Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1595824774/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title - By: The Academate, 12 Aug 2010 
Brilliant, just brilliant.
Of course the Hellboy collections are truly enjoyed onlyin numerical order but many can be enjoyed on their own. There is a continuing storyin these collections, that of Hellboy's destiny, which with each collection takes a more imaginative turn.
For those hardcore fans who have already experienced volume 1 - 9, this is a must. With the revelation of Hellboy's identity & mission left upin the airin vol 9, this collection perpetuates the wait without much actually happening with the current Hellboy-to-destroy-the-world-theme, but nonetheless there are thingsin this issue which have to be readin order to understand Collection 11 & any others that follow.
So, allin all, this is a great read & some truly inpspired artwork.
Straight up awesomeness - By: Wiggles, 19 Jun 2010 "The Crooked Man", despite being Vol 10in the Hellboy series, isn't a continuation of the events of the previous book but rather a collection of shorts written by Mignola & illustrated by the best comics artists around. While I would've liked to see what happened after Vol 9, "The Crooked Man" more than makes up for it by providing story after story of high quality, brilliant storytelling & art.
"The Crooked Man" showcases Richard Corben's artwork as Mignola takes Hellboy into rural North America to fight mountain witches & the devil himself. The depiction of the devil, or "The Crooked Man", is truly amazing as are panel after panel of ruined churches, idyllic countryside, & horrifying creatures. If you're a Discworld fan & always wondered what Granny Weatherwax entering the body of an animal might look like, you get to see the graphic depiction here. It's the best storyin the book & can easily see why it won an Eisner awardin 2009.
Jason Shawn Alexander (the guy who drew "Abe Sapien: The Drowning") lends his talents to a tale of a headless pirate Blackbeard, while Mignola himself draws "In the Chapel of Moloch", a Goya-esque tale of demon worship. The fanciful strip "The Mole" rounds out this superb collection with the inimitable Duncan Fegredo drawing beautiful countryside vistas, a ghostly poker game, & a derelict house with equal skill.
Totally worth reading whether you're new to Hellboy or not, it's an amazing book & a fantastic contribution to one of the best comic series around.
Ah, girl, what did you do? - By: E. A Solinas, 16 Jun 2010 
The last Hellboy collection had some pretty shocking revelations & events... so it's kind of a letdown to find out that "Hellboy Volume 10: The Crooked Man & Others" doesn't follow up on that. Instead, this collection is various smaller stories featuring the scarlet anti-hero -- a grimy Appalachian adventure, plus a handful of other little stories.
In the title story, Hellboy is called to Virginia to deal with a child who's been "witched." With the help of a mountain man named Tom, Hellboy finds the witch who cast the spell... & discovers that she's just a pawn for malevolent hags living deep within the mountain. And even worse, those grotesque witches are led by a monstrous creature called the Crooked Man -- & he wants Tom, body & soul.
Then there's the one-shots. "In the Chapel of Moloch" brings Hellboy to a Portuguese village, where an artist has been putting out some really grotesque works, courtesy of his studio's gruesome history. "The Mole" was a special for "Free Comic Book Day": Hellboy notices a weird purple spot on his hand, which gets bigger & bigger and... well, better read it.
And finally there's "They That Go Down To The Seain Ships" (what else would they go down to the sea in?), a story from Hellboy's BPRD days. A small-time psychic/fortune-teller steals an old skull that once belonged to Blackbeard -- & now it's up to Abe, Hellboy & a historian to stop the cycle of death.
I felt a little let down when I found out that this collection of Hellboy stories wouldn't pick up the plot threads that the previous volume left dangling. But "Hellboy Volume 10: The Crooked Man & Others" is still a solid little collection of stories -- think leprous mountain witches, giant centipedes, zombie pirates, & a building filled with the evil of Moloch.
And though brief, Mike Mignola spins up some creepy supernatural one-offs, handled with Hellboy's typical matter-of-fact attitude ("I kinda wish I'd taken a shot at her back when she was sitting on that horse"). Even better, Mignola infuses a real sense of evil & menace into his stories, as well as a vaguely Lovecraftian vibein "They That Go Down...", although "The Mole" is so quick that you barely have time to react to it.
And as usual, Mignola's art is awesome -- a little blocky, dark & rough, with lots of distorted faces & splashes of red. But Jason Shawn Alexander's artin "They That Go Down..." isn't quite up to Mignola's standard; it's decent, but not nearly as atmospheric.
As for Hellboy... he's Hellboy. Brash, rough, matter-of-fact & surprisingly soft-hearted towards ordinary humans caught upin weird events -- & it's fun to see him kung-fuing a giant stone statue of Moloch. And the character of Tom is an excellent one, a normal guy who stupidly got caught upin black magic as a kid & has been trying to live a good life ever since then.
"Hellboy Volume 10: The Crooked Man & Others" is a solid collection of odds & ends -- but they all center on Hellboy & his weird adventures. A nice addition to the collection.
