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A 11U UUUVJV/1J1V * A l/, wVl/Arf ^ CONTACT US THEY SAID IT Story ideas? Questions? Comments? ~ vmrn-“A n E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com _ ... VIKbtL- Age carries au •*' things away, even the mind. Mike Mignola, creator of “Hellboy, ” left, provides more mature plots and experimental I artistry that has readers turning pages “Hellboy,” a horror comic, was introduced in 1994, and its readers keep coming back for more. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK wonder and suspense I got younger.l9| But I also want their stories to be sophisticated enough that I don’t feel silly reading them. One of the few men I’ve found suited to that difficult task is M ike M ignola, creator of Dark Horse Comics' "Hellboy.” Af ter all, if demons fighting Nazi gorillas with bolts in their necks doesn’t make you want to keep turning the pages, what does? When he started his career in comics solely as an artist. Mignola had a unique style of penciling that made his work stand out in a way comics read ers either loved or hated. Mignola says he is always ex perimenting, and his artwork : graphic novel. ■ * But Mignola’s real time to shine came in 1994, when Dark Horse Comics released “Hell boy: Seed of Destruction,” a four-issue ministries that in troduced the world of Hellboy, a 7-foot-tall, red-skinned demon with two broken horns, a tail and a stony right hand that’s as heathy as an engine block. To saytheleast, he’s not your typ ical hero, but he sure wants to be. Brought to this world dur ing tha twilight of World War |H by a crazy Nazi sorcerer ptamed Rasputin in an effort to ■bringabout the apocalypse, Hellboy ends up being raised by members of an internation al society called the Bureau of Paranormal Research and De fense. It is under their care that he learns to deny his destiny as a powerful apocalyptic demon and just be a regular Joe. Hellboy’s adventures with the BPRD usually leave him fighting monsters, encounter ing ghosts and being extremely ticked off. Pretty standard fare for a “horror” comic, but Mignola has added some ele ments to his stories that keep readers coming back for more. The delightful characterization of Mignola’s cast is the book’s strongest feature. Hellboy him self is the main draw. He stum bles through each of his para normal encounters with an in different attitude — until he gets mad, of course. Who wouldn’t love a guy who says things like, “Lady, I was gonna cut you some slack, ‘cause you’re a major mythological figure ... but now you’ve just gone nuts!”? Aside from the well-devel oped characters, Mignola’s comics also have well-re searched stories, which usual ly take inspiration from actu al myths or folklore Mignola has discovered. These myths translate perfectly into Hell boy’s world. Mignola enter tains us by putting new spins on overused monsters such as werewolves and vampires and shows us some stories we might have never heard of. For example, in an update of the old Irish folktale “Teig O’Kane and the Corpse,” the famous Hell ♦ MIGNOLA, SEE PAGE 6 THE ESSENTIAL “HELLBOY” COLLECTION “Wake the Devil” (1997) A murder in a New York wax museum and a missing corpse lead Hellboy into ancient Romanian castles on the trail of a nobleman vampire. “Seed of Destruction” (1994) Heilboy, the great paranormal investigator, aattles the mystical forces of the netherworld and a bizarre plague of frogs. “The Chained Coffin and Others” (1998) This third and thickest Hellboy collection compiles all material not included in “Seed of Destruction” or "Wake the Devil.” “Conqueror Wbrm” (2002) At the end of World War II, the Nazis fined a capsule into space. Hell boy's final mission takes him to a ruined castle in Austria to intercept the capsule, which contains the conqueror worm. t u Punk band hits hard with lyrics BY AUBREY FOGLE THE HAMMOCK A lot of bands on the radio and television nowadays seem to be more fluff than substance. Pop stars with overpriced singing lessons and overpaid producers are flooding the radio waves with sappy ballads dedicated to “the booty” and “you girl.” Aren’t you ready for something a little less catchy? If you are, then you’ll want to be at New Brookland Tavern Tuesday as Columbia welcomes Dillinger Four, a punk-rock band from Minnesota formed in 1994. The band has received the acco lades of some of the biggest un derground rock magazines, in cluding “Alternative Press,” “Ra zorcake” and “Under the Vol cano.” Dillinger Four has four musi cians, three of whom sing lead. Each has a lot to say about society today. The vocals on the band’s newest album, “Situationist Com edy,” are littered with curses aimed at yuppie executives, con ceited girlfriends and “the sys tem,” but, unlike a lot of other un derground punk bands on Indie labels, Dillinger Four manages to pull it off intelligently. It has some of the greatest and hardest-hitting vocals in punk today, and many music critics think other bands should take notes from Dillinger Four. ♦ DILLINGER FOUR, SEE PAGE 6 If You Go WHAT: Dillinger Four with Toys that Kill, Dade County Resistance and Rivethead WHERE: New Brookland Tavern WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 17 Dllllnger Four’s music has been hailed as “a mainstay on everyone’s top 10 list for a year.” Left to right, Bill Morrlsette, Patrick Costello, Lane Pederson and Erik Funk will play New Brookland Tavern on Tuesday with Toys that Kill, Dade County Resistance and Rlvethead. \r PHOTO BY SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK BOOK REVIEW ‘Don’t Try This, ’ but do read it QlJTZL I “DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME” Hunter S. Fulghum ★★★* out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY MIKE LUKE THE (iAMECOCK From Hunter S. Fulghum, the author of “You’re Not Getting Bet ter, You’re Getting Older” and “Office Dirty Tricks: 50 Ways To Sabotage Your Coworkers and Bluff Your Way To the Top,” comes a book of an even higher comical caliber. “Don’t Try This At Home” is filled with over-the-top explana tions of how to do things everyone wants to do but isn’t sure where to start. It’s a book that answers the question “How do I do that?” on a grand scale. Fulghum’s research for each in sane “how to do” is meticulous and thorough. Some of the hints, < tidbits and secrets he uncovers are probably not supposed to be known by the average person. If you’ve ever wanted to break into Buckingham Palace, meet aliens in Area 51, steal gold from Fort Knox or rescue an injured moun tain climber in Antarctica, this book tells you how to do it. Each explanation is divided into four parts: “What You Will Need,” “Time Required,” “Background” and “Instructions.” These are se rious explanations, and serious daredevils are needed. In this book’s terms, “serious” means willing to spend “serious” amounts of money. Most of us wouldn’t imagine that, when tow ing an iceberg to a drought-strick en nation, you need to purchase several thousand square meters of waterproof, fiber-reinforced plastic, but you do. Aside from a fully rigged deep water salvage vessel or a bonded and licensed security firm, both of which seem to be required in most of the “how to do” sections, Ful ghum puts less expensive ingredi ents, such as a suit of armor and a Land Rover, on the lists. Bringing friends is necessary for each excur sion because you know you’ll want :o brag about what you do. If a trip to space isn’t $20 mil ion well spent to you, Fulghum )ffers a variety of slightly more langerous, sometimes illegal vays to spend the same amount of noney. “Borrowing” the Mona !usa, retrieving Mayan gold from i sacrificial well, destroying a nu :lear missile silo, and conducting i SWAT-team rescue operation ire some of the pricier scenarios. Some of them show off Ful dium’s sick genius; for example, ac :ording to his directions, breaking nto Fort Knox or smuggling top-se :ret documents takes only two Boy scouts. All of them, however, espe ;ially catching a great white shark, orming an independent nation, swimming through bypass tunnels n the Hoover Dam, going over Ni igara Falls in a barrel and driving a ank through a tornado, require a teen sense of adventure, stupidity )r insanity. Even if this book just furthers four knowledge of useless infor nation, at least it’s unique useless information. There is a certain sense of power that radiates ihrough your body when you find nut how to form your own nation or :atch the Loch Ness Monster. And ■vho knew you needed Ray-Ban sun glasses to water bomb a forest fire? Comments on this story?E-mail vamecockmixeditor&fiotmail.com