WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land #2 from Mike Mignola, Thomas Sniegoski, Craig Rosseau, Dave Stewart and Clem Robins, on sale now.
Young Hellboy: The Hidden Island has tweaked the essence of the franchise, moving from dark and scary to something a bit more comedic. The series features Hellboy as a kid alongside Professor Broome as they embark on a series of adventures. Granted, the horror factor is still there, but Young Hellboy has a much warmer tone with the focus on the characters bonding as father and son.
Interestingly, Issue #2 plays on what's to come by revealing that the tyrant, Nimue, actually wasn't the first Blood Queen they'd encounter in the wars decades later; it was actually a vicious vampire.
Nimue belonged to a coven of witches that consumed blood to gain strength and power in order to cause the apocalypse. She became one of Hellboy's most sinister enemies, so much so the movie reboot used her as the main villain.
The Blood Queen was a thorn in Hellboy's side for years, reigning terror down and even offering him a chance by her side to drain the world and rule as a king. The film followed up on this by trying to tempt him to make the planet his own version of Hell on Earth. Of course, Hellboy turned down the offer and saved the day.
Hellboy and his dad find themselves lost on a mysterious island near Peru. Religious zealots took their plane down to kill them in the first issue because believe Hellboy is an abomination. This led to Hellboy discovering that they're now somewhere that's quite similar to Kong's Skull Island. There are dinosaurs and other gigantic creatures around, but luckily, they get rescued by one of Hellboy's idols, Scarlett Santiago, aka the Sky Devil.
She's Carmen Sandiego meets Amelia Earhart, and was thought to have been killed in action. Here, she reveals the apes of the island enacted a ritual when she went down, making her their champion with the ability to turn into a giant female version of Kong to protect the place.
One of the zealots has heard a siren's call and makes his way to a temple where Queen Vesperra has been awakened. She feeds on him, revealing that she's the vampire kept hidden on the island. Eons ago, Vesperra's followers poisoned her and locked her away in a tomb, but now she's been awoken. The issue ends with her raising and sending the undead to bring her Hellboy and Scarlett. With their blood, she can become the ultimate destroyer.