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The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed by Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson, Bill Crabtree, Paul Grist
bookwyrm337's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this story. It's not necessary to the Hellboy universe but it is nice. I liked seeing the life of this character played out and it added a little more weight to what he said to Hellboy in Conqueror Worm.
unladylike's review against another edition
4.0
Just a fantastically told short, stand-alone story within the Hellboy universe. The Visitor is exemplary when it comes to fluid, intuitive panel layouts and plenty of other things that comics can do exceptionally well.
helpfulsnowman's review against another edition
4.0
The titular visitor had this gizmo that was like a floating, glowing iPhone. And it also blasted people or disintegrated them or something. I've been very seriously considering going to a flip phone when my phone breaks. I talk to ONE person regularly, and everyone else I talk to is every couple months, a text like, "Wanna eat lunch?"
I started looking around at not-smart phones and found some options. The weirdest? The NoPhone, which is a phone-shaped piece of plastic. For like $15. Fun gag, I guess but is it $15 of fun? The only use I see for this, when the current generation gets dementia, we can give them these little plastic bars to fool them into thinking they're doing what they've always done without exposing them to the dangers of people selling whatever it is that telemarketers are selling right now. I don't actually know, although I hear i can get lower interest rates?
I started looking around at not-smart phones and found some options. The weirdest? The NoPhone, which is a phone-shaped piece of plastic. For like $15. Fun gag, I guess but is it $15 of fun? The only use I see for this, when the current generation gets dementia, we can give them these little plastic bars to fool them into thinking they're doing what they've always done without exposing them to the dangers of people selling whatever it is that telemarketers are selling right now. I don't actually know, although I hear i can get lower interest rates?
klemler's review against another edition
4.0
A very fun tie-in and sweet story explanation of "that alien guy" from Hellboy Conqueror Worm. Mignola and company wove a very endearing story of an alien assassin's existence in this world we've come to love.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
4.0
A cool reimagining of the Hellboy storyline, as seen by one of the minor characters. It's fun to see someone observing and judging Hellboy's actions instead of spewing prophecy and doom at him at all the time. We also get a good feel for the "human" side of Hellboy's alien jury.
shea_proulx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
francoisvigneault's review against another edition
4.0
A satisfying bit of "secret history" filling in a minor bit of Hellboy Lore: Who was the unnamed alien who Hellboy meets in [b:Hellboy, Vol. 5: Conqueror Worm|102462|Hellboy, Vol. 5 Conqueror Worm|Mike Mignola|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486039282l/102462._SY75_.jpg|785618]? Finding out the (partial) answer to this question is a fun, discursive, and surprisingly emotional journey. A rather sweet and introspective tale with a few bits of action thrown in. At the heart of the story is a romance that is quite touching despite being very loosely sketched in, more suggested than described.
One of the big highlights here is [a:Paul Grist|29686|Paul Grist|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360155238p2/29686.jpg]'s art, drawn in his classic flat style which lends itself very well indeed to a tale in the Mignolaverse. Grist has been a long-time favorite of mine since waaay back in the day, so it was a total treat to see his work here, and I think he did a great job, I hope the folks at Dark Horse will bring him back for more Hellboy- and BPRD-adjacent tales, and I also hope that interested readers check out some of Grist's earlier work, esp. his seminal [b:Kane|21035171|Kane, Vol. 1 Greetings From New Eden|Paul Grist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394249527l/21035171._SY75_.jpg|886069] series).
One of the big highlights here is [a:Paul Grist|29686|Paul Grist|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360155238p2/29686.jpg]'s art, drawn in his classic flat style which lends itself very well indeed to a tale in the Mignolaverse. Grist has been a long-time favorite of mine since waaay back in the day, so it was a total treat to see his work here, and I think he did a great job, I hope the folks at Dark Horse will bring him back for more Hellboy- and BPRD-adjacent tales, and I also hope that interested readers check out some of Grist's earlier work, esp. his seminal [b:Kane|21035171|Kane, Vol. 1 Greetings From New Eden|Paul Grist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394249527l/21035171._SY75_.jpg|886069] series).
tomatocultivator's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Violence
Minor: Racism
redhairedashreads's review
4.0
Series: The Visitor #1-5
Rating: 4 stars - It was really good
If you have read Hellboy: Seed of Destruction you were probably wondering who the alien was and how it played into the series. This graphic novel goes into who the alien was and why he lived and died on Earth.
I really enjoyed this one. The alien was dedicated to helping Hellboy fight monsters but also would take on the cults when he could as well. His relationship with Ruby was very emotional and sad at the end. I loved seeing him change from the mission driven alien to the one who fought for love and protection of the Earth. It was also very heartbreaking to see him give up his long life to pass on information to Hellboy.
Overall, this was a great spin-off story for the Hellboy universe. It was emotional and unique. I really want to know more about the aliens species now but I am still happy with how this ended.
Trigger Warnings: dementia, death of a spouse
You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
Rating: 4 stars - It was really good
If you have read Hellboy: Seed of Destruction you were probably wondering who the alien was and how it played into the series. This graphic novel goes into who the alien was and why he lived and died on Earth.
I really enjoyed this one. The alien was dedicated to helping Hellboy fight monsters but also would take on the cults when he could as well. His relationship with Ruby was very emotional and sad at the end. I loved seeing him change from the mission driven alien to the one who fought for love and protection of the Earth. It was also very heartbreaking to see him give up his long life to pass on information to Hellboy.
Overall, this was a great spin-off story for the Hellboy universe. It was emotional and unique. I really want to know more about the aliens species now but I am still happy with how this ended.
Trigger Warnings: dementia, death of a spouse
You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
lukeisthename34's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful and emotional. Good to see Mignola back on track.