Celebrating 25 years of biggest badest monster slayer around
Created by writer/artist Mike Mignola, Hellboy made his first appearance in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 and has gone on to become a cult favorite. Hellboy has since appeared in multiple mini-series comic books, intercompany crossover with characters like Batman and Savage Dragon, 3 movies with one coming out on April 12th, 2 straight to DVD animated movies, and video games. Not bad for a creator-owned character.
Hellboy was summoned to Earth from Hell by Nazi occultists to help them win the war. Hellboy ended up appearing among the allies including Professor Bruttenholm, who would go on to form the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense or BPRD. Bruttenholm would go on to adopt Hellboy and turn him into a force for good. Hellboy would obtain a kind of celebrity status, and go out and fight monsters that would seek to destroy the world.
I remember going to the comic shop back in 1994 and being intrigued by the cover. I was a huge Mignola fan, so I was curious. I read the first issue and I was hooked immediately. Here is a character that looks like a demon, because he is, but has an attitude like a guy from Brooklyn. He was also a flawed character. In the first issue, he complains how bad of a shot he is with his gun and how he has anger issues. It was awesome. I was hooked and wanted more!
The thing about Hellboy is it’s really not an ongoing series like other comic books. Mignola does the books a mini-series, but they all were connected together. And Hellboy’s supporting cast are captivating as well. Here’s the thing about the Hellboy and BPRD series, it’s the amount of research that Mignola does on various myths, legends, and folklore is really impressive. Then the way he adapts these to Hellboy’s world just really makes these stories amazing.
Another thing about the Hellboy and BPRD series is you can’t get too attached the to the characters. Mignola has introduced characters and you end up loving them, and then they die. Unlike a lot of comic characters, with the Hellboy universe, there is no “revolving door of death”. Dead characters stay dead, but being the supernatural, death is just the beginning.
I remember meeting Mike Mignola back in 2004. The first Hellboy movie just finished shooting and I asked him about it. The man was giddy as a schoolgirl. It was so entertaining. He saw the film without the effects added, but he was so excited. As he should be. I’m still amused by this.
Hellboy is one of my favorite characters and everything in the Hellboy universe is always on my pull list.
So check out some Hellboy for yourself and you’ll end up being a fan for life!
HAPPY HELLBOY DAY!