Comics You Should Read Before Watching ‘Hellboy’

The Hellboy film reboot is upon us, and to help get you up to speed, we've compiled a list of [...]

By Adam Barnhardt - April 11, 2019 01:21 pm EDT

The Hellboy film reboot is upon us, and to help get you up to speed, we've compiled a list of classic Hellboy comic arcs you should read as you get prepared to head to theaters this weekend. From the classic storyline Seed of Destruction — the four-issue mini-series that introduced us to Big Red and the Right Hand of Doom — to B.R.P.D.: The Dead, an arc that introduces Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim), we have you covered.

It's been long-touted that the Hellboy reboot will be much more accurate than the two movies that came prior. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola confirmed as much with ComicBook.com earlier this week.

"This one is much darker and does follow the Hellboy storyline from the comics much more closely," Mignola said.

While the story arcs listed here are ones that the movie has reportedly drawn inspiration from, it should be noted that digital comic distributor Comixology is having a killer discount sale on all things Hellboy in celebration of the movie. You can check out what they have to offer here.

Hellboy stomps into theaters April 12th.

What's your favorite Hellboy tale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation on Twitter by hitting me up at @AdamBarnhardt to chat all things Hellboy!

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Seed of Destruction

The story arc that introduced us to the world of Hellboy and the BPRD, Seed of Destruction was the first-ever Hellboy miniseries released by Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics. While the movie seemingly doesn't draw too much from this, the trailers have shown the likes of iconic Hellboy villains Rasputin and Kroenen performing the ritual that brought Big Red to Earth.

With Guillermo del Toro's first Hellboy (2004) drawing heavily from this comic, it's unlikely the David Harbour-starring reboot will spend much time on it at all.

You can read Seed of Destruction here.

The Corpse

One of the most popular one-shots of the Hellboy mythos, The Corpse introduces readers to Gruagach and his first conflict with Big Red. It also includes a baby Alice Monaghan, a character expanded upon later in the series, one which will be played by Sasha Lane in the film.

You can read The Corpse here.

Darkness Calls

The first of the series the reboot is based on, Darkness Calls sees Hellboy battling all kinds of otherworldly beings. The main thing from this run that's likely to make it to the screen is Gruagach's story arc, which sees him gathering a mysterious box. Speaking of which...

You can read Darkness Calls here.

The Wild Hunt

hellboy-wild-hunt — (Photo: Dark Horse Comics)

Without spoiling too much, here's where Nimue, the Queen of Blood comes into play. This story also explains why Harbour's Hellboy is seen with a fiery crown while wielding a massive sword.

You can read The Wild Hunt here.

The Storm and the Fury

hellboy-storm-fury — (Photo: Dark Horse Comics)

Tying directly into The Wild Gunt, this trade is actually made up of two separate three-issue miniseries, The Storm and The Fury. This story will tell you why Hellboy has been called to the chicken-leg house of Baba Yaga and it's the ending of the massive battle to save the world from Nimue.

You can read The Storm and The Fury here.

Hellboy in Hell

It's pretty hard to explain what goes on here without spoiling the past few storylines. Suffice to say, Big Red -- ahem -- somehow manages to find himself in Hell. Mignola told ComicBook.com earlier in the week that if a sequel to the reboot would be pushed into production, he'd like it to continue on the story from The Storm and The Fury, leading us to believe the movie won't touch on this particular arc.

Beings that Big Red was seen riding a dragon in a fiery place in the trailers, however, it's very well possible the movie could draw some from this.

You can read Hellboy in Hell here.

Hellboy in Mexico

Arguably the most "fun" collection of stories in the mythos is when Hellboy finds himself in his infamous "Drunken Weekend" in Mexico. Between becoming a luchador to fighting vampires with his friends, these stories are peak Hellboy. It seems that he'll be doing some traveling as he's been seen in a wrestling ring in some of the footage publicly released.

You can read Hellboy in Mexico here.

B.P.R.D.: The Dead

This arc made the list solely for the purpose that it introduces on Ben Daimio. The shape-shifting undead BPRD agent debuts here ,and it's the start of the character's continual story arc in the spinoff B.P.R.D. storyline.

You can read BPRD: The Dead here.