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The Corpse is a serialized Hellboy story that went on to become a favorite of both Mike Mignola and his fans alike. Although seemingly a standalone story when first published, it has since become a major catalyst for events in Hellboy especially in Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, and The Storm and the Fury.

Publication History[]

The Corpse Intro

Introduction to The Corpse as published in Capital City's Advance Comics #75.

Most of The Corpse was originally published as two-page installments in Capital City's Advance Comics catalogs #75-82, between March and October 1995. An intro to the story printed in Capital City's Advance Comics #75 referred to it as a story "told in twelve parts" however only eight two-page "parts" ended up being published within the pages of Capital City's Advance Comics. Then in January of 1996, the entire story was collected with a new opening page and an eight-page conclusion (the four missing two-page "parts"), in the one-shot Hellboy: The Corpse and the Iron Shoes.

In August 1998, the story was collected in Hellboy – Volume 3: The Chained Coffin and Others. As part of the lead up to the first Hellboy Movie, The Corpse was reprinted as a stand alone 25¢ comic in March of 2004, with three additional pages about the story's adaptation for use in the movie. Most recently, the story was included as an insert within the DVD case of some editions of the 2004 Hellboy movie.

Synopsis[]

Hellboy is called to Ireland in 1959, to deal with a child abduction. The child, Alice Monaghan was replaced by the fairy, Gruagach in disguise. Hellboy burns Gruagach with iron, and forces him to reveal his true form. In order to get back the real child, Hellboy made an agreement with a group of little men Gruagach told him to lay the body of Tam O'Clannie to rest in a proper Christian grave. At the first two churches, the dead call out "No Room," and Hellboy is forced to continue on. Dagda, King of the Faerie (introduced here for the first time), sees that Hellboy will succeed and orders one of the goblins to return the Monaghan child. Meanwhile, Gruagach seeks vengeance from Hellboy, and releases the boar-headed giant Grom, who immediately eats Gruagach. Hellboy fights Grom, and buries Tam. The deal completed, the fairy return the Baby to Hellboy, and the goblin tells him that they had intended to raise the child as their own because the Fairy can no longer have children, and now without Alice, it is only a matter of time before Dagda calls his kind away from the world forever.

Story Chronology[]

The story takes place in 1959. This is the same year as Hellboy's fight with von Klempt, in "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator" (CBG) (1959), one year after The Penanggalan and The Crooked Man (1958), and two years before The Iron Shoes and The Hydra and the Lion (1961).

Content[]

Characters[]

General[]

Daoine Sidhe[]

Locations[]

  • Ireland
    • Monaghan residence
    • Crossroads
    • Teampoll-Démus
    • Carrick-fhad-vic-Orus
    • Imolgue-Fada
    • Jenny Greenteeth's Pond
    • Kill-Breedya

Notes[]


Hellboy Publication Order
Preceded by
"Hi, My Name's Hellboy"
The Corpse
Followed by
The Chained Coffin
Hellboy Trade Paperback Order
Vol. 2 Wake the Devil Vol. 3 The Chained Coffin and Others
Preceded by
Wake the Devil
The Corpse
Followed by
The Iron Shoes
Hellboy Story Chronology
Preceded by
The Crooked Man
The Penanggalan
The Corpse
Same time as
World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator (CBG)
Followed by
Double Feature of Evil
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