Summary: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos witness the birth of the  Island That Walks Like a Man!
Plot: There are some characters that just don't need a real origin, and Krakoa is truly one of those characters. He's a mutated island...nuff said.

Buuuuut, despite not needing this story at all Hopeless makes it readable. It's played like an old 50's horror movie and is fun and fast paced. No one one may have been clamoring for this book and we certainly didn't need it but if it was going to be made this was probably the best one could hope for.  

Art: On the flip side of that, Phan's work is pretty damn impressive! The tension and mood he infuses into each panel is perfect, so even if you don't care to really know how Krakoa came to be this book is worth it for the stunning art alone.

Grade:7/10

Summary: Just as Hellboy and the agents of the BPRD start to gain some traction, Varva unleashes a vicious attack from within. 
Plot: It's been my complaint all along during this latest cycle that there are too many concurrent plots running through this book and so because of that the pacing can feel choppy and moments that feel like they should have a lot of impact are rushed to the point where they have none...and this issue is no different. We have Devon's moment of seduction...which without any build up or tension makes his turn on his fellow agents meaningless. We have Agent Carla's death at the hands of Devon happen with a single gunshot that causes her to slowly bleeds to death in the background while Abe and Hellboy battle a demon...so she's just a piece of the scenery.  And then we get a flash to Maggie the mystic down in South Carolina...which isn't seemingly related to anything going on. Taken together it's all very jumbled, these are moments that should be huge and because there are so many and because there is this seemingly huge urge to wrap things up it's all rushed which is sad. Don't get me wrong though there are still some moments that do really shine: Hellboy and Abe tag teaming the demon was classic, and the Death of Ashley Strode at the hands of Varvara was absolutely perfect, next to the deaths of Abe and Hellboy her passing was one of the truly momentous happenings of this book...but again all though it did have a great emotional impact it was a little stunted as it wasn't the end of the issue but rather the lead in to the real big twist finale:

And I'm not really sure how I feel about it. While bringing that character back again does make sense from a narrative point of view with the end mirroring the beginning I really liked the end he seemingly got in Darkness calls so it seems a shame to diminish that. But I guess until we see it play out in the next arc we can't really judge that.

Art: I've said it before but I think it bears repeating, where Laurence Campbell's art really excells in my eyes is his sense of scale, and true feeling of place. Ever since ‘Wasteland,’ it’s been clear that he is the master at bringing a ruined cityscape to life in a way that feels truly real, it's abandoned and empty...but there's still a presence to it, a feeling of being watched and usually that is the pinnacle of visual storytelling but when he adds the trappings of Hell to that like he does in this issue, it kicks his art to a whole other level.