As a gal used to reading X-Men, Wolverine and Archie Double Digests, I’m considering jumping into the intriguing comic book world of Hellboy.
I’ve read a little background on the character and he seems to be my cup of tea…
what do you comic enthusiasts think of the series? Is it something I’ll be able to jump into?
jarbaby
Read the Batman/Starman/Hellboy crossover; it’s goofy.
After that, ditch Hellboy, and go read Starman.
(That’s not really fair. Hellboy’s a good comic, just not one I’d invest time and or money into over some other really nice ones)
Given your stated likes, you’d probably enjoy Hellboy too.
Me, I’m an indy comics snob. Go on and read your spandex books and just leave me to my Love and Rockets and Optic Nerve.
I think Hellboy is pretty darn cool. There are some great TPBs out there with all the stories from Dark Horse Presents. I especially like the “pamcakes” story.
Marc
You might also check with your local bookstore or library for a trade paperback or look at
http://www.darkhorsecomics.com/multimedia/ecomics/index.html?sku=hellboy.1
Oh Fiver, you old grump. 
:: pinching your cheek ::
I guess my question is, if I started into Hellboy now, should I try to just jump into the comic or read the TPBs first or what? Is it a continuing story like X-Men, or a series of little episodes? I need something to read on the plane to Vegas, and if I don’t get comics, mr. Jarbaby’s going to force me to read “Pillars Of The Earth”.
MGibson, I noticed “Pancakes” listed in the story index at hellboy.com…it sounds intriguing.
jarbaby
Myrr21, I was going to say the exact same thing.
Boy, did that book end on a high note!
You want a good read, get the back issues/trade paperbacks of Starman.
jarbabyj:
Quiet, you.
I like MGibson’s misspelling of that story title better than the real title.
I’m going to use it on my friend Pam.
While I’m not a Hellboy reader, here - http://scifi.ign.com/comics/6954.html - is a good site with some insite to Hellboy and other ‘indie’ comics. Hope it helps. Give us a review if and when you do read it!
~t
Hellboy, as a book in and of itself, is a series of “novels” rather than being either one long serial, or a bunch of episodes a la Archie.
I think. Though I’ve only read the “pamcakes” story myself, and am told it’s atypical. That’s a Dark Horse Presents story, and only 2 pages long. I assume the rest of the DHP stories are shorts of that kind.
“The boy has eaten the pancake. Truly this is our darkest hour.”
jarbabyj -
Get every back issue of Hellboy you can get your hands on.
IMHO - It’s one of the best drawn and written comics out there, thanks to the talents of Mike Mignola.
There have been 17 issues of the “regular” series published to date, broken up into 8 story arcs: ‘Seed of Destruction’ (issues 1-4), The Wolves of St. August (#5), ‘The Corpse and The Iron Shoes’ (#6), ‘Wake The Devil’ (#7-11), ‘Almost Colossus’ (#12-13), ‘Christmas Special’ (#14), ‘Box Full of Evil’ (#15-16), and ‘Conqueror Worm’ (#17 is issue one of a four issue arc). If any of these arcs are available as a trade paperback, it’s probably a more affordable way of collecting these stories.
There are also several teams-up issues (the aforementioned Starman, Savage Dragon, Ghost) and appearances in “Dark Horse Presents”.
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
I didn’t misspell it. The story in question involves a young Hellboy, like 3 or 4, being asked if he wants pancakes for breakfast. He replies “I don’t like pamcakes.” Its a really really short story taking up maybe two pages.
Marc
But the title of the story on hellboy.com is listed as Pancakes.
jarbaby