Dark Horse Unsheaths First Look At ‘Hellboy’-Adjacent Comic ‘Sword Of Hyperborea’

Ted Howards is here to slice through Lovecraftian tentacles with the Hyperborean blade and chew bubblegum…and he’s all out of bubblegum.

The B.R.P.D. agent takes center stage in Sword of Hyperborea, Dark Horse’s latest foray into the supernatural Hellboy mythos created by prolific writer/artist Mike Mignola. Co-authored by Mignola and Rob Williams (Star Wars: Rebellion), this new series is illustrated by “Mignolaverse” veteran, Laurence Campbell (Hellboy and the B.R.P.D.: 1957, B.R.P.D.: The Devil You Know).

“I’m super excited to have Rob and Laurence expanding on Hellboy world history and mythology, taking it places I never imagined,” Mignola said in a statement to Forbes Entertainment. “Laurence is always brilliant and Rob is a terrific new voice for this stuff — I hope both stick around for a very long time.”

Featuring appearances from the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman and unspeakable terrors from beyond the pale of human comprehension, Sword of Hyperborea tracks the history of the titular blade that once put Mr. Howards in a time-traveling coma (makes Excalibur look like a pocket knife by comparison, eh?).

“Hellboy and B.P.R.D. readers have seen the Hyperborean sword play a key role in the war against the Ogdru Hem monsters, but they haven’t seen how the sword found its way to the final battle — until now,” Williams added. “This series takes us through different ages spanning thousands of years, featuring some old favorite characters and some brand-new sword-bearer ones that we’re really excited about. For me as a fan, it’s an absolute joy to collaborate with Mike and Laurence and to tell stories in the Hellboy world. Laurence is really taking his art to a new level with this series, creating stellar moods and designing characters we hope will stand the test of time.”

Head below for an exclusive, five-page look inside the debut issue (on sale next week):

“Sword of Hyperborea is Rob’s first foray into the Hellboy universe, but you wouldn’t know it because it’s such an ambitious start that shows the depth of this universe so well,” said Dark Horse editor Katii O’Brien. “This miniseries pulls at threads from all over Hellboy’s world and all across the many books we’ve published, bringing back familiar faces that readers will recognize as well as introducing intriguing new characters in their own adventures (some of whom we might just see again). One name readers will definitely see again is Rob’s, as we are thrilled to have more projects with him in the pipeline.”

The Sword of Hyperborea #1 goes on sale from Dark Horse Comics next Wednesday — Jan. 12. Clem Robbins (Preacher, Y: The Last Man) is on lettering duty, with Quinton Winter (Unfollow) and Dave Stewart (The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects) tackling colors.