COLUMBIA PICTURES What the Hell, boy!
The horror-adventure film comes
loaded with all the merchandise,
from T-shirts to lunch boxes
to action figures
David Edwards is picky. As a disciplined comic-book enthusiast and collector, he's careful of what he supports in this dizzying universe of oversize, colorful characters and the merchandise that comes with their marketing.
For example, the University of Hawaii-Manoa senior (majoring in business and economics) is a big fan of Mike Mignola, the creator of "Hellboy." The movie adaptation of the horror-adventure comic-book title opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow, and, like a good business student, he's careful not to get too enthusiastic about it, weighing the pros and cons.
But deep down is the heart of a true fanboy.
Inside the Last Sanctuary, he's wearing a black Hellboy T-shirt, surrounded by comic book and movie tie-in merchandise on display. On a couple of the Kapiolani store's back walls are a number of illustrations submitted for an art contest related to the film's release. The works range from a crude stick-figure drawing to an oil painting of the heroic, if demonic, Beast of the Apocalypse.
"Hellboy" merchandising pre-movie has been limited. You've got your usual range of T-shirts and sweatshirts, coffee mugs, coasters, magnets, a cool-looking lunch box, embroidered patch, etc. But, with the movie coming out, more ephemera has arrived in the form of life-size cardboard cutouts (already sold out at the store) and, most important, articulated action figures of Hellboy, plus other monstrous characters: Abe Sapien, Sammael, Rasputin and Kroenen.
The collectible figures hang nearby, waiting to be broken free from their plastic prisons to be proudly displayed on a fanboy's shelf -- or carefully stored away to accrue investment value.
Edwards doesn't consider himself an avid collector, and seems content to manifest his love for Hellboy mainly in the form of collecting Mignola's comic-book series.
"What I buy outside of the comic books depends on how much I care for the character," he said. "When I want to buy something, I do it not as an investment."
Instead, it's mostly about the printed page. Even though Mignola has distinguished himself as an impressionistic artist, Edwards is also a fan of his writing.
"You can tell he loves the horror genre," he said. "He's taken quite a bit from H.P. Lovecraft, and he's done a lot of research. Plus, I like how he gives Hellboy one-liners and quips in the heat of battles.
"His art is really unique, too. He uses bold lines, and the overall look is more atmospheric, with no superficial detail. Also, he uses color really well, especially how reds come out."
"Hellboy" began in 1992, when Mignola was given a chance to create a self-owned character for Dark Horse Comics. According to the artist, he liked drawing monsters, cemeteries, abandoned castles, skeletons and Nazis. (The SS types, he's said in interviews, were not nice people, but they were extremely sharp dressers.) Mignola dreamed up a strip that allowed him to draw these things every issue.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
David Edwards, a collector of Hellboy comics and collectibles holds up a Hellboy movie action figure at Last Sanctuary.
The Hellboy character first appeared in various Dark Horse titles until proving popular enough to be awarded his own titles. In 10 years there have been a succession of Hellboy miniseries, trade paperbacks and one-shots, novels and even pseudo-serious tales of "Hellboy Jr."
"In an interview a while back, Mignola said he originally intended to do a team book -- an 'X-Men' of horror -- with Hellboy and the agents of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense," Edwards said. "But Hellboy became so much more dominant and popular with the readers that he got his own title."
That's partly because Hellboy, despite his formidable appearance, is really just an ordinary joe, with a blue-collar approach to his monster-bashing work.
And now he's hitting the big screen big time. The movie's been hyped in hope that a relatively obscure comic-book character can attract mainstream moviegoers.
The movie's got solid talent behind it. Director Guillermo del Toro ("Mimic" and "Blade II") knows a thing or two about offbeat horror movies. And it stars fan fave Ron Perlman, who is no stranger to heavy makeup; he starred in the 1987 TV series "Beauty and the Beast."
"I'm looking forward to seeing the movie," Edwards said. "But as a comic-book fan, I admit I'm a little worried that it may not be as good as the books. I mean, for every successful 'X-Men' and 'Spider-Man,' something like 'Daredevil' comes out, and I'm thinking, 'What's going on here?'
"But because someone like del Toro is directing it -- his 'Blade II' was pretty decent -- and having good actors like Perlman involved, who can put the character of Hellboy across on the screen, the movie should be good -- so long as there isn't too much flash and the movie strikes a balance between the fans and the mainstream audience," he said.
Andrew A. Smith, of Scripps Howard News Service, contributed to this story.BACK TO TOP |
Let's draw
Garrett Omoto won first place for this ink drawing in an art contest co-sponsored by the Star-Bulletin and Last Sanctuary.
Second place winner: Jamen Chai
Third place winner: Cade Roster
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