# Hellboy Appreciation Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2002, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734 "2002-09-26T17:15:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/1 "2002-09-26T17:15:40Z")
I love the comic book Hellboy by Mike Mignola. Love it. I just finished re-reading all my trade paperbacks and I love 'em. I see that this month’s previews has listed a new TPB, focusing on the non-Hellboy members of the BPRD, and I’m gonna get it and I’ll love that too. I really don’t have much to add. Hellboy, for those not familiar with them, is a demon from hell who has renounced the purpose for which he was brought to earth and instead investigates and fights paranormal enemies. This usually involves punching them a lot. He runs into crazed Nazis and gorillas a lot, as well as things with tentacles (because Mignola likes to draw tentacles). He hangs out with a fish-man, a humonculus, and a woman who can start fires. The art is very stylized and may take some getting used to, but I think it completes a perfect package. The first Hellboy TPB is, I believe, “Seed of Destruction”. I don’t have much else to add here. It’s good and I love it. I know there’s a movie in production and I’ll hope for the best while expecting the worst, such is my faith in movies based on comic books. ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/2 "2002-09-26T19:42:22Z")
I don’t read much comic books, but _Hellboy_ I read consistently. It’s the absolutely amazing artwork of Mike Mignola that I find irresistible. My first glimpse of the comic was at a friend’s house. He’d gotten a free paper at the comic shop – “Comic News” or some such thing – and in the center was a small fold-out of Abe Sapien. I was mesmerized; I couldn’t stop looking at that poster. I love HB’s down-to-earth tough-guy personality amidst all the occult goings-on – it’s like an H. P. Lovecraft story where The Thing from the Fantastic Four is the main character. But it’s the artistry of Mignola that caps it for me. That man could do a book about trigonometry functions and I’d buy it and love it. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/3 "2002-09-29T21:20:41Z")
I can’t believe I missed a _Hellboy_ thread! I’m with you guys; this is easily my favorite comic book series ever. Everybody goes on about how distinctive the art is – and it really is brilliant; I’ve bought issues of other comics just for a Mignola cover. But I think people don’t give Mignola enough credit for the writing on _Hellboy_. It’s brilliant stuff, just the right tone. He does all his research and managed to get some really creepy stuff going on, but never takes any of it too seriously. I’ve never seen another storyteller who can combine Lovecraftian monsters, folklore, monkeys with guns, demons, talking gorillas, shadow organizations, conspiracies, the Baba Yaga, floating Nazi heads, and fight scenes and make them all work together so seamlessly. If y’all haven’t seen it yet, **definitely** check out _The Amazing Screw-On Head_. Now. It’s just brilliant. (And I like the comment on it by the editor of _Hellboy_: “This is what it’s like to have a conversation with Mike”). I’m cautiously optimistic about the movie. In interviews, Guillermo del Toro sounds _really_ passionate about the comics and Mignola’s work in general. The best comic book movie so far, IMO, _The X-Men_, worked because the screenwriter and director really liked the source material and didn’t just treat it as “a comic book movie.” On the other hand, _Mimic_ and _Blade II_ weren’t as good as _The Usual Suspects_ by a long shot. And I’m still a little disappointed with the casting I’ve heard so far; Ron Perlman is used to being in make-up and seems to “get” off-beat projects, but I still think Vin Diesel would’ve been bad-ass as Hellboy. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/4 "2002-09-29T21:22:34Z")
(And yes, I’m going right now to find a thesaurus and look up synonyms for “brilliant.”) And don’t forget to check out [The Official Site](http://www.hellboy.com). ---
**Author:** ![DeepPurple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@DeepPurple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepPurple)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/5 "2002-09-30T04:38:16Z")
mmmm Hellboy & I have my Hellboy mousepad right here! I’ve even had my comic signed by Mr. Mignola, & he is nice, nice, nice. I can actually get scared when reading Hellboy, you just never know what’s going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/6 "2002-09-30T05:36:12Z")
Don’t forget the lovely role-playing game. Full of goodness and little neat bits. Powered by GURPS. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2002, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hellboy-appreciation-thread/129734/7 "2002-09-30T13:09:24Z")
I looked at Screw-On Head this weekend, and will definitely get it when it comes out collected. I dont’ buy Dark Horse individual issues anymore, since they collect EVERYTHING into TPB, and I much prefer reading that way. I bought the RPG mostly for the background material - I’m not a fan of GURPS. I hadn’t bought any of the illustrated novels but that’s about to change. Next paycheck I’m going to order the lot off Amazon.