Marvel and DC Mignola was born in
Berkeley, California. He began his career in 1980 by illustrating spots in
The Comic Reader. His first published piece was in
The Comic Reader #183, a spot illustration of
Red Sonja (pg. 9). His first published front cover was
The Comic Reader #196 in November 1981. In 1982 he graduated from the
California College of the Arts with a BFA in Illustration. In 1983 he worked as an inker at
Marvel Comics on
Daredevil and
Power Man and Iron Fist and later became the penciler on titles such as
The Incredible Hulk,
Alpha Flight, and the
Rocket Raccoon limited series. In 1987, he began working for
DC Comics as well. He drew the
Phantom Stranger and
World of Krypton limited series. With writer
Jim Starlin, Mignola produced the
Cosmic Odyssey miniseries in 1988. Mignola drew covers for several Batman stories, including "
Batman: A Death in the Family" and "Dark Knight, Dark City". Writer
Brian Augustyn and Mignola crafted the
Gotham by Gaslight one-shot in 1989. '' #429 cover by Mike Mignola In an early 2000s interview, Mignola was asked if his 1988 cover art and cover text for
Batman #428 anticipated the telephone vote for the death of the second Robin (
Jason Todd). Mignola responded: "It's so amazing to me that people are still talking about that damn thing. I didn't know if he was going to live or die, because I did the cover ahead of time. So the idea was: I'll draw him dead, and if he lives, then it's just a cover of him being badly hurt. I've gotta say---I don't think I was giving it a lot of thought. I never imagined I'd be talking about it all these years later." Two years later,
Jack Shaheen published an assessment of
Islamophobia pervasive in
Jim Starlin's plot and
Jim Aparo's interior pencils for "Death in the Family," particularly
Batman #429, which prompted debates over Mignola's intentions. Through the early 1990s Mignola worked on covers and backup features for various DC and Marvel Comics.
Hellboy and related spinoffs Hellboy Prior to 1994 Mignola's career had been spent doing
work-for-hire illustration for corporate publishers. That year,
Dark Horse Comics released
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Mignola's
creator-owned project. Though he wrote the story himself, it was scripted by
John Byrne. The next
Hellboy story,
The Wolves of Saint August, was completely written and drawn by Mignola. Since then all
Hellboy stories have been written solely by Mignola with the exception of
They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships, which was co-written by Joshua Dysart.
Makoma (2006) was the first
Hellboy story not drawn by Mignola, featuring the art of
Richard Corben. Corben would return to draw many flashback stories for the series. Other artists have also had a hand in drawing flashback stories including
Jason Shawn Alexander,
Kevin Nowlan and
Scott Hampton. In 2007, following after 2005's
The Island, British artist
Duncan Fegredo took over art duties on the ongoing story arc of
Hellboy from
Darkness Calls onwards. Mike Mignola returned as the full-time artist for
Hellboy in 2012 for the series' conclusion,
Hellboy in Hell.
Abe Sapien In 1998 the first
Hellboy spinoff,
Abe Sapien, was launched. It was not written by Mike Mignola, but it did feature his
Hellboy short story "
Heads" as a back-up.
Abe Sapien did not take off properly until a decade later in 2008's
The Drowning. Since then it has had several short stories and beginning in 2013 it became an ongoing series with
Scott Allie as the lead writer with Mignola.
Lobster Johnson Lobster Johnson was the next spinoff, debuting as a back-up feature in 1999's
Box Full of Evil. The series got its own title later in 2007's
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus. It returned again with the
miniseries The Burning Hand in 2012, followed by various short stories.
B.P.R.D. B.P.R.D. was the third spinoff, but it was the first one which was conceived to be more than just a one-off side story, but rather a series of stories. It began with 2002's
Hollow Earth, which continued on from
Hellboy: Conqueror Worm. Beyond that followed a series of short stories designed to explore what the B.P.R.D. series could be. 2004's
Plague of Frogs was the story that solidified what the series was, and would set the direction for future books to come, so much so that the first major story cycle is collected in omnibus editions titled
B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs. A vast majority of the stories in this era were co-written with
John Arcudi and drawn by
Guy Davis.
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth is the main series continuing after the catastrophic events at the conclusion of the
Plague of Frogs cycle. Guy Davis left the series in 2011 with the conclusion of
Hell on Earth: Gods.
Tyler Crook became the new ongoing artist beginning with
Hell on Earth: Monsters, but he is joined by several regular artists, most notably
James Harren and
Laurence Campbell. Continuing where
Hell on Earth left off,
The Devil You Know is written by Mike Mignola and
Scott Allie with Laurence Campbell serving as the regular artist.
Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder (more commonly known simply as "
Witchfinder") began with a teaser story in 2008's
MySpace Dark Horse Presents #16, followed by a full miniseries in 2009. It follows the stories of the occult investigator, Sir Edward, agent of
Queen Victoria.
Frankenstein The
Frankenstein began with
Frankenstein Underground in 2015. Set in 1956, this miniseries follows Frankenstein (in the Hellboy Universe, the Frankenstein monster takes his father's name) as he ventures into the
Pellucidar-like Hollow Earth. This also canonized Mary Shelley's novel
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The series was further expanded in 2020 with
Frankenstein Undone, a direct sequel to Shelley's novel.
Spinoff miniseries Numerous spinoffs have been published that are set in the Hellboy universe: •
Sledgehammer 44: Set in
World War II, this series is about the Epimetheus Vril Energy Suit created by Doctor Helena Gallargas. •
Frankenstein Underground: Set in 1956, this series follows the Frankenstein monster as he ventures into the
Pellucidar-like Hollow Earth. •
Rise of the Black Flame: Set in 1923, this series explores how Raimund Diestel became the Black Flame. •
The Visitor: How & Why He Stayed: This series follows the life of an alien visitor set to kill the infant Hellboy in 1944. •
Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon: Set in 1941, this series follows Trevor Bruttenholm as he becomes an agent for the allied forces in World war II. •
Koshchei the Deathless: Hellboy and Koshchei sit in a pub in Hell and chat.
The Outerverse Baltimore began with a
2007 illustrated novel, and continued as a comic book series. It was created by Mike Mignola and
Christopher Golden. Like
Baltimore,
Joe Golem: Occult Detective began as an illustrated prose novel (2012's
Joe Golem and the Drowning City) and later continued as a comic book series. It was created by Mike Mignola and
Christopher Golden and exists in a shared universe with
Baltimore called "The Outerverse". ==Style==