FORGOTTEN BOOK: HELLBOY: THE LOST ARMY

 Hellboy:  The Lost Army by Christopher Golden (1997)

Ah, Hellboiy, one of the great comic book heroes of the end of the 20th century, and beyond...

Created by Mike Mignola, Hellboy first appeared in San Diego Comics-Con Comics #2 (August 1993), and then was featured in his own title beginning March 1994 and ran through issue 57 (August 10, 2011).  There were also a number of special from 2016 through 2019.  A limited series, Hellboy in Hell, ran for ten issues from 2012 to 2016.  The Hellboy franchise soon expanded to include such spinoffs as Abe Sapian, Lobster Johnson, B.P.R.D., Sir Edwin Grey, Witchfinder, Frankenstein, Sledgehammer 44, Rise of the Black Flame, The Visitor:  How and Why He Stayed, Rasputin:  The Voice of the Dragon, and Koshchei the Deathless. In addition, Mignola produce three original graphic novels about Hellboy.  The Hellboy comics have also been collected in trade paperbacks. library editions, and omnibus editions.  The character has also appeared in a number of live action and animated films.  there are also video games, table top games, and a small batch whiskey (!) -- Hellboy Hell Water Cinnamon Whiskey.

Hellboy has also appeared in twelve  novels written by Christopher Golden, Brian Hodge, Tim Lebbon, Thomas E. Sniegoski, Tom Piccirilli, Mark Morris, and Mark Chadbourn, and in three anthologies (with stories by Joe R. Lansdale, China Mieville, Barbara Hambly, Ken Bruen, ,Amber Benson, and Tad Williams, among others.

Hellboy really gets around.

Just who (or what) is Hellboy?  Hellboy (true name Anung Un Rama) is a half-demon who was summoned from Hell to Earth as a baby by Nazi occultists in the final months of World War II.  The infant Hellboy was discovered by Allied troops and was raised by Professor Trevor Bruttenhelm, who went on to found the U.S. Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.  He has red skin, cloven hoofs, horns (which he files off), a tail, and a large right hand that appears to be made of stone.  He has a nearly bald head covered with thick bristly stubble, heavy sideburns, and a pony tail ties in a knot.  He resembles an ape more than a man.  He is massively strong, nearly invulnerable, and is able to heal rapidly.  In his heart, Hellboy is completely human with no trace of demonic malevolence.  He is gruff, brave, and has a wry sense of humor.  Hellboy has been recruited as an agent of the B.P.R.D., which was created to fight Nazis, witches, mythical creatures, and threats both supernatural and preternatural.  He works mainly with Abe Sapien (a fish-man)and Liz Sherman (a pyrotechnic).  Hellboy is the world's greatest paranormal investigator.

The Lost Armyis the first novel about Hellboy.  Mignola came up with the idea of the introductory prolog to the novel (at Golden's request), and the rest of the book is completely Golden -- including giving Hellboy a sex life ("something I'm sure Hellboy appreciates," Mignola wrote in the book's introduction.

It's the era of Reagan and Maggie Thatcher.  While the B.P.R.D. tram is being sent to Scotland on a case, Hellboy is diverted to the Egypt's Sahara desert, scant miles from the Khadafy's Libyan border, at the request of Anastasia Bransford, the head of a British search team.  It seems a group of archaeologists from the British Museum -- twenty-seven people, eight vehicles, and an enormous amount of equipment -- have vanished without a trace in the desert , and one of the people was a distant cousin to the Queen.  Even under the most dire of circumstance, some small trace of their camp should have been found.  Also with the rescue team is a very unwanted group of soldiers sent by MI5, that are led by the arrogant Captain Michael Creaghan, a man so offensive that he reminds Hellboy of the Nazis he learned to hate.  

Oh.  And Stacia Bransford is Hellboy's former lover.  They departed on good terms and, although they have not seen each other for five years, they are good friends.

The missing archaeologists has been camped at an oasis surrounded by hundreds of miles of desert.  They had been in search of a reputed contingent of 50,000 solders sent by the Persian king Cambyses to claim; legend had it that a fierce desert storm blew all traces of the army away.  The the missing archaeologist were found, freshly mutilated and dismembered, hanging from trees in the oasis.  But the archaeologists had been missing for days and the oasis had been thoroughly searched, so where had they been kept until they were slaughtered, and who -- or what -- slaughtered them, and how?  Among the body parts was the severed head of Lady Catherine Lambert, the Queen's cousin, and the head began talking to Hellboy, telling him he must defeat the sorcerer Hazred and the being who controls him, Mar-Ti-Ka, an ancient Sumerian wizard.

Three ancient Persian soldiers, now superhuman skeletal creatures, rise for the lake at the oasis to attack Hellboy, who defeats them with difficulty.  If the legend is true, that leaves only forty-one thousand, nine hundred, ninety-seven dead soldiers left.

Hellboy dives into the lake looking for clues and finds an old carving with ancient symbols buried in the sand,  he digs it out and returns to the surface.  Bad idea.  The carving was the only thing that kept a giant monster with many hundred-foot tentacles trapped in an under water cave.  In the meantime, one of Stacia's crew found a medallion on a chain buried in the sand and put it in his pocket; the medallion slowly took over his mind, inciting him with very violent thoughts.  

Hellboy  figured that the archaeologists must have been kept underground until they were killed.  Since entering by the underwater caves was out of the question (murderous tentacles, remember?), they decide to try to enter the lair through a series of above ground caves.  One member is killed by thousands (literally, thousands) of poisonous snakes dragging him to an abyss.  Another is bitten by a spider and turns into a giant spiderman (and not your Peter Parker-type).  another giant poisonous spider attacks them and Hellboy is trapped by a cocoon of acid webbing.  Then the sorcerer Hazred suddenly appears, using his magic to further ensnare out heroes.

Can things get any worse?  Of course they can.  Reagan was flexing his military muscles and dropped a few bombs on Libya, provoking  possible war between the two countries.  The united /states has sent a contingent of soldiers to the oasis to evacuate the rescue team, whether they want to or not.  This does not set well with Creaghan of MI5, and the two forces begin a pissing match.  The leader of the U.S. group may well be a CIA agent -- could he be looking for something there that he does not want anyone else to find?  Oh.  and there's a preternaturally violent sandstorm that suddenly approaches that could possibly wipe everyone out.

..in all, just your typical assignment for Hellboy.

Christopher Golden is an award-wining writer of horror, fantasy, and suspense stories, known for his Shadows Sage, begun with Of Saints and Shadows (1994), and the Ben Walker series, begun with Ararat (2017) .  He also created the Jenna Blake Bodies of Evidence series, four of which were co-written with Rick Hautala; the Ghosts of Albion series with Amber Benson; the Menagerie and Outcast/Magic Zero series with Thomas E. Sniegoski the Bloodsstined Oz series with James A. Moore; the Hidden Cities series and Secret Journeys of Jack London series with Tim Lebbon; The Hallows series with Ford Lytle Gilmore; and The Waking series, written under the pseudonym Thomas Randall.  Golden has also written tie-in novels and stories for Alien, Predator, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Justice League of America, Gen13, Sons of anarchy, King Kong, various Marvel properties (including X-Men, Daredevil, Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Silver Surfer, and Wolverine); and Star Wars.  With Mignola, he has also written books in the Joe Golem and Baltimore series, as well Father Gaetano's Puppet Catechism, and titles in the Hellboy universe.  golden has also edited at latest ten anthologies and has written/edited books about horror films, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,  He has written extensively for comic books and published three graphic novels with Charlaine Harris.

In addition to his work in the Hellboy Universe and his various collaborations with Christopher golden, Mike Mignola is the author of Grim Death and Bill the electrocuted Criminal (With Thomas E. Sniegoski, 2017).