeah, it is. What about Rashidah? She seemed okay at the parties."

"Well...you know how it is when you wear a mask."

I certainly did. We had become experts at it.

Sophia's text notification chimed.

"Oh! Speaking of her," she said, looking at her phone. "She's inviting us over tonight."

That was a first. We'd been together all that time, but now when it was critical for Sophia to rest, she invited us to her house? Sims.

"Do you feel up to it?" I asked. "I mean, you're in the home stretch now..."

"I'll be fine, Luca! We're just gonna go over there and sit around, so what's the difference?"

It wasn't the sitting around part I was concerned about. Socializing wore her out sometimes, and she was supposed to be conserving energy. But whatever my pregnant queen wanted, she got.

Mark and Rashidah lived in Willow Creek down the street from our old house. It felt really strange to be back in Courtyard Lane after all this time. Bittersweet memories came to mind as I glanced at our house. From the outside, it looked so cheery, with its manicured landscaping, colorful flowers, and white picket fence. The new owners had no idea what secrets lurked behind the walls and how many gallons of tears stained the pillows. Hopefully, they were having a much better time than we did. Flashes of lightning and booms of thunder cut my memory lane jaunt short. Mark and Rashidah came out to usher us in from the storm.

Naturally, Sophia and Rashidah flew to each other like magnets, sharing their excitement about the baby together. I didn't know Mark that well, but we tried a little small talk. As the night went on, the two lively friends carried on as always, laughing and swapping stories. Maybe she bore her grief better than Maira. After all, she was a lot older than Imran and may have already left home by the time he was born. Or perhaps she desperately needed cheering up, and Sophia had done her job well. Either way, I was glad we left her in higher spirits.

Nowheresville: Death by Starlight #1

by Mark Ricketts

The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft -2004- Dark Horse Comics

"Golden Calf Blues"

story by Mark Ricketts

Hellboy: Weird Tales - Part 7

“Party Pooper”

Story & Art: Andi Watson

Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy: Weird Tales #1 | February 2003 & Collected in Hellboy: Weird Tales - Volume 1 | November 2003

“Curse of the Haunted Doily”

Story: Mark Ricketts | Art: Eric Wright | Colours & Letters: Michelle Madsen

Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy: Weird Tales #2 | April 2003 & Collected in Hellboy: Weird Tales - Volume 1 | November 2003

“Long Distance Caller”

Story & Art: Kev Walker | Letters: Michael Heisler

Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy: Weird Tales #7 | February 2004 & Collected in Hellboy: Weird Tales - Volume 2 | October 2004

“My Vacation in Hell”

Story & Art: Craig Thompson

Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy: Weird Tales #6 | December 2003 & Collected in Hellboy: Weird Tales - Volume 2 | October 2004

Collected in Hellboy: Weird Tales | December 2014

Plot Summary:

“Party Pooper” - Kate takes Hellboy to an amusement park for his birthday, while the rest of BPRD prepare a surprise party.

“Curse of the Haunted Doily” - Kate receives a care package of her mother’s things from her aunt, only to discover her mother’s ghost who proceeds to take control of Kate’s life.

“Long Distance Caller” - Johann Kraus slips his containment suit and travels to Australia to put a halt to an alien invasion.

“My Vacation in Hell” - An account of Hellboy’s vacation in Hell.

Reading Notes:

(Note: Pagination corresponds with those found in the hardcover Hellboy: Weird Tales collection published December 2014.)

pg. 215 - Andi Watson’s minimalist cartoon style really works for Hellboy.

pg. 215-217 - Hellboy fumbling through the various games is pretty funny.

pg. 217 - I like the colour change and sombre mood as Hellboy gets all deep and introspective with this fatalistic approach.

pg. 218 - And then we get the pancakes for his birthday surprise.

pg. 220 - More of the bits of destiny that Hellboy has renounced previously.

pg. 221 - The paper crown from the cracker is cute.

pg. 223 - Really like the cohesion of script, art, colours, and letters in this story.

pg. 224 - Especially as the colours change when the story gets weird.

pg. 225 - Kate’s mother emerging from the doily is hilarious.

Also, the overbearing control-freak nature of her mother is a spot on stereotype. 

pg. 226-227 - Kate changing appearance, regressing to that of a little girl as her mother berates her and takes over her life is both funny and sad.

pg. 228 - That odd appearance of Sidney Leach, who otherwise completely disappeared after Almost Colossus.

pg. 229 - Great establishing shot and then focus on Johann.

Also, very interesting revelation here about him not needing to sleep (which makes sense), and interpretation of the idea of a “restless spirit”.

pg. 231 - The play through the clouds towards the beacon and the dish is just wonderful.

pg. 232 - I quite like that Johann is taking responsibility and initiative here, instead of just going back to BPRD HQ and reporting it.

pg. 233 - The thing coming through from space is pretty terrifying. 

pg. 236 - That’s a neat trick.

pg. 237 - Love this sequence. Walker is definitely giving the storytelling structure here a fairly close parallel to how Mignola does much of his own.

pg. 238 - Nice bit of bonding.

pg. 239 - The structure of this story from Craig Thompson reminds me of a lot of early woodcut and metal etching travelogues and memoirs.

pg. 240 - The quick turn from bliss to terror is hilarious with the Sexy Angels.

pg. 241 - “Butt-Trumpet Induced Headache” should probably factor in to Aspirin or Advil’s sales pitch somewhere. 

pg. 242 - Love the design for the cutaway of the demon’s stomach.

pg. 245 - Interesting incorporation of Hellboy’s potential fate and reiteration of his renouncing it.

Final Thoughts:

Kev Walker is another of my favourite artists who, like Ryan Sook, has taken an inspiration from Mike Mignola’s art (along with hints of Kieth Giffen and Carlos Ezquerra) and developed a style unique and wholly his own. His story here with Johann is a nice alternate approach to the series, working with a character that hadn’t seen much action at this time.

The other three stories are also great. “Party Pooper” is sweet, even with its somewhat melancholic reflection. “Curse of the Haunted Doily” is hilarious, perfectly capturing the overbearing mother stereotype. And “My Vacation in Hell” is a very unique recounting.

I’ve really enjoyed traipsing through these interpretations of the Hellboy mythos from a variety of creators, each bringing their own eclectic vision to the character.

Published by Caliber Press 1994

Written by Mark Ricketts

Additional writing by Marc Andreyko, Khrysta VanNus, Debra Rodia, Alain Sherter, Kyle Garrett, Joe Pruett

Illustrators: Vincent Locke, J. Calafiore, Rick Conrad, Jay Geldohf, Andrew Robinson, Bryan Michael Bendis, Jill Thompson, Nathan Pride, Mark Ricketts, Mitch O’Connell, Neil Gaiman, C.D. Regan, Charles Yates, Guy Davis, Mike Mignola, Tim Bradstreet, Paul Nitsche, Terry LaBan, Alex Ross, Reed Waller, Lurene Haines, David Mack, Guy Burwell, Galen Showman, Mitchell Waxman, Phillip Hester, Michael Lark

Photograph by Andrew Wells

Reviewed by Lydia H.

Three homeless drug addicts get caught up in an ancient game of adventure, mischief, and prophecy. One night Corey and Maxine overdose on heroin after cleaning an old theater for some extra cash. The two find themselves in a strange Netherworld attempting to make sense of what’s happened and what to do next. The two have unwittingly become players in one of Hell’s ancient cat and mouse traditions. They are chased by demons and winged hounds until one of them (Max) falls prey to the game. Her soul is sucked right from her body, transforming her into one of the skeletal people they’d been trying to hide amongst.

Now it’s Corey’s job to contact his friend Frank (still alive and kicking) to help them restore Max to her former self. His attempts at channeling seem to be futile as Frank spends most of his waking time attempting to drown his sorrows in booze and drugs. Even when Corey possesses a bartender momentarily to try and prove that his frightening dreams are real, Frank just thinks he’s started to lose his mind. The ritual Corey has started in Frank’s dreams requires him to finish it with a verbal incantation, but Frank is unable to believe his experiences. His body begins to twist into a gruesome form.

While Frank drags his feet Maxine is approached by Naome (also known as Diedre Scratch) with a proposition. She’ll restore her to her previous form and even help Frank (who is now suffering fully from something known as “The Twisting”) if she will bear the second coming of Lucifer. Naïve Max agrees.

I’m going to hold off telling you guys any more. You have to read this. I love stories like this that turn our concepts of religion and good and evil on its head. The lore is steeped heavily in Christian mythology, but I wouldn’t recommend this read followers of the Christian faith. That aside, look at that list of AMAZING contributors! Aside from the main plot, between chapters we get great histories and facts about some of the people, creatures, events, and places that are a part of the story. I seriously bought this book for a dollar and I would have easily paid more to have this as a part of my collection.