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Hellboy: One-Shots
Hellboy 20th Anniversary Sampler
This Saturday, March 22, is Hellboy Day, with Dark Horse Comics celebrating the 20th anniversary of Mike Mignola’s surprisingly everyman demon with a number of events across the country (and, indeed, the world) and a special 20th anniversary sampler featuring new work by Mignola and other creators -- and The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive preview of New Yorker cartoonist R. Sikoryak’s contribution.
Comic
Published January 1, 2014
50 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,862 books2,562 followersMike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.
In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.
In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.
Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.
Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.
In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.
In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.
Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.
Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 4, 2020
A good entertainment. Nothing more nothing less
November 7, 2016
Great 20th Anv sampler!
Yet another fantastic sneek peek for me to read and collect. Thank you again Mike Mignola for it! A fan.
Yet another fantastic sneek peek for me to read and collect. Thank you again Mike Mignola for it! A fan.
August 12, 2017
The Sunday comics section was so great. Loved the short stories. Okay, I am now a Hellboy fan.
March 9, 2017
Great fun. Some of my favorite things were R. Sikoriyak's sendup of the Sunday funnies, and seeing Hellboy drawn by Fabio Moon.
April 29, 2020
Hellboy's twentieth anniversary was in 2014; I'm only reading this now because it was available as a free digital copy to read during the Corona Virus pandemic. Check the Dark Horse website to see if it's still available! Here's what's inside:
1. The Coffin Man--During Hellboy's drunken blur in Mexico, he helps out a young girl whose uncle has just died. The uncle is buried but the niece is worried that a local witch, the Coffin Man, will disturb his eternal rest. Hellboy naturally has to investigate, with the usual weird and wonderful results ("usual" in the sense of what usually happens in Mexico with Hellboy).
2. B.P.R.D. Color Comics Fun!--This re-imagines the Sunday color comics with Hellboy universe characters (like Broom-Hilda is replaced with the Baba Yaga; the Jumble is all Chthulu monster names!). These are as funny as the Sunday funnies, but you'd need to be familiar with the Hellboy stories to appreciate them (so this probably isn't good for a sampler, come to think of it).
3. The Ghoul--Hellboy pursues a husband who goes out a lot at night. The security camera of a graveyard shows the husband having a "picnic." Hellboy investigates and finds a much longer history the guy has...a history that's about to end.
4. Another Day at the Office--A European zombie outbreak draws the attention of the B.P.R.D. They trace it back to a creepy castle where a monomaniacal aristocrat planned to take over the world hundreds of years ago. A treasure hunter came to the castle and got possessed by the old spirit, causing the mayhem. For the B.P.R.D. agents, this is, as the title suggests, an all to familiar scenario.
I enjoyed this volume a lot, though I have read The Coffin Man and the comics before. I don't remember the other two stories. They had the typical blend of creepy atmosphere and pulp action that is characteristic of the Hellboy stories.
Recommended, especially if it's still free!
1. The Coffin Man--During Hellboy's drunken blur in Mexico, he helps out a young girl whose uncle has just died. The uncle is buried but the niece is worried that a local witch, the Coffin Man, will disturb his eternal rest. Hellboy naturally has to investigate, with the usual weird and wonderful results ("usual" in the sense of what usually happens in Mexico with Hellboy).
2. B.P.R.D. Color Comics Fun!--This re-imagines the Sunday color comics with Hellboy universe characters (like Broom-Hilda is replaced with the Baba Yaga; the Jumble is all Chthulu monster names!). These are as funny as the Sunday funnies, but you'd need to be familiar with the Hellboy stories to appreciate them (so this probably isn't good for a sampler, come to think of it).
3. The Ghoul--Hellboy pursues a husband who goes out a lot at night. The security camera of a graveyard shows the husband having a "picnic." Hellboy investigates and finds a much longer history the guy has...a history that's about to end.
4. Another Day at the Office--A European zombie outbreak draws the attention of the B.P.R.D. They trace it back to a creepy castle where a monomaniacal aristocrat planned to take over the world hundreds of years ago. A treasure hunter came to the castle and got possessed by the old spirit, causing the mayhem. For the B.P.R.D. agents, this is, as the title suggests, an all to familiar scenario.
I enjoyed this volume a lot, though I have read The Coffin Man and the comics before. I don't remember the other two stories. They had the typical blend of creepy atmosphere and pulp action that is characteristic of the Hellboy stories.
Recommended, especially if it's still free!
August 24, 2024
sencillo pero era lo que me esperaba, muy bueno y muy guapo hellboy, va duro ese chaval. y además referencia a garfield, todo bien.
June 23, 2020
Tsblet
January 2, 2026
Random Dark Horse Sampler
This contains a little bit of everything, a nod to Garfield, a nod to Peanuts, some Rasputin, 16th Century literature and of course some incredibly weird but interesting short stories from the Hellboy archives. It is a good read for Prime subscribers as it's free, if you enjoy the Hellboy universe it's a double dipped victory.
Enjoy, ghouls, weirdo's and peop!e of the night... You know who we are !!!!!
Regards, Danny Darko #
This contains a little bit of everything, a nod to Garfield, a nod to Peanuts, some Rasputin, 16th Century literature and of course some incredibly weird but interesting short stories from the Hellboy archives. It is a good read for Prime subscribers as it's free, if you enjoy the Hellboy universe it's a double dipped victory.
Enjoy, ghouls, weirdo's and peop!e of the night... You know who we are !!!!!
Regards, Danny Darko #
March 19, 2018
Okay, so I get this was a sampler but...seriously? What just happened?
I remember a really sketchy, weird could-have-been-a-plot brief beginning to a story that went nowhere, a whole lot of pages of weird adapted comics that weren't needed, and then a whole lot of nothing. I DNF'd when I realised have the thing was filled with non-Hellboy comics.
I remember a really sketchy, weird could-have-been-a-plot brief beginning to a story that went nowhere, a whole lot of pages of weird adapted comics that weren't needed, and then a whole lot of nothing. I DNF'd when I realised have the thing was filled with non-Hellboy comics.
December 13, 2018
Great to read, I really enjoyed it.
March 29, 2019
Funny
The comics were mostly good, but the Sunday funny parodies is where this truly shined. Would love to read a collection of them.
The comics were mostly good, but the Sunday funny parodies is where this truly shined. Would love to read a collection of them.
August 4, 2019
Muh!
Bog standard, started off brilliantly then just goes weird ???
Bog standard, started off brilliantly then just goes weird ???
April 12, 2020
The highlight was B.P.R.D. Color Comics fun 🤣
November 5, 2020
*2.5 Stars!!
July 31, 2022
Entretenido :) prefiero los asuntos individuales y conclusivos como este.
June 19, 2023
It's was ok
A decent enough Hellboy story with some nice episodic tales of the BRPD as a Hellboy fan. 7 out of 10 but I would not recommend as a first-time Hellboy read.
A decent enough Hellboy story with some nice episodic tales of the BRPD as a Hellboy fan. 7 out of 10 but I would not recommend as a first-time Hellboy read.
September 18, 2025
Good introduction to Hellboy or a snack to the initiated.
June 23, 2019
I guess Hellboy must not be for me. Pretty art in this, but none of these samples had a plot.
February 12, 2017
3.75 stars. This was a lot of fun, and really got me pumped to read some full issues about Hellboy.
January 25, 2017
Very interesting. I really enjoyed the light read.
March 7, 2020
Fraco, apenas historinhas pequenas para comemoração de aniversário.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2017
I don't think it was for me. I couldn't really follow any of the stories.
April 17, 2017
Happy Anniversary!
Loved this stories. Brought back some old memories of Bellboy and the bureau. Good read, excellent adventure. Just wished they were a little bit longer.
Loved this stories. Brought back some old memories of Bellboy and the bureau. Good read, excellent adventure. Just wished they were a little bit longer.
April 20, 2017
Did I just read something? I remember it was pretty, and sometimes I smiled. Other than that, not much to it.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews