Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction

In 1944, a team of specialized German Nazis gathered together with a powerful sorcerer on a strange mission to raise seven demons, while at the same time a group of rangers led by Sgt. George Whitman gather in an old church in East Bromwich, England with a team of paranormals, determined to discover what it is the Nazis are up to.The Sorcerer, wearing some odd apparatus on his arms, powered by an electrical generator, casts a spell from a rocky hilltop resembling Stonehenge. A bolt of lightening-type power issues from the rod he holds in his hand, and strikes the church where the rangers are gathered along with their special forces. When the smoke and debris clear, a small being is hunched down on the floors, looking as though he were part demon and part little boy. It is Trevor Bruttenholm who names him: Hellboy.Skipping many years into the future, Hellboy comes to visit Trevor, now an old man. Trevor, who had been like a father to Hellboy all these years, tells Hellboy of the failed "Cavendish Expedition" he has just recently returned from, way up in the Artic Mountains. He and the Cavendish "Boys" had found some ruins high up in the frozen cliffs, older than old, and inside beneath a mammoth carved pillar is a statue of a sitting man so perfect it seemed to be alive.But Trevor has no further memory of what happened, though the Cavendish brothers did not return with him. During Trevor's narration of the expedition, Hellboy notices that Trevor's house is infested with frogs. When Hellboy mentions the frogs, Trevor freaks out and backs away from the frogs, out onto his balcony, from where he is suddenly and unceremoniously tossed back into the room at Hellboy's feet; quite dead. His body seems to be covered in odd marks that were not there mere seconds ago.Hellboy brings in his friends to help him investigate the death of Trevor; Elizabeth Sherman and Dr. Abraham Sapien. Liz has highly advanced pyrotechnic abilities, and Abe...well, Abe is a really cool fish-man. Beginning their investigation at the old Cavendish mansion, which is slowing sinking back into the lake it was built over, the three friends are quickly separated and all hell breaks loose; pun intended. The nameless Sorcerer who originally summoned Hellboy is back to claim what he believes is his, but by now we know that Hellboy can't be forced to do anything he doesn't want to do.This first Hellboy book reveals Hellboy's origin, and shows us the loyalty between him and his friends, and the lengths they will go to for each other. This was actually a very difficult review for me to write because I liked it so much, it is hard to describe in a non-gushing way just how much I enjoyed this book. The storyline is very intense and fast-paced, even for a graphic novel; the illustrations are superb, the cells formed and drawn just right, so that the eye follows the flow of Mignola's inspired tale of this devilishly good guy without staggering or stopping to search for the correct sequence.I have only recently become immersed in the world of graphic novels, and Hellboy is the absolute crème de la crème of the lot. A brand new type of hero; ultra powerful, intelligent, witty humor and saucy quips, demonic appearance, and as icing on the cake, from Hell itself.As a bonus, there are some added chapters at the back of the book that illustrate the evolution of Hellboy as he was created and drawn to life, plus some enjoyable Hellboy artwork to examine and appreciate.Hellboy is a perfect graphic novel, and I am greedily looking forward to pouring over the rest of the series. Not to mention I'm dying to go see the movie now. Enjoy!!

I had no idea what to expect going into this, and it absolutely blew my mind. I loved it, and I can say that as soon as my bank account allows it, I'll be buying up the whole series at once and binge reading.I debated whether I should offer a description of this title, but decided not to. Not know what to expect made the whole thing so much better. I had a vague idea of what Hellboy looked like, and knew it was a movie, but didn't know any plot or premise. I picked it up because it was on sale on the kindle store (a while ago, actually; it's been sitting on my kindle for way to long) and my dad had mentioned it.Everything from the art to the story to the dialogue was smooth, fast-paced, and unexpected. It's such an ingenious story and captured my interest completely. All three major characters, Hellboy, Liz, and Abe, were unique and fully three-dimensional. The story filled in enough backstory to give a good idea of who and what each was, while still leaving it open enough for a good mystery.I absolutely loved the art, as well. It came right off the page and into my imagination. It's one of my favorite art styles that I've seen and I'd read the books just for it. The fact that it's so full of vibrant colors definitely helped.I do want to watch the Hellboy movie at some point (it's on Netflix now) but I can't decide if I want to read some more of the graphic novels first. If you haven't read this series, I really recommend it to everyone, particularly those fond of fantasy and urban fantasy.

Hellboy Vol. 1 is not your average indie comic, and certainly not your average superhero comic. It is beautifully illustrated, and has a good enough story. I would have liked the series to start with an origin of his group with Abe and Liz. They were introduced rather abruptly. I've had minimal problems with the binding, but nothing near as bad as others have said. What really makes this book to me are the extras. It's great to see the pretty much mandatory art by other comic artists, but the original sketches and test comic books from conventions were really cool and offered a fun look on how the character came to be. My main gripe is with the loose story. It just places you in this world of crazy stuff with little explanation, but this book IS worth a look. I just hope it gets better in the future volumes.

awesome read. once I started Chapter 1… I was hooked and knew I had to finish it in on sitting.

The book came in good condition. I really recommend to read this comic book.

Maravilloso!!!!!! Solo me faltaba este número para completar la serie. Llego a tiempo.

È la seconda volta che provo a comprare questo fumetto e arriva sempre con la copertina rotta... Male non ci siamo.... Questa volta lo rendo e lo prenderò da un'altra parte

Prima comic en verhaal, maar heel,heel slecht verpakt door Amazon. Beschadigd uit de verpakking gekomen wetende dat ruilen geen zin heeft.

Dark and concise in art and story. This is the beginning of something truly special. He has arrived. Hell awaits....

Great artwork, good story , mike mignolas art is simply fabulous...