Hellboy
Hellboy Vol 1: Seed of Destruction (1994)
Mike Mignola and John Byrne
After starting my comic reading life with Sandman, it’s been hit and miss for me since then. I love Ex Machina and Fables. But didn’t care for Preacher or Lucifer or Constantine. Michael reads and likes almost anything he picks up, but it’s been harder for me to find things I really like.
So, a couple years ago we watched the Hellboy movie and I enjoyed it. Not like I enjoyed Batman Begins but in the way I really liked Fantastic Four. I thought about picking up the comic then, but since Michael was wishy-washy about it, I didn’t want to get something neither of us might not like. So I held off.
But after Janiece’s review of the new movie, Tania said she really enjoyed the comic, and so I decided to give it a try. Couldn’t hurt right?
I’m glad I finally gave in, because I quite enjoyed Seed of Destruction. The tone reminded me of Sandman in a way that I wanted Constantine and Lucifer to be like Sandman except that they weren’t. I was somewhat familiar with the generation story from the first movie, but of course things are different in print than on the screen, but it was close enough that I had a good idea what was happening. Of course we quickly moved onto the new story, in which Hellboy and the other members of the BPRD investigate the death of the man Hellboy considered his father. We catch glimpses into the characters of Abe and Liz, but I feel like I knew more about them from the movies than I did from the book.
One thing that did catch me off guard is that, at least in this volume, Hellboy comes of as far more intelligent than he did in the movie. Not that he was dumb in the movie, but intellect-wise, he was far outshined by Abe. It’s also possibly because the story is written in first person, while the movie was third person, and perhaps it’s the glimpses into his thoughts that make the difference.
So, I thoroughly enjoyed Hellboy: Seed of Destruction and will definitely order the next volume in the series. Though I will try and hold off ordering all of them at once.
Rating: 8/10
Hellboy Vol 2: Wake the Devil (1997)
Mike Mignola
In the second volume of Hellboy stories, it is believed that someone is trying to bring the vampire Vladimir Giurescu back to life and health, so Hellboy and several others from the BPRD are sent to Romania to find out what is really going on.
Needless to say, things do not go well for anyone involved.
I found this volume a little weaker and a little more confusing than the first. Didn’t mean it wasn’t good, but it did jump around quite a bit, and I wasn’t always sure where it went for awhile. What I did like was the subtle way things were done. The clues were there, but you had to put the pieces together yourself, and no one within the story had a clue why things were going so badly.
We spent almost no time with Abe and Liz, which was a little frustrating, because Abe is a very interesting characters. (Yes, I know there’s a BRPD series where we see more of him. I just have to decide if I want to read it or not.)
Was it as strong as the first volume? No. But I have hopes the third volume will be better, as it appears to be a collection of short stores. And I love short stories.
Rating: 6/10
Hellboy Vol 3: The Chained Coffin and Others (1998)
Mike Mignola
Unlike the previous two volumes, which were along the lines of novellas, The Chained Coffin and Others is a collection of Hellboy short stories. As I’m a big fan of short stories, I really enjoyed this collection.
And as a fan of folktales and folk lore, the fact that many of the stories were based on folktales or creatures of folk lore was icing on the cake.
The stories appear in chronological order, the first set in 1959 and the last set immediately after the events of Vol 1: Seeds of Destruction. The first story, “The Corpse”, is a retelling of an Irish folk tale, and the second story, “Iron Shoes”, also has the feel of an Irish folktale. Both are brief and fun.
The third tale, “Baba Yaga”, is referred to in Wake the Devil. What I particularly liked about this tale was that Baba Yaga is neither good nor evil here, but simply a creature of Russian folklore. I don’t think I explained that well, but in folklore Baba Yaga isn’t necessarily a creature of evil, she simply is. And this story does a good job (for me) of matching the tone of some of the Baba Yaga stories.
“The Chained Coffin” (the story for which this collection was named) is an origin story for Hellboy, and isn’t a very happy one (even though I knew how things had to turn out, I still felt bad.)
“Almost Colossus” is the closing tale for the volume, and describes how Liz got her powers back (and didn’t die, despite the initial wishes of Mike Mignola.) I particularly enjoy this story, and seeing the homunculus on his own terms, instead of as simply a creature of doom and destruction.
This volume brings to mind a question though: Why is Hellboy always so willing to assume the worst in others? In both “Baba Yaga” and “Almost Colossus” Hellboy has a shoot first ask questions second mentality. I find it interesting that he does not ever seem to give others the benefit of the doubt.
If you have not previously read Hellboy, you could easily start at this volume, although I always recommend starting at the beginning of any series. If you’ve seen the movies, then you should know enough of his history that you can easily understand the stories (Specifically, “The Chained Coffin”) and the other stories are mostly out of time and easily read on their own.
I think the quality of Vol 3 is much higher than Volume 2, and I’m hoping there are more short stories in the following volumes, because Hellboy seems to work very well on that level.
Rating: 8/10
Hellboy Vol 4: The Right Hand of Doom (2000)
Mike Mignola
Have I mentioned that I am really enjoying the Hellboy books? I am. They’re a lot of fun.
Like The Chained Coffin and Others, The Right Hand of Doom is also a collection of short stories centered on Hellboy.
The first story in the collection is a two page tale called Pancakes. This may have been my favorite tale in the entire book, and since it was only two pages, I made Michael read it before I went on, and he also liked it.
The Right Hand of Doom covers a great deal of folklore, and integrates everything from Japanese to Norwegian tales with that little Hellboy twist.
Many of the stories are dark, however, with Hellboy they’re not particularly depressing. Well, the last several pages of Box Full of Evil were kinda rather moody in a way I don’t really expect from Hellboy, but they also suited the story and the consequences of the story very well.
The other nice thing about The Right Hand of Doom and its predecessor is that they can be read outside of the story line. Even though events in previous volumes and stories are mentioned, the important details are covered so you could easily read on without difficulty.
Rating: 8/10
Hellboy Vol 5: Conqueror Worm (2002)
Mike Mignola
I believe I’ve mentioned previously that I prefer Mike Mignola’s shorter Hellboy stories than the longer stories.
The Conqueror Worm is a longer story.
It’s not that the story is bad–it’s not. My problem is that the longer stories tend to wander more and get more confusing as they go. I think his Hellboy stories are simply better when they’re sharply focused.
Hellboy and Roger are sent out to a decrepit Nazi castle to see why a rocket the Nazis shot into space during WWII is trying to return.
That said, the more interesting story is the relationship between Hellboy and Roger. In the series Roger has evolved from a brainless homonculus to a creature not unlike Hellboy. A being of amazing strength and resistance, but one that is quite obviously not human and so is viewed by those as charge as game for the most deadly and dangerous missions. Partially because they’re hard to destroy, and partially because they aren’t human.
It’s a fascinating concept, and one that has interested me for awhile, especially as humans are on the verge of creating artificial life, and so this question may soon become one we will need to consider.
To it has it’s pluses and minuses. Although I prefer the shorter format for these stories, I like the way ideas in this story made me think.
If you aren’t reading Hellboy, you really should be. Yeah, it can be a bit gruesome, and there are lots of supernatural baddies, but he’s a fascinating character, and has lots of amazing adventures.
Rating: 7/10
Hellboy Vol 6: Strange Places (2006)
Mike Mignola
Hellboy was gone for awhile–a couple years. Strange Places tells us where he was during that time.
Nowhere good.
He travels to Africa to talk to a shaman, gets nailed by an evil undersea witch, spends time hanging out with some dead sailors, and learns some of his origin and the history of his hand.
Plus, he dies.
Now I’m trying to get the Hellboy/BPRD comics in sequences. I’m not sure what–if any–overlap there will be, but I’d like to keep things in order. Although there was some allusion to events in the BPRD series, there was no direct link; as Hellboy has remained incommunicado, so the reader is not expected to know or understand what has happened to his friends in the BPRD.
Rating: 7/10
Hellboy Vol 7: The Troll With and Others (2007)
Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, P. Craig Russell
This is another collection of shorter stories, and as usual, these collections tend to be my favorites. Though I do have to admit, that from reading Mike Mignola’s introductions to the various Hellboy short stories, I have apparently missed my calling, as the only other people who seemed to be as fascinated with folktales as I am are comic book writers.
I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I’m considering a career change.
The Troll Witch and Others is a collection of Hellboy stories, some drawn by Mike Mignola, some drawn by Richard COrben and P. Craig Russell. Although most of the stories were pretty good, there were some I really liked, and some I didn’t much care for. As usual.
“The Vampire of Prague” was a strange story that was more art work story that written story, which didn’t make it a particular favorite, even thought I was amused by the the way the vampire looked.
I liked Makoma quite a bit, and I’m sure the fact it was heavily based on folklore didn’t hurt that a bit. I especially liked the bag of holding, and Hellboy/Makoma’s reaction when he discovers the empty bag. Well, that’s like as in thought it interesting, not like as in found it fun. Just so you know.
But my favorite story in the collection was “The Troll Witch.” Hellboy always wants to talk to the bad guys, and it never made much sense before. It makes a lot more sense after reading this story. Because you can’t always tell who the bad guy is by looks alone. I particularly liked the ending of “THe Troll Witch” and I’d say it’s probably one of my favorite Hellboy stories so far.
So if, like me, you’re a fan of the Hellboy collections full of shorter stories, this is a collection you don’t want to miss. It would also be a perfectly good place to start reading Hellboy, as it doesn’t particularly require previous knowledge of Hellboy or his past.
Rating: 8/10
Hellboy: Vol 1: Seed of Destruction (1994), Vol 2: Wake the Devil (1997), Vol 3: The Chained Coffin and Others (1998), The Right Hand of Doom (2000) ,Vol 5: Conqueror Worm (2002), Vol 6: Strange Places (2006), Vol 7: The Troll With and Others (2007)
