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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22392 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 278 pages

Customer Reviews

Fantastic quality book for fans old or new to Hellboy
I recently purchased this book after watching Hellboy 1 & 2 on Blu-Ray which got me quite interested in getting into the graphic novels by Mike Mignola from which the movies where based on.

If you are new to the graphic novel Hellboy series like myself or a long fan, these Library Editions are great value for money as each book collects 2 standard graphic novels & also provides additional material not usually found in the standard graphic novels such as concept scetches, mini stories & lots more.

Another thing which makes these Library Editions so appealing is the fact that they are quite considerably larger than the standard paper back volumes, which makes the artwork just that little bit more vibrant & helps the little details really show up nicely.

I believe there are currently two volumes available at the moment, starting with Vol 1: Seeds Of Destruction & Wake The Devil, & Vol 2: The Chained Coffin & Right Hand Of Doom.

I have already ordered Vol 2 & I believe a Vol 3 is due out soon.

If you are like myself & enjoy reading graphic novels over & over again, I would whole heartedly recommend these books as they are housed in excellent hard back covers which are guaranteed to with stand repeated reading & will look fantastic in any graphic novel collection!

Seed of destruction

Near the end of World War II, the evil Rasputin summoned a creature from another world -- a little red demon baby.

And so starts Mike Mignola's distinctly offbeat "Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil," two interconnected action-factory stories with a bright-red demon as its anti-hero. Mignola happily crams this rather brief tale with Lovecraftian horrors, mythic demons, a cursed mansion, a vampire in an old castle, and a truly malevolent villain who wants to destroy the world.

Decades after Hellboy was summoned into this world, his adoptive father Professor Bruttenholm recounts what little he can remember of a doomed expedition to the north pole, along with the three Cavendish brothers. Then a grotesque frog creature attacks Bruttenholm, killing him instantly -- moments before Hellboy returns the favor.

Soon after, Hellboy and his companions Abe Sapien (fish-man) and Liz Sherman (pyrokinetic) arrive at cursed Cavendish Manor, unaware that the mansion's owner is in league with Rasputin. Then ghastly frog-creatures kidnap Liz and attack Hellboy, as Rasputin reveals his presence to the demon/man that he considers his servant -- and if Hellboy won't serve him, he'll used Liz's power instead.

But that adventure is not the end of Hellboy's clashes with Rasputin. Sent to find an ancient vampire in Romania ("Paprika chicken, baby!"), he runs afoul of a bunch of Nazis who serve Rasputin's spirit -- and a bunch of mythic creatures, including the vampiric Giurescu, who serve a ghastly, immortal lamia in the depths of his castle.

Elsewhere, Abe is falling into a trap of Rasputin's, and Liz's powers run amuck when her team finds an alchemist's lab with a seemingly dead homunculus. And Hellboy's fight with the lamia has shocking repercussions, when he finds himself hurtling into a darkness where his true purpose is revealed -- and he must choose what his destiny will be.

Vampiric snake-women, Baba Yaga, immortal sorcerers, grotesque frog monsters, disembodied heads, a Nazi woman in an iron maiden, and a walking skeleton. Oh yeah, and a Lovecraftian lake monster with way too many tentacles.

Mike Mignola knows how to craft a monster-filled universe, where a demonic anti-hero seems downright normal. And the first two books about him are technically separate stories, but they're more like two halves of the same tale -- and while each starts relatively quietly, they rapidly escalate into haunting, grotesque action-adventures set in half-ruined buildings where only monsters and statues still dwell.

And while a few plot threads are left hanging in the second half of the story, Mignola does a solid job plotting these. He also knows how to use dialogue for atmosphere as few authors can ("Witches, striges, vampir... ghosts come forth from their tombs..."), but also utilizes Hellboy's acid wit to lighten the mood ("Not gonna happen... 'cause you're very very ugly and YOU HAVE A GIANT SNAKE BODY!").

Hellboy himself is a classic anti-hero -- despite his red skin, bulky body and sawed-off horns, he's very human in attitude, with an understated love for his friends and his adoptive father. Throughout these stories he's faced by hints of what he truly is and what he's expected to become by the infernal players, but his good heart won't have it. And his snappy wit ("Insolent beast! Troglodyte!" "Big talk for a guy with no pants") only makes him more lovable.

It's also worth mentioning that this edition is simply beautiful. The heavy cloth binding gives the book plenty of resilience to repeated readings, especially since the paper it's printed on is thick and glossy. It makes Mignola's art -- with its vivid colours and heavy, thick shadows -- even more vivid.

"Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil" compiles the first two books of Hellboy's adventures, and shows why Mike Mignola is such a well-loved, well respected graphic novelist.

AMAZING BOOK!
If you are new to Hellboy and are unsure of where to start with the series, then the library editions are by far the best choice. The first library edition contains the equivalent of two trade paperbacks, Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil. Seed of Destruction is a weird, wonderful story of Nazi world domination and an immortal sorcerers attempt to bring about the apocalypse. The second story is even weirder than Seed of Destruction, introducing a myriad of gods and demons hailing from nearly every mythology and religion you can think of. Both Stories are fantastically told, well written and engaging. The myriad of different creatures make the stories all the more fantastic and enjoyable.

However, such great stories wouldn't be the same without great artwork to support them. Something that Hellboy has in abundance. Seed of Destruction has a dark and gothic feel, filled to the brim with brooding blacks and shadows. Wake Devil contains the same flair and style as Seed of destruction; however the artwork feels brighter and fresher.

The overall quality of this volume is stunning. The paper quality is an improvement over the standard trade paperbacks with the larger pages making the incredible art work all the more breathtaking. The presentation is fantastic with generous supplementary materials and a fabric hardcover that makes the book feel all the more expensive. The paperback editions are enjoyable, however they are flimsy and don't do Hellboy justice.