I’ve been a big fan of the Hellboy comic book series for almost a decade and about a year ago, I set out to read all of the Hellboy trade paperback graphic novels, which are softbound collections of the issues in the Hellboy comic book series.
Many of you will be familiar with Hellboy thanks to the two live action movies starring the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator” – 2004’s “Hellboy” and 2008’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” For those of you unfamiliar with Hellboy, he’s a comic book superhero with red skin, horns, a tail and an unusual, oversized right hand made of stone. Known as the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator,” he works for the United States Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. He does seem to have a few superpowers. He’s abnormally strong and appears to heal quickly among other things. He was created by writer and artist Mike Mignola, and most of the Hellboy comics have been published by Dark Horse Comics.
On Friday, I read “Hellboy, Vol. 12: The Sound and the Fury,” which was published in March 2012. During that past year, I read “Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction, “Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil,” “Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others,” “Hellboy, Vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom,” “Hellboy, Vol. 5: Conquer Worm,” “Hellboy, Vol. 6: Strange Places,” “Hellboy, Vol. 7: The Troll Witch and Others,” “Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls,” “Hellboy, Vol. 9: The Wild Hunt,” “Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others” and “Hellboy, Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others.”
Picking a favorite out of all these great books would be hard, but if I had to, I’d go with “Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction.” The first movie is based largely on this book, and I like the World War II elements that play a large part in the early parts of the story. I’d say that’s probably what got me hooked on the Hellboy story from the start.
As of today, there are 12 of those books in print, but I feel certain that there are more to follow. I’ll have to keep reading them in order to keep this life list up to date, but I’ve got all that to look forward to. I suspect that a thirteenth volume and others will likely follow as Hellboy is an ongoing series with no foreseeable end in sight, which is a good thing for us Hellboy fans.
To tide myself over until Vol. 13 comes out, there are still a few Hellboy books out there that I haven’t read, just not trade paperback editions. Those books include “House of the Living Dead,” “The Art of Hellboy,” “Hellboy II: The Art of the Movie,” “Hellboy: The Companion,” “Hellboy: Weird Tales, Vol. 1,” “Hellboy: Weird Tales, Vol. 2,” “Hellboy: Masks and Monsters,” “Hellboy: Emerald Hell,” “Hellboy: The All-Seeing Eye,” “Hellboy: The Fire Wolves,” “Hellboy: The Ice Wolves,” “Hellboy: Odd Jobs,” “Hellboy: Odder Jobs” and “Hellboy: Oddest Jobs.”
In the end, how many of these trade paperback collections have you had the chance to read? Which did you like or dislike and why? Which is your personal favorite and why? Let us know in the comments section below.
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