adidas Forum Mid “Hellboy”

• MODEL: ADIDAS FORUM MID
• MADE IN: VIETNAM
• MADE ON: --/08
• ART.NO: G04663

Anung Un Rama; beast of the apocalypse. Also known by comic fans around the world as Hellboy. The lovable, fire-engine-red giant with fashionably-worn pilot’s goggles and an ever-burning cigar dangling from his mouth was summoned from the depths of hell to join us here on Earth in 1944 by Nazi occultists. At least according to his creator, Mike Mignola, who first threw this unlikely hero onto the Comic-Con scene in August of ’93 under the Dark Horse branding.

Regarding his creation story, it’s a strange, yet comfortable fit to see him own not one, but two adidas silhouettes; a darker, Stan Smith Mid and the brightly-colored Forum Mid pictured here. The Forum’s are the louder of the two pairs – even with the Stan Smith’s making ample use of shiny, patent leather – mostly due to their blasting of gold foil around the toebox, tongue, and upper.

The shoe itself is as one would always expect a Forum to be, super comfortable and reliably durable. One warning though: these are HUGE, thanks to their lack of the typical, inner puff padding the Forum is partially known for, so interested fan-boys may wanna go down a full size if they can actually locate a pair.

Their rarity is high, but not so high that we’d suggest paying an arm and a leg and another arm for them. Remember: dismemberment is Hellboy’s job, not yours. Deadstock sizes do not show up so often, and while they’re easier to find than a variety of other modern collabs (such as a variety of Consortium series, for example) they weren’t heavily purchased for reselling purposes and so if you’re after a pair I wouldn’t suggest hesitation once your finger’s on the trigger.

For cross-over comic and adidas fans out there that shed tears at the severe lack of illustrative collaborations bestowed upon the brand’s classic silhouettes and clothing releases, it’d be rude not to mention the sweet adicolor Dark Horse Century Low and matching track top that were released in 2006. While the Hellboy’s weren’t made to match this comic-based edition of the adicolor series, they’re definitely still a solid addition to any comics and kicks collector’s most cherished treasures out there. But don’t simply take our word for it, as Hellboy himself would say: “Don’t mess with me, lady. I’ve been drinking with skeletons.”

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol