Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics, AIPT has exclusive news about “The Shadow of the Golden Crane,” a new miniseries in the Hellboy Universe by Chris Roberson and Michael Avon Oeming. The four-issue series will focus on the mysterious BPRD case and find agent Su Shan delving into the history of the secretive Golden Crane Society, as well as her own complicated family history. Set to debut on January 15th.
“As far back as Hellboy and the BPRD: 1953, we’ve been hinting at the idea that there’s some kind of connection between Susan Shan, a psychic BPRD agent, and the Golden Crane Society, a secret organization that has been protecting the Chinese people from otherworldly threats for centuries. Susan grew up hearing tales of the Golden Crane, and when she was 7 years old, there was an incident involving her uncle and a jiangshi (Chinese ‘jumping vampire’), but we’ve only ever glimpsed that before,” Roberson said.
He continues, “The Shadow of the Golden Crane follows Susan and fellow BPRD agents Hellboy and Victor Koestler as they use their powers to unravel the secrets of the Golden Crane. In each issue, Susan relives the experiences of different members of the Golden Crane at different points in history, in different locations across China and abroad. So each chapter is essentially a standalone story, but also forms part of a larger narrative. And by the end, Susan realizes she’s more connected to the Golden Crane’s legacy than she and her family ever imagined.”
So, what is Shadow of the Golden Crane about?
Former FBI analyst Su Shan’s psychic intuition and keen investigative skills helped Hellboy and the BPRD solve numerous paranormal mysteries throughout the 1950s. Now in The Shadow of the Golden Crane, she sets off on her first solo adventure to investigate a paranormal mystery involving the mysterious Golden Crane Society and her own family’s ties to the occult.
“When I turned 50, I looked back on my career and thought about what else I wanted to do,” Oeming says, “and working more on the Hellboy universe was at the top of my list. So when I contacted Mike and Dark Horse, I was thrilled to be tapped to work on Susan Shan with Chris Roberson. Once I received the tapping, we immediately got to work on the sketch. Chris has written a fantastic series that’s easy to get into even if you’re not a Hellboy fan; it’s completely accessible and packed with creepy action.”
Check out the preview below!
Acclaimed writer and iZombie creator Chris Roberson teams up with superstar artist Michael Avon Oeming (Blue Book, Powers) for an all-new Hellboy Universe miniseries, The Shadow of the Golden Crane. In this four-issue series, a mysterious BPRD incident leads agent Su Shan into the history of the secretive Golden Crane Society, as well as her own complicated family history.
“As far back as Hellboy and the BPRD: 1953, we’ve been hinting at the idea that there’s some kind of connection between Susan Hsian, a psychic-powered BPRD agent, and an organization called the Golden Crane Society, a secret society that has been protecting the people of China from otherworldly threats for centuries. Susan grew up hearing stories of the Golden Crane, and when she was seven years old, there was an incident involving her uncle and a jiangshi (a Chinese “jumping vampire”), which we’d only ever seen glimpses of. In the Shadow of the Golden Crane, we follow Susan and fellow BPRD agents Hellboy and Victor Koestler as they use their abilities to unravel the secrets of the Golden Crane Society. In each issue, Susan relives the experiences of a different group of Golden Crane members at different points in history, in different locations both inside and outside of China. So each chapter is essentially a standalone story, but also part of a larger narrative. And in the end, Susan realizes that she and her family may be more connected to the Golden Crane legacy than she ever imagined.”
Former FBI analyst Su Shan’s psychic intuition and keen investigative skills helped Hellboy and the BPRD solve numerous paranormal mysteries throughout the 1950s. Now in The Shadow of the Golden Crane, she sets off on her first solo adventure to investigate a paranormal mystery involving the mysterious Golden Crane Society and her own family’s ties to the occult.
“When I turned 50, I looked back on my career and thought about what else I wanted to do,” Oeming says, “and working more on the Hellboy universe was at the top of my list. So when I contacted Mike and Dark Horse, I was thrilled to be tapped to work on Susan Shan with Chris Roberson. Once I received the tapping, we immediately got to work on the sketch. Chris has written a fantastic series that’s easy to get into even if you’re not a Hellboy fan; it’s completely accessible and packed with creepy action.”
The standalone series is written by Roberson with cover and interior illustrations by Ohming and lettering by Clem Robbins. The Shadow of the Golden Crane #1 will be available in comic shops on January 15, 2025 from Dark Horse Comics.
