Hellboy came back to theaters in a big way this year even if it did not become the success fans had hoped for. The series was led back to screen by David Harbour for a flashy reboot months back, but the film has not released worldwide. Japan is preparing to bring the film overseas, and its marketing team found a very clever way to promote Hellboy abroad.
All it takes is a little bit of Devilman, and that will do the trick.
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Recently, the creator of Devilman, Go Nagi, had his company Dynamic Printing create a crossover ad for Hellboy. The piece, which can be see below, sees Hellboy team up with Devilman as they square off against their respective foes, Nimue the Blood Queen and Sirene.
Nagai went on to share his own thoughts on the film, and the artist seems to be a fan. The Devilman artist said he appreciated the film’s dark aesthetic as well as its humor.
“[He] runs through the strange world of witches and monsters. A thrilling dark fantasy movie is born,” Nagai raved.
In order to match the gift, the creator of Hellboy decided to make his own crossover sketch. Mike Mignola did a black-and-white drawing of Hellboy with the Devilman at his back. Both of these pieces will be displayed in Japan to promote the theatrical release of Hellboy abroad, and it could use a good bit of box office love.
Largely considered a flop, Hellboy did not fare well at the box office. The film earned just over $21 million domestically with under $50 million worldwide. So, here’s to hoping Devilman can ignite interest in the reboot amongst Japanese audiences. The franchise is considered a true classic amongst anime fans, and it helped push forward changes in supernatural storytelling. Nagai’s controversial story has since become a cult classic which recently got its own Netflix anime adaptation with Devilman Crybaby which earned rave reviews upon debut. If any series could help out Hellboy in Japan, it would be this one!
Do you think these franchises would crossover well? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
