Saddle up, comic fans! Mike Mignola has teamed up with Rae Allen for Carmen Red Claw: Belly of the Beast, a western-themed new four-issue series set in the Hellboy Universe and directly linked to Lobster Johnson’s lore. One of 2026’s most intriguing new releases, the story follows Native American gunslinger Carmen Red Claw as she traverses 1880s New Mexico.
Along the way, she investigates cursed ranches and battles supernatural beasts, while confronting the darker side of humanity itself. Perched on her shoulder is the audacious little lizard Yargoss, the self-proclaimed “King of the Lizards”, who proves that even the smallest companion can pack a punch in this monster-filled frontier.
The series is co-written by Mignola and Allen, with Allen also providing the art. The latter’s love of history and archaeology brings the 19th-century setting to vivid life, capturing sprawling landscapes and bustling frontier towns. Amid this backdrop are ranches imbued with folklore and supernatural menace inspired by Lakota legend.
Tapping into the current appetite for Western hybrids in pop culture — think Yellowstone, The Abandons, and American Primeval — Mignola and Allen’s work does, however, remain fiercely independent. Most compelling is Carmen’s layered, monster-fighting Western heroine, a modern hero for today’s audiences thirsty for characters who refuse to be pigeonholed and break away from well-worn tropes.
The Western Renaissance
Carmen Red Claw: Belly of the Beast arrives when western-themed comics are enjoying a renaissance. The gunslinging vengeance of AfterShock Comics’ Undone by Blood, which first arrived in 2020, is a prime example. The series is now being adapted for television by Norman Reedus’ bigbaldhead productions.
Other recent releases include 2020’s The 7 Deadly Sins, which reinterprets classic morality tales in the Old West, and 2024’s revenge-focused Gunslingers. Image Comics’ Above Snakes and Ain’t No Grave, which both fuse offbeat Western storytelling with striking visuals, are other titles to tap into the theme.
The continued output and adaptation of these titles shows that Western-infused fiction, whether grounded or fantastical, remains a compelling draw for both readers and the wider entertainment industry. Indeed, in TV, the critically-acclaimed Yellowstone has spawned several spinoffs, such as the prequels, 1883 and 1923, as well as the upcoming Marshals.
Elsewhere, new online casino games like Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail have championed the western genre. With its horses and cowboy boot symbols set against a backdrop of the American frontier, it has joined the likes of Big Bass and The Walking Dead Cash Collect as popular slots for iGaming enthusiasts. In movies, the likes of 2022’s Nope have refreshed western themes under a modern lens, while novels such as Joe R. Lansdale’s Paradise Sky have enjoyed a new lease of life following reissue.
Folklore, Action and Frontier Grit
With its mix of supernatural menace and historical authenticity, Carmen Red Claw: Belly of the Beast takes its heroine on a journey that delivers a healthy dose of frontier grit and action. Boasting a unique and independent protagonist, Mignola and Allen deliver a series that will make Carmen a standout figure for 2026. Whether you’re a longtime Hellboy Universe fan or new to Western-infused comics, this miniseries promises plenty of imaginative adventure and dark intrigue.