The story also dips into the origins of Earth itself adding another layer that heightens the importance of the story as a whole. You get a lot of bang for your buck if you enjoy stories of myth and folklore since the story starts when Koshchei is young and ends when he just begins to turn to evil. This is the kind of backstory that reads in a wide sweeping almost fairy tale way.

More than once I was reminded of the great, but short lived, television show Storytellers. Fitting, because his story is filled with revenge, murder, and incredible betrayal. The story is being told from Koshchei’s perspective as he and Hellboy share a beer in Hell. It gives the character context so that the rest of the story can do the heavy lifting of explaining who this character is and boy does it succeed wonderfully. It’s clearly a way to draw in readers who don’t know this character and those who adore Hellboy. This issue opens with Hellboy kicking Koshchei’s ass over the first three pages. This is the type of tale a Lord of the Rings fan will love and fantasy fans must read. One of the new Mignola-verse stories teased at SDCC, this story is all kinds of cool involving witches, dragons, and magical garments.

Now Koshchei relives every horrible act on his road to immortality and beyond, with none other than Hellboy himself–in Hell. Sent to kill Hellboy by the Baba Yaga in Darkness Calls, Koshchei the Deathless hinted at a long and tragic life before being enslaved to the Russian witch. Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!

Hellboy koshchei the deathless