Elric: The Balance Lost Vol 2 Preview

 

Last year at San Diego Comic-Con, I asked writer Jim Zub if Titan's decision to publish Conan was related to their long association with Michael Moorcock's comics. While he didn't know, Jim expressed interest in repeating history, and writing another Conan and Elric teamup. 

I'm working on a review for Hawkmoon, a graphic novel that adapts the beginning portion of Michael Moorcock's novel The Jewel in the Skull. And earlier this year, I picked up several of Titan's earlier Eternal Champion graphic novels at a comic shop. Hopefully, I review all those before this year ends! One thing is for certain: Michael Moorcock's heroes rock!

Here's all the info on this latest Eternal Champion volume:

 

THE MICHAEL MOORCOCK LIBRARY ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST VOL. 2

Author: Chris Roberson

Artist: Francesco Biagini

Publisher: Titan Comics

HC, 144 pages, FC, $29.99

ISBN: 9781787745186

On sale September 9, 2025

 

With the fate of the multiverse hanging in the balance,

Eternal Champions Elric, Corum and Dorian Hawkmoon unite with newcomer Eric Beck in a climatic batle to save very source of the great balance at the centre of the multiverse.

 

The concluding volume of the Elric: Balance Lost saga.

 

Their quest to the Lost Universe has revealed the shocking truth as to who the true architects behind the war between Law and Chaos are, and nothing could have prepared the four eternal champions for the shocking truth. Now they find themselves pitted together in an epic war of unimaginable scale between both sides for the very source of the Cosmic Balance leading to a climatic showdown between the original Eternal Champions and Eric Beck against his twin brother, the sinister Garrison Bow, and the immortal masterminds behind the cosmic war.

 

Written by New York Times Bestseller, Chris Roberson, this all-new adventure redefines the word ‘epic’. With a cast of hundreds and featuring all of Moorcock’s most famous characters, this saga, drawn by Italian artist, Francesco Biagini is a thrilling and powerful epic that brings Elric crashing into the 21st Century and beyond!

 

Collecting issues #7-12 of Elric: The Balance Lost.

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

Pre-order now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and Forbidden Planet for the UK. 

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

 

For how this series began, see my preview of Elric: The Balance Lost Vol 1. 

 

For more on the Dorian Hawkmoon book, see my preview of Hawkmoon: The Black Jewel. 

 

The Michael Moorcock Library: Elric The Balance Lost Vol 1 Solicitation

Previewsworld Order code: DEC240402

 

As someone who read an Eternal Warrior battle in DAW's second Elric book recently, this sounds awesome! Dorian Hawkmoon was one of my favorite fantasy heroes in my teens, and Corum's tragic peril always haunted me. I'm looking forward to sharing the preview images with you!

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

THE MICHAEL MOORCOCK LIBRARY ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST VOL. 1

(W) Chris Roberson

(A) Francessco Biagini

Publisher: Titan Comics

HC, FC, 160pp, $29.99, On Sale April 9, 2025

 

AN ASTONISHING EPIC STORY OF TRULY STAGGERING PROPORTIONS!

 

This first volume collects the first six issues of Elric: The Balance Lost and also the 10-page Free Comic Book Day prelude.

 

When the delicate balance between the forces of Law and Chaos are threatened by a powerful malevolence of unimaginable power, Michael Moorcock’s enduring Eternal Champions, Elric of Melniboné, Corum of the Scarlet Robe and Dorian Hawkmoon must unite and do battle to save the Multiverse.

 

Aided in their battle by a new Eternal Champion from present day Earth, the heroes embark on a quest to find weapons powerful enough to defeat Beelzebub and together they journey to the very physical heart of the Universe in search of Ko-O-Ko, the Lost Universe, on a mission to restore the balance before all is lost.

 

Presented as a two-volume collection, collected for the first time as part of Titan’s Moorcock Library Series.  Uniting the various worlds of Michael Moorcock, this new adventure brings the ancient worlds of Elric, Corum and Hawkmoon crashing into the 21st Century.

 

Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: Fearful Symmetry #1 Review

 

Writers: Mike Mignola & Chris Roberson

Artist: Alison Sampson

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

Letterer: Clem Robins

Cover Artists: Laurence Campbell with Dave Stewart

Publisher: Dark Horse

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 28, 2023

 

To quote Hellboy, the last time he helped a friend of Professor Bruttenholm’s, "it didn't go so well." Still, when anthropologist Dr. Narendra Jaiswall calls, Hellboy travels to the University of Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, India. Will things go any better this time? Let’s load our four-round revolvers, leap into Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: Fearful Symmetry #1, and find out!

 

Story

Meet Virginia Payne, a doctoral student intrigued by recent animal attacks. After getting her Bachelor's degree at Harvard, she’s doing a doctoral thesis on the folk beliefs of tribal groups in rural India. The authorities see nothing suspicious in the rash of wild tiger attacks. But according to the villagers she questioned, the attackers walked on two legs, not four.

 

Virginia and Hellboy tracked down a monster seven years ago. She knew him as a boy who read comics. Now she sees him as a man. Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: Fearful Symmetry #1 isn’t Hellboy In Love, but "Ginny" opens up to her former friend and seems to treat him as an equal. That proves a good thing when a villager ventures outside his hut, only to fall into the embrace of a striped, furry attacker.

 

Virginia and Hellboy make an effective team. They don't waste time arguing or playing games with each other. Instead, they get right down to business and investigate the attacks. When thrown a curve ball, they adjust their strategy and press on. The ending satisfies yet hints that all is not quite as it seems.

 

Art

Virginia's eyes glow with affection and intelligence in Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: Fearful Symmetry #1. While Hellboy’s demeanor shows his indifference to the mysterious, she seems amazed by all the possibilities life will throw her way. His too-wide mouth, bull neck, and clunky-looking arm make Hellboy look like a human-sized Iron Giant Hells Angel. The way Alison Sampson draws Virginia sideways in a panel takes some getting used to, as does Hellboy’s one-page turntable-style tiger takedown. More fluid transitions between panels and consistently detailed backgrounds would have helped me feel more grounded. Still, the scenes of the two driving through farmland and remote villages transport me to India, and the images accompanying their conversations emphasize the richness of Indian culture.

 

 

Lee Loughridge utilizes a limited color palette in Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: Fearful Symmetry #1. Interiors draw on reds and pinks, while outsides trend toward greens and browns. Harsh sunlight threatens to turn everything yellow, while lavenders and grays inhabit evenings. Virginia may look bleached in direct sunlight and green in shadow, but Hellboy always burns red. While Sampson and Loughridge’s imagery reminds me of Elizabeth Shaw's dreams in Prometheus, the disconcerting evening scenes suggest Film Noir.

 

Clem Robins helps us hear dialogue with easy-to-read black letters in appealing white balloons and boxes. The tigers' growls confirm Hellboy’s suspicions and sound effects hit you as powerfully as his demon hand.

 

Final Thoughts

Appealing characters, intriguing art, and an involving story make Hellboy And The B.P.R.D.: Fearful Symmetry #1 an oddly satisfying read, regardless of whether you've read earlier Hellboy stories or William Blake's famous poem.

 

Rating 8.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.