It's been a number of years since I first read Seed of Destruction, the first Hellboy book, and, having read all of them at this point, I decided to go back and re-read the first book because my memories of it were hazy. Well, as I suspected, it's not a great first volume - but Hellboy is an incredible series, so don't be put off by this shaky start. The later books get better and better and better. But this first one...I had completely forgotten that Mike Mignola didn't write the first Hellboy book - John "Man of Steel" Byrne did. That one surprised me. I'm sure Mignola had a hand in the story but the script is entirely credited to Byrne, which explains a lot. Hellboy doesn't quite sound like Hellboy in this - he's less charismatic, less witty, and more sober than in later books. Here he talks more like a generic tough guy than the Hellboy we've come to know over the years. Professor Bruttenholm (pronounced "broom") is killed early on in the book and Hellboy barely bats an eyelid. Not a single tear, just a cursory "he's dead" over the phone. To be fair, the relationship between Hellboy and his adoptive father, the Professor, would be elaborated on in later books so it's interesting to see that in this first volume Mignola had all but dismissed Bruttenholm as a character in the Hellboy universe.Seed of Destruction is only barely related to the first Hellboy film. The beginning of the book and the film are the same in that it's set during WW2 on a remote island where the Nazis and Rasputin are trying to summon forces to turn the tide in the Nazis' favour and a baby Hellboy shows up. But that's only the first few pages and the film and book separate from there on out. The haunting Cavendish house, the generations-old curse, and the frogs that take up the rest of the book, aren't in the film at all, so don't expect Seed of Destruction to be the first Hellboy film in comics form.Mignola's art is the best thing about the book. I love Mignola's style, all solid colours and figures verging on the abstract plus Hellboy's character design is just genius (some sketches at the back show how the character evolved from his inception in 1991 to his final design in 1994), and is one of the things I miss about the later Hellboy books. It's interesting that Mignola wasn't confident enough to both write and draw the book which is ironic as Mignola would become a much better writer than Byrne in later books. Byrne's writing is far too descriptive so the panels are filled with text while Hellboy's inner monologue is too clunky and expositional - these aspects would later disappear once Mignola took over writing duties.All of which is to say that Seed of Destruction isn't a great Hellboy book but is a solid horror/mystery story with plenty of cool moments. There are lots of horror elements, many of which are Lovecraftian, like the tentacle monster at the end and the frog monsters throughout, not to mention the doomed expedition in arctic climes, and the overall gothic feel of the book. Plus it's great to see Mignola slowly putting together what will become a massive universe, gingerly introducing Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman while only hinting at what the BPRD is.It's a shame this is the first volume as many new readers will read this and some will be turned off from reading more by Byrne's clunky writing and characterisation, and therefore miss out on one of the greatest comic book characters ever created, as Hellboy will become in later volumes. Seed of Destruction may not be an ideal first book but readers who persevere with the series will be rewarded with some of the richest comics you could ever hope to read.
I love this series. I have for years. That said, I haven't been a faithful follower of the books. I don't read comics in single issues. I read comics once they're collected in trade paperback, and even then, my purchases are erratic. But earlier this year I went on a Hellboy binge. I bought everything that I didn't already own, and read it all in just a week or two. Both the main storyline, all the side arcs, and the BPRD series too. About 30 books in all. How do I feel about it after glutting myself? I still love it. If anything I love it more than before because I have a much better appreciation for the entire story arc that's been taking place. When I try to think how to describe Hellboy, I find myself a little stumped. I want to use phrases like, "Mythically robust" but that's a wankerish thing to say, and it really doesn't do the series justice. If forced to summarize this quick and dirty, give it the elevator pitch, so to speak. (That's where you pitch a story to someone in the space of time it takes for your elevator to reach their floor.) here's what I'd say. "Imagine Sandman. Leave in all the clever trans-mythic brilliance, but remove all the emo bits and replace them with punching and snappy one-liners. Garnish lightly with Nazis. That's Hellboy." God. That's awful. This is why I don't review books. I'm terrible at this. Even worse, it implies I don't love Sandman, which I do. Sandman is in my top three. And I'm well aware that it's not emo, it's tragedy. Don't fill my inbox with hate. Okay?Okay. Let's move on.Simply said, if you haven't read this series. You really owe it to yourself to try at least the first three trades. It wasn't until I read The Chained Coffin that I *really* came to appreciate what was going on in the series in terms of storytelling. It's marvelous.
What do You think about Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed Of Destruction (2004)?
Man erntet, was man sätHerr Hitler ist Mr. Boys kleinstes Problem: Der Kampf, den dieser Dämon, in die Welt gebracht von einem der größten Zauberer aller Zeiten, ausfechten muss, ist oft aussichtslos. Tentakelbewehrte Riesenmonster, Froschdämonen, die ungreifbare Gefahr des Okkulten, und die Unsicherheit über die eigene Vergangenheit und Zukunft zwingen Hellboy immer wieder, Leib und Leben, und auch seine Seele, für andere in die Waagschale zu werfen. Er ist der "reluctant hero" par excellence, und fest eingebettet in eine Pulpkultur, die sich ungeniert bei Nazifolklore, Mythen und Legenden jedes Kulturkreises und dem Film Noir bedient. Mignola ist meiner Meinung nach der expressivste Zeichner, den das Comicgenre hervorgebracht hat. Seine Zeichnungen, fast holzschnittartig, sind extrem getuscht, viele schwarze Bereiche sorgen für eine sehr dichte Atmosphäre, die Charaktere sind grafisch brilliant herausgearbeitet (ich sehe immer noch das Bild von Rasputin mit seinen blau glühenden Augen vor mir).Wer Lovecraft oder Howard oder auch Indiana Jones mag, wird Hellboy lieben - trotz aller Düsterkeit ist Hellboy ein echter Kumpel und sehr liebevoll charakterisiert. Die Hellboy-Bände sind allesamt brilliant und uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert.Nochmals gelesen am 03.11.2014.
—Helmut
One of the best comics that I have read. I loved the drawing, the way color is used and specially the plot. It has mystery, it has great characters and a lot of references to authors such as Lovecraft. Very enjoyable and it is better every time you read it again.Uno de los mejores cómics que he leido. El dibujo, el color y el guión encajan a la perfección y se apoyan mutuamente para crear una atmósfera de misterio que engancha de la primera a la última página. Como inicio de una saga es igual de bueno que como una obra única: los personajes resultan tremendamente interesantes y las referencias a autores como Lovecraft son geniales. En cada lectura gana más. Podéis ver imágenes y otros comentarios en la entrada de mi blog:http://ashoggothontheroof.blogspot.co...
—Tatiana Alejandra de Castro Pérez
I'm a big fan of Hellboy, but I'm going to try to be objective here. This is the first Hellboy story, it's essential reading. That said, it is not indicative of the stories that follow. The art by Mignola is brilliant, but he hasn't yet found Dave Stewart, the colourist that will later colour all his works and go on to win seven Eisners from 2003 to 2011. So the colours are functional, but not great. The story, again, is functional, but not great.It's the script that really lets this book down. It's written by John Byrne who clearly has a tin ear. His dialogue is full of the worst kind of cliché, the sort that has no awareness and is dull and uninspired. It seems like Byrne didn't have a clue what he was doing with this. ("I felt like I'd been hit by a submarine" ...What does that even mean?)The scripting and pacing of this story is so bad that it's an absolute chore to read, despite the art.That said, it's a must-read, because practically everything that follows this book (thankfully without Byrne) is brilliant.
—Mark
