Random Happenstance

Comics don't usually make me miss cable, but..

From Painkiller Jane/Hellboy #1, "Ancient Laughter" Written by Brian Augustyn (with Mike Mignola as 'dialogue coach and plot inspiration'), pencils by Rick Leonardi, inks by Jane's co-creator Jimmy Palmiotti. How did Jane get top billing?

Anyway, with both Jane and Hellboy having new movies coming--animated Hellboy and Jane on Sci-Fi, I think--I stumbled back across this issue. Jane is working security and Hellboy consulting as archeologists open (against both's warnings) a prehistoric cask, releasing an ancient devil-god. Hilarity ensues.

I'm underselling it with the description, and by admitting the only other Painkiller Jane comic I've read was her crossover with the Punisher, where she was portrayed as a bit more of a nutjob. So my only feelings toward her, is that she can work in more than one setting. Still, I like this crossover more than I liked the Batman/Starman/Hellboy one, and that had Mignola art. May have to re-read that and the Ghost crossover, though.

For the Hellboy animated movie, I hope they keep the 'world's most famous paranormal investigator' angle--in the live-action version, he was kept secret and was known only as an urban legend. I like the idea of this big red lug having the same kind of fame as, say, Stephen Hawkings or Jacque Cousteau: a celebrity, but not one you'd see in People Magazine or Hollywood Squares.

Unfortunately, I probably will have to wait until I can rent or buy both features on DVD; but sometimes that seems like a small price to pay to keep Fox News, the Nashville Network, the home shopping shows, and E! out of my house...