Back in 2020, legendary comic creator Richard Corben passed away at age 80 following heart surgery. Best known for his macabre and atmospheric art, Corben began his career writing and illustrating various horror and science-fiction series like Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella. Among Corben’s many career highlights are the various Hellboy one-shots and miniseries he drew in collaboration with Mike Mignola, most notably Hellboy: The Crooked Man, which serves as the basis for the upcoming film reboot. Today Dark Horse Comics announced a special hardcover collection of all of Corben’s Hellboy stories.
Official press release below:
Legendary artist Richard Corben created some of the most unforgettable and unnerving comics of all time, inspiring and horrifying generations of readers around the world. Corben’s comic career spanned five decades, with seminal stories in Heavy Metal, Creepy, and Eerie, as well as his legendary fantasy underground masterpieces, like Den and Murky World, which were first published by Fantagor Press. In 2024, Dark Horse Comics will celebrate Corben’s legacy with the publication of HELLBOY ARTISTS COLLECTION: RICHARD CORBEN, which collects—for the first time in one volume—each and every Hellboy story Corben illustrated. This oversized, 8″ X 12″ deluxe format hardcover features cloth spine and foil cover treatments, and collects more than 300 pages of essential Hellboy stories, including Hellboy: The Crooked Man, which is the basis for the forthcoming Hellboy film from director Brian Taylor.
HELLBOY ARTISTS COLLECTION: RICHARD CORBEN collects every Hellboy story by Mignola and Corben, including multiple one-shot specials (Hellboy: Being Human, Hellboy in Mexico, Hellboy: The Bride of Hell, and Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil), the short story Hellboy: The Mirror, Hellboy: Makoma issues 1 and 2, all three issues of Hellboy: The Crooked Man, and the original graphic novel Hellboy: House of the Living Dead. All of the stories are colored by Eisner award-winning colorist Dave Stewart and lettered by Clem Robins and the hardcover features a cover by Corben.
Corben was the winner of the Spectrum Grand Master award in 2009 and was elected to the The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2018, he received the Grand Prix de la ville d’Angouleme, which is awarded every year to a comics creator for their career achievement. Corben remains one of few Americans who have been honored to receive this prestigious award. Corben also created the cover art for Meat Loaf’s album Bat Out of Hell and a movie poster for Brian De Palma’s cult classic film Phantom of the Paradise.
Mignola immensely praised his experience working with the legendary artist:
“Corben was a genius.I was a fan from the first moment I saw his work in Heavy Metal magazine way back when. I never in a million years thought I’d get a chance to work with him, but I did and it remains a highlight of my career. I wrote THE CROOKED MAN specifically for him and it remains my favorite Hellboy story.”
Hellboy Artists Edition: Richard Corben will be available in stores on May 7, 2023
