Review by: Kevin Reilly Over the past few years, Art Baltazar and Franco have made quite a name for themselves. The duo have racked up several Eisners and critical acclaim at DC Comics for their series Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures, and they have just launched their own kids’ comic store and publisher, Aw Yeah, Comics! The praise is well-deserved; both series are incredibly easy-going, accessible, and fun for people of any age. Luckily, the formula has given us another gem with this, the premiere of Itty Bitty Hellboy. It’s very similar to the aforementioned TT and SFA: the book consists of short, two to three page vignettes featuring Hellboy and his friends.
That’s pretty much it, for twenty-odd pages. And yet, Itty Bitty Hellboy is so much more. The vignettes are interlocked, so although every two or three pages you’ll see the Itty Bitty Hellboy logo it all comes together to form one really funny story. If you’ve never read Hellboy before, or you’ve been following closely since way back in 1994, or you’re just desperately looking for something your kids would get a kick out of, Itty Bitty Hellboy delivers.
The art is as clean and bright as we’ve come to expect from Art Baltazar. It’s big, it’s colorful, and it works for the piece. In fact, the book really shines digitally. Itty Bitty Hellboy is more vibrant and easier on the eyes than most books I’ve read in the format, and its child-friendly font means you can read it clearly and easily zoomed-out on a seven-inch tablet. This is oddly specific praise, I know, but it’s worth mentioning.
I’m dismayed that this will only last five issues. Although it makes sense (and it’s very much like Hellboy to have this be a miniseries), I wish we were getting a lot more of these books. Maybe someday! Until then, I’d pick this up as soon as I possibly could. It’s snappy, funny, and it jumps off of the page, screen, or what have you.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Art Baltazar and Franco Artist: Art Baltazar Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 8/28/13