Hellboy
Encyclopedia
Hellboy is a comic book
superhero
created by writer-artist Mike Mignola
. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (Aug.1993
), and has since appeared in various eponym
ous miniseries
, one-shots and intercompany crossover
s. The character has been adapted into two live-action feature films in 2004
and 2008 that starred Ron Perlman
in the title role, and two straight-to-DVD animated films.
A well-meaning demon
whose true name is Anung Un Rama (Meaning "...and upon his brow is set a crown of fire..."), Hellboy was summoned from Hell
to Earth
as an infant on December 23, 1944 (given as his birth date by Mike Mignola ) by Nazi occult
ists (spawning his hatred
for them). He was discovered by the Allied Forces
; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
(BPRD). In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead), cloven hooves for feet, and an oversized right hand made of stone. He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanut
s. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demon
s, and works with other strange creatures in the BPRD. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy.
Hellboy works for the BPRD
, an international
non-governmental agency, and himself against dark forces including Nazis
and Baba Yaga
, in a series of tales that have their roots in folklore
, pulp magazine
s, vintage adventure, lovecraftian horror
and horror fiction
. In earlier stories, he is identified as the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator."
by Grigori Rasputin
on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of Scotland
, having been commissioned by the Nazis
to change the tide of war ("Project Ragna Rok
"). He appears in a fireball in a ruined church in East Bromwich
, England, on December 23, 1944. Proving not to be a devil
, in the traditional sense, but a devil-like creature with red skin, horns, a tail, and a disproportionately large right hand made of red stone, he is dubbed "Hellboy" by Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm.
Taken by the United States armed forces
to an Air Force
base in New Mexico
, Hellboy is raised by the United States Army
and by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
(BPRD), a private organization dedicated to combating occult
threats.
As an adult, Hellboy becomes the primary agent for the BPRD, alongside other human and quasi-human agents that include Kate Corrigan
, a professor of folklore
at New York University
; Abe Sapien
, an amphibian
humanoid
(Ichthyo sapien); Liz Sherman
, a young pyrokinetic
; Roger
, an unusually large homunculus
; Johann Kraus
, the spirit of a medium kept in a containment suit; and Captain Ben Daimio
, a special operations
man with occult experiences. The latter two have not met Hellboy due to Hellboy's resignation from the Bureau.
During a visit to Bromwich Church (the place of his "birth"), Hellboy learns he had been conceived 300 years ago by a witch, Sarah Hughes, and a demon Prince of Sheol
. At this time, Hellboy had not existed as a baby in the "real" world; the prince's "favorite son" was considered to be "a power waiting to be born." Hellboy's "mother" also had children: a nun and a priest who would later haunt the church, dying in an attempt to stop the demon from claiming Hughes in her coffin. This origin indicates that Hellboy is, in fact, half-human.
A later, but possibly unreliable account gives the name of the demon as Azzael, and of the witch as Sarah Hughes. The spirit of Morgana le Fay
claims that Hughes was her descendant; if this is true, it means that Hellboy is the last living heir to Arthur Pendragon and the rightful king of England. Hellboy has since drawn the sword Excalibur, claiming his position, albeit without much conviction.
Hellboy was granted "honorary human" status by the United Nations
in 1952, and is known as the "world's greatest paranormal investigator". As such, he interacts regularly with humans, primarily law enforcement officials, the military, and various "scholars of the weird", most of whom are not presented as overtly reacting to his strange appearance.
Much like other comic book superheroes such as Batman
, Wolverine
, Daredevil
, and Spawn
, Hellboy is constantly tormented by the knowledge of his past. In one issue, he says of his past, "I like not knowing. I've gotten by for fifty-two years without knowing. I sleep good not knowing."
Hellboy's ultimate power lies dormant within his giant, stone hand. (See below)
when used to punch an enemy.
As revealed in the graphic novel collection Strange Places, the Right Hand of Doom was formerly the right hand of Vril, one of the "greater spirits" that watched over the burgeoning Earth, and the hand the spirit used to create the dragon Ogdru Jahad
. With that same hand, he bound the dragon, but then his fellow spirits turned upon him for his deeds, and destroyed him utterly – save for his right hand, which was kept and preserved by many races throughout history, including the first race of man. As the hand which created and bound the Ogdru Jahad, it is also the key which will "loose and command" them; in other words, it is a catalyst that will bring about Ragnarok
. The comic books themselves never mention how the Right Hand of Doom would actually perform these tasks; it is only ever announced that this is the case and that someone or something intends to do it with or without Hellboy's consent. The film shows it working like a key; being turned twice in a special obelisk secured by Rasputin would release the Ogdru Jahad. It is made clear that it is not even necessary for the arm to be attached to Hellboy at all; even on its own it would perform its tasks. It has been suggested that if Hellboy dies while the Hand is attached to him, it would become useless. He has thus come to the conclusion that the only way to prevent it falling into the wrong hands is to keep and protect it.
, who loved it, but did not like the idea of it involving "hell".
The early stories were conceived and drawn by Mignola with a script written by John Byrne and some later stories have been crafted by creators other than Mignola, including Christopher Golden
, Guy Davis, Ryan Sook
, and Duncan Fegredo
. The increasing commitments from the Hellboy franchise meant that the 2008 one-shot In the Chapel of Moloch was the first Hellboy comic Mignola had provided the script and art for since The Island in 2005.
in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (August 1993) for distribution at the San Diego Comic-Con
fan convention
held in San Diego, California
.
Hellboy travels to an American ghost town
, where he encounters a mangy mutt that transforms into Anubis
, the Ancient Egypt
ian god of mummification
.
The story was collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
.
dedicated to the character Hellboy.
In the story, Hellboy is confronted by Grigori Rasputin
and begins to find out what he is doing on Earth
and who summoned him there. His purpose will be to command the powers that Rasputin is about to unleash upon the world. Hellboy denies this version of his destiny and refuses to be controlled. Attempting to release the Ogdru Jahad, Rasputin is killed, harpooned through the chest by Abe Sapien
under the control of the ghost of Elihu Cavendish.
The trade paperback collection was awarded two Eisner Award
s and was, in part, the basis for the first Hellboy motion picture
.
in a special four-page mini-comic for distribution in Comics Buyer's Guide
#1,070 (May 20, 1994).
In the story Hellboy battles with the disembodied head of Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt
and his puppet henchman Brutus the Gorilla to rescue a captive girl from the doctor's transference of nutrient fluids process.
The story was collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
.
in catalog supplement Celebrate Diversity collector's edition (October 1994). The ad was collected in the trade paperback The Art of Hellboy.
to feature the character Hellboy.
In the story, Hellboy meets the goddess Hecate
. Addressed as "Anung Un Rama", he is told that his arrival on Earth signals its end. At the climax of the story, Hellboy is swallowed by Hecate in the form of an iron maiden and some kind of otherworldly conflict ensues, in which he is told that his right hand is a key to open the pit. Again Hellboy refuses, this time breaking off his newly re-grown horns causing the eclipse of the moon to disappear.
In the story, Igor Bromhead gains power over a demon, Ualac, by using that demon's name. Hellboy is also bound by his name, "Anung Un Rama", and the Crown of the Apocalypse
, which he wears but is invisible to him, is taken. In taking the crown, Ualac is changed into a much more powerful demon. Hellboy finds out that "Anung Un Rama" is a literal translation of "...and upon his brow is set a crown of fire..." — and as Ualac has seized the crown, this is no longer who he is. As this is no longer his name, he is no longer bound, and thus able to defeat Ualac. The crown is kept for Hellboy by Astaroth
, in Pandemonium
, the capital city of Hell
; and a seat is reserved for the former in the House of the Fly.
volumes.
co-wrote and directed a Hellboy feature film in 2004, sharing the credit with the original screenwriter Peter Briggs
following Writers Guild of America
arbitration. Del Toro, a fan of Mike Mignola
's work, had previously written the preface to Hellboy: Conqueror Worm.
The film starred Ron Perlman
as Hellboy (the favorite of both del Toro and Mignola for the role), Selma Blair
as Liz Sherman
, Rupert Evans
as FBI
Special Agent
John Myers (a character created for the film), John Hurt
as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm
, Doug Jones
as Abe Sapien
(voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce
), Karel Roden
as Grigori Rasputin
, and Jeffrey Tambor
as FBI Senior Special Agent Tom Manning
. The film depicts Hellboy as living at the BPRD with a dozen cats and limited access to the outside world, and considered an urban legend
by the general populace.
The film received generally positive reviews, and a fair performance at the box office. However, the film debuted in theaters while The Passion of the Christ
was still playing, and, according to del Toro's DVD
commentary, some theaters would re-title the film on their signs, or outright refuse to play it to avoid running a "devil" movie against Passion.
, and features the returning talents of Perlman and Blair. Jones also returned not only in the role as Abe Sapien (undubbed this time), but in two other roles: The Angel of Death and The Chamberlain. Revolution Studios
had planned on making the film (which Columbia Pictures
was to distribute), but the studio went out of business before filming. Universal Studios
then picked it up. The plot is a shift to more folklore rather than action, with heavy European overtones. The character of Johann Krauss was added to the team, voiced by Seth MacFarlane
. The character Roger
the Homunculus was not, but he was written into the plot as a very prominent character in early drafts of the script (Roger can be seen as a lifeless statue in the background BPRD hallway shot in both the first and second films). The character of Agent Myers from the first film does not return, his absence being explained by Liz remarking that Hellboy had him transferred to Antarctica out of jealousy. Hellboy also reveals himself to the outside world in this film, and Liz is revealed to be pregnant with his child. On November 11, 2008, Hellboy II: The Golden Army was released on DVD.
and Kroenen, and the debut of Roderick Zinco. New B.P.R.D Agents include Lobster Johnson
and possibly Roger the Homunculus. The prophecy of Hellboy becoming the Beast of the Apocalypse will be fulfilled, and additionally, Hellboy will have to learn to be a father of twins.
Guillermo del Toro has reported that it is highly unlikely he will be making Hellboy III: "By the time I get to it and by the time we got Ron [Perlman] back, he'll be a HellMAN and in a wheelchair," del Toro joked to a reporter. At a recent Comic-Con, Both del Toro and Perlman voiced their interest in doing another movie. Del Toro stated that it would only be possible if he can make this one big.
(Hellboy), Selma Blair
(Liz Sherman), Doug Jones
(Abe Sapien), and John Hurt
(Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm) have all voiced their respective characters. Actress Peri Gilpin
joined the cast as Professor Kate Corrigan
.
The first two 75-minute animated movies, Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron, were aired on Cartoon Network
before being released on DVD
. The first one aired October 28, 2006, and the second aired March 17, 2007.
Both stories have much more in common with the comic book Hellboy rather than the film - Abe Sapien
is not psychic, for example, Hellboy and Liz are just friends, and the artwork and color palette is derived very closely from Mignola's original artwork. The DVD of Sword of Storms was released on February 6, 2007; it contains documentary material commentary and a Hellboy comic, Phantom Limbs.
After the initial release, some stores included exclusive giveaways with copies of the Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron DVD:
A "Hellboy 2 Pak" limited edition DVD set was released July 1, 2008, that contained both films and a 7" figure.
A third animated Hellboy film, The Phantom Claw, has been put on hold. Tad Stones
, director and writer of the direct-to-video movies, says the film will star Lobster Johnson
and will have some familiar characters, but Abe and Liz will not be in the film (at least not as main characters).
has written several novel
s about the character, the first two of which, The Lost Army and The Bones of Giants, are part of the official Hellboy story canon. The events of both these novels are listed in the comic's official timeline featured in Hellboy: The Companion. In particular, the Golden-penned character of Anastasia Bransfield was also described in the companion, despite having never actually appeared in a comic.
and the PlayStation
, by Cryo Interactive
/DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. It has no relation to the movie series.
On April 6, 2005, Hellboy movie director Guillermo del Toro
announced on his official site that he had made a deal with developer Konami
to create a new Hellboy videogame based on the movie version of the character and his world, featuring new monsters, new villains, and a new storyline. Herman von Klempt
and his war ape Kriegaffe #10 are slated to make appearances.
On May 9, 2006, it was revealed that the Hellboy game would appear in the summer of 2007, on PlayStation 3
, Xbox 360
, and PlayStation Portable
. The game was released in North America on June 24, 2008 with the name Hellboy: The Science of Evil. It is developed by Krome Studios
, and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. As well as single player campaign where the player gets to play as Hellboy the game also features co-op play, featuring the characters Abe Sapien
, Liz Sherman
, and Lobster Johnson
.
A Hellboy video game called Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Tooth Fairy Terror was released for the iPhone
by Tuesday Creative on January 14, 2009.
role-playing game
system, was published by Steve Jackson Games
in August 2002.
' Indy HeroClix
line with several different booster packs. He also has his own HeroClix/HorrorClix
cross-line collector's set called Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.
's VS System
card game as the first non-Marvel Comics
or DC Comics
character.
and released on the Microgaming
online casino
platform.
for "Best Limited Series", while The Art of Hellboy won an Eisner in 2004 for "Best Comics-Related Book". Mignola won a 2000 Harvey Award
for "Best Artist", based on Hellboy: Box Full of Evil. Hellboy: Darkness Calls won a 2007 Eagle Award for "Favourite Colour Comicbook — American".
The character Hellboy was nominated for "Favourite Comics Character" at the 2004 and 2005 Eagle Awards
. Other Eagle Award nominations include "Favourite Comics Story published during 2007" for Hellboy: Darkness Calls, and "Favourite Comics Hero".
Acclaimed comics writer Alan Moore
(V for Vendetta
, Watchmen
) listed Hellboy on his recommendations page, particularly Wake the Devil (Vol. 2), calling it "the skillful cutting and the setting of the stone that we can see Mignola's sharp contemporary sensibilities at work".
In March 2009, the Dark Horse Comics
character, Hellboy, won two categories in the fan voted Project Fanboy Awards for 2008: "Best Indy Hero" and "Best Indy Character".
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
created by writer-artist Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (Aug.1993
1993 in comics
-January:* Doom Patrol #63: " The Empire of Chairs," Grant Morrison's final issue as Doom Patrol writer.-February:* Action Comics, with issue #686, suspends publication following "The Death of Superman."...
), and has since appeared in various eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous miniseries
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, one-shots and intercompany crossover
Intercompany crossover
In comic books, an intercompany crossover is a comic or series of comics where characters published by one company meet those published by another...
s. The character has been adapted into two live-action feature films in 2004
Hellboy (film)
Hellboy is a 2004 supernatural superhero film, starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is based on the Dark Horse Comics work Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola. It was produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures...
and 2008 that starred Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
in the title role, and two straight-to-DVD animated films.
A well-meaning demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
whose true name is Anung Un Rama (Meaning "...and upon his brow is set a crown of fire..."), Hellboy was summoned from Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
as an infant on December 23, 1944 (given as his birth date by Mike Mignola ) by Nazi occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
ists (spawning his hatred
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
for them). He was discovered by the Allied Forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
; amongst them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola, charged with protecting America and the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural. It maintains the services of several supernatural persons, including Hellboy. The B.P.R.D...
(BPRD). In time Hellboy grew to be a large, red-skinned demon with a tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind the signature circular stumps on his forehead), cloven hooves for feet, and an oversized right hand made of stone. He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s. Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, and works with other strange creatures in the BPRD. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as a normal boy.
Hellboy works for the BPRD
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola, charged with protecting America and the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural. It maintains the services of several supernatural persons, including Hellboy. The B.P.R.D...
, an international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
non-governmental agency, and himself against dark forces including Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
, in a series of tales that have their roots in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s, vintage adventure, lovecraftian horror
Lovecraftian horror
Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror fiction which emphasizes the cosmic horror of the unknown over gore or other elements of shock, though these may still be present. It is named after American author H. P...
and horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
. In earlier stories, he is identified as the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator."
Fictional character biography
Hellboy is a creature, summoned in the final months of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name....
on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, having been commissioned by the Nazis
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
to change the tide of war ("Project Ragna Rok
Project Ragna Rok
Project Ragna Rok is a fictional plan from Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics.It involved a secret team of Nazi scientists and occultists, headed by Rasputin, aiming at creating a doomsday weapon which could end World War II and bring about a victory for the Third Reich.It was named after the apocalypse...
"). He appears in a fireball in a ruined church in East Bromwich
East Bromwich
East Bromwich is a fictional English village in the Hellboy series of comics, named in reference to West Bromwich. It is the location of Hellboy's arrival on Earth after his summoning by Rasputin....
, England, on December 23, 1944. Proving not to be a devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, in the traditional sense, but a devil-like creature with red skin, horns, a tail, and a disproportionately large right hand made of red stone, he is dubbed "Hellboy" by Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm.
Taken by the United States armed forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
to an Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
base in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Hellboy is raised by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola, charged with protecting America and the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural. It maintains the services of several supernatural persons, including Hellboy. The B.P.R.D...
(BPRD), a private organization dedicated to combating occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
threats.
As an adult, Hellboy becomes the primary agent for the BPRD, alongside other human and quasi-human agents that include Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan is a fictional character from the Dark Horse Comics universe, featured in the comic book series Hellboy and BPRD written by Mike Mignola, et al. Her appearance is based on Mignola's wife, Christine.-History:...
, a professor of folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
; Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
, an amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
(Ichthyo sapien); Liz Sherman
Liz Sherman
Elizabeth 'Liz' Sherman is a fictional character appearing in the Hellboy comic book series created by Mike Mignola.-Fictional character history:...
, a young pyrokinetic
Pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
; Roger
Roger (Hellboy)
Roger the Homunculus is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He is an unusually large homunculus, a humanoid being said to be created by means of alchemy....
, an unusually large homunculus
Homunculus
Homunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
; Johann Kraus
Johann Kraus
Johann Kraus is a fictional character in the Hellboy universe, created by Mike Mignola. He is featured in the comic book B.P.R.D., published by Dark Horse Comics....
, the spirit of a medium kept in a containment suit; and Captain Ben Daimio
Ben Daimio
Ben Daimio is a fictional character in the Dark Horse Comics universe. He works for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.-Fictional character biography:...
, a special operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
man with occult experiences. The latter two have not met Hellboy due to Hellboy's resignation from the Bureau.
During a visit to Bromwich Church (the place of his "birth"), Hellboy learns he had been conceived 300 years ago by a witch, Sarah Hughes, and a demon Prince of Sheol
Sheol
Sheol |Hebrew]] Šʾôl) is the "grave", "pit", or "abyss" in Hebrew. She'ol is the earliest conception of the afterlife in the Jewish scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all dead go, regardless of the moral choices made in life, and where they are "removed from the light of God"...
. At this time, Hellboy had not existed as a baby in the "real" world; the prince's "favorite son" was considered to be "a power waiting to be born." Hellboy's "mother" also had children: a nun and a priest who would later haunt the church, dying in an attempt to stop the demon from claiming Hughes in her coffin. This origin indicates that Hellboy is, in fact, half-human.
A later, but possibly unreliable account gives the name of the demon as Azzael, and of the witch as Sarah Hughes. The spirit of Morgana le Fay
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
claims that Hughes was her descendant; if this is true, it means that Hellboy is the last living heir to Arthur Pendragon and the rightful king of England. Hellboy has since drawn the sword Excalibur, claiming his position, albeit without much conviction.
Hellboy was granted "honorary human" status by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 1952, and is known as the "world's greatest paranormal investigator". As such, he interacts regularly with humans, primarily law enforcement officials, the military, and various "scholars of the weird", most of whom are not presented as overtly reacting to his strange appearance.
Much like other comic book superheroes such as Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, and Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
, Hellboy is constantly tormented by the knowledge of his past. In one issue, he says of his past, "I like not knowing. I've gotten by for fifty-two years without knowing. I sleep good not knowing."
Powers and abilities
Hellboy's most obvious powers are his great strength, healing factor, and endurance.- Endurance and Healing Factor: Hellboy has a high degree of resilience to injury. He can withstand powerful blows that would severely injure or kill a human. He survived being shot many times in the chest with an MG 42 machine gun before destroying the gun. He has survived being impaled through the chest with a sword, drowning, severe werewolf mauling, being beaten unconscious with heavy iron tongs, falling from extreme heights, being crushed by boulders, and more. In the film version it is stated that Hellboy is immune to all forms of fire and burns, including Liz Sherman's flames, and electrocution.
- Weaknesses: Despite his ability to quickly recover from seemingly mortal wounds, he is far from invulnerable, and can be easily injured or bloodied by conventional weapons. It is revealed to the Baba YagaBaba YagaBaba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
by the dead Russian nobility that Hellboy may not be slain even through supernatural means and that he appears to be as deathless as her warrior, Koshchei the Deathless.
- Longevity: Hellboy ages very differently from humans. In the story Pancakes he is two years old but appears to be somewhere between 6 and 10 human years old. In Nature of the Beast, set in 1954, the ten-year-old Hellboy appears fully grown. His rapid physical maturation is in contrast to his actual rate of aging however, which seems to be much slower than humans. Throughout the sixty-year span of the comics he does not age beyond the plateau of physical maturity. This mystical aging process is similar to the other demons and supernatural beings that populate Hellboy's world. The lifespan of a Demon or Half-demon (Hellboy's mother was a supposedly a human witch) are left undefined within the comics, and seem to range from decades old to many thousands of years old.
- Equipment and weapons: In addition to his natural physical abilities, Hellboy carries a variety of items in his utility belt and jacket that can be used against various supernatural forces. He has been known to carry holy relics, horseshoes, various herbs, and hand grenadeHand grenadeA hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
. Though he commonly carries an oversized revolver, Hellboy freely admits to being a lousy shot and often fights hand-to-hand, preferring to use short-ranged physical weapons like swords, spears, and his massive stone fist over mechanized weapons.
Hellboy's ultimate power lies dormant within his giant, stone hand. (See below)
Right Hand of Doom
Hellboy's right hand, referred to as the "Right Hand of Doom", consists of a large forearm and hand that seems to be made from red stone. The Hand is dexterous enough to catch a fly, but its large size causes Hellboy to prefer his normal-sized left hand to operate weapons and devices. The Hand is effectively invulnerable and feels no pain, serving much like a sledgehammerSledgehammer
A sledgehammer is a tool consisting of a large, flat head attached to a lever . The head is typically made of metal. The sledgehammer can apply more impulse than other hammers, due to its large size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area...
when used to punch an enemy.
As revealed in the graphic novel collection Strange Places, the Right Hand of Doom was formerly the right hand of Vril, one of the "greater spirits" that watched over the burgeoning Earth, and the hand the spirit used to create the dragon Ogdru Jahad
Ogdru Jahad
The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic. They are the Dragon of Revelation, and are destined to bring about the end of the world. Though the Ogdru Jahad are the ultimate antagonists in the series, they are not themselves active, their release from imprisonment...
. With that same hand, he bound the dragon, but then his fellow spirits turned upon him for his deeds, and destroyed him utterly – save for his right hand, which was kept and preserved by many races throughout history, including the first race of man. As the hand which created and bound the Ogdru Jahad, it is also the key which will "loose and command" them; in other words, it is a catalyst that will bring about Ragnarok
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...
. The comic books themselves never mention how the Right Hand of Doom would actually perform these tasks; it is only ever announced that this is the case and that someone or something intends to do it with or without Hellboy's consent. The film shows it working like a key; being turned twice in a special obelisk secured by Rasputin would release the Ogdru Jahad. It is made clear that it is not even necessary for the arm to be attached to Hellboy at all; even on its own it would perform its tasks. It has been suggested that if Hellboy dies while the Hand is attached to him, it would become useless. He has thus come to the conclusion that the only way to prevent it falling into the wrong hands is to keep and protect it.
Publication history
Before Hellboy was published independently at Dark Horse Comics, the concept was initially pitched to a board of directors for DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, who loved it, but did not like the idea of it involving "hell".
The early stories were conceived and drawn by Mignola with a script written by John Byrne and some later stories have been crafted by creators other than Mignola, including Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
, Guy Davis, Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook is an American comic book artist from San Jose, California.-Career:Sook's first professional work was in Challengers of the Unknown #15 published in 1998...
, and Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
. The increasing commitments from the Hellboy franchise meant that the 2008 one-shot In the Chapel of Moloch was the first Hellboy comic Mignola had provided the script and art for since The Island in 2005.
Great Salt Lake Comic-Con Pamphlet
The character name "Hellboy" was included in a drawing by Mike Mignola of a demon character in a black and white illustration. It is shown wearing a belt buckle bearing the name "Hellboy," but that is as close as it comes to having any relation to the final character design. This image appeared in the pamphlet in 1991, therefore making it the first published mention of the Hellboy name.Dime Press
A prototype incarnation of Hellboy appeared on the cover of Dime Press #4 (1993), an obscure Italian fanzine, with "Hellboy" written at the bottom of the cover. The character shown was still in a draft stage, and although close to the final design of Hellboy, it had gray skin and an outfit not common to the character.San Diego Comic-Con Comics
Mike Mignola's Hellboy by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's first full appearance, and was a four-page black-and-white story that had an approximately 1,500 book print run. It was published by Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (August 1993) for distribution at the San Diego Comic-Con
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
fan convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
held in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Hellboy travels to an American ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
, where he encounters a mangy mutt that transforms into Anubis
Anubis
Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu . According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized as Anapa...
, the Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian god of mummification
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
.
The story was collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction is the first Hellboy comic book mini-series, published by Dark Horse Comics. It was conceived and illustrated by Mike Mignola and scripted by John Byrne.This was, in part, the basis for the first Hellboy motion picture....
.
Nextmen
Hellboy makes a guest appearance in John Byrne's Nextmen #21; this is the first American appearance in a full color cameo.Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction (four issues, March–June 1994) by Mike Mignola and John Byrne was the first comic book mini-seriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
dedicated to the character Hellboy.
In the story, Hellboy is confronted by Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name....
and begins to find out what he is doing on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and who summoned him there. His purpose will be to command the powers that Rasputin is about to unleash upon the world. Hellboy denies this version of his destiny and refuses to be controlled. Attempting to release the Ogdru Jahad, Rasputin is killed, harpooned through the chest by Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
under the control of the ghost of Elihu Cavendish.
The trade paperback collection was awarded two Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s and was, in part, the basis for the first Hellboy motion picture
Hellboy (film)
Hellboy is a 2004 supernatural superhero film, starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is based on the Dark Horse Comics work Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola. It was produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures...
.
Comics Buyer's Guide
Mike Mignola's Hellboy: World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's next solo appearance. It was published by Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in a special four-page mini-comic for distribution in Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide
Comics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
#1,070 (May 20, 1994).
In the story Hellboy battles with the disembodied head of Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt
Herman von Klempt
Herman von Klempt is a villain created by writer/artist Mike Mignola for the Dark Horse Comics series Hellboy. He first appeared in the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Character Biography:...
and his puppet henchman Brutus the Gorilla to rescue a captive girl from the doctor's transference of nutrient fluids process.
The story was collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction is the first Hellboy comic book mini-series, published by Dark Horse Comics. It was conceived and illustrated by Mike Mignola and scripted by John Byrne.This was, in part, the basis for the first Hellboy motion picture....
.
Celebrate Diversity
Hi, My Name is Hellboy by Mike Mignola was a one-page panel ad that related the characters fictional origins. It was published by Diamond Comic DistributorsDiamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...
in catalog supplement Celebrate Diversity collector's edition (October 1994). The ad was collected in the trade paperback The Art of Hellboy.
Wake the Devil
Hellboy: Wake the Devil (five issues, June–October 1996) by Mike Mignola was the second comic book miniseriesLimited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
to feature the character Hellboy.
In the story, Hellboy meets the goddess Hecate
Hecate
Hecate or Hekate is a chthonic Greco-Roman goddess associated with magic, witchcraft, necromancy, and crossroads.She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony...
. Addressed as "Anung Un Rama", he is told that his arrival on Earth signals its end. At the climax of the story, Hellboy is swallowed by Hecate in the form of an iron maiden and some kind of otherworldly conflict ensues, in which he is told that his right hand is a key to open the pit. Again Hellboy refuses, this time breaking off his newly re-grown horns causing the eclipse of the moon to disappear.
Box Full of Evil
Hellboy: Box Full of Evil (two issues, August–September, 1999) by Mike Mignola, Matthew Dow Smith, and Ryan Sook was written to bring a final end to the "Beast of the Apocalypse" story-arc.In the story, Igor Bromhead gains power over a demon, Ualac, by using that demon's name. Hellboy is also bound by his name, "Anung Un Rama", and the Crown of the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
, which he wears but is invisible to him, is taken. In taking the crown, Ualac is changed into a much more powerful demon. Hellboy finds out that "Anung Un Rama" is a literal translation of "...and upon his brow is set a crown of fire..." — and as Ualac has seized the crown, this is no longer who he is. As this is no longer his name, he is no longer bound, and thus able to defeat Ualac. The crown is kept for Hellboy by Astaroth
Astaroth
Astaroth , in demonology, is a Crowned Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.-Background:...
, in Pandemonium
Pandæmonium (Paradise Lost)
Pandæmonium is the capital of Hell in the epic poem Paradise Lost by the 17th century English poet John Milton."Pandæmonium" stems from Greek "παν", meaning "all" or "every", and "δαιμόνιον", meaning "little spirit" or "little angel", or, as Christians interpreted it, "little daemon", and later,...
, the capital city of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
; and a seat is reserved for the former in the House of the Fly.
Collected editions
Most of the Hellboy comics have been collected as trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
volumes.
- Hellboy: Seed of DestructionHellboy: Seed of DestructionHellboy: Seed of Destruction is the first Hellboy comic book mini-series, published by Dark Horse Comics. It was conceived and illustrated by Mike Mignola and scripted by John Byrne.This was, in part, the basis for the first Hellboy motion picture....
(October 1994) – Art by Mike MignolaMike MignolaMichael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
. Script by John Byrne. Collects Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1-4; the Mike Mignola's Hellboy promo (from San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2); the Mike Mignola's Hellboy: World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator promo (from Comics Buyer's Guide #1,070); sketchbook and art gallery. ISBN 1-56971-316-2. - Hellboy: Wake the DevilHellboy: Wake the DevilHellboy: Wake the Devil is a five-issue comic book mini-series in the Hellboy franchise, conceived and illustrated by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics...
(May 1997) – Written by Mike Mignola. Colors by James Sinclair. Separations by Dave Stewart. Letters by Pat Brosseau. Collects Hellboy: Wake the Devil #1-5. ISBN 1-56971-226-3. - Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and OthersHellboy: The Chained Coffin and OthersHellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others is the third trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series created by Mike Mignola published by Dark Horse Comics on August 5, 1998 which collects various mini-series, one-shots and back-up features featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy.-The...
(August 1998) – Written by Mike Mignola. Colors by Dave Stewart. Letters by Pat Brosseau. Collects The Chained Coffin (from Dark Horse Presents #100-2)'; Hellboy Christmas Special; Hellboy: Almost Colossus #1-2; Hellboy: The Corpse and the Iron Shoes; Hellboy: The Wolves of Saint August (from Dark Horse Presents #88-91). ISBN 978-1-59307-091-5. - Hellboy: The Right Hand of DoomHellboy: The Right Hand of DoomThe Right Hand of Doom is the fourth trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series created by Mike Mignola published by Dark Horse Comics on February 4, 2004 which collects various mini-series, one-shots and back-up features featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy.-Pancakes:This...
(April 2000) – Written by Mike Mignola. Colors by Dave Stewart. Letters by Pat Brosseau. Collects Pancakes (from Dark Horse Presents Annual 1999); The Nature of the Beast (from Dark Horse Presents #151); King Vold; Heads (from Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead); Goodbye, Mr. Tod (from Gary Gianni's The MonsterMen); The Vârcolac, The Right Hand of Doom (from Dark Horse Presents Annual 1998); Hellboy: Box Full of Evil #1-2. ISBN 978-1-59307-093-9. - Hellboy: Conqueror Worm (February 2002) – Written by Mike Mignola. Colors by Dave Stewart. Letters by Pat Brosseau. Collects Hellboy: Conqueror Worm #1-4. ISBN 1-56971-699-4.
- Hellboy: Strange PlacesHellboy: Strange PlacesHellboy: Strange Places is the sixth trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series created by Mike Mignola published by Dark Horse Comics on April 26, 2006 which collects the mini-series The Third Wish and The Island featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy.-The Third Wish:This story by...
(April 2006) – Written by Mike Mignola. Collects Hellboy: The Island #1-2; Hellboy: The Third Wish #1-2. ISBN 978-1-59307-475-3. - Hellboy: The Troll Witch and OthersHellboy: The Troll Witch and OthersHellboy: The Troll Witch and Others is the seventh trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series and published by Dark Horse Comics on October 3, 2007...
(November 2007) – Written by Mike Mignola. Collects The Penanggalan (from Hellboy Premiere Edition); The Hydra and The Lion (from The Dark Horse Book of Monsters); The Troll Witch (from The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft); Dr. Carps Experiment (from The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings); The Ghoul (from The Dark Horse Book of The Dead); The Vampire of Prague; Hellboy: Makoma #1-2. ISBN 978-1-59307-860-7. - Hellboy: Darkness CallsHellboy: Darkness CallsHellboy: Darkness Calls is a comic book limited series created by Mike Mignola published by Dark Horse Comics starring Hellboy.- Plot :In Darkness Calls, several plotlines and characters from earlier stories converge....
(May 2008) – Story and cover by Mike Mignola. Art by Duncan FegredoDuncan FegredoDuncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
. Collects Hellboy: Darkness Calls #1-6. ISBN 978-1-59307-896-6. - Hellboy: The Wild HuntHellboy: The Wild HuntHellboy: The Wild Hunt is the ninth collected edition in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic book series, the second of three connected story arcs written by Mignola and illustrated by Duncan Fegredo...
(March 2010) – Story and cover by Mike Mignola. Art by Duncan Fegredo. Colors by Dave Stewart. Collects Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #1-8. ISBN 978-1-59582-431-8. - Hellboy: The Crooked Man and OthersHellboy: The Crooked Man and OthersHellboy: The Crooked Man and Others is the tenth collected edition of Mike Mignola's comic book series Hellboy, collecting "Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1-3", "Hellboy: In the Chapel of Moloch," "Hellboy: They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships" and the story "The Mole" from "Free Comic Book Day 2008:...
(June 2010) – Story and cover by Mike Mignola, Joshua DysartJoshua DysartJoshua Dysart is an Eisner Award-nominated, New York Times Best Selling American comic book writer known for dark themes, humanist horror and a fascination with the roots of violence...
. Art by Richard CorbenRichard CorbenRichard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, Jason Shawn Alexander, Duncan Fegredo. Colors by Dave Stewart. Collects Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1-3; Hellboy: They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships; The Mole (from Free Comic Book Day 2008); Hellboy: In the Chapel of Moloch. ISBN 978-1-59582-477-6. - Hellboy: The Bride of Hell and Others (October 2011) – Story and cover by Mike Mignola. Art by Mignola, Richard Corben, Kevin NowlanKevin NowlanKevin Nowlan is an American comic-book artist who works as penciler, inker, colorist and letterer.He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic production, from "design to draftsmanship to dramatics".-Biography:Kevin...
, Scott HamptonScott HamptonScott Hampton is an American comic book artist well known for his painted artwork. He is the brother of fellow-comics-creator Bo Hampton.-Biography:Scott Hampton was born in 1959 in High Point, North Carolina....
. Colors by Nowlan, Dave Stewart. Collects Hellboy in Mexico; Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil; Hellboy: The Sleeping and the Dead #1-#2; Hellboy: The Bride of Hell; Hellboy: The Whittier Legacy; Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish. ISBN 978-1595827401.
Library editions
- Hellboy: Library Edition Volume I (May 2008) – Collects Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil. ISBN 978-1593079109.
- Hellboy: Library Edition Volume II (October 2008) – Collects The Chained Coffin and Others and The Right Hand of Doom. ISBN 978-1593079895.
- Hellboy: Library Edition Volume III (September 2009) – Collects Conqueror Worm and Strange Places. ISBN 978-1595823526.
- Hellboy: Library Edition Volume IV (July 2011) – Collects The Troll Witch and Others and The Crooked Man and Others. (Note: this volume does not contain the story "The Mole" from The Crooked Man and Others tpb.) ISBN 978-1595826589.
- Hellboy: Library Edition Volume V (no release date) – Expected to collect Darkness Calls and The Wild Hunt.
- Hellboy: Library Edition Volume VI (no release date) – Expected to collect The Storm & The Fury.
Other trade paperbacks
- Hellboy: Weird TalesHellboy: Weird TalesHellboy: Weird Tales is a Dark Horse Comics bimonthly eight-issue comic book limited series that offered a variety of guest writers and artists the chance to give their own take on the Hellboy characters created by Mike Mignola whilst he was in Prague working on the first Hellboy movie...
, Volume 1 (February 2003) – Cover by Mike Mignola. Collects Hellboy: Weird Tales #1-4. ISBN 978-1-56971-622-9. - Hellboy: Weird TalesHellboy: Weird TalesHellboy: Weird Tales is a Dark Horse Comics bimonthly eight-issue comic book limited series that offered a variety of guest writers and artists the chance to give their own take on the Hellboy characters created by Mike Mignola whilst he was in Prague working on the first Hellboy movie...
, Volume 2 (October 2004) – Cover by Mike Mignola. Collects Hellboy: Weird Tales #5-8. ISBN 978-1-56971-953-4. - Hellboy JuniorHellboy JuniorHellboy Junior is a Dark Horse Comics Halloween one-shot and two-issue comic book mini-series by Bill Wray and Mike Mignola that features a younger version of the fictional character Hellboy.-Halloween Special:...
(January 2004) – Written by Mike Mignola, Bill WrayBill WrayWilliam York Wray is an American cartoonist and landscape painter, notable for his Urban Landscape series of paintings, his many pages for Mad and his contributions to The Ren & Stimpy Show...
, et al. Collects Hellboy Junior Halloween Special, Hellboy Junior #1-2, plus original material. ISBN 978-1-56971-862-9. - Ghost/Hellboy Special (June 1997) – Written by Mike Mignola. Collects Ghost/Hellboy #1-2. ISBN 978-1-56971-273-3.
- Savage Dragon/Hellboy (2002) – Cover by Mike Mignola. Collects Savage Dragon #34-35.
- The Art of Hellboy (March 2003) – Written by Mike Mignola. Dark Horse Books. ISBN 1-56971-910-1.
- Hellboy: The Companion (May 2008) – Written by Steve WeinerSteve WeinerSteve Weiner is a Canadian writer and animator. He was born in Wisconsin and studied writing at the University of California. He lives in Vancouver and in London, England.-Books:Weiner's 1994 debut novel The Museum of Love earned comparisons to William S...
, Jason Hall. Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-1-59307-655-9. - Hellboy: Mask and Monsters (October 2010) – Written by Mike Mignola, James Robinson, Scott Benefiel, Jasen Rodriguez. Collects Batman/Hellboy/StarmanBatman/Hellboy/StarmanBatman/Hellboy/Starman is a DC Comics/Dark Horse Comics two-issue intercompany crossover comic book mini-series written by James Robinson with art by Mike Mignola published January to February 1999 featuring fictional heroes Batman, Hellboy and Starman....
#1-2, Ghost/Hellboy #1-2. Dark Horse Books. ISBN 1-59582-567-3.
Hellboy
Guillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
co-wrote and directed a Hellboy feature film in 2004, sharing the credit with the original screenwriter Peter Briggs
Peter Briggs
Peter Briggs is a British born and based director, producer, screenwriter, and concept artist; hired generally by overseas Hollywood motion picture studios. Although having worked in the motion picture industry for close to 20 years, he is best known for his work on the acclaimed film Hellboy...
following Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
arbitration. Del Toro, a fan of Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
's work, had previously written the preface to Hellboy: Conqueror Worm.
The film starred Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
as Hellboy (the favorite of both del Toro and Mignola for the role), Selma Blair
Selma Blair
Selma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
as Liz Sherman
Liz Sherman
Elizabeth 'Liz' Sherman is a fictional character appearing in the Hellboy comic book series created by Mike Mignola.-Fictional character history:...
, Rupert Evans
Rupert Evans
Rupert Evans is an English actor, who is well known in the United Kingdom for his television career.Evans was born in Staffordshire, England. He attended Milton Abbey School, in Dorset, and went on to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art...
as FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Special Agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
John Myers (a character created for the film), John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm
Trevor Bruttenholm
Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is a fictional character in the Hellboy comic book universe, created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne. His first appearance was in the comic book Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, issue #1 .-Fictional character biography:...
, Doug Jones
Doug Jones (actor)
Doug Jones is an American film and television actor best known to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fans for his various roles playing non-human characters, often in heavy makeup, in films and television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth and Fantastic Four: Rise...
as Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
(voiced by an uncredited David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
), Karel Roden
Karel Roden
Karel Roden is a Czech actor, known for his roles in Hellboy and The Bourne Supremacy.Roden's father and grandfather were also actors. After studying theatrical art in Prague he has played many roles in theatres and movies. First, he graduated school of ceramic, then he was admitted to the Academy...
as Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name....
, and Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Tambor
Jeffrey Michael Tambor is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Arrested Development and Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.-Early life:...
as FBI Senior Special Agent Tom Manning
Tom Manning
Tom Manning is a fictional character from the Dark Horse Comics universe. He is director of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.Manning has classically been portrayed as a stuffed-shirt bureaucrat who refuses to trust the paranormal members of his agency, even though their presence is...
. The film depicts Hellboy as living at the BPRD with a dozen cats and limited access to the outside world, and considered an urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
by the general populace.
The film received generally positive reviews, and a fair performance at the box office. However, the film debuted in theaters while The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
was still playing, and, according to del Toro's DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary, some theaters would re-title the film on their signs, or outright refuse to play it to avoid running a "devil" movie against Passion.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
A sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, was shot in Budapest by Guillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
, and features the returning talents of Perlman and Blair. Jones also returned not only in the role as Abe Sapien (undubbed this time), but in two other roles: The Angel of Death and The Chamberlain. Revolution Studios
Revolution Studios
Revolution Studios is an American production company founded in 2000 by Joe Roth, a former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox. Revolution was formerly a strategic partner of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which distributed and marketed Revolution's films. The company's film division...
had planned on making the film (which Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
was to distribute), but the studio went out of business before filming. Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
then picked it up. The plot is a shift to more folklore rather than action, with heavy European overtones. The character of Johann Krauss was added to the team, voiced by Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
. The character Roger
Roger (Hellboy)
Roger the Homunculus is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He is an unusually large homunculus, a humanoid being said to be created by means of alchemy....
the Homunculus was not, but he was written into the plot as a very prominent character in early drafts of the script (Roger can be seen as a lifeless statue in the background BPRD hallway shot in both the first and second films). The character of Agent Myers from the first film does not return, his absence being explained by Liz remarking that Hellboy had him transferred to Antarctica out of jealousy. Hellboy also reveals himself to the outside world in this film, and Liz is revealed to be pregnant with his child. On November 11, 2008, Hellboy II: The Golden Army was released on DVD.
Hellboy III
A third movie is in the conception stages, set to focus on the combat between Hellboy and a brainwashed Archangel that had been held captive by Nazis since World War II. There will also be the return of RasputinGrigori Rasputin (Hellboy)
Grigori Efimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name....
and Kroenen, and the debut of Roderick Zinco. New B.P.R.D Agents include Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
and possibly Roger the Homunculus. The prophecy of Hellboy becoming the Beast of the Apocalypse will be fulfilled, and additionally, Hellboy will have to learn to be a father of twins.
Guillermo del Toro has reported that it is highly unlikely he will be making Hellboy III: "By the time I get to it and by the time we got Ron [Perlman] back, he'll be a HellMAN and in a wheelchair," del Toro joked to a reporter. At a recent Comic-Con, Both del Toro and Perlman voiced their interest in doing another movie. Del Toro stated that it would only be possible if he can make this one big.
Animation
On November 9, 2005, IDT Entertainment issued a press release announcing that the company had licensed the rights to develop "animated content for television and home entertainment" based on the Hellboy comic. Ron PerlmanRon Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
(Hellboy), Selma Blair
Selma Blair
Selma Blair is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. She has performed in feature films including Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy, The Fog, Purple Violets and Hellboy II: The Golden Army...
(Liz Sherman), Doug Jones
Doug Jones (actor)
Doug Jones is an American film and television actor best known to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fans for his various roles playing non-human characters, often in heavy makeup, in films and television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth and Fantastic Four: Rise...
(Abe Sapien), and John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
(Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm) have all voiced their respective characters. Actress Peri Gilpin
Peri Gilpin
Peri Gilpin is an American actress known for her role as Roz Doyle in the U.S. television series Frasier from 1993 until 2004. Along with the principal cast, Gilpin won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2000...
joined the cast as Professor Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan
Kate Corrigan is a fictional character from the Dark Horse Comics universe, featured in the comic book series Hellboy and BPRD written by Mike Mignola, et al. Her appearance is based on Mignola's wife, Christine.-History:...
.
The first two 75-minute animated movies, Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron, were aired on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
before being released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. The first one aired October 28, 2006, and the second aired March 17, 2007.
Both stories have much more in common with the comic book Hellboy rather than the film - Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
is not psychic, for example, Hellboy and Liz are just friends, and the artwork and color palette is derived very closely from Mignola's original artwork. The DVD of Sword of Storms was released on February 6, 2007; it contains documentary material commentary and a Hellboy comic, Phantom Limbs.
After the initial release, some stores included exclusive giveaways with copies of the Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron DVD:
- Best BuyBest BuyBest Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
: A 7" Hellboy figure. - Walmart: An 80-page digest titled The Judgment Bell.
- Transworld: A 64-page Hellboy Digest.
- Infinity: A Lobster JohnsonLobster JohnsonLobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
magnet. - Circuit City - A Hellboy "Bust Up".
A "Hellboy 2 Pak" limited edition DVD set was released July 1, 2008, that contained both films and a 7" figure.
A third animated Hellboy film, The Phantom Claw, has been put on hold. Tad Stones
Tad Stones
Tad Stones is an American animator, screenwriter, producer and director best known for his work for The Walt Disney Company, where he worked from 1974 to 2003...
, director and writer of the direct-to-video movies, says the film will star Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
and will have some familiar characters, but Abe and Liz will not be in the film (at least not as main characters).
Novels and anthologies
Christopher GoldenChristopher Golden
Christopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
has written several novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s about the character, the first two of which, The Lost Army and The Bones of Giants, are part of the official Hellboy story canon. The events of both these novels are listed in the comic's official timeline featured in Hellboy: The Companion. In particular, the Golden-penned character of Anastasia Bransfield was also described in the companion, despite having never actually appeared in a comic.
- Hellboy: The Lost Army (written by Christopher GoldenChristopher GoldenChristopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
, cover and other illustrations by Mike MignolaMike MignolaMichael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
, 1997) - Hellboy: Odd Jobs (by editor Christopher GoldenChristopher GoldenChristopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
, writers include Stephen R. BissetteStephen R. BissetteStephen R. Bissette is an American comics artist, editor, and publisher with a focus on the horror genre. He is best known for working with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC comic Swamp Thing in the 1980s....
, Greg RuckaGreg RuckaGregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...
, Nancy A. CollinsNancy A. CollinsNancy A. Collins is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has alsowritten for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs...
, and Poppy Z. BritePoppy Z. BritePoppy Z. Brite is an American author. Brite initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s after publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections...
; with an introduction by Mike Mignola. Milwaukie: Dark Horse Comics, Inc., ISBN 1-56971-440-1, December 1999) - Hellboy: The Bones of Giants (written by Christopher Golden, cover and other illustrations by Mike Mignola, 2001)
- Hellboy: Odder Jobs (by editor Christopher GoldenChristopher GoldenChristopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
, writers include Frank DarabontFrank DarabontFrank Darabont is a Hungarian-American film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King...
, Guillermo del ToroGuillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
, Charles de LintCharles de LintCharles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
, Graham JoyceGraham JoyceGraham Joyce is an English writer of speculative fiction and the recipient of numerous awards for both his novels and short stories. He grew up in a small mining village just outside of Coventry to a working class family. After receiving a B.Ed. from Bishop Lonsdale College in 1977 and a M.A. from...
, Sharyn McCrumbSharyn McCrumbSharyn McCrumb is an American writer whose books celebrate the history and folklore of Appalachia. McCrumb is the winner of numerous literary awards, and the author of the Elizabeth McPherson series, the Ballad series, and the St...
, James CambiasJames CambiasJames Cambias is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and tabletop game designer, whose stories have been nominated for the Nebula Award and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Cambias was a nominee for the John W...
, and Richard Dean StarrRichard Dean Starr*Richard Starr redirects here, not to be confused with Richard StarkeyRichard Dean Starr is an American entrepreneur, editor, and author of fiction and graphic novels whose work has featured characters including Hellboy, Zorro, The Phantom, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Avenger, The Green...
, October 2004) - Hellboy: On Earth As It Is In Hell (written by Brian HodgeBrian HodgeBrian Hodge is a prolific writer in a number of genres and sub-genres, as well as an avid connoisseur of music. He currently lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he is working on his latest novel.Brian Hodge's novels are often dark in nature. Themes like self...
, cover by Mike Mignola, September 2005) - Hellboy: Unnatural Selection (written by Tim LebbonTim LebbonTim Lebbon is a horror and dark fantasy writer, and a judge at the 2005 World Fantasy Convention.-Life and career:Lebbon was born in London. His short story "Reconstructing Amy" won the Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction in 2001 and his novel Dusk won the 2007 August Derleth Award from the...
, cover by Mike Mignola, March 2006) - Hellboy: The God Machine (written by Thomas E. SniegoskiThomas E. Sniegoski-Career:A number of Sniegoski's works have been related to the Buffyverse, the fictional universe established by TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel....
, cover by Mike Mignola, July 2006) - Hellboy: The Dragon Pool (written by Christopher Golden, cover by Mike Mignola, March 2007)
- Hellboy: Emerald Hell (written by Tom Piccirilli, cover by Mike Mignola, February 2008)
- Hellboy: The All-Seeing Eye (written by Mark Morris, cover by Mike Mignola, October 2008)
- Hellboy: Oddest Jobs (by editor Christopher GoldenChristopher GoldenChristopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
, writers include Joe R. LansdaleJoe R. LansdaleJoe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
, China MiévilleChina MiévilleChina Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
, Barbara HamblyBarbara HamblyBarbara Hambly is an award-winning and prolific American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction...
, Ken BruenKen BruenKen Bruen is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction.He was born in Galway, and educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a Ph.D. in metaphysics. He spent twenty-five years as an English teacher in Africa, Japan, S.E. Asia and...
, Amber BensonAmber BensonAmber Nicole Benson is an American actress, writer, film director, and film producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but has also directed, produced and starred in her own films Chance and Lovers, Liars & Lunatics...
, and Tad WilliamsTad WilliamsRobert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers....
, July 2008) - Hellboy: The Fire Wolves (written by Tim LebbonTim LebbonTim Lebbon is a horror and dark fantasy writer, and a judge at the 2005 World Fantasy Convention.-Life and career:Lebbon was born in London. His short story "Reconstructing Amy" won the Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction in 2001 and his novel Dusk won the 2007 August Derleth Award from the...
, cover by Mike Mignola, April 2009) - Hellboy: The Ice Wolves (written by Mark ChadbournMark ChadbournMark Chadbourn is an English fantasy, science fiction and horror author with fifteen novels published around the world.Born in the English Midlands from a long line of coal miners...
, cover by Duncan Fegredo, September 2009)
Video games
A Hellboy video game called Hellboy: Dogs of the Night,Hellboy: Asylum Seeker was released for the PCPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, by Cryo Interactive
Cryo Interactive
Cryo Interactive Entertainment is a French video game development and publishing company founded in 1992, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo...
/DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. It has no relation to the movie series.
On April 6, 2005, Hellboy movie director Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
announced on his official site that he had made a deal with developer Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
to create a new Hellboy videogame based on the movie version of the character and his world, featuring new monsters, new villains, and a new storyline. Herman von Klempt
Herman von Klempt
Herman von Klempt is a villain created by writer/artist Mike Mignola for the Dark Horse Comics series Hellboy. He first appeared in the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Character Biography:...
and his war ape Kriegaffe #10 are slated to make appearances.
On May 9, 2006, it was revealed that the Hellboy game would appear in the summer of 2007, on PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. The game was released in North America on June 24, 2008 with the name Hellboy: The Science of Evil. It is developed by Krome Studios
Krome Studios
Krome Studios is an Australian video game company. Its headquarters are in Brisbane and it previously had offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. Krome Studios is best known for their Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games and for revitalising the Spyro the Dragon series...
, and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. As well as single player campaign where the player gets to play as Hellboy the game also features co-op play, featuring the characters Abe Sapien
Abe Sapien
Abraham "Abe" Sapien is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Icthyo sapiens," the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham Lincoln, on whose assassination date...
, Liz Sherman
Liz Sherman
Elizabeth 'Liz' Sherman is a fictional character appearing in the Hellboy comic book series created by Mike Mignola.-Fictional character history:...
, and Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson
Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola....
.
A Hellboy video game called Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Tooth Fairy Terror was released for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
by Tuesday Creative on January 14, 2009.
Role-playing game
The Hellboy Sourcebook and Role Playing Game, based on the GURPSGURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
system, was published by Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
in August 2002.
HeroClix
Hellboy is featured in WizKidsWizKids
WizKids, Inc. is an American New Jersey-based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. WizKids was purchased by and is a subsidiary of National Entertainment Collectibles Association. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a...
' Indy HeroClix
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system. Originally designed and produced by WizKids, it is now owned and marketed by NECA. Players construct teams of comic book heroes, villains, and other characters from popular video games such as Street Fighter, Gears of War, and Halo...
line with several different booster packs. He also has his own HeroClix/HorrorClix
HorrorClix
HorrorClix is a collectible miniatures game. Released on August 30, 2006, it uses WizKids' Clix system. The game's tagline is "wicked fun." The product was discontinued in November of 2008 when WizKids' new owner Topps shut down the company...
cross-line collector's set called Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.
Card game
Hellboy was also part of Upper DeckUpper deck
Upper deck may refer to :* The Upper Deck Company, an American trading card business* The upper deck is the highest level internal deck on a ship, i.e. just below the superstructure and open deck....
's VS System
VS System
Vs. System , also written as VS System and abbreviated as VS, is a collectible card game designed by Upper Deck Entertainment . In the game, players build and play a deck of Vs. System cards in an attempt to win a game against their opponent. It was first published in 2004 and is set in the...
card game as the first non-Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
or DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character.
Video slot game
Hellboy has also been adapted to be a Video SlotSlot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
and released on the Microgaming
Microgaming
Microgaming Software Systems Ltd is a privately held Isle of Man based software development company which claims to have released the first genuine online casino in 1994. The company is one of the leading software providers to the online gambling industry, with just under 100 casinos listed on its...
online casino
Online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....
platform.
Appearances in popular culture
- Hellboy appears as a "borrowed character" in author Kim NewmanKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
’s Anno Dracula series, specifically in the novella Andy Warhol's Dracula (2004) where he joins the ranks of BladeBlade (comics)Blade is a fictional character, a superhero/vampire hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character.The character went on to alternatively star and co-star...
, ShaftShaft (1971 film)Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob neighborhoods in order to find the...
, Travis BickleTravis BickleTravis Bickle is a fictional character from the 1976 film Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro. He is widely considered one of the most iconic characters in film history, and De Niro earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of him....
, the PunisherPunisherThe Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, Paul KerseyDeath Wish (film)Death Wish is a 1974 crime thriller film loosely based on the novel Death Wish by Brian Garfield. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted by muggers.The film was...
, Scooby-DooScooby-Doo (character)Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is the eponymous character and the protagonist in the Scooby-Doo animated television series created by the popular American animation company Hanna-Barbera...
, and ShaggyShaggy RogersNorville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character from the American animated television series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet great dane, Scooby-Doo. Shaggy is a cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries. He is the only...
in hunting down Johnny Pop, a vampire drug dealer. - In Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
's Sin CitySin CitySin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" , and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several...
: A Dame to Kill For, a tourist is wearing a Hellboy t-shirt. A hooker in Old Town is seen with a Hellboy tattoo. - Hellboy makes a one-panel cameo appearance during a hallucination sequence in Frank Miller's Sin City: Hell and Back.
- Hellboy made a cameo as a trick or treater in the last page of the Sam & MaxSam & MaxSam & Max is a media franchise focusing on the fictional characters of Sam and Max, the Freelance Police. The characters, who occupy a universe that parodies American popular culture, were created by Steve Purcell in his youth, and later debuted in a 1987 comic book series...
story "Belly of the Beast". - Hellboy also appears in an issue of Eric PowellEric Powell (comics)Eric Powell is a comic book writer and self-taught artist living in Lebanon, Tennessee who is best known as the creator of The Goon.-Biography:...
's Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
-winning series The GoonThe GoonThe Goon is a comic book series by Eric Powell. The series has a paranormal slant, with the average story concerning ghosts, ghouls, skunk-apes with an unnatural hunger for pies, extra-dimensional aliens, and mad scientists.-Publication history:...
. - Hellboy made a one-panel cameo appearance, along with several other borrowed characters, in the Shi/Cyblade crossover The Battle for Independents from Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. - Hellboy appeared in Madman Comics #5 (January 1995).
- Abe Sapien, a popular character from Hellboy, appears in John Byrne's Babe 2Babe (comics)Babe was a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics under their Legend imprint from July 1994 - October 1994. It was written by John Byrne, with pencils and inks by Byrne, and covers by Gary Cody....
#2. - In Kevin SmithKevin SmithKevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
's film DogmaDogma (film)Dogma is a 1999 American adventure fantasy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo,...
(1999), one of the StygianStyxIn Greek mythology the Styx is the river that forms the boundary between the underworld and the world of the living, as well as a goddess and a nymph that represents the river.Styx may also refer to:-Popular culture:...
Triplets is seen wearing a Hellboy t-shirt. - In one of the ending themes for Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, the animation and graphic style is the same one used in the Hellboy comic books.
- A large poster of Hellboy appears in a comic shop in the 2010 movie Kick-AssKick-Ass (film)Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman...
. - Hellboy makes somewhat of a cameo in the fifth volume of Requiem Chevalier VampireRequiem Chevalier VampireRequiem Chevalier Vampire is a Franco-British comic, published by Nickel Editions. It is translated in English and published by Heavy Metal in the USA...
, as a number of servants bear a striking resemblance to him.
Awards
The miniseries Hellboy: Conqueror Worm won a 2002 Eisner AwardEisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for "Best Limited Series", while The Art of Hellboy won an Eisner in 2004 for "Best Comics-Related Book". Mignola won a 2000 Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for "Best Artist", based on Hellboy: Box Full of Evil. Hellboy: Darkness Calls won a 2007 Eagle Award for "Favourite Colour Comicbook — American".
The character Hellboy was nominated for "Favourite Comics Character" at the 2004 and 2005 Eagle Awards
Eagle Awards
The Eagle Award is a series of awards for comic book titles and creators. They are awarded by UK fan voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's Eagle comic, the awards were set up by Mike Conroy, Nick Landau, Colin Campbell, Phil Clarke and Richard Burton, and launched...
. Other Eagle Award nominations include "Favourite Comics Story published during 2007" for Hellboy: Darkness Calls, and "Favourite Comics Hero".
Acclaimed comics writer Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
(V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government,...
, Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
) listed Hellboy on his recommendations page, particularly Wake the Devil (Vol. 2), calling it "the skillful cutting and the setting of the stone that we can see Mignola's sharp contemporary sensibilities at work".
In March 2009, the Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
character, Hellboy, won two categories in the fan voted Project Fanboy Awards for 2008: "Best Indy Hero" and "Best Indy Character".
See also
- The Amazing Screw-On HeadThe Amazing Screw-On HeadThe Amazing Screw-On Head is the title of a one-shot comic book written and drawn by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics in 2002, starring the character of the same name....
, another comic book from Dark Horse written and drawn by Mike Mignola.
External links
- Hellboy videogame at the KonamiKonamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
website - Hellboy animated official website
- Hellboy: Seeds of Destruction
- Official home of Hellboy comics
- Hellboy Slot
- The Hellboy Archive