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Hellboy (Ongoing Order) #4
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #4
In Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #4, Hellboy's first adventure reaches its chilling climax! Far beneath the tumbling walls of the Cavendish mansion, Hellboy battles the grasping fingers of a giant bony hand as the world lurches toward its horrific end through the unholy sacrifice of Hellboy's pal Liz Sherman. Hellboy's ichthyoid companion could save the day, but Abe Sapien is gone! Ghosts, tentacles, fire, brimstone, paralysis, massive destruction-- it's all here!
25 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2015
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,845 books2,578 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 26, 2023
Been over 20 years since I’ve read this series. I love the world of Hellboy and Mignola’s art, still adore this story, but upon re-reading it I was surprised at how calm it came across. I feel like the weight of the events in this first arc didn’t come across and I wonder if Mignola himself wasn’t sure if this was going to go beyond this miniseries.
December 3, 2016
Wow. Just awesome. Can't wait to read the next series.
May 25, 2026
What a way to knock the finale out of the park, that was amazing! It was to the point, it was hugely impactful on our characters and the grand scope of the world, and it left me worried about the future to the very last page. So well done! In case you got lost in the ramblings of Rasputin last issue, this issue picks up with a nice recap from the man himself as he is in the midst of channeling Elizabeth’s power, instead of Hellboy’s, to reach out into the abyss and destroy the prison which holds the 7 forms of the ancient serpent so they may once again return and rule the world. Hellboy is majorly beaten up right now as the large frog monster continues to make him numb, as he is forced to feel useless as Rasputin rambles on the prayers for each of the beasts to free them. Hellboy has one last chance as he reaches into his belt to pull out a concussion grenade from the Roland Hills Cemetery job six years ago he isn’t even sure is still good. He takes the grenade and shoves it in the mouth of the frog monster…as the monster blows to pieces he is sure it works, lol. As the priest continues to rattle on the ritual we check in on the prison in the abyss as the rock cells begin to crash into each other, catching the attention of the manned dimensional satellite monitoring it. This is such an interesting world building interlude as these creatures that almost remind me of Abe are basically inter dimensional astronauts/unequipped prison guards. They can trace the signal of the breach bad to Earth, but they can’t stop it themselves as if the evil within is freed it will branch out to every known dimension killing everyone in the process. The only chance they have is to use the power which imprisoned them in the first place…but no one knows where that is, said as Hellboy’s hand is conveniently glowing, lol.
As Hellboy begins to rise and his awareness comes back, he once again hears the priest reciting the ritual…until he abruptly comes to a stop as a harpoon goes through his chest! Standing in the doorway is Abe, but he is not alone as the form of Elihu Cavendish stands behind outing Abe into some form of trance. Cavendish then yells out to Liz to wake up as she bursts into flames, engulfing Rasputin and the Sadu-Hem! Things happen fast as Abe regains consciousness and tackles Liz to safety as they meet up with Hellboy, it’s time to get out of here before everything caves in on them. But Hellboy also can’t help but think about what Rasputin said regarding the power inside Liz and how the scientists failed to understand it. He thought he knew better and that he could reach down and take as much as he needed…even Hellboy could have told him he was wrong. The group runs for the stairs, but Hellboy decided to hang back for a moment as he senses this isn’t over. Sure enough the fiery form of Rasputin bursts from the flames as Hellboy uses his right arm to block the incoming beam of flames from his mouth. He knocks Rasputin back and takes him to the ground. Hellboy has had it with this guy claiming he is his master just for bringing him to Earth, something Hellboy didn’t ask him to do and doesn’t owe him any favors for. But Rasputin continues to plead, if he is killed now Hellboy will never know who he is or understand the power inside of him…but that is something Hellboy can live with. As Hellboy delivers a final punch to send Rasputin’s bones crumbling, he takes his skull and crushes it. Seems that Elihu has returned to his resting spot just in time for the entire manor to crumble and fall into the ground.
Hellboy was able to meet up with the rest to sit on the rumble still remaining above ground as they try and piece everything together. Abe didn’t remember much from his trance and they suppose that Cavendish took over his body. Maybe because of the pain attached to the family name he was able to reach from behind the grave to extract vengeance, or maybe he was just pissed because someone else found the thing in the Arctic before his family did. Maybe nothing will would have changed if they found it first. Hellboy then shifts over to Liz to ask what she remembers, and while that isn’t much she does feel a lot better as if something has finally gotten out of her system. But really they are worried about HB, as always he is the one who took the most knocks. They are interested to know if Rasputin said anything in the end, and all HB can think about are the words claiming he will never know or understand his true power and that this isn’t over as one day Rasputin will see Hellboy crawl before him. As the issue comes to an end we get a tease on the form of an old nazi lab whirling back to life as a shell cracks open to reveal the three nazi’s who worked with Rasputin in some kind of deep persevering sleep, finally being let loose on the world once more to serve the serpent which adorned their lab. Hahahaha, let the fun begin once more just enough Tuesday for the BPRD!!
As Hellboy begins to rise and his awareness comes back, he once again hears the priest reciting the ritual…until he abruptly comes to a stop as a harpoon goes through his chest! Standing in the doorway is Abe, but he is not alone as the form of Elihu Cavendish stands behind outing Abe into some form of trance. Cavendish then yells out to Liz to wake up as she bursts into flames, engulfing Rasputin and the Sadu-Hem! Things happen fast as Abe regains consciousness and tackles Liz to safety as they meet up with Hellboy, it’s time to get out of here before everything caves in on them. But Hellboy also can’t help but think about what Rasputin said regarding the power inside Liz and how the scientists failed to understand it. He thought he knew better and that he could reach down and take as much as he needed…even Hellboy could have told him he was wrong. The group runs for the stairs, but Hellboy decided to hang back for a moment as he senses this isn’t over. Sure enough the fiery form of Rasputin bursts from the flames as Hellboy uses his right arm to block the incoming beam of flames from his mouth. He knocks Rasputin back and takes him to the ground. Hellboy has had it with this guy claiming he is his master just for bringing him to Earth, something Hellboy didn’t ask him to do and doesn’t owe him any favors for. But Rasputin continues to plead, if he is killed now Hellboy will never know who he is or understand the power inside of him…but that is something Hellboy can live with. As Hellboy delivers a final punch to send Rasputin’s bones crumbling, he takes his skull and crushes it. Seems that Elihu has returned to his resting spot just in time for the entire manor to crumble and fall into the ground.
Hellboy was able to meet up with the rest to sit on the rumble still remaining above ground as they try and piece everything together. Abe didn’t remember much from his trance and they suppose that Cavendish took over his body. Maybe because of the pain attached to the family name he was able to reach from behind the grave to extract vengeance, or maybe he was just pissed because someone else found the thing in the Arctic before his family did. Maybe nothing will would have changed if they found it first. Hellboy then shifts over to Liz to ask what she remembers, and while that isn’t much she does feel a lot better as if something has finally gotten out of her system. But really they are worried about HB, as always he is the one who took the most knocks. They are interested to know if Rasputin said anything in the end, and all HB can think about are the words claiming he will never know or understand his true power and that this isn’t over as one day Rasputin will see Hellboy crawl before him. As the issue comes to an end we get a tease on the form of an old nazi lab whirling back to life as a shell cracks open to reveal the three nazi’s who worked with Rasputin in some kind of deep persevering sleep, finally being let loose on the world once more to serve the serpent which adorned their lab. Hahahaha, let the fun begin once more just enough Tuesday for the BPRD!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2024
The story so far...
After an eventful night at Cavendish Hall, where Hellboy and his companions have gone to investigate the strange killing of his mentor, Hellboy learns that he was brought to Earth by a mysterious sorcerer as a vital element in his plan for the destruction of the world. When Hellboy realizes the evil fate this man has in store for him, he begins the fight of his life against the very forces that brought him into this world.
Having enjoyed the 2024 free-comic-book-day one-shot, I found myself in a Hellboy mood. With Amazon offering me a free trial of Kindle Unlimited, and with the Hellboy single issues being included, it felt rude not to start from the beginning.
The Occult, Nazis, Demons, Lovecraftian horrors, (At the Mountains of Madness and Cthulhu mythos vibes), Poe-esk villains (think The Fall of the House of Usher), the mad-monk of Russia, and good old Hellboy (who will forever be Ron Perlman in my eyes); what's not to love! However, the interstellar aliens were a bit of a curve ball and it'll be interesting to see how that pans out. 4 1/2 stars.
After an eventful night at Cavendish Hall, where Hellboy and his companions have gone to investigate the strange killing of his mentor, Hellboy learns that he was brought to Earth by a mysterious sorcerer as a vital element in his plan for the destruction of the world. When Hellboy realizes the evil fate this man has in store for him, he begins the fight of his life against the very forces that brought him into this world.
Having enjoyed the 2024 free-comic-book-day one-shot, I found myself in a Hellboy mood. With Amazon offering me a free trial of Kindle Unlimited, and with the Hellboy single issues being included, it felt rude not to start from the beginning.
The Occult, Nazis, Demons, Lovecraftian horrors, (At the Mountains of Madness and Cthulhu mythos vibes), Poe-esk villains (think The Fall of the House of Usher), the mad-monk of Russia, and good old Hellboy (who will forever be Ron Perlman in my eyes); what's not to love! However, the interstellar aliens were a bit of a curve ball and it'll be interesting to see how that pans out. 4 1/2 stars.
December 17, 2017
Hellboy is in a fight for his life, he is barely clinging to consciousness while the bad guy continues to mumble his incantation in the background. Sven is slowly beating Hellboy and Hellboy’s own game of who can punch harder, and who has a harder skull. Liz is in a trance and being used to channel her internal power into the evil beast so it can grow. Abe is lost in the dungeon of the mansion and is overtaken by an unknown force.
By the end Hellboy looks the worse for wear, Liz is by his side and Abe intervened at just the right moment, or did he? Either way, the day is won and the rubble that was once a mansion means Hellboy was here.
By the end Hellboy looks the worse for wear, Liz is by his side and Abe intervened at just the right moment, or did he? Either way, the day is won and the rubble that was once a mansion means Hellboy was here.
May 14, 2017
Fin
A good storyline that concludes, with a sense of mystery. The first story of bell boy was good. I highly recommend it to any comic reader. The ending leaves bits of the story open to allow for more storylines to branch off.
A good storyline that concludes, with a sense of mystery. The first story of bell boy was good. I highly recommend it to any comic reader. The ending leaves bits of the story open to allow for more storylines to branch off.
December 30, 2017
Well.
This four part series was really my first introduction to Hellboy, and I was hesitant in the beginning. But now I think I'll read more- he seemed a bit Thing meets Spider Man, and I dig it.
This four part series was really my first introduction to Hellboy, and I was hesitant in the beginning. But now I think I'll read more- he seemed a bit Thing meets Spider Man, and I dig it.
February 16, 2018
Hb delivers again great overall read
Def read if fan on Hellboy or comics or even paranormal in general it's got Nazi Thule society. Everything weird that has a basic grain of truth you could find in a Hb comic
Def read if fan on Hellboy or comics or even paranormal in general it's got Nazi Thule society. Everything weird that has a basic grain of truth you could find in a Hb comic
July 5, 2018
Excellent story, wonderful writing and characters.
Incredible art and story!, Mike Mignola has created wonderful characters in this Lovecraftian adventure story, the main protagonist Hellboy is a hero of light, cast from shadow.
Incredible art and story!, Mike Mignola has created wonderful characters in this Lovecraftian adventure story, the main protagonist Hellboy is a hero of light, cast from shadow.
June 16, 2020
Really bad
Yeah, this issue was horrible. The whole thing except a couple pages was just the satanist blabbing about satanist stuff. There was no action and the enemys just get roasted by liz in two seconds so why didnt she just do that before.
Yeah, this issue was horrible. The whole thing except a couple pages was just the satanist blabbing about satanist stuff. There was no action and the enemys just get roasted by liz in two seconds so why didnt she just do that before.
March 1, 2019
Excellent
Great story with hints of H P Lovecraft. The ending indicates an incoming storyline possibly concerning the origin of hellboy.
Great story with hints of H P Lovecraft. The ending indicates an incoming storyline possibly concerning the origin of hellboy.
May 10, 2019
I read all four issues of this entertaining yarn, featuring the fantastic artwork of Mike Mignola!
Personally the artwork is more of draw to me than the story.
Personally the artwork is more of draw to me than the story.
August 18, 2023
Hellboy
Exciting to the end.it is a must read book..the graphics were great and it held your attention to the end...
Exciting to the end.it is a must read book..the graphics were great and it held your attention to the end...
March 17, 2017
Ending
I did love the movie but I think this might have been better. Of course it's only my thought. Hellboy kicks all ass.
I did love the movie but I think this might have been better. Of course it's only my thought. Hellboy kicks all ass.
November 1, 2022
Gonna be sore in the morning
Epic conclusion of the seed of destruction arc with the final showdown at Cavendish hall where it all comes crushing down. Again so much in so few pages. Leaves you craving for more.
Epic conclusion of the seed of destruction arc with the final showdown at Cavendish hall where it all comes crushing down. Again so much in so few pages. Leaves you craving for more.
December 30, 2016
Page 5 is masterful structure.
August 8, 2017
Good comic
Classic hell boy! If you are into this series don't miss this one. He'll boy is a unique comic and illustrates a perfect mix of fantasy and historical fiction
Classic hell boy! If you are into this series don't miss this one. He'll boy is a unique comic and illustrates a perfect mix of fantasy and historical fiction
March 26, 2017
Colour me both surprised and addicted. I have been randomly selecting a graphic novel every now and then since a Book Riot challenge a few years back. They interested me and amused me during the read but never really gripped me until this volume. I've slowly been becoming more appreciative of the art form and that may be part of it, learning to accept that the character development isn't what I expect from it and can't be as in depth as a novel. Hellboy grabbed me right from the first few pages and I loved this volume, characters, storyline and drawings. Odd, because if you'd asked me I would have said this series wouldn't have appealed. I only selected it because a/ I was recovering from dental surgery and couldn't face anything too wordy and b/ because it was included in my Amazon Prime reading options. Now I have to read the rest.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews