REVIEW: ‘Sir Edward Grey: Acheron,’ Issue #1

Sir Edward Grey: Acheron #1 is written and illustrated by Mike Mignola, colored by Dave Stewart, and lettered by Clem Robins. It is published by Dark Horse Comics. After the events of Hellboy in Hell, Sir Edward Grey-formerly a paranormal investigator in Victorian London and a silent watcher over Hellboy-encounters the demon Eligos. While Eligos is obsessed with the ascension of the Greek god Pluto, who he believes will take the throne of Hell, Grey attempts to convince the demon otherwise-even revealing his own tragic past.

This one-shot marks Mignola’s return to solo writing and illustrating duties in five years, following previous Hellboy one-shots and miniseries that were co-written with other creators. At once, readers’ eyes will be drawn to Mignola’s unique art style, which is equal parts mesmerizing and horrifying. The mesmerizing parts come from the background: a river features serpentine creatures twisting and winding within its waters and Hell itself looks like a series of dilapidated homes instead of the fire and brimstone preachers warned us about. The horrifying bits come from Grey himself. Within the folds of his cloak, Grey’s skin is missing-revealing his still-beating heart and other vital organs. Eligos is no sight for sore eyes either, and I mean that quite literally as there’s a pair of horns jutting out from his eye sockets.

Joining Mignola on art duties are Stewart and Robins. Stewart plays with a wide range of colors in this book; the landscapes of Hell shift from purple to sickly sea green to a rich and vibrant blue, with splashes of fiery red here and there. The only source of natural light comes on the last page when the action transitions to the human world. Robins’ lettering is clean and simple: characters’ words are placed within plain white boxes that stand out in the vast sea of colors. He also keeps the sound effects simple as well: there is a steady “Drip” sound within the bowels of Hell and whenever Hellboy punches somebody there’s a loud “Crack”.

When it comes to the story, Mignola delves into Grey’s past and how he became the haunting figure he is today. Said past is appropriately tragic, as Grey was told by the goddess of magic Hecate: “You will learn to do evil to do good.” References to Greek mythology and even John Milton’s famous poem Paradise Lost abound; mythology buffs will remember that the Acheron is one of the Underworld’s rivers in Greek mythology and that comes into play here. And as for the Hellboy of it all, the World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator makes a few appearances and Grey mentions meeting his archenemy, Rasputin.

Sir Edward Grey: Acheron #1 is a haunting look at one of the most mysterious beings of the Hellboy universe, and marks Mike Mignola’s return to writing and illustrating comics. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of a resurgence, as I’m happy to read anything Mignola puts on the page whether it’s Hellboy related or not.

Sir Edward Grey: Acheron #1 is available wherever comics are sold.