First Look: ‘Hellboy’ Creator Mike Mignola’s Pulpy New Hero, ‘Joe Golem’ (Exclusive)

It’s Hellboy creator Mike Mignola‘s birthday — and The Hollywood Reporter has a piece of never-before-seen artwork created for his upcoming new series Joe Golem: Occult Detective.

The piece is a rarity; intended for publication as a variant cover (available exclusively at Books-A-Million outlets) for the first issue of the Joe Golem series, the finished version of the artwork will be a collaboration with series colorist Dave Stewart. What can be seen below is the piece exactly as it left Mignola’s drawing table.

Mignola drawing Joe Golem is a rare thing in itself. The character — a pulp detective in an alternate 20th century where parts of Manhattan have disappeared as the result of flooding — debuted in the 2013 prose novel Joe Golem and the Drowning City co-written by Mignola and novelist Christopher Golden. For his five-issue comic book series launching this November, the artwork will come from Patric Reynolds with Stewart coloring, with covers from award-winning painter Dave Palumbo.

THR is only one of a number of sites sharing artwork relating to Mignola’s creations to mark Mignola’s 55th birthday. Entertainment Weekly premiered Paolo Rivera‘s cover to the first issue of Hellboy & The BPRD 1953: Beyond The Fences; Bleeding Cool debuted Dave Palumbo’s painting for the future Joe Golem collected edition; and 13th Dimension, Comic Book Resources and Paste shared Fight Club 2 cover artist David Mack‘s variant covers for the February 2016 issues of the “Mignolaverse” titles.

Joe Golem: Occult Detective No. 1 is released by Dark Horse Comics Nov. 4.

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