Hellboy

Okay, let me start this by saying I haven't seen Hellboy II yet. It comes to DVD in a couple of weeks, and I'll see it then. It's just another victim of a busy summer. That being said, I'll admit I'm big fan of the first film. I picked up a few of the graphic novels after seeing it, and found an interest there as well.

What is it about Hellboy that appeals to me? There are portions of a number of my favorite fictional characters in him. He's got the charm and gruffness of Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade. There's a bit of Indiana Jones in him, chasing occult objects and fighting Nazis. And I think there's a bit of Batman there, as well. Loner detective who crusades for good, but does it by his own means created from the angst in his background. (As a side note, I'd love to see a Hellboy/Batman crossover graphic novel, I think that would rock!)

All of that brings us to this review. There have been a number of Hellboy figures over the few years. I've passed on all of them up to this point. I really wish I'd got the comic version with the heads when I had the chance. Mezco produced a 7" line of Hellboy figures for the new film that was approximately in scale with most of the previous figures. However, they also took a shot at producing a 3 3/4" series of figures. A version of Hellboy was available this summer as an exculsive. This review is for the single carded release of Hellboy.

There is absolutely no doubt this is Hellboy portrayed by Ron Perlman in the films. I'd seen some pictures of this guy previous to picking him up, and I thought he was the 7" version. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the detail in this size of figure. I was worried about this initially, because I was less than impressed with Mezco's Underworld line. I have to say they put my fears to rest.

The head on the single carded HB, and the box set one, is an open angry mouthed one, where the summer exclusive version had him chomping on cigar. The head is a great likeness of the Mr. Perlman in make-up. You can see the furrowed brow and even a bit of crinkle in the nose. The filed off horns have tool marks on them that are accented with a little paint or wash.

The only downsides to the head are in the paint, actually. And unless you go looking for them, you probably won't notice. One of the horns on mine has a small drip down the side. While the white of his teeth and pink of his tongue is perfect, his eyes have pupils where is one looking up and one is looking down. There are also a couple of small places where the paint for his hairline and beard don't quite match the sculpt. Overall though, considering the scale, a pretty fine job.

I originally thought the "Right Hand of Doom" was a little out of scale with the "Right Forearm of Destiny". But after reviewing some pictures from the films, it looks pretty good. It's sculpted to look like stone all over, painted red, and washed over. The little circles on the knuckles are there, as well as the finger segments. The only downside, I see to it, is it's sculpted in a fist. But, the big red monkey does like to punch things from time to times, so it makes sense.


The ubiquitous duster HB wears to "fit in" is done in a soft vinyl material. The material has a bit of a wash to imply wear. The collar is a separate piece that is blended into the design well. The two pieces combined don't really limit any of the articulation. The buckles on his right arm have some strap detailing with metalic gold accents.

Underneath the duster, there's no skimping on detail as well. I'd guess that Mezco thought ahead that a dusterless Hellboy could be created from a simple arm switch. Due to that his back shows the same amount of detail as the front. HB's pecs are there with the proper wear detail shown on them. His utility belt, another Batman connection, is fully sculpted around. Understandably, a lot of smaller do-dads HB is famous for are missing due to the scale. The BPRD buckle is there, but there's a bit of slop in the paint that makes it a little less recognizable.

There's a strap sculpted on his right leg that matches up to the soft vinyl holster attached to his belt. The holster doesn't attach directly to his leg, though, so it won't limit his movement. The rest of the pants are sculpted out with seams and some padding around the knees. Since this is the movie HB, the feet are decked out in some heavy work boots, instead of the comic version's funky hoof feet.

This is a figure that is just a joy to have on your desk and pose. As soon as I popped him free of his blister I realized that. The articulation is top notch for a figure this size. There are few surprises in it, as well.

To start with the chest has a well hidden joint under the pecs. The sculpt and paint follow up under this joint, unlike some un-named clone army guys. The next surprise was ML style hips. There is a balljoint at each hip with a rotation right underneath of it. This give his legs a pretty good range of motion.

One of the two other big surprises is an articulated tail. With not just one point of articulation, but three. This give the tail the ability to peak through the back of the coat in a variety of ways.

My biggest articulation surprise? A balljointed fist on the Right Hand of Doom. I figured a cut joint at best, but it's swivels on a ball. While it doesn't have much range of motion, it's pretty cool. Did they have to put it there? No. But, the fact that Mezco did, really shows they care about their customers and understand what they think is cool.

Am I done? Nope. There are two accessories in the bliser with Red. The first is a BPRD base. It's a cirlce of plastic with a sticker applied to it. While I'm disappointed it's not a sculpted logo, it's not really a bother. HB doesn't need it  to stand, and they put way more into the figure than the pack in piece.

Second accessory: Hellboy's Samaritan. Or as the video gamers like to say BFG. The gun is painted and weather and sculpted to fit nicely in to his left hand. His finger even looks like it's on the trigger.  However, it wont' fit in the holster on the figure.  I guess they were going for a scale holster, more than a functional one.  I had an initial moment of panic taking the gun out of the package. I thought I'd broke it,  until I realized it actually has a joint in it to allow it to open like the film version, another nice unexpected treat.

A little side note on the packaging. The name "Hellboy" doesn't appear in any of the large print. The copyright notices have it, but the figure is referred to as "Red" and the film as HBII. I picked mine up at TRU, and have to think that was done as a concession to mass market toy shelves.