Page from The Hydra and The Lion

I love Mignola minimalist too, but I felt he sort of phoned in the creature design on this one. Also, I just now noticed an interesting theme across multiple Hellboy short stories. Mike tends to use a wise old guy (tragic character or otherwise) as the central focus for exposition- Troll Witch, Lion/Hydra, Heads and others. Dr. Carp and the one with the ectoplasmic guy gone wrong are the only two in recent memory that go with someone younger (and female). But anyway...