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Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction

(Hellboy #Omnibus #1/4)

Mike Mignola,

John Byrne,

Mark Chiarello (Illustrator),

Dave Stewart (Illustrator)

4.43 · Rating details · 1,769 ratings · 159 reviews

The story jumps from Hellboy's mysterious World War II origin to his 1994 confrontation with the man who summoned him to earth, and the earliest signs of the plague of frogs. Avoiding his supposed fate as the herald of the end of the world, Hellboy continues with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, fighting alongside Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, and drafting Roger ...more

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Paperback, 368 pages

Published June 5th 2018 by Dark Horse Books

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May 29, 2018 James DeSantis rated it it was amazing

So two things crossed my mind when I picked up this title. Glad I waited because Hellboy (So far) is complete. So I'll be able to read it all. Second though after finishing this title is why in the blue (or red) hell did I wait so long to read this!?!?

So if you don't know anything about Hellboy (how could you not?) He's basically a big devil looking ape-looking dude who joins others who are special to stop the evils of the world. Mostly this volume focuses alot on Nazi's and Ragna Rok. This is b ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 Chad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

Hellboy is one of my all time favorite comics. This is the perfect time to introduce yourself to Hellboy if you've never picked it up before. His entire core story is collected in these 4 omnibuses. Newer collections tell untold stories from Hellboy's past. I find myself going back to read through these again and again. The omnibuses change the order from the original releases to the proper story order and move some of the short stories into their own omnibuses. This omnibus collects the first 2 ...more

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Jul 19, 2019 HBalikov rated it really liked it

Hellboy (HB) is the successful investigator for the USA’s Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. (Headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut if you ever want to stop by.) If you have never met this fellow, you have some treats and surprises ahead of you.

This is the first omnibus of Hellboy comics collected by Darkhorse. Hellboy (not his real name, but no one, including him, knows his real name) is billed as the “world’s greatest paranormal investigator.” And, maybe this is what attracted Guill
Hellboy (HB) is the successful investigator for the USA’s Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. (Headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut if you ever want to stop by.) If you have never met this fellow, you have some treats and surprises ahead of you.

This is the first omnibus of Hellboy comics collected by Darkhorse. Hellboy (not his real name, but no one, including him, knows his real name) is billed as the “world’s greatest paranormal investigator.” And, maybe this is what attracted Guillermo del Toro to make a movie of his origin and adventures.

One of the attractions of HB is his looks (see cover). But as he says, “I may not be as scary as I look, but I’m every bit as tough.” In fact, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, may embody most of humanity’s virtues. But most of our species judge a book by its cover, and that lends itself to many of the narratives.

Much of the plot of Volume 1 can be characterized as Mignola meets Lovecraft. Is that decaying mansion with its ancient occupants merely the last stop for a dynasty or is there something else at work? Ready or not, HB is thrust into a plot that brings together something of his origins and something more ancient and terrifying.

I liked the narrative, I liked the characterization, the covers and other ink work by Dave Stewart and Mark Chiarello. It shows off excellently on my Kindle Fire which allows viewing by either a “normal” comic book page or by each single panel.

Each of the initial titles included in this Omnibus takes the story further into both Hellboy’s origins and those of his “creator” – a sort of religious prophet who claims to have channeled some ancient gods to send HB to Earth in order to catalyze the process that will destroy humankind. How much does HB have to know in order to foil these evil creatures? How much does he want to know about his origins? How can his friends and colleagues support his efforts?

About three-quarters of this Omnibus is devoted to answering those questions. The rest is more directed to why you would want to purchase Omnibus Vol. 2. I was satisfied with three-quarters of the loaf………..and I will wait a while before deciding to move forward. ...more

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May 26, 2018 Andrew rated it it was amazing

There is something so seductive about he work of Mike Mignola and Hellboy himself (I cannot be the only one with board games and a reboot of the film franchise around the corner). And finally my wishes have been answered - the collected stories are finally coming out in Omnibus editions.

I have long since been follow Hellboys antics and adventures however making sense of the various stories - their interwoven references and the suspicion that a far longer story is being slowly played out all mean ...more

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Jul 22, 2018 RG rated it it was amazing

How good was this. I really enjoyed the Hellboy mythos and world. Great story lines, action and amazing characters. This contained a couple of volumes and some short stories. They all really continued and overall story arc, with great background information on the characters ( good and evil) as well combine perfect amounts of history. The artwork was really quite unique. I had been told that some people consider it too simiplistic. However, I feel like that it personifies Hellboy perfectly. My o ...more

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May 28, 2018 Saul the Heir of Isauldur rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, graphic-comics, omnibus, dark-fantasy, mystery

Solid 4 stars.

Very nice art, distinctive style, definitely. The story (or stories) is very much original. I always enjoyed how the color red is underused in the panels so that when Hellboy shows up, he really pops and stands out. He's a very vibrant, bright red that leaps off the page.

Absolutely hungry for more. It helps a lot that the Omnibus editions (coming out this year, starting with Volume 1 in May 2018) organize the graphic novels in chronological order, so they make more sense.

Overall, ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Adam Spanos rated it it was amazing

Shelves: superhero-comics, dark-horse, hellboy

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 ...more

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Mar 25, 2019 Jason rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics-and-graphic-novels, adventure, monsters, historical, mystery, scifi, horror, fantasy, monkeys, relationships

It's been over a decade since I read these stories. I think I read the first 5 trades and then started collecting the single issues and have been ever since! It's pretty wild re-reading this after having read so much more of the rest of the story. Mignola combines action & adventure, mystery, horror, mythology, folklore, human drama, and even a dash of science fiction in a way no comics creator has before or since. And that he wrote AND drew a lot of the early stuff makes the accomplishment even ...more

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Jul 24, 2018 Lashaan Balasingam (Bookidote) rated it really liked it

Shelves: classic, read-in-2018, comic-books

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

It’s a bit hard to not have heard of this giant red ape-like creature. His presence alone invades the atmosphere and his charisma steals the show. And to turn him into the world’s greatest paranormal investigator too? He’s easily a character that has left a huge mark in our pop culture and is here to stay. Although a bit underrated, Hellboy has his fair share of lore to share with us and it is one that will please a lot of horror and mystic fans You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

It’s a bit hard to not have heard of this giant red ape-like creature. His presence alone invades the atmosphere and his charisma steals the show. And to turn him into the world’s greatest paranormal investigator too? He’s easily a character that has left a huge mark in our pop culture and is here to stay. Although a bit underrated, Hellboy has his fair share of lore to share with us and it is one that will please a lot of horror and mystic fans. His now completed comic book has given birth to a couple of spin-offs and is now being released in this perfectly-ideal omnibus editions to collect Mike Mignola’s award-winning stories in a chronological order perfect for readers. This first volume collects Seed of Destruction (Volume 1), Wake the Devil (Volume 2), and the stories “Wolves of St. August”, “The Chained Coffin” and “Almost Colossus” from The Chained Coffin (Volume 3).

How exactly does Hellboy‘s saga begin? In this first omnibus the story begins by throwing readers back during the World War II era where a special Nazi team led by Rasputin conduct a strange summoning that ultimately leads to the birth of a baby Hellboy in a church in Britain. While the Nazis believe their plans have failed, Rasputin claims that he has initiated the end of the world. For almost half a century, this demon-child who was taken in by Professor Bruttenholm, grows to be an agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.) in New York. Tagged along with Liz Sherman (a woman with pyrokinetic abilities) and Abe Sapien (an amphibious man), this team investigate strange happenings and uncover the truth behind them while discovering themselves and their place in the world.

The lore and the characters are where all the praise should be redirected to. With an underlying touch of Lovecraftian mythology, this story draws upon the mystical world to recreate its own air of horror and mystery. With various references to iconic mythologies and characters, Mike Mignola sets up his world in a basin of strange and ugly creatures that constantly harass Hellboy in his unrestrained and untroubled behaviour. Its especially the style and manner that each threat is approached that poignantly mesmerizes you. While it isn’t exactly an easy-to-dive-in series, it does rapidly capture your heart with all the charming and short dialogues, as well as the brutal and fun action sequences by Hellboy. As fascinating as it is to learn about the Ogdru Jahad, frog-monsters and vampires, it is how Hellboy will deal with them that makes this so fun.

It is worth mentioning that the artwork is not something that will please everyone. The style is perfect for Hellboy and grows on you, to the point where it quickly becomes easy for reader to associate it to this series. It is really heavy on shadows and on rough character designs, and rarely focuses on emotions and details. The creepy and edgy designs help in fact to convey the eerie and creepy mood that emanates from many of the settings featured in this story. The transitions aren’t smooth either, and is axed more of frames of key moments in order to let readers imagine the sequence and fill the gap with their own touch of creativity. But with dialogues that are so poetic and that often sound like satanic incantations, as well as snappy one-liners, readers aren’t ever really left to their own.

If there’s one thing that I’m happy about, it is the fact that the main series is complete and that they are now being recollected into these omnibuses. If I had read the first volume alone (Seed of Destruction), I would have heavily questioned its reputation since it is far from enough to understand why Hellboy is such an iconic character. In this omnibus, it is much easier for fans to appreciate every characters development and the overall world-building that is set up.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/ ...more

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Jul 21, 2018 Mitchell Kukulka rated it it was amazing

"We are what we are, and we have our paths to travel."

I've had a few friends recommend the Hellboy books to me over the years, so I was expecting some solid entertainment from the series.

What I wasn't expecting was a work of art that seamlessly blends a smorgasbord of literary and mythological influences with its own masterfully realized world.

I'm overjoyed that the whole damned series is being recollected just in time for new readers like myself to be exposed to some of the most effortlessl ...more

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Apr 28, 2019 Brandon St Mark rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics-manga, pre-ordered, darkhorse

Just as good as the first time I read it. Definitely one of the best comics to ever be created.

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Mar 14, 2019 Marissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, reread, graphic-novels, horror, adult

4.5 stars

Seed of Destruction: 4 stars
The Wolves of Saint August: 4 stars
The Chained Coffin: 4 stars
Wake the Devil: 5 stars
Almost Colossus: 5 stars

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Jun 21, 2018 Joshua rated it it was amazing

Behind a monk who's supposed to be dead, the relics portraying demons caste in stone by memo-americans hide in shadows, and we all miss his words because a portal to another world, another time, opens and some new nightmare bursts forth to end humanity. And to all this Red just sighs, cocks his gun, and fires back into the abyss.

This omnibus gathered stories, many of which I've read already, but their arraignment, their updates colors, and their original incredible qualities as stories remind me ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 Britton rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: People who are patient enough to get to the good stuff

Recommended to Britton by: Everybody

Shelves: action-adventure, comics, horror-thriller, supernatural-paranormal, speculative-fiction, books-you-should-really-check-out, fantasy, gothic, reviewed, historical-fiction

I avoided Hellboy for a long time...

That's not to say that I thought it was bad or anything like that. But I've been known to remark that I tend to be skeptical of widely praised works, like with comics like Saga. I often allow my nervousness to get in the way of objectively looking at works as best as I can (which can result in some shoddy reviews or half baked conceptions) and I attempt to not be a harsh critic when it comes to reviewing works, or I avoid works that doesn't nab my interest. Th I avoided Hellboy for a long time...

That's not to say that I thought it was bad or anything like that. But I've been known to remark that I tend to be skeptical of widely praised works, like with comics like Saga. I often allow my nervousness to get in the way of objectively looking at works as best as I can (which can result in some shoddy reviews or half baked conceptions) and I attempt to not be a harsh critic when it comes to reviewing works, or I avoid works that doesn't nab my interest. The stuff that I usually hate is stuff that I love often being perverted or used as some cheap, mediocre punchline for some message about a particular subject. As for Hellboy, I remember seeing the trailer for the second Del Toro feature adaptation when I was a wee lad about perhaps 7 years old. My childhood naivete was such where I was afraid to even say the word 'hell,' but then again this was before I actually understood the concept of hell and what hell actually was.

As I began coming back to comics with works like Moore's Watchmen, Kirkman's The Walking Dead, or Snyder's Wytches informing the way for my re-ignition of my love for comics, almost everyone I knew in the comic book world was telling me to pick up Hellboy or anything by the man who created him, one Mike Mignola. I was hesitant, as I mentioned before, I tend to get nervous when it comes to widely praised works of art, as its been known, disappointment is a real bitch. So I decided to hold off for a while and get some other comics for me to dig into for the time being. But then as I started to grow a bit more in my comic book tastes, I began to notice the evocative and moody artwork by one Mike Mignola, becoming particularly impressed with his work on DC characters and his portraits of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and particularly his portrait of HP Lovecraft. He became a favorite of mine, alongside figures like Ditko, Moebius or Phillips, despite the fact that I was often searching for writers that I enjoyed in comics more than artists, but Mignola became an artist that I enjoyed looking at his works. So after a while I decided to give Hellboy a shot after all of this time procrastinating.

I'm fortunate to say that I think Hellboy might be one of the best things that I've read in a good while. Mignola's sense of atmosphere and his tendency to play with folklore and ancient myth shows him to be a rare combination of a writer/artist who is phenomenally gifted at both. Though Mignola had comic book legend and fellow writer/artist John Byrne on to help with the script, I find that the second arc that's in the omnibus, Wake The Devil, along with the short stories that are in the middle that are also solely pinned by Mignola, is far superior in terms of storytelling, atmosphere, and tone than the first arc, which shares the name of the omnibus Seeds of Destruction and was co-written by Byrne and Mignola. Now that's not to say that the first arc was bad. It's a great introduction into the world of Hellboy and is solidly written, but once Mignola decides to ditch the inner monologues and clunkiness of the first arc and to focus on the atmosphere, we truly begin to see the dark, strange mind of Mignola come graciously to life on the pages of a comic.

Mignola also pulls from many influences. From Batman or The Shadow, to Lovecraft's paranoia of the unknown, to ancient mythos and even sword and sorcery figures like Leiber, Moorcock, and Howard, Mignola manages to craft all of these aspects together in order to make something that is truly unique and original in the world of comics. It's not a superhero comic, even though many tend to describe it as one. If that is the case, then Hellboy is a truly a one of a kind superhero comic and one that I'd even hesitate to dub a superhero comic, it's more of a weird horror fantasy work thats in the vein of the best pulp authors such as Lovecraft or Howard. But he also seems to have created something that's uniquely his own. Despite my patience being tested during the first arc of the series (not that I don't mind dense prose, as I love Moore), it's Mignola's sense of place and tone that wins me over in the end and the part of the book that won me over to begin with.

I'm often finding myself disappointed by our tendency to be out-done in comics by the British or other foreign countries, but Hellboy is a nice reminder that us Yanks still have a few tricks up our sleeves. ...more

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Apr 21, 2019 Danny rated it really liked it

One of the few contemporary comic book heroes that has a achieved universal popularity. Enough so that his name is as synonymous with comic books as Batman or Spider-Man. His stories begin here with his origin and understanding why he came to be. The first movie borrows heavily from the first story in this omnibus, Seed of Destruction. This book, more so than I was expecting, is packed with a lot of Judeo Christian themes and imagery and their connections with real world occult. Mignola has a fu ...more

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Oct 29, 2019 Richard rated it liked it

Shelves: comix-graphix-general, horror, series-mignolaverse

The Hellboy series is the seed that provided the foundation for the vast and popular horror universe created by Mike Mignola, and is considered one of the best and most influential comic book series. So imagine my disappointment when I wasn't as blown away as I wanted to be by this first book. This first omnibus introduces Hellboy, a demon brought to Earth that grew up to be one of the world's preeminent paranormal investigators, as well as the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), t ...more

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Sep 10, 2019 Peter Derk rated it it was amazing

I read this because it's Halloween time.
Now, you might be thinking, Pete, it's early September.
Yeah, it is.
I have a guide to help you on your holiday journey, especially in deciding whether it's too early to start celebrating a holiday: go fuck yourself, I do what I want.

Oh, and when it comes to Christmas, not before the first snow.

I read about a petition to move Halloween to the last Saturday in October. I thought about it, and I hate it. Why? Because when you do something fun, it should inv ...more

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Oct 18, 2019 Viktoria rated it really liked it

Hellboy is a sweetheart.

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May 29, 2018 Morgan rated it it was amazing

Took me long enough, but I finally started reading Hellboy. Maybe waiting for this omnibus to come out was a good idea. If your like me and not sure where to start with Hellboy, this volume is for you. Dark Horse is not only putting these out faster than most omnibus editions, but these are in reading order too. One reason I never read Hellboy before is because there are SO MANY different volumes it gets messy and confusing.

So far I like Hellboy. I've only seen the movie before and I liked it, b ...more

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Jul 22, 2018 Rachel Reid rated it it was amazing

Basically a perfect comic. We'll be discussing this book on the Living Between Wednesdays Podcast this week.

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Mar 07, 2019 Gwen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics-and-picture-books

I've been a big fan of the Hellboy movies since they originally came out. I've held off on reading the comics because I was worried that I might not like them as much. The art style alone is worth the price of admission. The sense of line, movement, composition, and especially color are too good to pass up. They could just delete the words from the book and I would still give it five stars for the art alone.

The plot is a little underwhelming. Not that it's bad, it's just that by the end of the O ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 Max's Comic Reviews and Lists rated it really liked it

Shelves: dark-horse-comics, hellboy

The World of Mignola
When it comes to Mike Mignola's most popular work, Hellboy is far and away the most popular series he has ever been a part of or created. And I have been to wanting read this book as well as the other 3 omnibuses for ages now. And I so glad I finally got into it. I watched both Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy The Golden Army (2008) and really liked both of them. Even if the wire work in the first movie is among the worst I've ever seen. Anyway I had only those 2 movies as cont ...more

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Oct 24, 2019 Adam Williams rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics

Hellboy is an utter fucking delight. This book became an instant favorite for me, I can't believe I'd never thought to read it before. The art and script complement each other perfectly, it had me laughing out loud, and the internal mythology is endlessly magical. I never knew before now how much I needed to read a comic that jumped seamlessly, faithfully, and lovingly from Hecate to the Baba Yaga. If that sentence speaks to you, you have to read Hellboy.

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Aug 15, 2018 Derek rated it really liked it

Right from the start, Hellboy's mixture of humor, pathos, and genuinely creepy Lovecraftian horror just works. The character and his world feel like they've always been there, even in Mignola's earliest stories scripted by John Byrne. Sometimes things just work in ways that defy outright explanation and that's our Hellboy, for sure.

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Jan 08, 2019 Ben Wright rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, fantasy, comics, spooky

This is easily one of my favourite comics series of all time. I love the pulp story telling which is weaved with a rich mythos and great characters. Hellboy is a fantastic protagonist, equal parts snarky and cool, and his team are also great (much love for Abe Sapien, my favourite mindreading Fishman)

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May 27, 2018 Chris Carrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Omnibus is the best bang for your buck and the perfect starting point.

Omnibus is the best bang for your buck and the perfect starting point. Mike Mignola's artwork is amazing. Perfect balance of humor and action as well

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Nov 21, 2018 Kira rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, comics-graphic-novels, paranormal-supernatural, horror

nothing wrong with this.

thought I liked hellboy as a concept. actually just very in love with ron perlman. oops.

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Feb 28, 2019 Ellen rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels

I quite enjoyed this. Hellboy is a fun character. I am planning to continue with the series.

Content warning: some language and violence

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May 15, 2019 Jim Driscoll rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Horror Comics at their best

Stylized artwork, understated characters, imaginative plots.

Everything you’d expect from a quality horror comic.... and a lot of it for the price.

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Sep 05, 2019 Holly rated it it was amazing

Kinda stunning how bad the movies are in comparison to the comics.

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About Mike Mignola

Mike Mignola

1,903 followers

Mike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.

In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began wo ...more

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