Review – ‘Frankenstein New World: The Sea of Forever’ #3

Welcome to the table,

There may, at some point in some far flung future, come a time where I am disappointed in a story set in the Hellboy universe. I can tell you with monastic certainty that this is not that time. Frankenstein New World: The Sea of Forever has been nothing short of a double delight on every conceivable level.

Frankenstein New World The Sea of Forever #3 picks up with Frank being pulled deep below the waves by undead mermaids. These creatures serve as guardians and consorts to the fabled Bog Roosh. It feels like a fever dream that I can type that sentence out. I thought the Bog Roosh was long lost to the tides of calamity caused by the end times that have befallen the world of Hellboy.

I should have known. If darkness can seed deep in the earth and rise again as a new form of evil, then other creatures of mythic level power could, and did, survive the final chapters of the old world. These continue to dwell in the shadows of the ancient caves and sunken seas.

This thrilling yarn is written by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, with art by the wildly talented Peter Bergting and colors by Michelle Madsen. I really love this team working on this book. I feel they have locked in on the tone and feeling of the story in a way that makes it really sing.

**Spoilers Follow**

Frank gets away from the merfolk and with the aid of newfound Cthulhu looking folk. He returns to the island village he and his companion Lilja have been camping on. Lilja wakes from a dream of the “Star Lady,” who I am almost certain at this point is Liz Sherman in some sort of trance, prison, or chamber that keeps her flame alive and in turn keeps her alive.

All the imagery around the “Star Lady” just feels so much like the events that happened in the Hyperborean City of Thadrethes and it would make so much sense if the coming darkness is met by the cleansing fire that we have seen Liz bring.

The issue gets deeply existential in the best possible way diving deep into a conversation between Frank and Lilja about the nature of evil and its corrupting nature.

The thing known as Murk is such a brilliant depiction of evil as it seems almost child like and simplistic in its approach to the world. It is hungry so it feeds. It is corrupting so it corrupts. Murk is driven only by its selfish wants with no flowery monologs and complex machinations. It is just a force, primal and driven by ravenous greed and that makes it a truly horrifying darkness that is spreading its influence on everything it comes into contact with.

This is one of those comics that just feels good to read. There is a brilliant through line of world building that has carried through this series and this issue does not skimp on any of that. We get visions of the past, familiar faces, insights to moments in issues that have sat on my shelves or in long boxes in my office for a decade or more.

I always feel like I’m out of the loop if I’m not reading the 20+ titles you need to read to be caught up on the ever changing world events in some other titles. Hellboy is this history of storytelling that only grows, it does not erase itself or reinvent itself. It’s foundational and if you keep up with it, even bits and pieces of it, then you are able to pick up a story set in the world and enjoy it.

What’s more, that is the thing I love about the whole creative undertaking that this generation spanning story has become, is that it is a strange and sorted fictional history that is able to build on itself in a meaningful way.

I love this book. I know this particular story is going to wrap up at the end of the next issue. However I have a good feeling with the seeds being planted here, we will see far more of these two in the years to come if the creators are willing to continue to give us these stories that surprise and delight.