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Summary
- Hellboy as a samurai in feudal Japan would be a charming and fitting concept for a “What If?” scenario.
- Japan has been featured in Hellboy stories before and could provide a rich setting for new adventures.
- Francesco Francavilla, known for his pulp-inspired art, would be a perfect fit to illustrate a Hellboy story set in any historical setting.
Hellboy has traveled the world fighting monsters, but one piece of fan art from Francesco Francavilla has Big Red actually becoming a samurai in feudal Japan in an epic reference to famed actors like Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai.
Shared to Instagram, celebrated artist Francesco Francavilla posted the sketch he did from 2009, which sees Hellboy drawing a katana in preparation for an epic battle with some giant monster or other, no doubt. Check out Francavilla’s awesome work:
The idea of Hellboy as a samurai has a certain charm, and would even make sense in a “What If?”-style story scenario. Hellboy could even be portrayed as a ronin, given that he eventually broke away from the BPRD to become his own version of a “masterless samurai.”
Hellboy in Japan Would Be The Perfect New Story
Hellboy has traveled to Japan on a few occasions. The most noteworthy of these is the short story “Heads,” originally published in 1998’s Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead. Taking place in Kyoto in 1967, where he finds himself under attack by monstrous, floating heads. Japan would also play a key role in the 2006 animated feature Hellboy: Sword of Storms, which sees Big Red dispatched to Japan with fellow BPRD agent Kate Corrigan to prevent the demonic brothers Thunder and Lightning from getting hold of the mystical Sword of Storms, a magic katana.
Francesco Francavilla made a name for himself in the comics industry on pulp-inspired titles like The Black Coat, Zorro and The Green Hornet, and has gone on to celebrated works like Detective Comics, Afterlife with Archie and his own creation The Black Beetle. While he has contributed variant covers to various Hellboy titles, the celebrated artist has never actually drawn a story for Mike Mignola’s signature character. Given his propensity for pulpy action and moody atmosphere, Francavilla would be perfect for a one-shot or miniseries set in the world of Hellboy.
Francesco Francavilla is a Perfect Fit for Hellboy
Hellboy is the type of character who could work in any time or setting. Seeing Hellboy in feudal Japan would make for an incredible story, but really any historical setting would provide ample story opportunities. Perhaps he could mix it up as an outlaw in the old west, or travel back to medieval times to fight dragons as a knight in shining armor.
Given all the talented creators who have contributed to his world thus far, hopefully we’ll get to see a Francesco Francavilla samurai Hellboy story eventually.
Source: Francesco Francavilla
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