Hellboy in Love #3

The third chapter of this five-issue Dark Horse series kicks off "Shadow Theater, Part 1 of 2," and Matt Smith's cover sets a wonderfully tense mood — Hellboy and a young woman clutching a flashlight move cautiously through ancient stone ruins while massive, grasping shadow figures loom on the wall behind them. There's a terrific push-pull between the warmth of the series title and the genuine menace radiating from those encroaching silhouettes. With Christopher Golden writing and Chris O'Halloran's moody colors deepening every shadow, this 2023 series continues to explore a softer — if still very dangerous — side of everyone's favorite paranormal investigator.