Comic Art Collection 9: Hellboy and Mermaid

Hellboy and mermaid by Ben Templesmith, 8.5x11

Social media is eventually going to bankrupt me, I'm sure.

Once upon a time, if you wanted comic book art you had to go to conventions, or maybe find a store that sold a few pages. Or perhaps write to the artist and beg for a page. Comic book art, famously, for many decades, wasn't worth squat. There are terrifying stories about pages being thrown out, drawn over, or used for colour practice.

Now, it's really easy to find comic art if you want. Artist websites, eBay, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and more. (Comic Art Tracker is currently the most dangerous tab open on my browser). In fact, in our days of global pandemic, a lot of artists are hurting. In comics, many of them count on comic cons to make extra money, or look for more work. Major publishers haven't started scaling back....yet. But I wouldn't be surprised if that happens. If you like art...or comic art, poke around and see if there's something you can buy. A few prints or stickers can help sometimes.

Anyway, this lovely Hellboy came about because I was on Twitter at the right time.

A page from Fell, issue #2

Ben Templesmith got his big break illustrating a book with Steve Niles called 30 Days of Night. It's a vampire story set in the remote community of Barrows, Alaska which gets attacked by vampires during the 30 days of the year when there's no sun. It was later adapted into a movie. It's a concept so genius that I'm convinced half the comic book writers and artists in the world smacked their heads off desks in frustration for not thinking of the idea first.

I liked his artwork, but I'm not the biggest horror fan. But Templesmith did a book called Fell with Warren Ellis. It was a wonderfully creepy book about Detective Richard Fell, who is transferred to a failed city called Snowton. It's smartly written, atmospheric as hell, and frustratingly incomplete. Delays meant the story wasn't finished. The last issue came out in 2008, so barring a miracle, it will probably never be completed.

But I was following Templesmith on Twitter back in 2011, at least partially to see what he would do next, and hoping that the next thing would be more Fell. Instead, one day in December he popped online and said he was taking a handful of commissions so he could buy some Christmas gifts. His commission list was open a grand total of 30 minutes before he closed it due to all the interest.

Guess who was on Twitter during that 30 minute window.

Hellboy: The Third Wish #2

I can't really recall where the idea of getting him to draw Hellboy came from, but it was a bloody genius one. He draws a near perfect Hellboy, so good I'm astonished he's never been asked to draw the book. The idea of a mermaid came from a Hellboy story I had read a few months earlier where he gets trapped in the ocean and has to deal with three mermaid sisters (It's Hellboy. It happens).

When I mentioned the idea to Templesmith via email he loved the idea, but was baffled by one of my conditions. I told him the mermaid couldn't be naked. Which meant explaining Cathy's "No nudity, no graphic violence" rule for art. He was amused, but had no problem with it.

What he sent to me has long been one of my favourite comic book pieces. The weary resignation of Hellboy, who appears to be utterly unsurprised to be underwater. Not sure what good the gun is going to do, but it's a fun touch. And I love the mermaid wrapped around him in that way is a clever way around the no nudity rule. It's also...nicer. I like the intimacy of it. I like it more than if he was fighting the mermaid. The angry fish swimming by are a little detail I love too.

This also has the rare privilege of being one of the pieces on my wall that Cathy really likes. She often doesn't get why I like something or occasionally shakes her head at a piece. But she loves this one. It makes her smile.

Last Five
1. Hi-Rise - The New Pornographers
2. The trip to Pirate's Cove - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3. Happy pills - Norah Jones
4. Futurism - Deerhunter
5. Battery Kinzie - Fleet Foxes*