In the movie, Mignola reflected on his motivation to produce Hellboy, saying “I want to draw a book about monsters, and if the main character is a monster, then I’m drawing monsters all the time”. Mignola revealed in the documentary that he drew inspiration from his father’s demeanor and mannerisms, in addition to his personal style in order to create the character of Hellboy and its surrounding world. Initially thinking he was not good enough to script his stories, Mignola eventually picked up the writing in addition to the illustration, and Hellboy soon took off in popularity. Mike soon became an auteur, making use of shadowing, simplified designs, and crisp lines that became his calling card.

The documentary included commentary and interviews from a host of celebrities, artists, colleagues, family members, and even Mike Mignola himself, enlisted to add nuance and color to the events of Mignola’s life. Interviewees included Mike Richardson the creator of Dark Horse comics, who regarded the introduction of Hellboy into the comic book world as “a watershed moment”. Ron Pearlman referred to the Hellboy comic as “art house for comics”, himself being a fan of the series who has famously stepped into the role of Hellboy in live action films. Guillermo del Toro regarded Mignola as a “master of [environment]”, noting the minute details put into each of Mignola’s comic strip frames. The film also included a plethora of pictures of Mignola’s artwork, including a glimpse at the first ever sketch of Hellboy. The documentary was certainly very image driven and visually exciting, while also being very informative regarding Mike’s experiences in the illustration industry.

Mike Mignola’s drawings often went misunderstood by executives, but his artistic skill and style were undeniable to other artists, a number of whom described Mignola as being ahead of his time, artistically. Mike cultivated a style that removed lines rather than adding lines where other artists would, ending up with a distinct and uniquely identifiable style. Mike read and used folklore and fairy tales from around the world, primarily Norse but also African and any other fairy tales he could introduce into his supernatural world. Mignola has gone on to be highly influential in animation and film, and his world of characters, affectionately described as “flawed misfits”, has drawn in and resonated with audiences. His life and artwork are lovingly displayed and discussed in Kevin Konrad Hanna and Jim Demonakos’s documentary, Drawing Monsters, which is essentially, a play-by-play on how to become a uniquely creative illustrator.