Hellsing, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Kohta Hirano (Author), Duane Johnson (Author), Wilbert Lacuna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2009

There's a secret organization somewhere in England created to defend the Queen and country from monsters of all sorts. Yes, it's hard to believe in this day and age... but really, isn't this the true age of monsters? Enter Hellsing, an agency, long in tooth, with the experience, know-how, and... er... equipment to handle the problems that arise when vampires, ghouls, and the like take on these dark forces. "What equipment?" you may say. How about another vampire, and a big pistol loaded with special silver bullets? That oughta do the trick. But what really knocks 'em dead is the sharp wit, awesome artwork, and crazy, bloody action that make up the manga. Hellsing the long-awaited manga is finally in America, thanks to Dark Horse Comics and the folks at Digital Manga, and you're gonna love it. Come get some smart-ass gore and action as only Japan seems to produce, in that crazy "non-Western" format the kids seem to love. And nice and thick at a full 200 pages! The night is dark, but at least those wacky anti-heroes from Hellsing can make light of it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Another in a long line of manga featuring an off-kilter hero, this lively tale about vampire hunters features the eponymous top-secret organization based in England that's called on for only the toughest jobs. Hellsing's top vampire hunter is Alucard, a lanky figure in an oversized hat and a duster that swirls dashingly as he blows bad guys to smithereens with his arsenal of enormous firearms. Alucard, it turns out, is actually a vampire himself, and just why he's tearing up his own kind is open to question, but then, Hellsing doesn't lend itself to much deep contemplation. It's mostly a fun, violent romp. In the first story readers meet a young policewoman who joins the undead after becoming an innocent victim in a battle. Police Girl, as she's known, comes to the organization via Integra, Hellsing's leader, and her adaptation to her new life affords some amusing moments. In a flashback, readers learn how Integra took over Hellsing and how she first met Alucard when he rescued her from her own murderous relatives. Later, the heroes nearly meet their match in Father Alexander Anderson, a superhuman priest who works for Section XIII, the Vatican's own vampire division. The bloody battle is accompanied by some rather awkward religious sparring between the Catholic Church and Hellsing, which is sworn to protect, believe it or not, the Protestant Church. It's goofy details like this that give the book some charm and energy. Hirano's storytelling is easy to follow, as stylish close-ups of the "we're-groovy-and-we-know-it" characters explode into violent full-page illustrations of all-out mayhem.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing; First Edition edition (December 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159307056X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593070564
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Singing My Tune!, April 2, 2004

By 

Shanshad "shanachie_shadowfax" (Discworld) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hellsing, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Some folks will already be familiar with the anime; others may be encountering this graphic gothic for the first time. I have to say, as a both a manga and a vampire fan, I was delighted to find, Kohta Hirano's HELLSING volume one published in English. The basics of the plot will sound familiar; a secret organization exists in England for taking on the paranormal baddies that terrorize the country. This organization is called Hellsing, and in their corner they have one unstoppable tool, a generations old super-powerful vampire named Alucard who can stop any of the nasties and make them go Aaargh! Splat! in the night.

Probably on of the best things about the anime is that it never takes itself too seriously. Despite the incredible amounts of violence and gore, the dialog tends to be wickedly funny. Despite the allusions to Bram Stoker's DRACULA (After all, Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards) this manga quite gleefully ignores the Victorian sensibilities of the original tale and keeps the dialogue snappy and contemporary. Fans of Buffy the Vampire slayer may find this manga right up their alley. The story itself introduces readers to the cast of this series, Sir Integral, the head of the Hellsing organization and how she came to inherit the position with the help of Alucard their vampire who takes out the baddies for Hellsing others can't handle, and Seras Victoria, otherwise known as Police Girl who becomes Alucard's half-vampire servant when he saves her from dying. Other than the various zombies, vamps and other paranormal creeps Hellsing must put down, they also face off against the Vatican. Specifically section XIII of the Vatican; it's very own paranormal Special ops squad.

The art is fabulous, deftly shaded shots with plenty of detail and a real sense of motion and power that convey the action adventure drama of the plot. The detail never becomes overwrought or lighthearted-although at times the drawing can be comic-and maintains the gothic flavor that is so essential. Be aware if you are just discovering this series that it depicts a great deal of blood and violence-and if this is not your thing, you may want to try something with less graphic detail. For those of you who like a little carnage with your manga, this will probably suit you just fine. Delightfully action packed, wickedly irreverent, and artistically excellent, it's no surprise fans are already impatiently waiting for the next volume!

Be aware that the 13-episode anime series only loosely follows the manga storyline, so even if you've seen the anime, you won't be getting the exact same story. If you enjoy this series and are looking for some reading, I'd recommend BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL and, in anime, VAMPIRE HUNTER D.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing is lacking..., October 2, 2004

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hellsing, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Sometimes the anime is great but the manga lacks something, or the manga is great but the anime just doesn't hold up - so having enjoyed the anime I thought the manga would fail me. I was wrong. Lots of gore, guns, cool lines from Alucard, great artwork and lots of details packed into this book. Within the 200 plus pages are not just six chapters of Hellsing dealing with rogue vampires, ghouls and Priests, but a extra in the form of a bonus story from a manga that never got off the ground about Section XIII(13), the special vampire hunting organization from Rome.
I can't wait to see the other manga in the Hellsing series.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome., December 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hellsing, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

If you are a fan of the anime, or if you just like vampire machine gun violence, you have to check out the Hellsing comics. Published by Dark Horse(how fitting), this is one of the coolest comics I've read. It doesn't try hard at all to take itself serious, but the artist still manages to make you go 'Woah that is badass!' with super cool poses and dynamic action drawings. Volume 1 follows up to the Anderson(episode 3) Fight of the anime, but also includes the Master of Monster(Ep 8) chapter. After the second book the storyline will take a turn for the awesomer as it diverges completely from the anime and into the realm of Nazi Vampire Dictators and their plot to strike the heart of London. Also included is the short series Crossfire, featuring one badass female Priest with a penchant for firearms, and one crazy Nun with a Katana. Watch as they purify some fools in the best way possible, violently!

A+++++++++++ would read again!