Acclaimed writer and iZombie creator Chris Roberson is teaming up with superstar artist Michael Avon Oeming (Blue Book, Powers) for The Shadow of the Golden Crane, an all-new Hellboy Universe mini-series. In this four issue series, a mysterious B.P.R.D. case forces Agent Sue Xiang to dive into the history of the secretive Golden Crane Society… and her own complicated family history. The series will launch in stores in January 2025 from Dark Horse.
As far back as Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 we have teased the idea that there is some connection between Susan Xiang, an agent of the B.P.R.D. with psychic abilities, and an organization called the Golden Crane Society, a secret society that protected the people of China from otherworldly threats for centuries. Susan was raised on stories of the Golden Crane, and when she was seven there was an incident involving her uncle and some jiangshi (Chinese “hopping vampires”) that we have so far only caught glimpses of.
In The Shadow of the Golden Crane, we follow Susan and her fellow B.P.R.D. agents Hellboy and Victor Koestler as she uses her abilities to unlock 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 a variety of locations in China and beyond, so that each chapter is essentially a standalone story that makes up one part of a larger narrative. AAnd in the end, Susan discovers that she and her family might be more closely connected to the legacy of the Golden Crane than she ever imagined.
Former FBI Analyst Sue Xiang’s psychic intuition and keen investigative skills helped Hellboy and the B.P.R.D solve numerous paranormal mysteries throughout the 1950s. Now, in The Shadow of the Golden Crane she sets out on her first solo adventure to investigate a paranormal puzzle involving the mysterious Golden Crane Society and her own family’s connection to the occult organization.
“When I turned 50, I reflected on my career and what else I wanted to do,” said Oeming. “Working more on the Hellboy Universe was at the top of my list. So, when I reached out to Mike and Dark Horse, I was thrilled to be assigned to work on Susan Xiang with Chris Roberson. I jumped right into sketching as soon as I got the assignment. Chris wrote a fantastic series that’s easy to dive into, even if you’re a casual Hellboy fan—it’s fully accessible and packed with spooky action.”
The stand-alone series is written by Roberson with covers and interior art from Oeming, with lettering by Clem Robins. The Shadow of the Golden Crane #1 will be available in comic shops on January 15, 2025 from Dark Horse Comics.
