As a new Hellboy series hits the stands, fans of the world's greatest paranormal detective can find older favorites collected for the first time in the seventh volume of the Hellboy Saga. Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others collects short stories from The Dark Horse Books of the Dead, Witchcraft, Hauntings, and Monsters, the 2004 Hellboy: Wizard 1/2, as well as the critically acclaimed 2006 miniseries, Hellboy: Makoma by Mignola and comics legend Richard Corben, and a previously unpublished Hellboy story by P. Craig Russell and Mike Mignola, along with sketches and story notes. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Strange Places: Hellboy 6 (2006) seemingly promised more long stories in its successor, yet here are four short and two longer tales, the latter drawn by other artists. In  The Vampire of Prague,  art-nouveau-influenced P. Craig Russell makes Hellboy buff and such vapory incidentals as ghosts and fire more volatile than Mignola can draw them. Veteran fantasy and horror artist Richard Corben gets the plum assignment here, Makoma, based on an African legend Mignola found in an Andrew Lang fairy-tale collection. Both artists deviate from Mignola's craggy expressionism but hew Russell more, the more-textured Corben less to Mignola's limited palette. In consequence, a handsome series looks even smarter.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2007 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.