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HELLBOY: THE LOST ARMY
by Christopher Golden
Pocket Star, February 2004
288 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0743462823


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I am usually a skeptic when novelizations of comic book (sorry, graphic novel) characters are offered, but THE LOST ARMY looked like it might be fun, and it was written by a novelist, not a graphic artist, so I decided to try it.

HELLBOY is a creature conjured up from the nether world in 1944 by the Nazis. They thought they could train him to spread their evil throughout the world, but Hellboy was rescued by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, head of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

The book opens as a tentacled alien, driving a burning Bentley, crashes into a diner, but not before a large, red-skinned, hoofed man with tail and filed-down horns leaves the car. Hellboy calls his superior and a while later a helicopter lands to take him to Egypt. Apparently, an archeological mission to the middle east has been attacked and seems to have disappeared. The only message that got out was so cryptic, that the Bureau was summoned.

By the time Hellboy reaches his destination, his crew has been assembled and are ready to try to find what caused the mysterious disappearance of the previous group of archeologists. Hellboy has some supernatural powers which come to the fore. It appears that the Lost Army of Cambyses died in this very Libyan oasis millennia earlier and are trying to bring their evil overseer to life by feeding living humans to this monster. (Think THE MUMMY)

I was pleasantly surprised by the level of whimsy used in the writing of this book. I probably would have rejected it if I had received it in the format of graphic novel, but as a paperback, it certainly makes for excellent light reading. The movies based on the character has been released to excellent reviews, with Ron Perlman (The Beast from Beauty and the Beast) in the title role.

If you are a fan of Doc Savage or Buckaroo Banzai, this superhero, with his assistants, will be to your liking. My 11-year-old grandson came for a visit over the Easter weekend. He took THE LOST ARMY back to California with him; he couldn't put it down. He has recently discovered books are fun to read. I am looking forward to sharing more with him.

Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, March 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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