Customer Reviews

Hellboy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hellboy is about a demon that was brought to Earth for evil deeds a long time ago. A good-natured doctor intercepted the infant demon, Hellboy, and raised him to fight the good fight with the aid other unusual beings like Hellboy. There is just one problem; the evildoers from long ago are back to finish what they started!

I cannot pinpoint why I expected Hellboy the book to be substandard; but, at this point, the reason is really quite irrelevant since the book turned out to be good. Yvonne Navarro gives the book an excellent and consistent voice that makes it easy to read, with the exception of a few typos that the editor should have spotted. I am especially impressed with the character development of Hellboy. He has the mannerisms, behaviors, and thought processes of a believable person, so I genuinely feel as though I got to know the inner workings of his personality. Given his sparse involvement, Abe Sapien is nicely worked also. But the book is not about Abe Sapien, so I forgive his light presence. Supporting characters such as Broom, Agent Clay, Myers, and Liz are also written as well as Abe Sapien. The noteworthy aspect of all of the "good guy" characters is that Navarro creates a lucid balance between them; she is careful not to overcrowd the story with too much information about the supporting characters. As much as I wanted to read more about Abe Sapien, I was somewhat glad that I did not because the book might then be less concise.

The most important improvement to note is the occasional typos in the book. For example: instead of "even though", I read "even thought" in one of the earlier chapters. It is a very easy mistake to make, especially when you're typing quickly and on a roll, but someone still should have spotted it. There is one other similar simple typo, but I cannot remember the details. I just remember stumbling over two typos and put the "even thought" one to memory because I have personally made that typo numerous times when I type.

The second improvement to note is the villains. They were quite underdeveloped, especially considering the suitable development of the "good guy" supporting characters. The villains' intentions are clear enough; however, their motivations are ambiguous. I have my assumptions about the "why" of their intentions, but Navarro does not answer the "why" in the book. It would be nice to know instead of assume.

Expect the plot to be a little on the wayside for the first 90 or so pages, but do not let that discourage you from reading the book because those first 90 or so pages are incredibly fun to read! These are the pages that give you insight into the kind of person Hellboy is. Every page thereafter solidifies that character development.

The ending is terse; but when I ponder how else it could end, I reluctantly realize that I cannot think of a better ending.

I once read a review that suggested Hellboy is a knockoff of X-men. The reviewer then proceeded to condemn Yvonne Navarro's work with Hellboy. I do not agree. Yes, the two stories involve non-humans and atypical Homo sapiens. The distinguishing characteristic is that the two stories operate on different concepts; X-men is clearly social commentary while Hellboy is not. X-men focuses on communal issues surrounding mutant discrimination and integration into society; Hellboy does not. Not once did I get the impression that Navarro was making any philosophically and/or socially substantial arguments about discrimination. There is nothing wrong with that; X-men does a wonderful job at it. Just do not expect it in this book.

Everything considered, I thoroughly enjoyed Hellboy the book and I even more eagerly await the theatrical release. If you like to read books in this genre, I recommend this book to you. If you like to read books in this genre AND you intend to see the movie, I highly recommend the book. I especially look forward to seeing if I even come close to Del Toro's vision. That ought to be fun

There is possibly no easier, or harder task in writing than adapting a screenplay into a novel. The plot is set, the characters defined, and the ending resolved. And a good deal of the dialog is written. The writer's task is primarily to fill in the inner and outer details, and hope, desperately, that the film follows the screenplay as closely as the novel does. The biggest drawback is that every error of scriptwriting and every internal inconsistency cannot be ignored, but must be somehow justified. Often, the latter is not always possible.

Navarro is fortunate in that Hellboy the film resonates with Hellboy the script. She captures the action of the film well, and the interior motivations and interactions are well communicated. Once the reader gets past a somewhat chaotic beginning, the story of a young demon who has given himself to the good, and the other members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense unfolds easily.

The good fight moves from New Jersey to the darkesses of Russian crypts as Hellboy struggles against a host of enemies incarnated by the same evil forces that brought him into this world. Friendship and love are prime motivations for this teenager with the body of a giant as he faces enemies without and within.

My complaint is that Navarro is less able in taking the disjointed scenes in the script and creating the same continuity that the film builds with visual imagery. The beginning is where this is really apparent, and Navarro seems to have adopted a 'see the film first' approach. Of course, in most cases this will be true, but it never hurts to give the reader an even break. Once things settle down, Navarro's well-proven skills win the day, producing an eminently readable story.

As a huge fan of Hellboy, I can't get enough. I've never bought a novelization before, but I had to get this one. I always figured they were just copies of the movies into words. I couldn't have been more wrong. I read this book after I saw the movie. It told things that I hadn't seen before. This book was like the bonus on a DVD. Gotta have it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was clear to me that the author really liked the characters and cared about what they were doing. She has to have been a Hellboy fan to bring the characters to life the way she did. The book goes into the heads of the characters more than the movie. While the movie is good, it focuses more on action to hold the audience's attention. I'd recommend reading the book first, then seeing the movie.

usually i enjoy novelizations because they give me further insight into the characters. well, for this one, i'd have to say i get more new insight from reading character bios on the official site. navarro sticks pretty much to what you see on screen, maybe not even. unless you've seen the movie and have a pretty good recollection while reading the book, it's hard to visualize how exactly some scenes play out. also, a lot of the dialogue was altered slightly. not enough so that it lost its meaning, but my favorite- RED MEANS STOP!- was dissapointingly cut.
nonetheless, there are bright sides to the novel too. the myers/liz interactions were well handled, as well as hellboy's reactions to them. the writing style was also good- clear and entertaining.
this book was far from a literary masterpiece, but it was a good read for the pure fun of it. i'd give it a 3.5, rounding it down to a three for the rating above.

Not much to say about this novelization. It offers little beyond the screenplay and actually changes some of the most entertaining dialog.

A good, solid effort. It is very amusing to find out that Agent Myers is partial to one of my favorite foods, as well. The start of the novel has the photographer on the raid Bruttenholm lead against the nazis in World War Two reminiscing about that very first photo of Hellboy that he had taken.

Then the story unfolds from there. This is all well handled, and the movie follows the book pretty much identically, it seems. No reason to avoid this if you like Hellboy, it is fine.

So, you've seen the HELLBOY live action movie, and/or the animated material, loved it, and are thirsting for more tales of the red skinned chief investigator of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense? Lucky for you there are several items currently available that should (at least temporarily) quench your thirst.

If you'd like to relive the movie, try the HELLBOY novelization, by Yvonne Navarro. Navarro is an old hand at adapting screen properties, both large and small (she's done several BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER books, plus novelizations of SPECIES I and II) and can be counted on to do so in a readable and entertaining manner. Her work on HELLBOY is no exception. Writing from director Guillermo del Toro's script, and adding in her own little extras based on her intimate knowledge of the source material (she even gets HELLBOY's alternative spelling of "pancakes," substituting "m" for "n", correct), she produces a faithful adaptation of the movie. If you like her HELLBOY book, you might also sample some of Navarro's original novels. Books like AFTERAGE and MIRROR ME (available from The Overlook Connection Press), THAT'S NOT MY NAME, FINAL IMPACT, and RED SHADOWS are all well worth your time and money.

If you wish to explore the comics that inspired the film, there are several reasonably priced HELLBOY collections available from Dark Horse Comics. The movie's main inspiration comes from HELLBOY: SEED OF DESTRUCTION, written and drawn by HELLBOY 's creator, Mike Mignola, with an able assist from the venerable John Byrne of Superman and X-Men fame. HELLBOY: CONQUEROR WORM explores ideas Mignola touched on in SEED OF DESTRUCTION, finally explaining the origins of the strange race of aliens who appeared in that story.

If you like those, you can sample HELLBOY: WAKE THE DEVIL, HELLBOY: THE CHAINED COFFIN, and HELLBOY: THE RIGHT HAND OF DOOM. WAKE THE DEVIL is one long story, the other two volumes present several stand alone short stories which explore world mythology and folklore (THE CHAINED COFFIN features "The Corpse", an amusing tale whose events feature prominently in the movie). To see how other folks handle HELLBOY and his eclectic supporting cast, try BPRD: HOLLOW EARTH AND OTHER STORIES, and HELLBOY: WEIRD TALES.

If plain old prose is what floats your boat, there are several worthy original HELLBOY novels, among them HELLBOY: ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HELL by Brian Hodge, HELLBOY: THE GOD MACHINE by Thomas Sniegoski, HELLBOY: UNNATURAL SELECTION by Tim Lebbon, and three by Christopher Golden (of OF SAINTS AND SHADOWS fame), namely HELLBOY: THE LOST ARMY, HELLBOY: THE BONES OF GIANTS, and HELLBOY: THE DRAGON POOL. Golden also ably edited HELLBOY: ODD JOBS, an anthology featuring short stories by the likes of the aforementioned Brian Hodge, Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy Collins, Greg Rucka, and Chet Williamson.

But the book is pretty good. It is real enjoyable. It's a decent book. I've never heard of Hellboy before the movie came out. I saw the movie, liked it and i decided to read the book. I realy liked it but the movie was a lot better. I recomend this book to anyone who is a Hellboy fan.

If you liked this book check out the movie & Soundtrack.

Once again, Yvonne Navarro shows her skills at bringing to life with words that which the director does with images. In the theater of your mind, she creates the three-dimensional characters that are a hallmark of her work.

While a novelization gives the writer less freedom to expand and expound than an original novel, Navarro does well what any writer, director or other artist would hope for: she gives you reason to care about the characters and their fate.

As with her other books, I very much enjoyed reading "Hellboy" and would whole-heartedly recommend it.