Product Description: Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding, Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar.
Surprisingly Great Story; Weak Binding "Hellboy." I first heard the title quite a number of years ago when I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation in a theater. I pretty much scoffed, rolled my eyes, and said "Hellboy?" under my breath. Long story short, time passes, I got into comics, and began to hear a lot of good things about "Hellboy." I even read some quotes from the actual book that intrigued me. However, it was the trailer for the second movie--sheer, unadulterated awesomeness--that pushed me over the edge and made me buy the first volume of the comic series.
Creator and artist Mignola enlisted John Byrne to write the first script for this series, and the team works together very well. Hellboy's attitude and way of looking at things is very entertaining (which keeps his internal dialogue always interesting), but the mythology of this series is pure magic. The sorcerers, Liz, Abe, Hellboy himself, the Lovecraftian beasts, all of it works together, forming this very dark yet attractive story. The main story arc, "Seed of Destruction," is very much an origin story for Hellboy, but you can tell how well-read both Byrne and Mignola are from the brilliance they churn out here.
Apart from the main four issue story arc, there are two short Hellboy stories in the back, as well as a cover gallery. The two shorts were promotional pieces, and they were interesting little tidbits to give us an idea of who Hellboy is and what he does. That part of the TPB was great, but I also have a huge complaint that has nothing to do with the story or the art. The binding was horrible. As another reviewer mentioned, the cover simply falls off when you're reading it. There will be an audible crack, and the cover will simply separate from the book. As a fan of Dark Horse's books (I've gotten many of their TPBs and this has never happened before) I was quite upset with that.
7/10
fantastic I just got back into comics recently and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get this book. As I've noted elsewhere, Mignola's plotting and art is just phenomenal. One of the reasons I love Hellboy is because I love the old Hammer horror movies from the 60s and 70s (Horror of Dracula), the Corman "Poe/Lovecraft" movies from the same time like The Haunted Palace / The Tower of London or The Fall of the House of Usher /The Pit and the Pendulum.
Great Book This is a great book that follows the story line of the character. If you've seen the movie, you need to read this story to get a complete background of the character.
Less reviewing, more buying. Just click the "buy" button and you'll greatly appreciate it. And send me $$ for all of the time I just saved you in reviewing.
I LOVE HELLBOY!! Great collection at a great price. I am a big Graphic Novel fan, and Hellboy is without a doubt my favorite. Mike Mignola is a real talent. I've read them all, but this is the first that I have purchased. I am sure that I'll get the other collections soon.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
