In The Beginning — Reviewing ‘Miss Truesdale And The Rise Of Man’ #4

Welcome to the table,

“In the beginning” is a powerful turn of phrase.

It speaks to an understanding of what came before the known start of things. It comes from a perspective that is removed from the constraints of what we consider time, by someone who has knowledge that surpasses our own in ways that we can never truly grasp. Miss Truesdale And the Rise of Man feels as if it has been written from that perspective. That continues to make it one of my favorite comic books of all time.

Let’s get into it.

Written by Mike Mignola with art and colors by Jesse Lonergan, Miss Truesdale And the Rise of Man is easily one of my favorite comics of all time, and issue #4’s stunning conclusion is nothing short of magical.

Lonergan’s art never relents. He delivers page after page of some of the most stunning sequential storytelling committed to the page as we learn that Hecate, the Black Goddess, was the snake woman we saw rising at the end of issue #3.

Hecate is said to have come down from her mountain, mated with Thoth, the greatest of kings, and then snuck into his secret garden and murdered the angels he was keeping there so she could tell the secrets those angels kept from man.

Toth, enraged, transformed Hecate into a half-snake creature and cast her out of the city. Hecate, not to be bested, went on to slaughter and plot with legions of lizard folk.

This brilliant storytelling continues to be layered as we have the Anung Un Rama, a secret name held by Hellboy, Anum Tassa, Miss Truesdale, and a handful of other heroes throughout time.

Things get really trippy as we see consciousness and combat collide across timelines and lifetimes, resulting in one of the coolest moments in the well-storied landscape that Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. take place within.

The realization of the “Beginning and Ending of Worlds,” the Urush Un Rama.

Miss Truesdale And The Rise Of Man provides a fascinating look at the mythology and creation story at play within the well-storied landscape that Hellboy dwells within, and is perfect for long-time fans or those who are new to the mythos that Mignola is creating.

There is a power in this storytelling, a truth that rings loud and clear. It speaks to the potential of creator-owned books being left to the whims of those who created them.

It becomes hard to deny that the artistry and actual mythological storytelling that goes into play in these works would in no way be improved by outside forces trying to nudge and tweak to serve some massive media marketing plan.

This is folklore. This is mythology. This is a culture that can be handed down from generation to generation. The lessons and stories are just as relevant as those that have come before in other forms.

Until next time, I may never get my hands on The True Secret History of the World by Amelia Dunn, but I will continue to hold out hope that one day, I will get more stories from that tome that is lost to time. I love these books so deeply, and in these dark times, I can truly say they are a light in the darkness as the world feels like it is falling down around me.