Customer Reviews

Hellboy Library Edition, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil (v. 1)

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Hasn't been long since i really dove into reading comics, and searching for collections of series in hardbacks (like this one). The Hellboy Library really impressed me, it doesn't look like marvel omnibus or DC absolutes. I thought the cloth cover made it look very unique and stylish (although one reviewer said its a dust magnet, which isn't far from the truth, i liked the limited edition leather cover they made for hellboy seed of destruction which i sadly missed, this is a great collection)

I love how big it is and how well the art looks, the quality is fantastic for the price its totally worth every penny, i really can't wait to read more of it and can't wait to put Vol.2 right next to it. (which is already being pre-orderd on amazon :-D) I sure hope they do something like this for B.P.R.D. As well as hope they come out with covers like this for other popular dark horse series!!

Only thing i would have liked would have been a higher page count.

This volume was my introduction into the world of Hellboy, and let me just say that I am impressed. Not only is the story both intriguing and engrossing, but it's also just plain fun. The writing is great, and the art is gorgeous, especially in this format. The inks and lines are sharp, the paper is very high quality, and the extras are well worth checking out. The cover, as another reviewer noted, does tend to get dirty quickly, but it's easy to clean just by wiping it off. This is definitely one of the best collections of a comic book I've seen, and it's well worth the price. If you're a fan of Hellboy, I'm guessing you own this already, and if you've ever been curious about Hellboy, or comics in general, you should definitely check this out. I've already pre-ordered volume 2, and I'll be getting any others Dark Horse wants to put out.

In the tradition of Marvel's huge Omnibus collections, and DC's wonderful Absolute Editions, Hellboy is now here in a deluxe hardcover edition from Dark Horse. This first volume of the Hellboy Library Edition encompasses the first two storyarcs in Mike Mignola's spectacular series, Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil. Both stories are bound in this handsome oversized hardcover, along with a good deal of extras to boot. With the new Hellboy sequel on the way, now has never been a better time to get introduced to, or re-acquainted with, Hellboy, the rest of B.P.R.D., and the wonderful world that Mike Mignola created years ago. All in all, if you've missed out on Hellboy over the past few years, this first Library Edition is an absolute must own, and a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of Mike Mignola's Hellboy.

This first volume of HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITIONS is a welcome addition to any serious comic reader's collection. It matches the superb ART OF HELLBOY hardcover from a few years back in both size and binding and contains the complete story lines SEED OF DESTRUCTION and WAKE THE DEVIL as well as an extensive sketchbook section featuring many of creator Mike Mignola's early sketches (with very few, if any, repeated images from the ART OF HELLBOY tome).

The only thing missing from the original trade paperback collections are the pin-ups by other artists but, really, once you see how beautiful Mignola's work looks printed in this oversize format you hardly miss them. The colors (by Mark Chiarello on SEED and James Sinclair on WAKE) are vividly reproduced on bright, glossy paper (be careful to avoid fingerprinting, though).

Any fan of HELLBOY, Mike Mignola, or comics in general should look into adding this book to their library. I look foward to volume 2.

This collection is great for anyone looking to finally get their hands on Hellboy in comic form. This library edition includes 2 of the trade paperbacks in a oversized form. The quality of the Hellboy Library books are amazing for the price. They are covered in a fabric-like material found on higher quality books.

In terms of the actual art and story, Mike Mignola does top-notch work. The art is absolutely beautiful in the oversized form. There are multiple stories and all of them come to an end within this book. Mike included some notes about each story at the back of the book, which is great for fans of folklore like me.

Overall, this is one of my favorite collections of a comic. The beautiful packaging really stands out on my bookshelf and I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Hellboy movies.

I have been a Hellboy fan since 2001, when I started reading Conqueror Worm. It was one of the most rewarding comic book reads that I had found in a long time, going into the same category that Planetary and 100 Bullets were in in terms my reading modern comics. This Library Edition collects the first two stories, Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil. It's oversized and contains a wonderful selection of sketches of by Mike Mignola and a new foreword by Hellboy Editor, Scott Allie. Since it's now out of print, I'd say this is more for the Hellboy enthusiast than a normal reader but it's the perfect place to start reading this masterpiece of the comic book medium.

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 and Wake the Devil," two interconnected action-factory stories with a bright-red demon as its anti-hero. Mignola happily crams this rather brief tale with Lovecraftian horrors, mythic demons, a cursed mansion, a vampire in an old castle, 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 won't serve him, he'll used Liz's power instead.

But that adventure is not the end of Hellboy's clashes with Rasputin. Sent to find an ancient vampire in Romania ("Paprika chicken, baby!"), he runs afoul of a bunch of Nazis who serve Rasputin's spirit -- and a bunch of mythic creatures, including the vampiric Giurescu, who serve a ghastly, immortal lamia in the depths of his castle.

Elsewhere, Abe is falling into a trap of Rasputin's, and Liz's powers run amuck when her team finds an alchemist's lab with a seemingly dead homunculus. And Hellboy's fight with the lamia has shocking repercussions, when he finds himself hurtling into a darkness where his true purpose is revealed -- and he must choose what his destiny will be.

Vampiric snake-women, Baba Yaga, immortal sorcerers, grotesque frog monsters, disembodied heads, a Nazi woman in an iron maiden, and a walking skeleton. Oh yeah, and a Lovecraftian lake monster with way too many tentacles.

Mike Mignola knows how to craft a monster-filled universe, where a demonic anti-hero seems downright normal. And the first two books about him are technically separate stories, but they're more like two halves of the same tale -- and while each starts relatively quietly, they rapidly escalate into haunting, grotesque action-adventures set in half-ruined buildings where only monsters and statues still dwell.

And while a few plot threads are left hanging in the second half of the story, Mignola does a solid job plotting these. He also knows how to use dialogue for atmosphere as few authors can ("Witches, striges, vampir... ghosts come forth from their tombs..."), but also utilizes Hellboy's acid wit to lighten the mood ("Not gonna happen... 'cause you're very very ugly and YOU HAVE A GIANT SNAKE BODY!").

Hellboy himself is a classic anti-hero -- despite his red skin, bulky body and sawed-off horns, he's very human in attitude, with an understated love for his friends and his adoptive father. Throughout these stories he's faced by hints of what he truly is and what he's expected to become by the infernal players, but his good heart won't have it. And his snappy wit ("Insolent beast! Troglodyte!" "Big talk for a guy with no pants") only makes him more lovable.

It's also worth mentioning that this edition is simply beautiful. The heavy cloth binding gives the book plenty of resilience to repeated readings, especially since the paper it's printed on is thick and glossy. It makes Mignola's art -- with its vivid colours and heavy, thick shadows -- even more vivid.

"Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil" compiles the first two books of Hellboy's adventures, and shows why Mike Mignola is such a well-loved, well respected graphic novelist.

As a long time fan of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series (as in, back to Hellboy's initial appearance in John Byrne's Next Men), I've been waiting for a collection that did justice to Mignola's incredible artwork. As soon as I set my eyes on the Hellboy Library Edition, I knew my wait was over.

Similar to the Sin City Library collections, the Hellboy Library Edition is a larger than normal hardcover size. Think of the DC Absolute hardcover series; this book is just slightly smaller than that format. As if the extra large presentation weren't enough, the page stock has been significantly upgraded. The pages are thicker than most cover stock, and they have a glossy finish that perfectly showcases Mignola's unique (and gorgeous) artwork. Each page truly becomes fine art. The pages are also very resistant to fingerprints, which is especially important given the amount of black Mignola tends to use. I can see some collectors having a problem with the cloth-like cover of this volume, but I think it suits the book quite well.

In this hefty first volume you get the complete Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil stories plus a nice helping of bonus material, including promotional artwork, shorts, and sketchbook artwork. Seed of Destruction is, of course, the Hellboy origin story and the basis of the 2004 Hellboy film. Wake the Devil is the sequel story, and served as the inspiration for the animated Hellboy feature Blood and Iron.

With its high price tag, the Hellboy Library Edition collections are not for everyone. They are however, a must-have for serious Hellboy collectors. Once you see the quality of the book, you won't think twice about replacing your Hellboy paperback collections.

I have not read Hellboy before this. Actually I did - but it was a Chinese translation of "Seed of Destruction" that I picked up years ago. Seeing that my Chinese sucked, I wouldn't actually call that "reading". Of course, Mike Mignola's artwork is probably enough of a pull to visit the world of Hellboy and BPRD.

Picked up the "Hellboy Library Edition Volume One" some weeks back on a whim and enjoyed every single page of it. This handsome, leather-bound, oversized volume collects the first two arcs "Seed of Destruction" and "Wake the Devil". I was told that Hellboy stories got far better after these arcs (co-written by veteran John Byrne) but this is where it all began. Mignola was still "looking for his voice" here but you see the beginnings of the greatness here in these tales showing the advent of the big red guy and the early appearances of Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman (later of BPRD fame).

If you've enjoyed the movies by Guillermo Del Toro, it's time to pick up the original masterpieces. This volume also comes with loads of DVD-styled extras including Mignola's sketchbooks, convention doodles, essays, etc.

The 2 Hellboy story arcs this volume contains are classics. The introductions are impressive and enjoyable, especially if you're already a fan of the series. If you ARE a fan, these are a great addition (or replacement, if your trade paperback bindings have gone rotten) to your comic collection.

This "Library Edition" series features a soft cover and glorious blown up art from the originals. It's like comics in Hi-Def and I love it. You have literally never seen Hellboy look this good. These volumes give the impression of an epic tome, holding wonders unceasing within, which is appropriate.

Fantastic content, terricic packaging.