Hellboy prior to the 2004 film adaptation by Guillermo Del Toro, but I was handily won over by that movie’s spry, smart
blend of band-of-brothers superhero action, wry humor and supernatural
mysticism (the latter a Del Toro staple, dating back to Chronos, and a morsel that would additionally be put to good use in
Pan’s Labyrinth). Hellboy: Sword
of Storms, then, expands upon that movie’s laid track by taking the titular
character — a baby demon originally summoned from hell by the Nazis in order to
help them try to take over the world, but captured by Allied forces and turned over
to a secret underground organization created to help defend the world from
paranormal attacks — into the animated realm, and it does so in engaging fashion.

In Sword of Storms, a professor specializing in the occult
opens up a forbidden Japanese scroll, and is possessed by the restless spirits
of Thunder and Lightning. Springing to action, Hellboy and the rest of the Bureau
for Paranormal Research and Defense (or B.P.R.D.) — a group that includes Liz
Sherman, the amphibious Abe Sapien and Professor Kate Corrigan — investigate
the happenings surrounding the professor’s disappearance and work to set things
right. This means plenty of chances for Hellboy to break out his arsenal of tailor-made
weapons, including that giant club of a right hand. He also stumbles across an old,
important samurai sword, however — a rapier which whisks him away to dangerous
world full of giant spiders and sea creatures, fiery floating heads and hordes
of the undead.

Characterized by deep, lush backgrounds and stark angles, Sword of Storms conforms to the stylized look and
feel of the series that Mignola established with the comic book, but it also —
quite wisely, in my opinion — uses the voice talents of the cast of Del Toro’s
film. Ron Perlman’s Hellboy is forceful and engaging, and Selma Blair as Liz
and Doug Jones as Abe gives the project a nice, corollary feel to the
live-action feature.

Presented in a very nice 1.78:1 widescreen transfer, Sword of Storms looks great — with no
blurring of overlapping dark colors, and no interlacing problems — and comes with
three audio tracks: English language Dolby digital 5.1 and Dolby digital 2.0
mixes, and a Spanish language Dolby digital 2.0 mix. All of these tracks are
clean and strong in the dialogue department, but the 5.1 mix cranks up the
subwoofers and ambient sound to create a truly immersive experience that never overwhelms.

Hearteningly, this release is also chock full of featurettes
that enhance both its casual viewing and collectibility. Probably the best amongst
all of these is A New Breed, a documentary feature that gives newbies an
edifying overview of the Hellboy universe, from the beginning of the comic all
the way up to this film. Mignola and others talk about the evolution of the
character and the series, and conceptual art, animatics and the like are all
nicely showcased. Next up is an audio commentary track from Mignola and the
makers of the movie; full of some good anecdotes, this delves deeper into the underpinnings
of Japanese folklore that provide the movie with its plot. There’s also a Comic-Con
panel discussion on the project and a few other colorful promotional tidbits,
with trailers for a Hellboy videogame
and other forthcoming projects rounding things out. B+ (Movie) B+ (Disc)