Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck are returning to Hellboy’s universe, with The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England.
The Witchfinder is back
The latest adventure in the Hellboy Universe is a doozy for a few reasons. For one thing, and this might be the biggest one, it represents the triumphant return of creator Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck to the brand. That’s a welcome thing indeed for fans of the hero and his tumultuous world, but again it’s far from the only cool thing about The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England.
You might recognize that name, as this is the same Edward Grey that featured in the Witchfinder series of tales. But don’t expect to see the same Ed, as when this tale opens up, he has been in Hell for a time, and has been called back to the land of the living. His task is to defend England, the last bastion of life on a cursed Earth, from none other than King Arthur’s wicked half-sister Morgan Le Fay. Yes, really.
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Oh, and if you’re looking for the time period (if the above didn’t clue you in already) this new story takes place after Hellboy has been killed, and past both B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know and Koshchei in Hell.
“Ed Grey feels to me like he took off like a rocket,” said Mignola. “He was my ‘regular guy’ occult detective but then just kept going. Being dismembered and stitched back together didn’t even slow him down. He became a magician and flew around doing stuff. He decided to take on some of Hellboy’s curse and everything just kept beating him and he just kept getting up, and before too long, I just felt bad for him and wanted to give him a quiet place to sit down – retire in peace. BUT he had just one more (I hope) thing to do and then not only could he retire but he could retire another of my favorite characters. Let’s hope both of them can finally relax after this one last battle for England.”
Dark Horse Comics press release
Get ready, this is going to be a ride that Hellboy fans likely won’t want to miss. Stenbeck’s professed “last ‘Hellboy universe’ story for some time”, The Serpent in the Garden: Ed Grey and the Last Battle for England #1 arrives in comics shops on November 27th.