Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories Volume 1

Read it all in one sitting, great storytelling and art by Mike Mignola, plus art from others artists like Richard Corben too.

It was a gift for my student and he loved it. Several stories in one book was a pretty good deal.

The art by Richard Corben is really amazing and his work on the stories “The Crooked Man” and “Double feature of horror” is really awesome. I would say the double feature is my favorite of the short stories. I like when sebek eats the gift shop clerk at the end

A really solid collection of Hellboy short stories. Definitely needed to fill your collection if you collect the other omnibus’. Beautiful artwork and great stories.

I hate softcover collections and compilations. They simply don’t give me the same satisfaction as a well-made hardcover. Even when you purchase a new softcover, it often arrives in less-than-perfect condition, sometimes without proper wrapping, with folded corners or pages, or even slightly worn. Softcovers with 300–350+ pages are uncomfortable to hold and read. You have to bend them too much just to see the text near the spine. And as part of a home library, they’re a poor choice, they lose their appearance quickly. That said, sometimes there’s no alternative. While reading what I initially thought was the most complete Hellboy collection (Hellboy: Monster-Sized Edition), I kept noticing footnotes referencing stories I had never heard of. After finishing it, the sense of incompleteness kept bothering me, so I picked up these two volumes of complete Hellboy stories which, much to my frustration, doesn’t exist in hardcover. Was it worth the money, or did I fall for clever Dark Horse marketing? Let’s find out. ★★★★★ Text ✦ To begin with, I’ll share the full contents of Volume 1, as this is often missing from official descriptions: ✦ Pancakes ✦ The Midnight Circus ✦ The Nature of the Beast ✦ King Vold ✦ Hellboy in Mexico ✦ Hellboy Versus the Aztec Mummy ✦ Hellboy Gets Married ✦ The Coffin Man ✦ The Coffin Man 2: The Rematch ✦ House of the Living Dead ✦ The Crooked Man ✦ The Penanggalan ✦ The Corpse ✦ Double Feature of Evil ✦ The Iron Shoes ✦ 22-page sketchbook This is a fantastic folklore-driven collection drawing from stories around the world. It pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the final panel with the iron shoes in from of the saint's sculpture. The volume includes stories from Hellboy’s younger years (Pancakes is one of my personal favorites), his adventures in Mexico, including the infamous marriage story, and the origin of Gruagach, the boar-like creature who holds a lifelong grudge against the main character. The Corpse stands out as one of the most beloved and widely praised stories among fans of Mike Mignola. And if you’ve seen Hellboy: The Crooked Man, this book includes the original story, which is far better than the film adaptation. ★★★★☆ Art Mignola’s signature style (heavy black shadows, rough angular shapes, and minimalist silhouettes) is present throughout. Although many stories are collaborations with other artists, there’s still plenty of work by Mignola himself. There are also sections illustrated by Richard Corben, known for his exaggerated, grotesque human forms. While his style is distinctive, I personally prefer Mignola’s. ★☆☆☆☆ Book Design This is a 368-page portrait-format softcover and it suffers from all the issues typical of the format. It starts to lose its appearance quickly, even with careful handling. Reading is not comfortable: you have to bend the book significantly to see the text near the spine, which constantly makes you worry about the binding and see how well-glued your copy is. Another drawback is that all creator credits are grouped in the contents section. I would have preferred to see them at the beginning of each story. Finally, the glossy paper tends to show fingerprints easily, especially on darker pages, which makes the reading experience slightly less enjoyable. ★★★☆☆ Price and Availability Both volumes were published in 2018. Volume 1 is somewhat cheaper than Volume 2, which means that once you’re hooked, you’ll likely have to pay more to complete the set. Keep that in mind. In my opinion, with current discounts and availability on the pre-owned market, the price-to-quality ratio is fair. ★★★★☆ Overall Impressions The stories in this volume are a great addition to the Hellboy universe. Even though the majority of them are collaborative works, they expand the folklore of the Mignolaverse and offer plenty of memorable moments whether thought-provoking, humorous, or genuinely gripping. I especially appreciate that a good portion of them were drawn by Mignola himself, his style and storytelling remain truly unique. As for this edition, I still wish it had been released as a single hardcover instead of a two-volume softcover set. It clearly feels like a marketing decision rather than one made with long-term preservation in mind. That said, it was absolutely worth reading. Some of these stories, rich in wit and dark humor, will stay with me for a long time.

A great introduction to the young life of Hellboy and his experiences with humans and demons. It was a great bundle to see his time and Mexico with the friends made and lost. The other side adventures were also great ways of showing while he worked for the BRPD and has great strength even Hellboy is just winging it sometimes.

As a longtime Hellboy fan, the attraction here was to get all the short stories that I'd not been able to get in the one-off comic book form, or that were included in other compilations, and this first volume does not disappoint, as while I recognized a number of the stories, quite a few were also completely new to me. The second attraction of this collection is that it allows you to re-read the stories in the chronological order of Hellboy's life - not the backwards and forwards, flashback order that the stories were actually published in. That gives them a greater coherence, even when drawn by different artists. It may be sacrilege to say it, but while I'll always have a soft spot for Mignola's original version of Hellboy (which I didn't really care for when the series first emerged), I think I like Richard Corben's version almost as much. There is the obligatory sketchbook section at the end of the volume, but that's the only 'added extra' you get. It's still a worthwhile purchase though. One thing that strikes me as a bit odd is that even though the book is the same size as the regular trade paperback collections, it somehow feels smaller - perhaps the fact it's twice as many pages plays a perception trick on you, but it's the exact same size. Regardless, an excellent warm up for the full omnibus version of all the major Hellboy stories due later in 20201.

Hellboy's formative years. Especially loved the Mexico portions. Did not expect certain stuff and won't spoil them here, but after reading I now want a whole book of just that spectacle.

Best comic book ever

Totalmente recomendable si vas empezando a leer Hellboy

Ces histoires courtes sont présentées en ordre chronologique mais peuvent être lues indépendamment les unes des autres. Elles ne nécessitent pas de connaissance particulière du personnage ou de son histoire mais viennent s’ajouter aisément à ses aventures officielles. Ce recueil peut être un bon point d’entrée dans l’univers Hellboy (sans spoiler sur ses aventures « officielles »et sa vie) si vous voulez découvrir le personnage. De même si vous êtes un fan du personnage vous découvrirez des aventures inédites qui s’insèrent facilement dans son histoire déjà connue.

as histórias com a arte do mignola encapsulam uma mudança interessante de estilo, mais simples e não menos expressiva. de brinde, richard corben comete a ousadia de desenhar o hellboy tão bem quanto o próprio mignola. as histórias ambientadas no méxico são particularmente especiais: capturam a aridez da paisagem local com maestria. pontos baixos todos os outros artistas, que empalidecem diante destes dois monstros.

Arrivato e in perfetto stato. Ottimo.