Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad start...
Review: As a columnist at the comic book website Comixtreme.com, a few months ago I asked my readers to rank the best graphic novels I'd personally never read, with the promise that I would try to read some of them and come back with my comments. This was one of the books that topped the list, the introduction of Mike Mignola's "Hellboy," and since there's a movie coming out later this year, I thought this was the perfect chance to check it out.This is a decent little action tale, with Mignola and scripter John Byrne presenting our hero, a strange, demonic creature found as a child and raised by humans to be an agent of a sort of supernatural secret service. We also meet several of Hellboy's comerades, including my personal favorite, the amphibious Abe Sapien. At the end of this graphic novel, though, I'm not left feeling like I've really gotten to know any of the characters. This book exists mainly to set up the situation -- Hellboy's origin, his occupation, etc. Hopefully future installments will get more in-depth as to who he really is, and not just in your standard superhero sense, but in a deeper, character-building sense as well. Still, this is a fun read and a nice place to start. It's good enough to have me on the lookout for Hellboy Vol. 2.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliance like this is rarely seen in comics
Review: Between Marvel devoting their time to Spider-Man clones and X-Men re-hashes, and DC deciding which super hero to kill off next, I had toned out of comics for a while. But the minute I took my first glance at Hellboy, I knew that this was something special. Created by Mike Mignola (set designer for Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula), Seed of Destruction begins in Germany in 1944 where a young demon is raised from hell. The demon, dubbed Hellboy, grows up fighting the paranormal with a small group of allies, and is a hero in every sense of the word. The irony of Hellboy? He's more human than just about every other character you can find in a comic book in the past ten years, and this graphic novel is pure brilliance from beginning to end. Mignola's artwork is awesome to say the least, and his story (scripted by comic legend John Byrne) nicely begins the mythology of what would become a beloved comic. This is a must own for any and every comic fan, and the books that followed only got better and better.
Rating:
Summary: Something else
Review: First of all I'd like to advise people who are willing to get into Hellboy to start here. Besides from this being the official first story you also get easily introduced to Hellboy and what he's about here, and the drift into Hellboy-reality is very natural and gentle. Besides from that it's a very nice read as a stand-alone story. It doesn't end with something like a cliff-hanger that makes you need to buy continuing books. It's a book with a beginning and an end. About the story: It's been over 35 years since Trevor Bruttenholm first found the creature that was later named "Hellboy", a big red creature over 7 feet high, strong as ten men, with a tail and an artificial stone arm. Nobody knows what he is or where he came from, including himself (a thing about which you get more and more hints as time goes by, not only in this particular volume). That was at the end of World War II on the scene of an occult experiment by a Nazi group trying to grab on to probably their last chances of enpowering the Reich. Now, the present, Trevor reaches out to Hellboy, who has since gone on to work for the "Bureau of Paranormal Investigation", because he desperately needs his aid. Weird extra-natural murders are taking place and it's up to Hellboy and his agency to find what kind of mystical powers are on a rampage and, even more important, who unleashed them. What you have here is a title that especially people who like things like "X-Files" and "Planetary" will like a lot. It's about an agency that goes around the world to solve super-natural crimes and puzzles, but the members of the agency aren't that normal theirselves either. All this in a pretty gritty and dark atmosphere. It's very well-written, everything fits, and what also is really nice is that the creator (Mike Mignola) NEVER gave the story-writing or the art-job away in any of the following books. The creator sticks with his book and it really shows later on, when you see how things keep clicking and keep the same atmosphere. Must-buy for Planetary and X-Files fans and alike.
Rating:
Summary: Dark subject matter, but ultimately VERY optimistic.
Review: From the look of the art, you would think that Hellboy would be depressing and dark in a Lovecraftian way, but actually, it's not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Hellboy faces the challenges that usually reduce the main characters in such stories to quivering masses of soon-to-be-blood-spattered jello, but he meets them head-in in the calm, workman-like fashion of a plumber about to administer profession-strength Drano to a clogged pipe. All in a day's work. No sweat, no matter how big or evil-looking the threat might be. And what about the main character himself? Pretty much the ULTIMATE redemption story, wouldn't you say? A demonic creation that serves the good, even in some stories displaying a downright Christian outlook on life. Kind of makes you feel warm and fuzzy about your fellow man! I mean, if a DEMON can be raised to be a pretty good guy, then maybe the hooligans down the street could be too, if they ever got better role models than their OxyContin-dazed parents. Mignola obviously supports Nurture of Nature 100 percent!
Rating:
Summary: Lovecraftian Story, Lousy Art
Review: Hellboy is a popular series but I have avoided picking it up previously because I really don't like the crude artwork. But recent hype has made me curious and I was pleased. This first volume takes us to a Nazi plot to help win the war. During a mystical rite, a small red creature appears and is dubbed Hellboy by the team trying to stop the Nazis. Flash forward to present day where Hellboy has been working for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. The man he has thought of as a father has been killed. Hellboy assembles a team and goes after those responsible. The story follows a wonderfully Lovecraftian story of ancient temples and races, strange creatures and magics, and information about what the Nazis were really trying to do. We get some nice hints into Hellboy's true nature and more information regarding a certain Russian priest. The story was enough to get me around the heavy-black art with its shade-free color swaths. The only part of the story that bothered me was Hellboy's constant use of the phrase "the small part of my brain that was still working...". It got to be a bit much in so short a tale. The book also includes some short pieces of Hellboy's earliest appearances. These make a nice addition to the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Comic.
Review: Hellboy is one of the most original and interesting characters created in the visual magic of comic books. Mike Mignola is simply a genius to create such a complex and unique protagonist that so easily returns for new episodes again and again (without becoming formulaic or falling for any of the usual clichés that many comic characters do). Here, in SEED OF DESTRUCTION, Hellboy's first adventure, the audience not only has some light shed upon his origins - this is also a great starting place for any Hellboy newbie (it was for me!). Hellboy, as a character, is simply delightful. He's a big red devil (literally), with his horns sawed down to two lumps on his forehead. He has a giant stone hand (yes, it's stone, yet it moves like it's flesh) on his right arm, and more than often uses it to give the final blow to end a fight. He also carries a really big, really cool-looking revolver (with a rosary hanging on it), but surprisingly, he doesn't use it all that often. Hellboy struts around in a simply bada** way that is easily appealing to many "tough-guy" fans, and yet is often as goofy and sarcastic as a teenager. He has his own fears, and is definitely not unstoppable (he gets hurt - a lot). Oh, and his favorite curse phrase: "Ah, crap." Here he is, the spawn of evil forces (Satan?), absolutely tough and bada**, but he gets just as distressed and apprehensive as any person can. That's part of why he's so cool; he isn't 100% perfect, but he's likeable and tough enough to be considered a hero. Now, for a little bit about his origins... Hellboy's Origin:
On the night of December 23, 1944, the Nazi regime hired the work of a sort of mystic/sorcerer, named Rasputin, in order to summon up the forces of hell (in the abandoned ruins of an ancient castle in England). They titled this operation "Ragna-Rok" (after the Norse myth of the end of the world). Meanwhile, that same night, a group of American scientists (protected by a U.S. army and led by a certain Professor Trevor Bruttenholm - pronounced "Broom") were conducting paranormal research amidst another set of ancient ruins, over in Scotland. A medium there started feeling strange and powerful forces at work, and realized something was going on. Back in England, the Ragna-Rok experiment built up. Rasputin spoke ancient, archaic words, summoning ancient and cosmic forces onto earth. Suddenly, in the Scottish ruins, there was a terrific explosion, and amidst the fire and debris crouched a form...a small, red being with little horns and a tail, and a giant stone hand. The soldiers protecting the scientists were almost quick to kill the thing...but Bruttenholm stopped them, for this little creature almost looked like a boy...one guess as to what they called him. And now for a little bit about this particular episode. SEED OF DESTRUCTION:
Fast forward to 1994. Hellboy is fifty years old, and has been a member of the government organization, the B.P.R.D. (the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense), for quite some time. Professor Bruttenholm is troubled about something, and Hellboy is curious to find out what. Bruttenholm reminisces about a recent arctic expedition that he had been a part of earlier that year, and how they had run into some giant temple or shrine. Inside that shrine, they discovered a giant, immaculately carved statue of something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft...and crouching before it was a statue of a man that looked "almost...alive." Then Hellboy noticed that there were frogs hopping around inside the room, and Bruttenholm panicked and ran out the door, yelling for a very confused Hellboy to run for his dear life - and a heartbeat later, the Professor's dead, scarred body gets thrown back in through the doorway, and the adventure begins. I've been reading the Hellboy/B.P.R.D series for almost a year now, after hearing about Guillermo del Toro's plans on directing a movie based on them. I finished reading the last official trade paperback collection of straight-out, Mike Mignola-penned Hellboy/B.P.R.D. comics about a week prior to the movie's release, and was more than excited to see it. However, I was a bit disappointed by the movie's straying from the original plots and characterizations in the comics (not to mention very anticlimactic battle/fight scenes), and so I will say it right now, plain and simple, THE COMICS ARE BETTER. You want to know how much better? Read this comic and find out.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Comic.
Review: Hellboy is one of the most original and interesting characters created in the visual magic of comic books. Mike Mignola is simply a genius to create such a complex and unique protagonist that so easily returns for new episodes again and again (without becoming formulaic or falling for any of the usual clichés that many comic characters do). Here, in SEED OF DESTRUCTION, Hellboy's first adventure, the audience not only has some light shed upon his origins - this is also a great starting place for any Hellboy newbie (it was for me!). Hellboy, as a character, is simply delightful. He's a big red devil (literally), with his horns sawed down to two lumps on his forehead. He has a giant stone hand (yes, it's stone, yet it moves like it's flesh) on his right arm, and more than often uses it to give the final blow to end a fight. He also carries a really big, really cool-looking revolver (with a rosary hanging on it), but surprisingly, he doesn't use it all that often. Hellboy struts around in a simply bada** way that is easily appealing to many "tough-guy" fans, and yet is often as goofy and sarcastic as a teenager. He has his own fears, and is definitely not unstoppable (he gets hurt - a lot). Oh, and his favorite curse phrase: "Ah, crap." Here he is, the spawn of evil forces (Satan?), absolutely tough and bada**, but he gets just as distressed and apprehensive as any person can. That's part of why he's so cool; he isn't 100% perfect, but he's likeable and tough enough to be considered a hero. Now, for a little bit about his origins... Hellboy's Origin:
On the night of December 23, 1944, the Nazi regime hired the work of a sort of mystic/sorcerer, named Rasputin, in order to summon up the forces of hell (in the abandoned ruins of an ancient castle in England). They titled this operation "Ragna-Rok" (after the Norse myth of the end of the world). Meanwhile, that same night, a group of American scientists (protected by a U.S. army and led by a certain Professor Trevor Bruttenholm - pronounced "Broom") were conducting paranormal research amidst another set of ancient ruins, over in Scotland. A medium there started feeling strange and powerful forces at work, and realized something was going on. Back in England, the Ragna-Rok experiment built up. Rasputin spoke ancient, archaic words, summoning ancient and cosmic forces onto earth. Suddenly, in the Scottish ruins, there was a terrific explosion, and amidst the fire and debris crouched a form...a small, red being with little horns and a tail, and a giant stone hand. The soldiers protecting the scientists were almost quick to kill the thing...but Bruttenholm stopped them, for this little creature almost looked like a boy...one guess as to what they called him. And now for a little bit about this particular episode. SEED OF DESTRUCTION:
Fast forward to 1994. Hellboy is fifty years old, and has been a member of the government organization, the B.P.R.D. (the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense), for quite some time. Professor Bruttenholm is troubled about something, and Hellboy is curious to find out what. Bruttenholm reminisces about a recent arctic expedition that he had been a part of earlier that year, and how they had run into some giant temple or shrine. Inside that shrine, they discovered a giant, immaculately carved statue of something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft...and crouching before it was a statue of a man that looked "almost...alive." Then Hellboy noticed that there were frogs hopping around inside the room, and Bruttenholm panicked and ran out the door, yelling for a very confused Hellboy to run for his dear life - and a heartbeat later, the Professor's dead, scarred body gets thrown back in through the doorway, and the adventure begins. I've been reading the Hellboy/B.P.R.D series for almost a year now, after hearing about Guillermo del Toro's plans on directing a movie based on them. I finished reading the last official trade paperback collection of straight-out, Mike Mignola-penned Hellboy/B.P.R.D. comics about a week prior to the movie's release, and was more than excited to see it. However, I was a bit disappointed by the movie's straying from the original plots and characterizations in the comics (not to mention very anticlimactic battle/fight scenes), and so I will say it right now, plain and simple, THE COMICS ARE BETTER. You want to know how much better? Read this comic and find out.
Rating:
Summary: Hellboy; just plain great fun
Review: HELLBOY is probably everything Robert Bloch (from the intro to Seed of Destruction) and Alan Moore (from the intro to Wake the Devil) say it is but the bottom line is that it's just great fun; a great visual and mythical experience. It clears itself of any pretentiousness right of the bat: it's about a monster (more specifically, a demon) who goes around and beats up or gets beaten up by other monsters. Mike Mignola himself said he "wanted to draw monsters" and HELLBOY assures that he'll be able to do so, whether drawing the good guy or the bad guys. But while Hellboy may not be the most cerebral comic book on the rack (not to imply that there are that many to begin with), it draws it's inspiration from mythology and folklore, so it's definitely food for the brain. And it may just inspire you to go and read the source material. Something must also said for the artistic effort in the SoD series. Not to say that subsequent HELLBOY stories drawn by Mignola look bad (far from it), but in Seed Of Destruction, one can clearly see the labor of love involved. The combination of line work and heavy blacks seem to convey a stronger sense of depth than usual. Speaking of heavy blacks, Mignola has admitted that such a technique began as a way to cover up what he "didn't know how to draw", but he certainly knows how to turn this admitted weakness into strength. Mignola also skimps on backgrounds, often just leaving them out for panels at a time, but when he does render backgrounds, he knows just how to set the mood, whether the background in question is a derelict church, a moonlit forest or a graveyard. So effective are Mignola's backgrounds when they are seen, that the reader barely misses them when they're absent. Anyway, enough gushing praise. I end with a recommendation: anyone who's a fan of comics, folklore or mythology should give HELLBOY: SEED OF DESTRUCTION (or anything HELLBOY, for that matter) a look.
Rating:
Summary: Byrne's writing keeps Seed from being perfect
Review: Hellboy: Seed of Destruction was originally released as a 4-issue comic book mini-series from Dark Horse Comics in the early 90's. From the beginning, Seed of Destruction became an instant classic due to the great artwork from its artist and creator Mike Mignola. Mignola's artwork is very simple with its heavy use of blacks and shadows and solid primary colors. Whenever Hellboy is the centerpiece of the panel, Mignola makes great use of blacks and red to symbolize Hellboy's infernal origins. Whenever Abe Sapien (Hellboy's B.P.R.D. fish-man partner) is the center of the action then Mignola uses blacks and cool colors like blue, green and tones in between. Mignola's style is very minimalist yet he shows more depth of character and meaning with each panel of artwork than most comic book artists working in the field today.
The characters of Hellboy and his supporting group in the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) are very original and refreshing in the world of comics. It is not everytime that the main character of a book is a red-skinned demon with filed down horns and who was found by Allied troops during the end of WW2 and raised as a human by a paranormal researcher. Hellboy may be a demon in appearance, but he's the most human comic character to be created in quite awhile. He's very much the blue-collar, beer-drinking, cigar-chomping Everyman that is missing in comics these days. Hellboy's supporting characters of Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman in Seed of Destruction are given some background, but still not enough to make them fully realized characters. Part of this may be due to the writer of this series.
John Byrne is considered one of the masters of the comic book writing world. His stint on Marvel's X-men and Spider-Man are considered classics. But with Hellboy, Byrne's style is very average and pedestrian. Byrne's style is more suited for superheroes, but Hellboy and his gang from B.P.R.D. require a better writer who is subtler and who understands the Lovecraftian-European folklore theme that permeates Hellboy and his world.
It's really due to Byrne's stint as the writer for this first book that I cannot give Seed of Destruction a 5-star it deserves. The good news is that Mike Mignola takes control of the writing as well as the artwork for all future Hellboy stories. Mignola's writing will surprise and match perfectly the artwork he creates. Seed of Destruction is not a perfect book, but it is a great a beginning to what may turn out to be one of the definitive comic characters of this generation.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT concept and AMAZING art, not so great dialogue
Review: I am not very familiar with Byrne so I don't know if this is typical for him but he writes a little too mundain and run-of-the-mill for such a fantastic story with great art like Hellboy. His dialogue and monologue for the villain in this book are horrible. It is completely boring and skippable. In fact that's the worst part, it is ENTIRELY skippable. This is even worse because at points there's PAGES of it. This villain just drones ON AND ON about a bunch of ..., and you can literally skip those whole sections and not lose ANYTHING. The stuff is just barely relevant and Byrne does nothing to it to make it interesting or write it with any originality. One could argue that Hellboy is a very "pulp" comic and that as such, the sort of writing and dialogue can be expected to be of a certain (read DULL AND TRITE) nature. But it's too much to be asked of the reader to settle on the writing when the story and art are so compelling. Recap: Hellboy = original, Byrne's dialogue for it = horribly plain and done.
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