Product Description: Since Mike Mignola's Hellboy first hit the stands in 1993, it has become a cultural sensation, racking up a dozen Eisner Awards and inspiring numerous spinoffs, from a novel line, to video games, to feature films. Now, Dark Horse is pleased to present the comics that started it all, collected in deluxe hardcover editions. Sized at 9" by 12", and handsomely bound to match The Art of Hellboy hardcover, each volume contains two full story-arcs - the equivalent of two trade-paperbacks. Each volume of the Hellboy Library Editions also includes extensive supplemental materials, including previously unreleased sketches and designs.
Superbe! This is the way comic albums or graphic novels should be presented. In a beautiful large size [I call these French deluxe editions as this is how they publish standard comics in France] hardcovers on extra fine paper. Boards are designed beautifly in clothe with golden letters. A big plus for me anyway is that there is no dust jacaket present which just annoys me as it interferes with holding and reading.
This is exactly the way I was hoping DH would reprint the Conan chronicles in 9 x 12 inch deluxe editions and I still hope they will one day [soon, soon, soon...].
I did not review the story and art as that is a given: it is awesome! More sketchbook material and preliminary pages would be nice, but this is great also.
This book is worth easily $100-200 quality wise and you would really be making a mistake by not buying this great book here on amazon.
DH people are you listening, we want also Conan by John Buscema and others done this exact way.
5 stars and more.
Absolutely Incredible This volume was my introduction into the world of Hellboy, and let me just say that I am impressed. Not only is the story both intriguing and engrossing, but it's also just plain fun. The writing is great, and the art is gorgeous, especially in this format. The inks and lines are sharp, the paper is very high quality, and the extras are well worth checking out. The cover, as another reviewer noted, does tend to get dirty quickly, but it's easy to clean just by wiping it off. This is definitely one of the best collections of a comic book I've seen, and it's well worth the price. If you're a fan of Hellboy, I'm guessing you own this already, and if you've ever been curious about Hellboy, or comics in general, you should definitely check this out. I've already pre-ordered volume 2, and I'll be getting any others Dark Horse wants to put out.
Very impressed Hasn't been long since i really dove into reading comics, and searching for collections of series in hardbacks (like this one). The Hellboy Library really impressed me, it doesn't look like marvel omnibus or DC absolutes. I thought the cloth cover made it look very unique and stylish (although one reviewer said its a dust magnet, which isn't far from the truth, i liked the limited edition leather cover they made for hellboy seed of destruction which i sadly missed, this is a great collection)
I love how big it is and how well the art looks, the quality is fantastic for the price its totally worth every penny, i really can't wait to read more of it and can't wait to put Vol.2 right next to it. (which is already being pre-orderd on amazon :-D) I sure hope they do something like this for B.P.R.D. As well as hope they come out with covers like this for other popular dark horse series!!
Only thing i would have liked would have been a higher page count.
Cool but... This book is great, the art looks amazing on this size. My only complain is the black fabric on the hardcover, man, that thing is a dust magnet, just wait and see. My wife thinks the exterior looks elegant, I think it looks cheap, I guess you need to see and feel it. I like better the Seed of Destruction hardcover, however, the art looks much better on this new hardcover, and the paper quality is great. Buy it, the exterior may not bother you.
An exelent collection I just got this book today, and am very pleased with it. The book is wonderful, larger then the older Hellboy collections, but does not sacrifice the quality of the art. There is a new introduction, but other then that it contains the same materials as the two older collections compiled here in.
I acquired this to replace my original graphic novels, which are coming apart from repeated reading