Hellboy Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction

Mike Mignola, John Byrne

Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years.

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.

status Copy #1 (286): in
genre Superhero » Alternative Heroes
publisher Dark Horse
publish date Dec 10, 2003
popularity checked out 25 time(s)

Reviews

  • By Tony Flores -
  • By Strangely -

    I’ve been a fan of Hellboy since I picked up the books more than ten years ago. But I recently decided to read through them again from the beginning (what with all the baggaged of Del-Toro’s films and some of the lovely animated shorts) and see if they would hold up.

    They do! This first volume skims quickly through Hellboy’s origin story, but leaves many of the details out. This gives us a basis for understanding the character while also giving him a certain air of mystery, even to himself.

    The story centers around a group of Nazis called “Project Ragna Rok” as they try to bring about an apocalypse. Ostensibly they fail, but in doing so they bring Hellboy to earth. Adopted by a devout Catholic (and paranormal researcher) H.B. grows up to be the world’s leading Spook’s Spook. When his adoptive father mysteriously dies, Hellboy’s off to find some answers with his two best friends, Liz (A piro-kine) and Abraham (a, well, I’m not really sure WHAT Abe is…) in tow.

    Mignola’s artwork is top-notch and I have to say I’m personally fond of it. The way the book is basically a muted earth-tones and midnight blues pallet so that Hellboy’s red skin pops out at your eyes is sheer genius. He really is pretty much the baddest dude in his little universe… at least he thinks so, and since he’s mostly narrating his own story, we’re allowed to see him that way too…

    Also collected at the back are some of Mignola’s early sketches of the character as well as some little shorts and a whole pile of Hellboy art by other artists. A really great book to spend some time digging into!

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