Next Men: Faith - Part 3

John Byrne's Next Men #21 is part three of the four-part "Faith" storyline in the ongoing Next Men superhero comic series. In this story arc, fictional comic characters from magazines published by Dollar Comics begin to appear in the real world; meanwhile, the Next Men go on the run after being convicted of a crime they did not commit; these two plotlines converge in this issue. The issue also includes an installment of the M4 comic, also by John Byrne; initially presented as a separate story, it would merge with the Next Men storyline in issue #23.

This issue is of particular significance to Hellboy fans, as it is the first color appearance of Hellboy as well as the first appearance of the character in a nationally-distributed comic. Hellboy appears in a brief sequence in the middle of the issue, drawn by Mike Mignola. However, this story is not canonical to Hellboy, instead having a degree of metafictionality: Hellboy comics drawn by Mignola exist as fictional publications in the world of Next Men, with characters recognizing Hellboy as a fictional comic character briefly and mysteriously brought to life.

Characters

• Hellboy
• Next Men
  • Nathan
  • Jasmine
  • Jack
  • Bethany
  • Danny

Synopsis

The Story So Far...

The Next Men have fallen under control of Ben Horowitz, owner of Dollar Comics. Sandy, a staffer at Dollar, has begun experiencing intense dreams featuring comics characters appearing in the real world following a tryst with Danny. Framed for destroying the bio-research station that created them, Next Men Nathan, Bethany, Jasmine, Jack, and Danny flee into abandoned subway tunnels under New York City.

President Aldus Hilltop is partnered with a cyborg from the future, who has manipulated his political career to aid him in achieving his current office.

Faith: Part 3 of 4

Jack reads the Bible, imagining the people he knows as the biblical figures. Suddenly, the tunnels the Next Men are hiding in are bombed by surface forces, apparently led by Control. The group splits up; as Danny and Joshua flee, the floor collapses beneath them.

At this point, the comic is drawn by Mike Mignola.

The duo find themselves in an older, deeper subway tunnel. Suddenly, Hellboy emerges from the shadows, attacking a giant monster before it can harm the children. A confused Joshua recognizes Hellboy as a comic book character, wondering how he could appear in real life. When questioned, Hellboy cannot explain where he came from or even recall anything prior to his appearance – "It's like... like nothing existed before I came round that corner and saw you kids," – and expresses confusion when Danny refers to reading about his adventures. As the trio approach the surface, the monster returns. Hellboy grapples with the creature, urging the children to run to safety.

For the remainder of the issue, the comic is once again drawn by John Byrne.

As Danny and Joshua near the street, Joshua looks back and is shocked to see both Hellboy and the monster have vanished.

In New York, Sandy Tolliver is in bed with Garrison Carter. She wakes from uneasy rest, having just had dreamed of the attack on the tunnels and Hellboy rescuing the two children. When the couple turn on the TV, a news report on the tunnel attack shows that Sandy's dream is again quite near reality. Elsewhere, Thomas Kirkland and Janey watch the same news report. Kirkland explains that his mission is to save President Hilltop from an upcoming attack by the Next Men.

M4

Cornelius Van Damme dines with Amanda Watson, Mark IV and Carolyn Kanniston (served by men and woman totally nude and blind, an extreme security measure by the paranoid van Damme). He tells his three guests of the Mark IV android ("Mark Ivey") – Ivey had had a quite normal life for three years after he escaped, working transient jobs and even finding romance. But he fell in love with a beautiful blind woman, part of Van Damme's personnel. The old paranoic man investigated Mark and, discovering him to be an android, kept IV as a "guest" in his house. However, news of the death of Professor Kenniston sparks Ivey's curiosity...

Locations

• New York City

Trivia

![Hellboy's "cameo" in issue #14.](NextMen-14.jpg "Hellboy's "cameo" in issue #14.")

• John Byrne assisted with several early Hellboy stories – promotional comics for SDCC and the Comic Buyer's Guide, as well as the four-issue series Seed of Destruction. Byrne wrote these scripts from stories by Mike Mignola, perhaps because Mignola had never written a comic before and was unsure of his abilities.^[1]
• Prior to this issue, Hellboy was briefly seen in John Byrne's Next Men #14 (April 1993),^[2] as an illustration on a promotional poster displayed in a comic book store. This establishes Hellboy as a fictional character in the world of Next Men, which was followed up on in this issue.
  • Copyright pages on issues 14 and 21 specify that Hellboy is "™ & © 1993 Michael Mignola".
  • Sandy describes the monster she saw in her dream as "one of those big monsters Mignola loves drawing so much," indicating that Mike Mignola draws the comic in the world of Next Men as he does in real life.
• Hellboy's appearance was part of several minor collaborations between comics in Dark Horse's "Legend" imprint. See Dark Horse Comics § Legend for more information.
• This issue includes a rare Mignola double-page spread.

References

External Links

• Entry at the Dark Horse Database

1World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator (SDCC) credits Byrne for "script and emotional support", while World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator (CBG) credits Byrne as "along for the ride". ↑

2"This Week in Hellboy: New Origins?". Comic Book Speculations. 27 October 2019. ↑