Bloody Disgusting has learned that Mike Mignola is returning to the Hellboy universe with Carmen Red Claw: Belly of the Beast.
Launching on January 7, 2025 from Dark Horse, the paranormal Western comic connects Lobster Johnson to the greater Hellboy lore.
The four-issue series is co-written by Mignola and Rae Allen (The Manderfield Devil), with art from Allen, colors by Michelle Madsen, and letters by Clem Robins.
Carmen Red Claw is a descendant of the notorious El Bogavante, the fearsome privateer who first appeared in Mignola, John Arcudi and Tonci Zonjic’s 2014 Lobster Johnson: Get The Lobster featuring iconic 1930s crimefighter, the Lobster.
Working as a shape-shifting, supernatural gun-for-hire, Carmen investigates a supposedly cursed ranch in 1870s New Mexico territory. Something is killing the cattle in the area, and it’s up to Carmen to find out whether there’s a beast to blame, or if humans are the real monsters.
The series series feature covers by Allen, and Mignola created a variant for the first issue. We have your first look at both below. Future issues will include variants from Jake Parker, Tonci Zonjic, and Benjamin Schipper.
“I’ve wanted to find a project for Rae for a long time, and finally just had the good sense to ask her if she had something in mind—and she did,” explains Mignola. “She had half a dozen ideas—all great—but I was super impressed with this one, that she was able to create an entire character and situation based on a super tiny bit of a Lobster Johnson history.”
Mignola continues, “Such a fun addition to the Hellboy universe. We banged some details back and forth, but that was all fun and easy. She is a joy to work with and I hope this is only the beginning.”
“One of my favorite parts about Hellboy is the merging of classic folklore with the Hellboy universe,” says Allen. “A lot of that ground has already been covered in Europe, how about more from America? I’m a big fan of the radio show Have Gun – Will Travel, and I thought a Paladin-style gun-for-hire in a supernatural Old West facing off with Native American, Colonial, and Mignolaverse monsters would be a lot of fun. Plus, why not add a lizard shoulder demon?”
Allen adds, “Mike and I bounced ideas off each other and landed on a story that we think you’ll really enjoy. And I’m excited to introduce you to some Lakota folklore inspired by Yankton Dakota author Zitkala-Sa, enriched with the help of my friend Shiala King.”
Cover by Rae Allen
Cover by Mike Mignola
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