What do you think?
Rate this book
Hellboy Omnibus
Hellboy Omnibus, Volume 3: Caçada Selvagem
O maior Omnibus do Hellboy chega com 532 páginas, contando uma história imensa, por uma equipe incrível. A ascensão das bruxas e de sua terrível rainha, Nimue, combina lendas arturianas e folclore britânico com o toque característico de Mignola sobre ocultismo extramundano. Hellboy tem ouvido profecias problemáticas sobre ele mesmo de homens loucos e figuras mitológicas por décadas, mas o destino nunca foi tão aparente e tão abalador.
532 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 2018
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,876 books2,618 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews
April 8, 2022
This third omnibus of without a doubt are momentous stories in the Hellboy cannon, continue to hugely underwhelm me, I guess when something, some series doesn't work for me, it really doesn't work for me! The best volume in this, and probably the best of the series was Hellboy, Vol. 9: The Wild Hunt which at least kept me interested!
I can imagine Hellboy fans being amazed/annoyed at my perception of the series, so here's just a few of my gripes - Hellboy has no real character; fights have no real story other than, you whack me, I whack you; almost every reveal is via narrated exposition! - and that's just a few of my gripes, don't get me on the art where other than Hellboy most of the time I have no idea who is who! 3 out of 12, One Star read. Damn!
2022 read
I can imagine Hellboy fans being amazed/annoyed at my perception of the series, so here's just a few of my gripes - Hellboy has no real character; fights have no real story other than, you whack me, I whack you; almost every reveal is via narrated exposition! - and that's just a few of my gripes, don't get me on the art where other than Hellboy most of the time I have no idea who is who! 3 out of 12, One Star read. Damn!
2022 read
February 10, 2019
And thus ends Hellboy's story. It was epic. It was fun. It was tragic. It gave me everything I wanted and more that I didn't even know I needed. Mignola is a master of mixing the world's folklore into a brand new tale with its own mythology. If you've never read Hellboy, you're doing yourself a real disservice. He's grown into one of my all-time favorite characters over the last 25 years.
Duncan Fegredo steps in on art for these last 3 arcs. His art is a more technical version of Mignola's with fewer shadows. If we can't have Mignola, Fegredo is a fantastic fill-in.
Duncan Fegredo steps in on art for these last 3 arcs. His art is a more technical version of Mignola's with fewer shadows. If we can't have Mignola, Fegredo is a fantastic fill-in.
September 26, 2018
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
This is the point in the series where I realized I was completely enchanted by this character and the lore that envelops him. It is not easy at first to identify the exact elements that give Hellboy his charm and fanbase, but the more you stick around with the character and all his adventures, whether they are relevant to the overarching story or not, the more you understand that this series has a personality well-worth exploring. With his vibrant red skin, his right hand of doom, his heroic tendencies in the face of evil and his laid-back demeanor, Hellboy strives to become one of the most iconic characters to have ever been created by the end of this omnibus.
Hellboy Omnibus Vol. 3: The Wild Hunt collects “Darkness Calls” (vol. 8), “The Wild Hunt” (vol. 9) and “The Storm and the Fury” (vol. 12) and technically marks the end of the original Hellboy series. As Hellboy continues to seek a life void of all the shenanigans that fate has bestowed upon him, much more powerful forces come into play and drags Hellboy back in the midst of it all, whether he wants to or not. From the Russian witch Baba Yaga to King Arthur, there’s not a single moment of rest for Hellboy as time has come for him to make a decision in regards to his role in the bigger scheme of things. It definitely becomes a lot more complicated for our half-demon when the Queen of Blood arrives on the scene. At last, a major war is within sight and it is bound to spark the end of the world unless Hellboy does something about it.
It is without doubt that I proclaim this omnibus and the story arcs it contains as the pinnacle of greatness and the ultimate reward for fans who have stuck around for all the hell our half-demon was put through, but also the hell that he brought around with him. It would be an understatement to say it was the most epic ending that I could’ve imagined. While earlier story arcs were harder to follow and needed a lot more concentration to figure out what was going on, the structure was a lot cleaner and the story-telling much more refined in this omnibus. Every story arc succeeded in tying up loose ends and connecting all the pieces, that were in fact barely holding on to each other, in a narratively gripping fashion.
It’s however the way Mike Mignola integrated various folklore within his universe that elevated the game in these story arcs. While I was much more familiar with the characters that were introduced here, the very integration felt so natural and perfect to Hellboy’s story. I particularly loved the introduction of Koshchei the Deathless and the action sequences that came with him. Speaking of new arrivals, the story also dives into Hellboy’s origins and further develops the mosaic that is his destiny by ultimately creating a folklore of its own.
One of the biggest changes that also immensely contributed in creating these epic story arcs is the artwork by Duncan Fegredo. While my first experience of his style was in the first short story omnibus and his “The Midnight Circus” story, I can now say that his artwork truly brings the missing ingredient that turns this ending to the original series into a tour de force. While remaining entirely loyal to Mike Mignola’s style, Duncan Fegredo simply adds his own flavour that brings not only detail and toning to the world, but the very gravitas that veers this universe closer to horror, or at least what I’d qualify as creepy and dangerous.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
This is the point in the series where I realized I was completely enchanted by this character and the lore that envelops him. It is not easy at first to identify the exact elements that give Hellboy his charm and fanbase, but the more you stick around with the character and all his adventures, whether they are relevant to the overarching story or not, the more you understand that this series has a personality well-worth exploring. With his vibrant red skin, his right hand of doom, his heroic tendencies in the face of evil and his laid-back demeanor, Hellboy strives to become one of the most iconic characters to have ever been created by the end of this omnibus.
Hellboy Omnibus Vol. 3: The Wild Hunt collects “Darkness Calls” (vol. 8), “The Wild Hunt” (vol. 9) and “The Storm and the Fury” (vol. 12) and technically marks the end of the original Hellboy series. As Hellboy continues to seek a life void of all the shenanigans that fate has bestowed upon him, much more powerful forces come into play and drags Hellboy back in the midst of it all, whether he wants to or not. From the Russian witch Baba Yaga to King Arthur, there’s not a single moment of rest for Hellboy as time has come for him to make a decision in regards to his role in the bigger scheme of things. It definitely becomes a lot more complicated for our half-demon when the Queen of Blood arrives on the scene. At last, a major war is within sight and it is bound to spark the end of the world unless Hellboy does something about it.
It is without doubt that I proclaim this omnibus and the story arcs it contains as the pinnacle of greatness and the ultimate reward for fans who have stuck around for all the hell our half-demon was put through, but also the hell that he brought around with him. It would be an understatement to say it was the most epic ending that I could’ve imagined. While earlier story arcs were harder to follow and needed a lot more concentration to figure out what was going on, the structure was a lot cleaner and the story-telling much more refined in this omnibus. Every story arc succeeded in tying up loose ends and connecting all the pieces, that were in fact barely holding on to each other, in a narratively gripping fashion.
It’s however the way Mike Mignola integrated various folklore within his universe that elevated the game in these story arcs. While I was much more familiar with the characters that were introduced here, the very integration felt so natural and perfect to Hellboy’s story. I particularly loved the introduction of Koshchei the Deathless and the action sequences that came with him. Speaking of new arrivals, the story also dives into Hellboy’s origins and further develops the mosaic that is his destiny by ultimately creating a folklore of its own.
One of the biggest changes that also immensely contributed in creating these epic story arcs is the artwork by Duncan Fegredo. While my first experience of his style was in the first short story omnibus and his “The Midnight Circus” story, I can now say that his artwork truly brings the missing ingredient that turns this ending to the original series into a tour de force. While remaining entirely loyal to Mike Mignola’s style, Duncan Fegredo simply adds his own flavour that brings not only detail and toning to the world, but the very gravitas that veers this universe closer to horror, or at least what I’d qualify as creepy and dangerous.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
October 10, 2020
Hellboy Omnibus Vol 3: The Wild Hunt was a treat. Just in time for Halloween, it is a large volume (526 pages with notes) containing three stories surrounding one overarching story arc. Before we delve into the basics of the story, you are likely thinking why waste your time? The answer is simple_ this is excellent work. On a creative, mythological, storytelling, and artistic level this is a stellar example of the comic book creator's craft. Mignola's stories are filled with creatures from different cultures and myths. They all flow together due to the vehicle, which is Hellboy.
Hellboy may seem rather shallow, especially in light of the vast majority of his dialogue seems to be monosyllabic grunts. But rather, the nigh-on indestructible Hellboy takes the reader with him as he travels different worlds fighting creatures drawn from a variety of places. A true pleasure to read and a very good horror comic.
While I am a big fan of Mignola's art, I must say that Duncan Fegredo did a creditable job with the artwork. Dave Stewart's colors are also a standout. A very visually appealing GN.
Finally, we have the story. There are three individual stories and a main story arc. First the main arc- it centers around the coming of the Queen of the Witches and all the actions surrounding her reincarnation. It will culminate in the end but will be shown through snippets within the stories themselves as they are happening concurrently.
The first story "Darkness Calls", recounts Hellboy's adventures with the Baba Yaga, who seeks revenge for her stolen eye. She sends Koshchei the Deathless after his head. A great adventure with some great characters (Baba Yaga is awesome!). Meanwhile, the Queen of Witches has been rescued from the pit.
The second story is "The Wild Hunt", wherein Hellboy is invited by the Wild Hunt to hunt an outbreak of Giants. However, there is treachery about, as Hellboy will find to his sorrow. This one is full of wonderful characters from Morgan Le Fay to the Queen of Witches herself. Her release is told in this story. We also have some measure that she will be a Queen of destruction and blood.
"Badhbh, Macha, and Mor-Rioghain. So now all will know me...not Queen of Witches, but Goddess of War."
The third and final story "The Storm and the Fury" is the culmination of it all. As Nimue, the mad Witch Queen seeks the destruction of the world by releasing the Black Dragon, Hellboy is granted Excalibur to lead England's Noble dead to war. But there is more to the story, and it revolves around Hellboy's own destiny, but no spoilers. In the end will be the conflict between Hellboy and Nimue.
It was a very interesting and poignant ending. Vol 3 is a great GN and well worth the time of any comic fan, not just Hellboy fans. Heck, even if you are new to comics and want to see why people read them? Read this and see if you don't like it. If you appreciate good storytelling, cool mythological research and backgrounds coupled with excellent artwork-then this is for you.
Hellboy may seem rather shallow, especially in light of the vast majority of his dialogue seems to be monosyllabic grunts. But rather, the nigh-on indestructible Hellboy takes the reader with him as he travels different worlds fighting creatures drawn from a variety of places. A true pleasure to read and a very good horror comic.
While I am a big fan of Mignola's art, I must say that Duncan Fegredo did a creditable job with the artwork. Dave Stewart's colors are also a standout. A very visually appealing GN.
Finally, we have the story. There are three individual stories and a main story arc. First the main arc- it centers around the coming of the Queen of the Witches and all the actions surrounding her reincarnation. It will culminate in the end but will be shown through snippets within the stories themselves as they are happening concurrently.
The first story "Darkness Calls", recounts Hellboy's adventures with the Baba Yaga, who seeks revenge for her stolen eye. She sends Koshchei the Deathless after his head. A great adventure with some great characters (Baba Yaga is awesome!). Meanwhile, the Queen of Witches has been rescued from the pit.
The second story is "The Wild Hunt", wherein Hellboy is invited by the Wild Hunt to hunt an outbreak of Giants. However, there is treachery about, as Hellboy will find to his sorrow. This one is full of wonderful characters from Morgan Le Fay to the Queen of Witches herself. Her release is told in this story. We also have some measure that she will be a Queen of destruction and blood.
"Badhbh, Macha, and Mor-Rioghain. So now all will know me...not Queen of Witches, but Goddess of War."
The third and final story "The Storm and the Fury" is the culmination of it all. As Nimue, the mad Witch Queen seeks the destruction of the world by releasing the Black Dragon, Hellboy is granted Excalibur to lead England's Noble dead to war. But there is more to the story, and it revolves around Hellboy's own destiny, but no spoilers. In the end will be the conflict between Hellboy and Nimue.
It was a very interesting and poignant ending. Vol 3 is a great GN and well worth the time of any comic fan, not just Hellboy fans. Heck, even if you are new to comics and want to see why people read them? Read this and see if you don't like it. If you appreciate good storytelling, cool mythological research and backgrounds coupled with excellent artwork-then this is for you.
September 7, 2021
Definitly my favourite book so far in this series!
I feel like this book really shifted the focus from Hellboy being a paranormal detective to him being involved in the all out war that’s been brewing since the first book. Really loved the action packed story and the more I read of this universe the more interesting it gets, looking forward to the final book…
I feel like this book really shifted the focus from Hellboy being a paranormal detective to him being involved in the all out war that’s been brewing since the first book. Really loved the action packed story and the more I read of this universe the more interesting it gets, looking forward to the final book…
March 29, 2025
So this volume is longer form stories with tighter continuity. The entire volume reads as one long story, while the first two volumes weren't quite as tight. Mignola seems to be mixing together several mythologies as we see hints of Norse, Celtic and many others. The ending is shocking, but leads directly into the next omnibus volume. This was a very ambitious volume, and managed to hold a somewhat complicated story together without going off the rails. What comes next should be interesting.
November 9, 2024
This was really good but ends on a major cliffhanger. Awesome story and artwork.
Recommend.
Recommend.
September 28, 2026
My least favorite of the omnibuses I have read so far. The problem with committing to the grand conclusion is that you lose some of the idiosyncrasies that the smaller scale stories allow you. The title story is an all time banger. DARKNESS CALLS is all set up and a lot weaker for it, really more of a Part 1 for what's to come. STORM is a heavy conclusion and leaves an enticing hanging plot. But, because of the aforementioned commitment to the large scale storytelling, some of what's extra special about Hellboy gets a little lost. By no means is this bad, it's just a bit of a low point for what has otherwise been a remarkable storytelling achievement. Can't believe I'm already approaching the end!
Read in the enormous paperback edition.
Read in the enormous paperback edition.
May 1, 2023
Hellboy series is GOATED.
October 23, 2018
Damn. That was my initial reaction to the ending of Wild Hunt omnibus. Mike Mignola really puts Hellboy through it from Strange Places up to the last page of Wild Hunt. All at once sad and epic about a man (demon?) Looking to escape his fate and find a little light in all this darkness. Absolute must read.
Also after reading I went back to Seed of Destruction and wow you can really see the growth of not just Hellboy but all of the characters such as Abe and Liz. A lot of the big conflicts that erupt in later Hellboy and
Also after reading I went back to Seed of Destruction and wow you can really see the growth of not just Hellboy but all of the characters such as Abe and Liz. A lot of the big conflicts that erupt in later Hellboy and
September 18, 2019
A really amazing story. Definitely one of the best comics, and probably even narrative in general, that I've read. This just checks all of my boxes (occult, mysticism, demonology, mythology (that isn't Greek/Roman because that shit is so overexposed), among others), it's almost as though it were written for me (I'm not that much of a narcissist tho lol).
August 12, 2018
Now there are some books which are real challenge to comment about simply because everything I want to say about them relates to or revolves around the storyline and since this book represents the collected story of Hellboy which covered so many books and even more comics its bit a of a challenge - rather like someone asking what you opinion you have over a TV show which is in the middle of the series and you cannot comment about what is going on.
So here we are at probably the most ambitious volumes of the series and probably one of the most profound. One thing I have learnt about reading the stories of Hellboy and the BPRD is that they do not shy away from some pretty dramatic and final storylines. This book is no different and weighing in at over 500 pages its pretty intense stuff.
Now this is the third in the series and to be honest this is probably for me the most important its where things all change. Now I will warn that as a result of this there are a lot of little references (as far as I can remember probably more than any other volume) to previous stories and events which although not a problem does challenge you to going and finding out what happened there. (I will admit that I did a couple of times have to stop and re-trace what happened in that reference.
However these are all minor things in what I felt was probably the best in the series (so far -as there is still the second stand alone book and the last in the collected works).
I just wonder if there will be a similar treatment oneway for Abe and the rest of BPRD?
So here we are at probably the most ambitious volumes of the series and probably one of the most profound. One thing I have learnt about reading the stories of Hellboy and the BPRD is that they do not shy away from some pretty dramatic and final storylines. This book is no different and weighing in at over 500 pages its pretty intense stuff.
Now this is the third in the series and to be honest this is probably for me the most important its where things all change. Now I will warn that as a result of this there are a lot of little references (as far as I can remember probably more than any other volume) to previous stories and events which although not a problem does challenge you to going and finding out what happened there. (I will admit that I did a couple of times have to stop and re-trace what happened in that reference.
However these are all minor things in what I felt was probably the best in the series (so far -as there is still the second stand alone book and the last in the collected works).
I just wonder if there will be a similar treatment oneway for Abe and the rest of BPRD?
April 8, 2025
Really hits its stride in these arcs.
November 12, 2019
Turns out this is a series to be read in a shorter time than the decades or whatever it took for it to come out. It's SO MUCH BETTER.
Also, this volume contains the stuff I somehow missed entirely, which is too bad because now I understand why I had no idea what was going on in Hellboy in Hell.
He's one hell of a boy, ya'll.
Also, this volume contains the stuff I somehow missed entirely, which is too bad because now I understand why I had no idea what was going on in Hellboy in Hell.
He's one hell of a boy, ya'll.
February 22, 2024
4.25 stars
[spoilers ahead]
Aw, it's so sad how Hellboy's journey ends without getting to see his friends again since leaving the BPRD. I have opinions now with this reread that differ from my previous ones, most important: I liked the ending better and I don't struggle anymore with the narrative choice of having a myriad of characters appear from the shadows to guide and help Hellboy when he needs a hand. It's just the nature of this character. In the first arc collected here, Darkness Calls, we realise Hellboy could be titled the King of the witches. After the events of Strange Places and his long journey through Africa, Hellboy has found refuge in the house of an old family friend. Though we don't see it from the beginning, the friend is another dead man. Hellboy's recent years have been full of reunions with long lost people. It's a perfect reflection of his mind state. Of the way he's still running away from the threats of the world. In this story, however, the witches finally find him. They kidnap him and though he rejects them, they take revenge by giving Hellboy away to Baba Yaga.
In The Wild Hunt (I still maintain it is the best Hellboy story), we find out Hellboy is the heir to King Arthur. This is a long story that starts with Hellboy being betrayed while hunting Giants. This attack leads Hellboy to reconnect with Alice, a woman he saved decades ago from a changeling and she becomes Hellboy's true love. Her connection to Queen Maeve and the fae somehow takes Hellboy to Morgan La Fey and the revelation of his lineage is another burden on Hellboy's shoulders.
The last arc The Storm and The Fury makes Hellboy confront his destiny. He is the Anung Un Rama, the bringer of destruction and the end of the world, he's the one that must lead the armies of hell. He's also the last heir to King Arthur, with an army of the dead noblemen awaiting his call. He's also just Hellboy, the son of professor Bruttenholm. Hellboy's humanity is the one aspect that everyone discounts, and yet it's what makes him fight against all these expectations. It's the thing that make so many characters come out of the shadows and help him. They know he's damned, and yet they want to give him a chance against Nimue and her army and the threat of the Ogru jahad.
I really liked Hellboy here. Though before I wanted him to be more proactive against his destiny, I can see now how his story after leaving the BPRD, losing himself in Africa, in the seas, in alcohol and old memories, he isn't just lost, he's grieving, he's depressed, he's struggling ever since losing Bruttenholm, ever since he found out about his real parents. Which is why it sucks that the last few pages are so rushed. Hellboy's death scene is so anticlimactic, with Nimue's ghost taking his heart, ugh, I wish it could've been written different. After such huge volume, such a long journey, the ending deserved a little more. Poor Hellboy, he couldn't even say goodbye to his friends nor could he really explain himself to Alice. It's just tragic.
Original review:
3.75☆
This volume collects three main arcs:
Darkness Calls 3.5☆
The Wild Hunt 4☆
The Storm and The Fury 3.75☆
And with that, the main story of Hellboy is completed.
The Wild Hunt was by far the best arc of Hellboy.
This series is strange to me. I don't really like it, in the sense that at most I give these volumes 3.75 stars. I'm actually a bit disappointed at the random characters that always show up out of nowhere to guide and help Hellboy while he goes, Okay then.
I think the series went a bit downhill after Hellboy left the B.P.R.D. and I actually wish Hellboy was a bit more proactive about his own destiny. AND YET, here I am wanting to read more. Wanting to collect the B.P.R.D. omnibus (just bought the first volume) and read the short stories collection.
I guess, even though some part of the writing/story choices are not my favorite, I actually can't get enough of the world that Mignola created. The fusion of mythology and history and horror and the paranormal. It's just so appealing to me. At the end of the day, even if I did find some things underwhelming I just want to keep reading.
[spoilers ahead]
Aw, it's so sad how Hellboy's journey ends without getting to see his friends again since leaving the BPRD. I have opinions now with this reread that differ from my previous ones, most important: I liked the ending better and I don't struggle anymore with the narrative choice of having a myriad of characters appear from the shadows to guide and help Hellboy when he needs a hand. It's just the nature of this character. In the first arc collected here, Darkness Calls, we realise Hellboy could be titled the King of the witches. After the events of Strange Places and his long journey through Africa, Hellboy has found refuge in the house of an old family friend. Though we don't see it from the beginning, the friend is another dead man. Hellboy's recent years have been full of reunions with long lost people. It's a perfect reflection of his mind state. Of the way he's still running away from the threats of the world. In this story, however, the witches finally find him. They kidnap him and though he rejects them, they take revenge by giving Hellboy away to Baba Yaga.
In The Wild Hunt (I still maintain it is the best Hellboy story), we find out Hellboy is the heir to King Arthur. This is a long story that starts with Hellboy being betrayed while hunting Giants. This attack leads Hellboy to reconnect with Alice, a woman he saved decades ago from a changeling and she becomes Hellboy's true love. Her connection to Queen Maeve and the fae somehow takes Hellboy to Morgan La Fey and the revelation of his lineage is another burden on Hellboy's shoulders.
The last arc The Storm and The Fury makes Hellboy confront his destiny. He is the Anung Un Rama, the bringer of destruction and the end of the world, he's the one that must lead the armies of hell. He's also the last heir to King Arthur, with an army of the dead noblemen awaiting his call. He's also just Hellboy, the son of professor Bruttenholm. Hellboy's humanity is the one aspect that everyone discounts, and yet it's what makes him fight against all these expectations. It's the thing that make so many characters come out of the shadows and help him. They know he's damned, and yet they want to give him a chance against Nimue and her army and the threat of the Ogru jahad.
I really liked Hellboy here. Though before I wanted him to be more proactive against his destiny, I can see now how his story after leaving the BPRD, losing himself in Africa, in the seas, in alcohol and old memories, he isn't just lost, he's grieving, he's depressed, he's struggling ever since losing Bruttenholm, ever since he found out about his real parents. Which is why it sucks that the last few pages are so rushed. Hellboy's death scene is so anticlimactic, with Nimue's ghost taking his heart, ugh, I wish it could've been written different. After such huge volume, such a long journey, the ending deserved a little more. Poor Hellboy, he couldn't even say goodbye to his friends nor could he really explain himself to Alice. It's just tragic.
Original review:
3.75☆
This volume collects three main arcs:
Darkness Calls 3.5☆
The Wild Hunt 4☆
The Storm and The Fury 3.75☆
And with that, the main story of Hellboy is completed.
The Wild Hunt was by far the best arc of Hellboy.
This series is strange to me. I don't really like it, in the sense that at most I give these volumes 3.75 stars. I'm actually a bit disappointed at the random characters that always show up out of nowhere to guide and help Hellboy while he goes, Okay then.
I think the series went a bit downhill after Hellboy left the B.P.R.D. and I actually wish Hellboy was a bit more proactive about his own destiny. AND YET, here I am wanting to read more. Wanting to collect the B.P.R.D. omnibus (just bought the first volume) and read the short stories collection.
I guess, even though some part of the writing/story choices are not my favorite, I actually can't get enough of the world that Mignola created. The fusion of mythology and history and horror and the paranormal. It's just so appealing to me. At the end of the day, even if I did find some things underwhelming I just want to keep reading.
Read
July 11, 2021When I saw that Mignola stepped down from art duties on Hellboy, I could think of a few artists who could have been a successor to him as an artist. Such artists like Lee Bermejo, who is one of the best artists in the industry working today, and one who Mike considered having on as artist before that fell through. Or Gary Gianni, who had already brought his sketchy, yet dynamic style on the series and would have been a fitting choice, considering that he had illustrated characters who inspired Hellboy's creation. A few other names come to mind, though they are of the newer school of comic book artists: Andrea Sorrentino, Paul Azaceta, Stephanie Hans. But I am happy to say that Duncan Fegredo silenced any skepticism that I may have had.
Fegredo's art is easily the best aspect of this volume. It is lush, richly detailed, and awe inspiring to look at, yet it remains true to the classic Hellboy style. Many fans, and even Mike himself, have lamented that Fegredo is a worthy successor to Mike and some have even said that he may have outdone him in terms of his style. I am unsure if I would go that far, but I do find that Fegredo's work does enhance Mike's style. While I did miss Mike's idiosyncratic sense of mood and character design, it was nice to see Fegredo take Mike's style and add more detail to it, while remaining true to Mike's signature look.
The writing is also much better than the last volume, though I was thrown off by the stylistic change in turning from a blended genre story into a straight fantasy story. I always quite enjoyed Hellboy as a series that blended genres together from gothic horror to weird fiction to dark fantasy. So veering the series into a straight fantasy route was slightly disappointing. But it wasn't a bad change, Mike manages to tell a classic Hellboy story while taking this change of pace. Hellboy gets into weird supernatural hijinks, wisecracks his way through them, and occasionally gets himself into more trouble than he bargained for.
The pacing of this volume was on and off. There were some genuinely well written and touching character moments, and some points where the pacing was dragged down by long dialogues and expository monologues. It wasn't quite as bothersome as it was in Strange Places, but it felt more like a hangover from the previous volume. Luckily, Mike doesn't spend too much time with these long dialogues and they don't detract from the story. But their presence wasn't appreciated at the same time.
I was also slightly disappointed by the lack of variance in this volume. One of my favorite aspects of the Hellboy series is the constantly changing tone throughout the series, with stories that can be funny, creepy, touching, and sometimes just downright weird. This isn't too surprising, considering that Mike and Fegredo had sought out to tell a long form story unlike any that had been done in the series before, but I did miss the changing tone that came with a Hellboy story and I do hope for more of that style as I continue through the series.
The story was still good though. There was a remarkable amount of complexity that was in the story and the characterization was strong for the most part. I was also intrigued at the prospect of Hellboy being given a romantic companion in Alice, and we get to see more of the humanity that is within Hellboy. Some of my favorite aspects of Hellboy's character is when we see the human side of him, such as his befriending of Roger or his relationship with Alice. While sometimes the romance was glossed over, it was nice to see Hellboy get to experience some form of a normal life, even when he's battling all of these supernatural creatures.
Despite its faults, Hellboy continues to be one of comics' strangest and most remarkable properties and I'm anxious to see what the future holds for Mike Mignola's wisecracking half demon.
September 25, 2018
Endless Capacity
The word Epic is very overused. Well it definitely was not too long ago. But goddamn this is the epitome of that. I blazed through this in a day and my brain is fried. Something I realized after reading the first story is how much Mignola adds to his mythos ALL THE TIME! This man put a shite-ton of effort into creating this Hellboy universe and fills it to the BRIM with so much detail it’s insane. And this omnibus ladies and gentlemayns is 528 frickin pages. I felt like I was reading the Lord of the Rings or some crazy shit like that. Because let me tell you Hellboy has definitely moved on from his paranormal investigator persona. So if you haven’t figured out by now I’d say this is probably my favorite volume so far. I still have to read Hellboy in Hell and 2 Hellboy The Complete Short Stories volumes. Reviews coming soon. Wink. Frickin Wink. The 3 huge stories that this book collects all kinda blend together into one giant story so I will do my best to distinguish them.
Darkness Calls is probably the most jam packed story and that doesn’t always do the story good. But I will get there. The introduction to this story is really quiet and subtle. You know shits about to hit the fan but you just don't know when. But with that said I really love the slow build up of tension that happens and you also know that Hellboy is probably going a bit insane. Because he’s doing all sorts of crazy stuff like talking to and moving in with skeletons again. Hellboy also realizes that arriving in England was the worst decision of his entire life. One thing I dont really buy though is how goddamn long Hellboy was floating around in the ocean. 6 years? I think in 6 a lot of crazy shit would have happened. But either way this story is pretty bad-ass with lots of great fight scenes and dialogue between the Baba-Yaga and Hellboy. Like I said before this story is really filled to the border with so much info and new ideas, which is impressive for sure but honestly makes the story feel bloated. In fact the 2 other stories in this book are overstuffed as well but not to the extent of his one. For example the entire Witch sub-plot can be taken out and it wouldn’t change the story much.
The Wild Hunt is straight up my favourite Hellboy anything so far. I still have a lot to read for example The Corpse. But this is the most well-rounded and euphoric feeling Hellboy story. This story also did something else amazing. I truly started to care about Hellboy in this story. I always thought Hellboy was a very likable lead but here I realized how much I actually empathized with him and his cause. But there is still more. Grugauch gets a pretty cool and well written back-story, a super intimidating character is born, Hellboy finds out something absolutely insane about himself, and another character named Alice is introduced who adds more depth to Hellboy as a character. But my favourite part of the The Wild Hunt is a super amazing flashback reveal that took totally me off guard. In fact when i was reading it I said aloud “Oh Jesus”. This story, if I haven’t made it clear already does the most for the Hellboy character and plot. SO MANY little details made me smile in this story. For example, when Hellboy is getting his ass beat by The Leader of Order of the Fly, *Breath!* and he asks a little demon how to defeat. The little demon gives that secret in exchange for Hellboy to remember him in Hell. Whoops spoilers. But stuff like that is just genius.
The Storm and The Fury is where everything goes insane. But good insane. One thing i want to point out though is that Rasputin might as well have not even died. Like bruh he can do anything. He convinced Isla to be the new Hectate, made that stupid-ass villain blind causing him to blow up an entire Nazi facility, and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff in these 3 stories. ANYWAY. This is my least favourite story of the 3. I still liked it but it went on for a bit too long and followed a lot of story-telling cliches, has too many characters overlapping each other, and does not time flashbacks and backstories right. I think on 2 occasions Hellboy is about to do something super bad-ass but on the next page someone will go into a boring-ass flashback that totally interrupts and stilts the pacing. Because at that point I don’t give 2 shits about a backstory. It causes me to just speed read all of it. Something I think The Storm and The Fury does best is tie together already existing characters with new ones. It adds more meat to that already existing character and the decision they make. For example the character that lets out Nimue is haunted by a ghost that she once knew and killed. See? That's an extra layer. In terms of the way the story ends, I like it. It’s pretty ballsy and opens a lot of doors for what to do next the character. I have one more problem with this story that kind of translates to all Hellboy stories. I really wish Mignola would give us a little more insight into how invincible Hellboy is. I know he’s ANUNG UN RAMA THE GREAT DESTROYER, but still getting stabbed through the chest and then walking it off, seems find a little lazy. But whatever this was a good story.
Duncan Fegredo’s art is frickin awesome. It’s very similar to Mignola’s style. And most people would curse the person who does art for Hellboy who is Mignola, but I kinda like his style a little better. He adds a lot more detail and depth to the look of everything in the universe but I’ll stop saying anything because I can feel the sniper trained on my ass.
This is probably one of the best most creative modern comic book epics. I never thought we would get this crazy and grand with Hellboy but I am definitely glad we did. I truly loved Hellboy's character in this omnibus and it is just SO DAMN PACKED WITH AWESOME SHITE it’s ridiculous. I have a few problems with each story but they don't outweigh the good. Not even close. The Wild Hunt is the best Hellboy story so far, and definitely the most emotional. We have come a long way from The Seed of Destruction, and I dare say I think I wanted more build up to this trilogy, but that’s not a big complaint. I don't think this is a complete masterpiece or anything like that, but this is without a doubt only a few notches behind. Look forward to my review of Hellboy in Hell and Hellboy the Complete Short Stories Volume 1 and 2.
Letter Grade: (A)
The word Epic is very overused. Well it definitely was not too long ago. But goddamn this is the epitome of that. I blazed through this in a day and my brain is fried. Something I realized after reading the first story is how much Mignola adds to his mythos ALL THE TIME! This man put a shite-ton of effort into creating this Hellboy universe and fills it to the BRIM with so much detail it’s insane. And this omnibus ladies and gentlemayns is 528 frickin pages. I felt like I was reading the Lord of the Rings or some crazy shit like that. Because let me tell you Hellboy has definitely moved on from his paranormal investigator persona. So if you haven’t figured out by now I’d say this is probably my favorite volume so far. I still have to read Hellboy in Hell and 2 Hellboy The Complete Short Stories volumes. Reviews coming soon. Wink. Frickin Wink. The 3 huge stories that this book collects all kinda blend together into one giant story so I will do my best to distinguish them.
Darkness Calls is probably the most jam packed story and that doesn’t always do the story good. But I will get there. The introduction to this story is really quiet and subtle. You know shits about to hit the fan but you just don't know when. But with that said I really love the slow build up of tension that happens and you also know that Hellboy is probably going a bit insane. Because he’s doing all sorts of crazy stuff like talking to and moving in with skeletons again. Hellboy also realizes that arriving in England was the worst decision of his entire life. One thing I dont really buy though is how goddamn long Hellboy was floating around in the ocean. 6 years? I think in 6 a lot of crazy shit would have happened. But either way this story is pretty bad-ass with lots of great fight scenes and dialogue between the Baba-Yaga and Hellboy. Like I said before this story is really filled to the border with so much info and new ideas, which is impressive for sure but honestly makes the story feel bloated. In fact the 2 other stories in this book are overstuffed as well but not to the extent of his one. For example the entire Witch sub-plot can be taken out and it wouldn’t change the story much.
The Wild Hunt is straight up my favourite Hellboy anything so far. I still have a lot to read for example The Corpse. But this is the most well-rounded and euphoric feeling Hellboy story. This story also did something else amazing. I truly started to care about Hellboy in this story. I always thought Hellboy was a very likable lead but here I realized how much I actually empathized with him and his cause. But there is still more. Grugauch gets a pretty cool and well written back-story, a super intimidating character is born, Hellboy finds out something absolutely insane about himself, and another character named Alice is introduced who adds more depth to Hellboy as a character. But my favourite part of the The Wild Hunt is a super amazing flashback reveal that took totally me off guard. In fact when i was reading it I said aloud “Oh Jesus”. This story, if I haven’t made it clear already does the most for the Hellboy character and plot. SO MANY little details made me smile in this story. For example, when Hellboy is getting his ass beat by The Leader of Order of the Fly, *Breath!* and he asks a little demon how to defeat. The little demon gives that secret in exchange for Hellboy to remember him in Hell. Whoops spoilers. But stuff like that is just genius.
The Storm and The Fury is where everything goes insane. But good insane. One thing i want to point out though is that Rasputin might as well have not even died. Like bruh he can do anything. He convinced Isla to be the new Hectate, made that stupid-ass villain blind causing him to blow up an entire Nazi facility, and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff in these 3 stories. ANYWAY. This is my least favourite story of the 3. I still liked it but it went on for a bit too long and followed a lot of story-telling cliches, has too many characters overlapping each other, and does not time flashbacks and backstories right. I think on 2 occasions Hellboy is about to do something super bad-ass but on the next page someone will go into a boring-ass flashback that totally interrupts and stilts the pacing. Because at that point I don’t give 2 shits about a backstory. It causes me to just speed read all of it. Something I think The Storm and The Fury does best is tie together already existing characters with new ones. It adds more meat to that already existing character and the decision they make. For example the character that lets out Nimue is haunted by a ghost that she once knew and killed. See? That's an extra layer. In terms of the way the story ends, I like it. It’s pretty ballsy and opens a lot of doors for what to do next the character. I have one more problem with this story that kind of translates to all Hellboy stories. I really wish Mignola would give us a little more insight into how invincible Hellboy is. I know he’s ANUNG UN RAMA THE GREAT DESTROYER, but still getting stabbed through the chest and then walking it off, seems find a little lazy. But whatever this was a good story.
Duncan Fegredo’s art is frickin awesome. It’s very similar to Mignola’s style. And most people would curse the person who does art for Hellboy who is Mignola, but I kinda like his style a little better. He adds a lot more detail and depth to the look of everything in the universe but I’ll stop saying anything because I can feel the sniper trained on my ass.
This is probably one of the best most creative modern comic book epics. I never thought we would get this crazy and grand with Hellboy but I am definitely glad we did. I truly loved Hellboy's character in this omnibus and it is just SO DAMN PACKED WITH AWESOME SHITE it’s ridiculous. I have a few problems with each story but they don't outweigh the good. Not even close. The Wild Hunt is the best Hellboy story so far, and definitely the most emotional. We have come a long way from The Seed of Destruction, and I dare say I think I wanted more build up to this trilogy, but that’s not a big complaint. I don't think this is a complete masterpiece or anything like that, but this is without a doubt only a few notches behind. Look forward to my review of Hellboy in Hell and Hellboy the Complete Short Stories Volume 1 and 2.
Letter Grade: (A)
February 29, 2024
Мені було цікаво і трохи страшно перечитати Геллбоївську трилогію Дункана Феґредо через п'ять років після першого разу. Цікаво - бо розумів, що це буде насолода малюнком, дивовижними пейзажами і вражаючою історією. Страшно - бо п'ять років тому я зробив для себе висновок, що це найкращий, найкрасивіший і найпотужніший комікс з у сіх, котрі я читав у житті і от я боявся, що повторне прочитання буде не таким щирим і чистим.
Дарма... Це все ще найкращий комікс в історії людства і тепер я точно усвідомлюю, що ліпшого вже не прочитаю.
Божественний арт, множина біблійних і не тільки посилань, король Артур, ритуал і відмова від месіанства, армія міфологічних потороч світу тіней проти армії воскреслого Камелота. Запізніла любов, нова леді Меб і звісно - смерть.
Це те, що я точно перечитуватиму знову і знову і тепер розумію, що не розчаруюсь ніколи.
Дарма... Це все ще найкращий комікс в історії людства і тепер я точно усвідомлюю, що ліпшого вже не прочитаю.
Божественний арт, множина біблійних і не тільки посилань, король Артур, ритуал і відмова від месіанства, армія міфологічних потороч світу тіней проти армії воскреслого Камелота. Запізніла любов, нова леді Меб і звісно - смерть.
Це те, що я точно перечитуватиму знову і знову і тепер розумію, що не розчаруюсь ніколи.
September 14, 2020
I am a full convert to the church of Hellboy. Mignola really came into the peak of his storytelling prowess here. The gravity of the story, the deft blend of mythologies and legends. Where in the first two volumes I sometimes struggled to remember and see the lines between characters and stories, here everything clicked into place more easily. This volume really wowed me.
June 27, 2018
I read the individual issues, not this collected edition, so my rating doesn't take into account any bonus content. In my opinion the arc included in this omnibus edition was the high water mark of the Mignolaverse.
November 5, 2021
What. The. HECK.
This is the kind of plot that requires a spreadsheet and a flowchart to follow. You might want to take some notes along the way.
I'm now regretting not reading these in publication order, since some of the principle characters in this volume have backstories that were told in the short stories. (At the very least, maybe I should have started there, but then I wouldn't have started with Hellboy's origin.)
According to a note in the bonus sketch content, Mignola didn't have this arc in mind when he started writing the character. That's impressive, considering how much of the previous stories tied in with the events in this collection.
This is the kind of plot that requires a spreadsheet and a flowchart to follow. You might want to take some notes along the way.
I'm now regretting not reading these in publication order, since some of the principle characters in this volume have backstories that were told in the short stories. (At the very least, maybe I should have started there, but then I wouldn't have started with Hellboy's origin.)
According to a note in the bonus sketch content, Mignola didn't have this arc in mind when he started writing the character. That's impressive, considering how much of the previous stories tied in with the events in this collection.
February 24, 2026
The way this series blends gothic horror, lovecraftian horror, and multiple mythologies is just right up my alley. Hellboy is such a cool character and this one has an epic story with some amazing imagery. Mignola’s artwork is iconic and I just love his use of color.
March 20, 2023
This is the pinnacle of Hellboy, and, as such, the culmination of several plot threads left until then unsolved. I feel conflicted. It's obvious Mignola plotted the run in advance, but the previous volumes somewhat suffer because of it with poorly connected, one-off stories whose importance to the overall plot felt ambiguous at best.
I don't even think it's the fault of the writer, but rather of the collected medium in which the story is presented. Hellboy works great as a folk/fairy tale short format (which can be imitated perfectly through the serialized nature of comics). Binding them together, however, heightens the contrast among them, seeming like a story that wants to be cohesive, but is ultimately poorly tied together.
The Wild Hunt transcends--it is a knot tightly fastened.
I don't even think it's the fault of the writer, but rather of the collected medium in which the story is presented. Hellboy works great as a folk/fairy tale short format (which can be imitated perfectly through the serialized nature of comics). Binding them together, however, heightens the contrast among them, seeming like a story that wants to be cohesive, but is ultimately poorly tied together.
The Wild Hunt transcends--it is a knot tightly fastened.
January 16, 2022
This is definitely my favorite omnibus so far. I love how we get more in depth on hellboy's background. It was also really cool how Mignola connected hellboy to British folklore. Hopefully, in the next volume the B.P.R.D will make a comeback. I really miss Liz, Roger's, and Abe. 😊
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2018
Woah!! Amazing! Everything is coming together so well!! Ive become a Mignola fanboy.
August 7, 2019
tired: Jon Snow pulling a George Costanza and getting promoted to positions he doesn't want
wired: Hellboy repeatedly telling demons, witches, ghosts and fairies to Shut Up already
wired: Hellboy repeatedly telling demons, witches, ghosts and fairies to Shut Up already
January 29, 2024
The more focused storyline felt great, even if the Russian prelude was super fun
August 19, 2019
This volume is gorgeous, enormous, and crazy banana pants. But it's also everything I love about Hellboy.
May 13, 2024
This was so damn good.
June 15, 2026
This is poetry in comic book form.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews