Itty Bitty Hellboy

Hellboy: Non-Canonical

by Art Baltazar, Franco

Witness the awesomeness that is Hellboy! The characters that sprung from Mike Mignola’s imagination, with an AW YEAH Art Baltazar and Franco twist! This book has ALL the FUN, adventure, and AW YEAHNESS in one itty bitty package! That’s a true story right there. Collects Itty Bitty Hellboy #1–#5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Humor, Childrens, Comic Book, Horror

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Arthee "Art" Baltazar is an American comics artist and writer who currently works for DC Comics.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not familiar enough with the world of Hellboy to have nabbed all the in-jokes, but this was fun enough for a few chuckles. I'm guessing ten-year-old boys will eat this stuff up, however.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one makes perfect sense. Marvel have been doing their Skottie Young-drawn Marvel baby variant covers to enormous success and I’d go so far as say Young’s AVX parody, A-Babies Vs X-Babies, was better than the real thing. Maybe this is a Japanese influenced move? I don’t know. Either way, having a baby-fied version of Hellboy seems like an obvious move for Dark Horse who looked at the market and said “me too!”.

Being a huge Hellboy fan, I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while but I held back knowing this was a kid-friendly version of Hellboy - and it gives you exactly what you’d expect. Hellboy and his pals play in box forts, they go swimming, they have picnics and parties - even when they literally go to hell, it’s cute! What do they do in hell (or “heck” as it’s called here)? Make banana and walnut pancakes of course!

These are perfectly appropriate young children’s material, emphasising the joy and importance of friendship, playing outdoors, being kind to others, and celebrating simple childhood innocence. But obviously for grown-up readers, they're a bit too simplistic and one-dimensional to say they're a compelling read.

I especially enjoyed it because I love the original Hellboy comics (which are definitely not for kids!) which are dark and scary and violent. Seeing Liz, Abe, Johann and Roger, alongside Hellboy of course, all drawn like smiling kids was delightful.

Art Baltazar and Franco’s art is perfect for kids and adults alike. The images are bright, uncomplicated and adorable, to suit the stories, and I loved every single panel of this book. Obviously the stories are aimed at kids so they’re easy to follow, short and episodic and don’t contain the stuff you’d usually expect in the grown-up Hellboy comics, but if you’ve got a kid and you’re a Hellboy fan/parent, I can’t imagine anything more perfect than this. Even single childless guys like me who just love Hellboy can get a kick out of these things - just go in knowing these are little kids stories and enjoy them for what they are.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to stumble across a bundle of Hellboy and BPRD books and this was the first one I picked up - really since I had no idea of what I was letting myself in for.

I think I have been a fan ever since I saw Ron Perlman step out as the titular character and for me own the role for ever more (sorry). As a result I have been slowly working through the huge amount of material that has been published over the years.

This however is not canon and you know what I don't care - its so much fun and has a charm all of its own - yes you recognise the carious caricatures and for me that makes it all the more fun.

I have no idea what spurred on this project but for me I am so glad I stumbled across it.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve ever wanted to enjoy Marvel with some of the younger readers in your life, Itty Bitty Hellboy is right up your alley. Aimed as a kid friendly version of everyone’s favorite red demon, Itty Bitty Hellboy features Hellboy and his friends building box forts, camping and generally getting up to all kinds of mischief. And it’s Hellboy so of course they visit Hell at one point in the story.

Itty Bitty Hellboy is co-written by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, a pair which has also created similar tiny, cute versions of DC characters like the Teen Titans, Captain Marvel and Superman. The art of the story is all done by Baltazar. Published by Dark Horse Comics in 2013-2014, it won an Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers in 2014. While I think the series would be even better for those more familiar with the Hellboy universe and lore, Itty Bitty Hellboy was both amusing and adorable. While neither Hellboy nor any of his friends can be considered “normal,” they revel in their weirdness and have fantastic adventures together as younger, sillier versions of themselves. This series is a great way to get kids into reading comics, particularly with a character who could have been scary, and make it super fun and engaging.

As you might expect for a story aimed at younger audiences, Baltazar’s style is distinctly “cartoony” and the panels are filled with light linework and bright colors. The speech bubbles tend towards the comic book standard of onomatopoeias and are big and explosive. The humor definitely tends towards silly and puns and the sense of a good adventure that you get from the writing is carried through into the art. The tiny versions of these characters are adorable, even when they’re characters like Baba Yaga and Hellboy. If you’re at all a fan of alternate takes on characters, enjoy stories aimed at younger audiences or know a younger reader who either already enjoys comics or who you’d like to introduce to the format, Itty Bitty Hellboy is a great story. Art Baltazar and Franco are a natural pairing that work well together to create an entertaining adventure aimed at younger audiences yet still fun for adults, already familiar with the characters to read.

[Owen Townend · Rating 2 out of 5]

How does the dark and forbidding world of Hellboy translate to cutesy children's comics? Surprisingly well, actually.

While this is by no means compulsive reading for fans of Mike Mignola's writing, it is a light-hearted compliment to the mythos. Baltazar manages to move the world-shaking battle between good and evil to backyards and parks. From cardboard box encampments to making banana and walnut pancakes, Itty Bitty Hellboy gives the grim visage a fresh lick of vibrant paint.

The stories themselves are short with a humour reminiscent of Peanuts comic strips but without the carefully-imparted moral lessons. Nobody gets badly hurt and the only hint of sexuality is Roger going commando in the bushes. Hellboy doesn't even go to Hell but to Hades or Heck, if you're so inclined.

All in all, Itty Bitty Hellboy is an ideal read for parents hoping to share their love of Dark Horse comics with their little ones from an early age. I recommend this comic book to them and, of course, the curious.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very strange idea- reminds me of Watchmen Babies! It’s a really cute and silly take on a pretty dark character. It is really cute and fun, a nerdy dad could give this to their kid to create a little Hellboy fan before they’re ready to handle ragnarok.

[Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the cute version of Hellboy, for children. The stories are not-canon as they feature seriously young (like 6 year old) version of Hellboy, Abe, Liz, Johann and Roger. Also heavily sanitized and very childish.

This is a very smart marketing decision. It introduces children to Hellboy in a fun way. The art is cute, the stories are infantile and the kids get to know all the major Hellboy characters in a new way (we all know they would never behave like this but still). The stories are happy, uplifting, funny and childish in the way kids are childish. It has everything children love - bright colors, tricks, words said wrong, forts, FOOD (even Pancakes) and it ends with a Birthday Party.

While I am not young enough to get into it, I appreciate what this series has done to expand the Hellboy fandom. Letters to the Editor featured little kids sending in their drawings of Itty Bitty Hellboy eliciting an awww from this cynical reader, who even briefly contemplated buying one of Itty Bitty Hellboy plushies, but if I started I would have to get them all and they're probably out of print / sale by now.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little read for younger kids who like Hellboy. This was loosely based on the Hellboy series. The stories were very simplistic, but cute. I really liked the colorful illustrations which helped to fully tell the antics that Hellboy and his mischievious friends get into. Overall, a cute little read for younger readers.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay that was weird. Reminded me a lot of Ren & Stimpy as it blasted a lot of that same demented energy. Fans of big, regular Hellboy would probably like this, as it seems to include the whole gang—Liz, Abe, Roger (both of them). Not sure what ‘possessed’ me to borrow this one from the library…pun intended!

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art Baltazar brings his talents to the Hellboy universe and its fun and giggle worthy. Collected here are a bunch of, essentially, comic strips. They obviously skew younger and its totally fine and fun. The stories are connected a little and its cute. This won't be for everyone and that's fine. The art is actually what you expect. Overall, fun.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute idea on the part of Dark Horse and I think for parents who like Hellboy and want to introduce their kids to him in a very PG way, this is perfect.
Side note: Roger was my favorite character, totally hysterical!

[Robert Hudder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not aimed at me and I didn't care for it. The art is decent and I can see how kids could get a kick out of it but... not gonna recommend it to mine.

[Jason Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

this didn't work for me. my 6yo found it boring as well.

I might have enjoyed it more if I'd read more Hellboy, but that still doesn't help kids approach the characters.

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waited till I'd read almost all of Hellboy thinking I'd need to get references, but it isn't that deep or clever, sadly, unlike Tiny Titans.

[Elmari Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

So dam cute

[Etain · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was very fun and cute. It's alot like the adventure time sugary shorts. Liz and abe (and Eve) were so cute I loved abes big eyes but Rodger was a little Wierd

[Courtney Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun take on Hellboy. Easy short read.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comic wasn't my thing.

A series of shorts that'd belong in the Sunday funnies, I found this collection to be too much, too cute, too fast.

[Isaac Woodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute cinema

[Dani Shuping · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley

I’ve been a fan of Hellboy for a few years now and I’m always up for the opportunity to read new adventures with the characters. Although I haven’t read a lot of the itty, bitty series before, I’m familiar with the style and type of storytelling they bring to the characters and it’s fun. So what could possibly go wrong by combining the two together? Well...a bit actually.

I’ll start with the good. The good is that the artwork is pretty good. The images are bright, cheery, uplifting, and uncomplicated which fits the stories well. The characters are cute, funny and adorable, which makes the book great for kids and adults to read together. And...well most of the time the gags are amusing.

The bad? Well the bad is that the Hellboy gang doesn’t really lend itself well to the comedy we see in this collection. I mean the Hellboy stories and gang are, well dark in nature and it works really well for older readers. And I know some people are thinking “well the kids don’t know that the stories are dark so they should enjoy this right?” Well...no. Again the characters were never developed for a younger audience or for humor and gags. I mean the obvious is that Hellboy is from...hell. How do you explain that part to a young kid? I mean I know it can be done, but it kinda takes the humor out of the situation doesn’t it? And his enemies include Rasputin, who some of the kids might recognize from Anastasia as the evil wizard who won’t die, and Baba Yaga, a dark witch from Grimm’s fairy tales. There’s no making these two cute and cuddly no matter what type of spin you put on it. The other problem is that the gags become repetitive and stale, even for younger readers. We got it...Roger doesn’t like wearing underpants and will take them off any chance he gets. In a short book it gets old really, really fast.

In short, while the artwork is cute and adorable, Hellboy is best left in the adult world. I give the book 3 out of 5 stars.

[Lady Entropy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(ARC supplied by Netgalley)

I loved Itty Bitty Titans, from the same artist, and that prompted me to immediately request this book. Unlike the Teen Titans, I knew Hellboy fairly well, having read a few of the GNs and having LOVED the 2nd Movie (the first was meh). And if I had loved the Titans Itty Bitty version, I was going to absolutely adore Itty Bitty Hellboy, right?

Unfortunately, not so. I suspect it's because Hellboy, for all of its smart stories and setting, just is not given to comedy. Teen Titans are superheroes and teenagers, which, on itself, is already a source of quite a lot of jokes. Plus they have a huge and colourful amount of enemies and allies. Hellboy is much more focused on serious themes and a specific set of characters. While the design of the demon with the red hand is silly, it's not enough to make solid comedy. The proof came in the fact that jokes were often one note and repeated ad nauseam (yes, we get it, Roger has no pants, and his underwear is weird and he likes to take it off at the slightest provocation).

But what I felt was the biggest problem with the book was that the characters were all lacking in personality. Hell, the villains wound up having more personality than the "Goodies" group, who wound up being too "I am my shtick!" - Liz makes fire, Hellboy is very strong (and slightly dumb), Roger has no pants, etc.

The art is still adorable and cute beyond belief so if you just want to giggle at the adorableness, go right ahead and get this. I think I'll stick to Teen Titans myself.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Itty Bitty Hellboy' is an odd thing. It's a graphic novel aimed at kids based on characters and situations that are definitely not aimed at kids, in my opinion. I love the Hellboy series, but the series and movies are quite dark.

The characters are all quite young. There are good guys and bad guys that are familiar to those who know the Hellboy universe. Abe, Liz, Lobster Johnson and, of course, Hellboy, are all here along with others. All the stories are a few pages long and the humor is squarely aimed at 8 or 9 year olds. There are ongoing gags, like Roger not being able to keep his underwear on. The kids all have forts made out of boxes. They end up in hell, then kind of heaven/purgatory.

The characters are introduced over the course of the book, so no larger knowledge of the Hellboy characters is needed, and they act like young kids would, so parents needn't worry about the darker Hellboy themes. It's part of a series of these by Art Baltazar and Franco. The characters are gosh darned cute and I thought it was pretty good.

I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this cute graphic novel.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Art Balthazar from as far back as my early teens, and someone who's gotten to follow his Itty Bitty Works & meet him in person, I would have leapt buildings in a single bound for the chance to read this book.

I have seen a lot of the other reviews of this graphic novel from people who don't seem to be very acquainted with the Itty Bitty universe at all, and I want to set the record straight on saying this merges in perfectly with it. Sure, it's a different universe than Tiny Titans exists in, but it's generally the same kind of thing.

It's kid friendly, introduces all of your favorite characters -- our heroes, our villains, our companions. The book goes through the real world, to hell, to heaven, to outer space and underwater, as well as cute, cheerful things as normal as building fortresses out of boxes, getting crushes on new people in your life, and having birthday parties.

I think this would be a great reader for fans of Hellboy to be able to give to their kids, or young close relations.


Earlier reviewer for Dark Horse Comics & Diamond Book Distributors.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so gersh darn adorable, you just want to pinch its cheeks and throw it against the wall. But seriously, folks. This book really is adorable and funny, and teaches decent morals (obvious without being heavy-handed). I just have to wonder one itty-bitty (heh) thing: If you've never read Hellboy, or watched the movies, which I imagine is true for this book's expected target audience, then there really isn't any context or back story for the characters and their relationships. The stories are abrupt, and you just kind of have to parse out the relationships and what's going on. Which leads me to wonder who the actual audience is: is it the children, who will read the silly stories with a lesson, but not really have any understanding of the actual story, or the fans, who are getting a silly aspect to a favorite character? All the same, the vivid artwork is a joy, the humor is gentle and effective, the morals are generic and expected, and the writing is age-appropriate. A fun little book for reluctant readers.

[Joseph R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

What if Hellboy and his friends were a group of youngsters having adventures in their backyard like kids always do? That's the premise of this book. The drawings are cute and most stories are two to four page long, often ending in a joke. It reads like a cross between Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes. I found the book mildly entertaining--it seems aimed at a much younger audience than me. Though I think the age the book is aimed at is probably (and properly) completely unfamiliar with Hellboy and his companions in the regular comics, so many of the jokes will be missed. And there's the weird bit where Roger the Homunculus twins himself so he can date Baba Yaga and Hecate, which also isn't really appropriate for younger readers the way it comes off here. The overall tone is odd. I'm not sure who I'd recommend this for, and I don't plan to read it again.

[Nicole Bunge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I picked this up. I actually wasn't terribly impressed with the first issue on it's own. I've read plenty of Hellboy and BPRD, so I get all the inside jokes, but this takes a little time for an adult reader to get into. It's cute and sweet and... very one dimensional until you get into later content where a storyline and recurring jokes occur (the pancake and Sasquatch jokes are great).
(Obviously, kids will accept all this from the get-go.)

So, if you can appreciate your dark, brooding, world-ending, otherworldly-horror universe flipped on it's shiny-cute, technicolor booty- you'll enjoy this.

[Aleap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it probably would have made more sense if I was familiar with the original, for-adults series, this was still a quick, cute read and I don't see kids caring if they get all the references adults who are familiar with the series would get. I especially liked how each issue/chapter could be taken as an individual story but put together made one continuous arc; this is great for children reading this who may need to read it in pieces and is a great way to introduce children to the format of issues/trade paperbacks. Young children, especially boys from 6-9, will probably eat this up.

[Anna Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5 Stars, but its something I shouldn't have read. I think you have to be no older than 8 or 9 to enjoy the humor of this one. It was funny to see the villains as itty-bittys, but not worth 130 pages of my time. Overall, I recommend it for children for sure and maybe as a page-through for hardcore Hellboy fans and fans of the Itty-Bitty series of comic.

VERDICT: 2.5/5 Stars

*I received this book from Diamond Book Distributors, on NetGalley. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book was published on February 28th, 2014.*

[Ms Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand who Itty Bitty Hellboy is for.

I found this Eisner winner funny and charming, but I’ve also read regular, grown up, R-rated Hellboy. I know the characters and their relationships. I can understand why seeing them depicted in such a lighthearted and cutesy manner is extra funny. Would the book still be as funny if I didn’t have that background?

So while I enjoyed it, and it was funny and competently done-I have no idea who it’s for. Eight-year-olds should not be familiar with Hellboy.

[TheTick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might seem like an odd combination, Hellboy getting the cutesy 'Itty Bitty' treatment, but if you enjoy HB and want to get your younger ones in early, this is a good way. The bright, simple shapes are indeed cute, reminding me a bit of the Powerpuff Girls. Art Baltazar and Franco do a solid job with the art and stories, most of which are a few pages long and have simple kid-friendly jokes (Johann sneezes himself out of his suit, jokes about Roger's underwear, and so on).