coffeedog14's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
In most cases I would probably give this a 4.25 or 4.5 rating. Pretty darn high, it turns out that Hellboy is rad as hell and he punches nazi's frequently. However I'm putting it at a five because one of its stories contains a moment that so vividly, beautifully, and terribly encapsulates my personal frustrations with faith that I'm quite seriously going to try and get a print of the specific pages in question. "Wolves of St. August", for those who have already read and know which one I'm talking about.
So it's getting a five star. Which isn't a huge upgrade, because this is already a pretty rad volume. Absolutely going to snag the other Omnibus's as I find them. More! Nazi! Punching! Ahead!
So it's getting a five star. Which isn't a huge upgrade, because this is already a pretty rad volume. Absolutely going to snag the other Omnibus's as I find them. More! Nazi! Punching! Ahead!
isauldur's review against another edition
4.0
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, I really liked it!
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, I really liked it!
evanc's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
4.8 out of 5 Stars
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Art: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pace: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Art: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pace: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
neartaking's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thatonewhoreads's review against another edition
5.0
hands down one of the best graphic novels I have read yet. the horror elements are always hard to translate to paper but this is amazing! I was so engaged with this whole story and I can't wait to read the second volume of this omnibus collection!!!
emburs9's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
some_okie_dude27's review against another edition
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 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. His art is strange and idiosyncratic, reminiscent of some of my favorite artists such as Ditko and Ba and Moon, while his sense of tone and atmosphere is matched by few: Sean Phillips, Andrea Sorrentino, and Paul Azaceta. Mignola's writing also proves that he is one of the few people who combines horror and comedy without losing his sense of tone, only comparable to filmmakers such as Raimi and Landis. Yet Mignola has a subtler touch of humor to his work, his quirky, offbeat sense of humor often makes for the best parts of the book, particularly with Hellboy's unusual wise cracks to his many enemies.
The first arc is enjoyable, yet it suffers from clunky pacing and a reliance on expository dialogue, nevertheless Mignola manages to pace himself well despite the clunkier bits. He doesn't move too quickly or too slowly, yet I found when I got to the second arc and the short stories that followed them (at least in this collection) where Mignola truly begins to shine as a writer/artist, crafting an intense, creepy work, yet never being fully devoid of humor, and being rather unusual humor at that.
Mignola pulls from many influences. From Batman to 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.
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 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. His art is strange and idiosyncratic, reminiscent of some of my favorite artists such as Ditko and Ba and Moon, while his sense of tone and atmosphere is matched by few: Sean Phillips, Andrea Sorrentino, and Paul Azaceta. Mignola's writing also proves that he is one of the few people who combines horror and comedy without losing his sense of tone, only comparable to filmmakers such as Raimi and Landis. Yet Mignola has a subtler touch of humor to his work, his quirky, offbeat sense of humor often makes for the best parts of the book, particularly with Hellboy's unusual wise cracks to his many enemies.
The first arc is enjoyable, yet it suffers from clunky pacing and a reliance on expository dialogue, nevertheless Mignola manages to pace himself well despite the clunkier bits. He doesn't move too quickly or too slowly, yet I found when I got to the second arc and the short stories that followed them (at least in this collection) where Mignola truly begins to shine as a writer/artist, crafting an intense, creepy work, yet never being fully devoid of humor, and being rather unusual humor at that.
Mignola pulls from many influences. From Batman to 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.
ribbonbeam's review
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
stadkison's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Mignola’s art is such a treat. The economy of life, deep shadows, and Kirby crackle done here. And he’s got such a fun mythos developing. His historical occult fascination morris my own.