Readers have another reason to get excited about the impending release of Giant Robot Hellboy as cover art for the second issue has just dropped. It was at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this summer that Dark Horse announced that Giant Robot Hellboy will be a three-part miniseries launching in October. At the time, the announcement came with some cover art that made readers excited for what's to come.
Now, Duncan Fegredo and Geof Darrow's respective cover art and variant cover art for Giant Robot Hellboy #2 can be viewed below. The issue itself will feature writing from Mike Mignola, art from Duncan Fegredo, and colors by Dave Stewart. Giant Robot Hellboy #2 will be available at local comic bookshops and digital stores starting on November 22.
Big Red Gets Even Bigger in Giant Robot Hellboy
The concept of the series is based on unused sketches that Mike Mignola made and posted about during the pandemic, now compiled in Dark Horse's Mike Mignola: The Quarantine Sketchbook. The story simply follows everyone's favorite cigar-smoking half-demon as he's kidnapped and hooked up to a massive mecha-Hellboy for a mysterious island mission. Going into Giant Robot Hellboy #2, Hellboy's robotic counterpart continues to fight giant monsters on the island while scientists scramble when things get out of hand. While details remain under wraps and, thus, remain vague, readers can get excited through cover art teasing the story.
Mike Mignola is Proud to Finally Present Giant Robot Hellboy to the World
Dating back to when Mignola first received such an overwhelming response for his drawings during quarantine, the journey to bring Giant Robot Hellboy to the world in actual comic form has been a long one. Now that it's all coming together, Mignola is proud that the book is finally bringing his vision to life. In an exclusive statement to Screen Rant, Mignola said, "The response to Duncan’s first cover was overwhelming and this second one is, I think, even better—but they don’t even begin to prepare readers for the amazing pages to follow. Duncan has really outdone himself on this series—and given the quality of the work he’s done in the past that’s really saying something."
Mignola went on to say:
Duncan has brought this crazy thing to life in a way I could not have thought possible—so far beyond my wildest expectations. But there are two other artists—long time friends of mine—this series would not exist without. Their love of giant Japanese monsters inspired this thing and I’m happy that they both agreed to do variant covers. The first of these, of course, is the great Geof Darrow. His love of this stuff, his enthusiasm, is one of the two beating hearts banging away in the gigantic metal chest of my giant robot.
Duncan and Geof as both brilliant artists, master storytellers, and both a thousand times more suitable to this material than I am—I’m proud to have thought up this thing but happy to stand back and hide behind the work they have produced. I may have given birth to the thing but they’re the guys that get it up on its big iron feet and make it move.
What's most impressive is not only how Mignola is able to bring life to his quarantine vision in 2023, but how artists like Darrow and Fegredo are able to emulate that style perfectly. While this vision may have begun in solidarity in the middle of lockdown, Giant Robot Hellboy has become a collaborative effort that the original creator can be proud to share and one that fans should be excited for.
Giant Robot Hellboy #1 will be available from Dark Horse Comics in October, with the second issue arriving November 22.
