3 out of 5

It seems rather pricey for four issues – 18 bucks – but I do really like the synergy here, of two, two-issue crossovers, one drawn-not-written by Mike, the other written-not-drawn by Mike, and it is a logical to group both of these non-canon type tales.

The Bats / Starman / HB issues verge on fun but never quite make it over the average mark; the Ghost crossover, meanwhile, is pretty great, reading like a legit story for both characters, even if it boils down to one o’ them mistaken-identity situations.

Also included is a character sheet for Hellboy (Mike admits he never had to do one, since up to that point only he’d drawn the character) and several of the detailed layouts Mignola did for the Ghost issues, allowing us to spot where artist Scott Benefiel injected his own style. These are nice bonuses but don’t feel as extensive as the kind of Guy Davis stuff we’ve gotten in other trades, still making that pricetag sorta iffy. But it’ll look nice next to your other Hellboy trades.