One of my biggest disappointments in Disney's Atlantis (aside from, you know, most of it) was that visually, it had a fantastic springboard—Mike Mignola's artwork—and it just ended up watered down. Years later I wondered how the live-action version of Mignola's Hellboy comic could retain more of Mignola's aesthetic than Atlantis, even though animation should lend itself more to Mignola's graphic style.

Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro himself floated the idea of an animated Hellboy shortly after the movie's release, and while I would love to see an animated Hellboy based on Mignola's style, I didn't hold my breath. I never believe anything until a signature's on the dotted line.

Just yesterday, I read that IDT Entertainment had licensed Hellboy from Revolution Studios for an animated adaptation, but that it wouldn't be in Mignola's style. So what's the point?, I thought.

Then I saw the picture above, created by Sean "Cheeks" Galloway, who has been tapped as Hellboy's lead character designer. It's not Mignola, but it has his sense of design. I was intrigued, did a little sniffing around this afternoon, and hit upon Tad Stones' Hellboy Animated production blog. Bookmark it now.

The first of the two direct-to-DVD movies is scheduled for next October. Can't wait.

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