Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781593070946
Edition: 3rd
ISBN: 1593070942
Label: Dark Horse
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 128
Publication Date: 2003-12-10
Publisher: Dark Horse
Studio: Dark Horse

Hellboy is one of the most celebrated comics series in recent years. The ultimate artists' artist and a great storyteller whose work is in turns haunting, hilarious, and spellbinding, Mike Mignola has won numerous awards in the comics industry and beyond. When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Something is coming
Comment: Near the end of World War II, the evil Rasputin summoned a creature from another world -- a little red demon baby.

And so starts Mike Mignola's distinctly offbeat "Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction," an eerie action/fantasy with a bright-red demon as its anti-hero. Mignola happily crams this rather brief tale with Lovecraftian horrors, a crumbling cursed mansion and a truly malevolent villain who wants to destroy the world.

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

Soon after, Hellboy and his companions Abe Sapien (fish-man) and Liz Sherman (pyrokinetic) arrive at cursed Cavendish Manor, unaware that the mansion's owner is in league with Rasputin. Then ghastly frog-creatures kidnap Liz and attack Hellboy, as Rasputin reveals his presence to the demon/man that he considers his servant.

And if Hellboy will not serve him, then Rasputin intends to use Liz's power to unleash a horrifying evil on the world....

"Seed of Destruction" is basically the springboard for the Hellboy graphic novel series (particularly as it reveals Hellboy's background and supposed destiny), and it's also the briefest -- virtually all the action takes place in the course of an hour or two. It's only real flaw is that Rasputin's drawn-out monologues tend to slow the plot down -- there's a LOT of exposition.

But for all that, it's a pretty wild ride. Mignola's rough, shadowy art matches the overall tone of the story, starting as a straightforward horror/suspense story before rapidly escalating into an all-out war on the lakeside. And there are some poignant moments as well, such as Hellboy's tragic final meeting with his adoptive father, or Abe's glimpse of the frogmen cradling the mother they killed.

And Mignola is pretty clearly a huge H.P. Lovecraft fan -- the story takes place in a cursed lakeside house, with a tentacled monster and mutated frog-beasts that were once human. And the Ogru Jahad only add to that impression -- they're ancient, terrible creatures that apparently want to obliterate everything. For whatever reason.

Hellboy is the pivot of the whole adventure. And despite his scarlet skin, horns and cloven hooves, he's anything but devilish -- he's sarcastic, wry, hot-tempered and determined to keep the world from Rasputin's clutches. But he also has a gentler side that we see when he's dealing with the elderly Bruttenholm, as well as his teammates Abe and Liz.

Full of action and grotesque creatures, "Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction" is a solid introduction to a decidedly unusual series. Bravo, Mike Mignola.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Cool Art-Great story-cheap made book!
Comment: Hellboy Seed of Destruction wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I thought it would follow the original Hellboy movie. Not exactly. But wow, if you love the dark creepy and cool you will love this! I am not going to go into a lot of detail about the story-I would not want to spoil any surprises. What gets me is the artwork-that and I can't get enough of Hellboy,Abe(my favorite) and Liz-for any of the reasons listed above, you can't go wrong. Now here's my problem-I bought two Hellboy novels graphic novels. They didn't last two days before the spine cracks and pages started coming loose. I am not careless with my books either. I have many other graphic novels, these are the only books I've had come apart like that. If the book held together it would get 5 stars from me.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 5 star story, 1 star binding
Comment: Great story, great art, book fell apart in my hands on the first read through - something that's *never* happened to me before.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Great Story; Weak Binding
Comment: "Hellboy." I first heard the title quite a number of years ago when I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation in a theater. I pretty much scoffed, rolled my eyes, and said "Hellboy?" under my breath. Long story short, time passes, I got into comics, and began to hear a lot of good things about "Hellboy." I even read some quotes from the actual book that intrigued me. However, it was the trailer for the second movie--sheer, unadulterated awesomeness--that pushed me over the edge and made me buy the first volume of the comic series.

Creator and artist Mignola enlisted John Byrne to write the first script for this series, and the team works together very well. Hellboy's attitude and way of looking at things is very entertaining (which keeps his internal dialogue always interesting), but the mythology of this series is pure magic. The sorcerers, Liz, Abe, Hellboy himself, the Lovecraftian beasts, all of it works together, forming this very dark yet attractive story. The main story arc, "Seed of Destruction," is very much an origin story for Hellboy, but you can tell how well-read both Byrne and Mignola are from the brilliance they churn out here.

Apart from the main four issue story arc, there are two short Hellboy stories in the back, as well as a cover gallery. The two shorts were promotional pieces, and they were interesting little tidbits to give us an idea of who Hellboy is and what he does. That part of the TPB was great, but I also have a huge complaint that has nothing to do with the story or the art. The binding was horrible. As another reviewer mentioned, the cover simply falls off when you're reading it. There will be an audible crack, and the cover will simply separate from the book. As a fan of Dark Horse's books (I've gotten many of their TPBs and this has never happened before) I was quite upset with that.

7/10

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Comment: This is a great book that follows the story line of the character. If you've seen the movie, you need to read this story to get a complete background of the character.

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