Without question, my favorite Superhero in comics is Mike Mignola's Hellboy. Maybe like most younger people, I 'discovered' Hellboy thanks to the 2004 film, of the same name, by Guillermo del Toro, but that film only opened the door to a world of fantastic stories, characters, and superb writing. Today, I am going to share my five favorite Hellboy stories and what makes them such a fantastic read! Spoiler Alert, some of the selections contain spoiler alerts to the plot of the Hellboy universe, some more obvious spoilers than others.
#5: The Corpse
This story holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first Hellboy story I was exposed to. Hellboy is on a mission to return a missing child, kidnapped by a group of Fairies, in Ireland. Hellboy takes on the task of burying Tam O'Clannie in return for the child. Along the way, Hellboy and O'Clannie bicker back and forth several times to comedic effect.
The story reaches its climax when Hellboy faces a Giant to make sure his promise is held. Overall, this story really highlights a lot of what makes the Hellboy universe so great in a few pages. It exemplifies Hellboy's position as a investigator and mediator of the human realm and the supernatural, the fantastical creatures and supernatural beings that inhabit the universe, hilarious moments of comedy, and, of course, some fantastic action. This story was adapted slightly in the Hellboy film, and it does justice to its source material, capturing the aforementioned attributes.
#4: The Wild Hunt
A long story, this one follows Hellboy and discovering of his destiny. Due to its containment of many key plot points for the rest of the Hellboy series, I have decided to keep the plot mostly off this list. Hellboy is summoned by the Osiris Club to participate in The Wild Hunt, the hunting and killing of Giants.
Following the Hunt, Hellboy meets up with an old friend, Alice Monaghan, before meeting Queen Mab. Hellboy learns of his role in the realm of humans, and the bloodline of his 'mother,' all while being told of an impending war between an evil witch named the Queen of Blood and himself. This story offers a new look into Hellboy, as he struggles with making his own destiny and his disposition of being half-demon/half-human. This story also ties into another set of stories later on, showing the level of detail and awareness of Mignola to make one epic story span over several books. Hellboy has never felt more human until this story, as he is struggling with all to relevant question of destiny and choice, something Hellboy has touched on several times, and will continue to touch on for sometime to come
#3: Conqueror Worm
The first complete story I owned outside of graphic novel/trade paperback collections was this masterpiece. Along with sharing its name with an Edgar Allen Poe poem, I was drawn in by the stories very noir-esque opening. This story follows Hellboy and Roger, introduced in Wake the Devil, and their investigation of an castle in Austria, and its association with occult Nazi activity. Eventually, Hellboy encounters Herman von Klempt and learns of his plan to release a creature from space on Earth to end humanity. Hellboy, Roger, and a ghost named Lobster Johnson are faced with this creature and are the last line of defense for the Earth. This story seems very grand and epic, while being a mix of mystery, horror, science-fiction, and drama, showing Mignola's talent to mix, combine, and dissect all of those genres into a four part story.
#2: The Storm/The Fury
A sequel to The Wild Hunt, The Storm/The Fury is packed full of poetic symbolism and fantastic story tell you come to expect in Mignola's work. Reluctant to be the leader in the war against the Blood Queen,Nimue, Hellboy evaluates much of his past and still faces a conflict of choice vs destiny. One notable scene is here Hellboy reflects on his childhood, wanting to be a good guy fighting bad guys and monster, like his adopted father Dr. Bruttenholm. Shortly after, Hellboy encounters a Demon, reminding him of his power to release Hell's army, to no avail. Where The Storm is the docile for the most part, The Fury is three books of action, while still remaining true to the poetic nature of this trilogies conclusion.
Ultimately, Hellboy confronts Nimue, and kills her. However, before Nimue is dragged to hell by the spirits of witches before her, she manages to steal the soul of Hellboy, brings him to hell with her. This story concludes all of what Hellboy sought out to do. He sought to make his own choices, and be who he wanted to be, not what others told him he was. He was a 'good guy' like he always wanted to be, and in the end, he saved the world from its greatest threat. Hellboy chose his own destiny on his own terms.
#1: Hellboy in Hell
The latest in Hellboy stories, Hellboy In Hell, a ten-part series, follows Hellboy as he wanders through Hell following the events of The Fury. While not as action packed as the previous stories, this one is a poetic and artful experience. Explaining the lineage and creation of Hellboy, the hierarchy and order of Hell, and offering an intersting interpretation on Hell in the Universe. While the story takes some tangents and offers some entertaining one-offs sprinkled with in it, Hellboy In Hell is, all and all about accepting the end.
Hellboy has once again denied his 'destiny' as his Demon father successor, and has chosen to live in peace. Yes, death serves as a form of ending, but even in death Hellboy found himself doing task and deeds for others. It is not until he finds a small, quite place in Hell to call his own he can say his work is truly done. No it is not a luxuries and grand ending to the magnificent story of Hellboy, but anything other than this ending would almost be lacking in heart and meaning.
So there you have it. Five fantastic stories from the world of Hellboy. Yet, they are not alone, as they all carry a level of mysticism and wonder within their pages, and to try and labor over describing each and every attribute would bound to result in too many losing their true magic in words. Hell, even trying to share my five personal favorites feels 'dirty' as there is no way my words can describe the stories themselves. With that, I beg you to go out and read one, or two of these stories if you have not already done so, as they are a true testament of how beautiful a comic book can be.
