Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

Comic Info

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1

Reprints San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 and Hellboy Seed of Destruction #1-4 (August 1993-June 1994).  Hellboy’s mentor and father figure Trevor Bruttenholm is killed by a strange frog-like creature after being missing for months on an expedition.  Now BPRD is sending Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien to the Cavendish Hall for answers about the expedition.  Hellboy and his allies are going to find more than they bargained for and it could mean the answers to Hellboy’s questions about his origin and past.

John Byrne scripted Hellboy:  Seed of Destruction, but Mike Mignola really makes the story presented.  Also included is Hellboy’s real first appearance (before his appearance in John Byrne’s Next Men #21) in the San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2.  The Hellboy stories were widely praised and newer versions of the collected version include an introduction by Psycho writer Robert Bloch.  The original comics also had back-up stories with Monkeyman and O’Brien.  The issues were also included in Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1:  Seeds of Destruction.

Hellboy is often classified as a horror comic, but I see it more as a science-fiction/fantasy type series.  The bit of confusion probably comes from the basis of most of Hellboy stories are from Lovecraft style of horror which today is more gothic fiction than horror fiction which has sadly been lowered to slashers and psycho-killers.  Yes, by definitions of classic horror, Hellboy is horror, but by changes in the genre it feels like something more than simple horror.

Hellboy: Seeds of Destruction #2

Hellboy:  Seed of Destruction kicked off the Hellboy comic and really also can led some of its background to series like Kolchak:  The Night Stalker.  The reason I say that Hellboy is a lot like The X-Files (they both surfaced about the same time) and Kolchak was such an influence on that series.  Another underrated TV series that Hellboy seems to follow is Friday the 13th:  The Series which had characters going after cursed objects.

What sells Hellboy is Mignola.  His art is fantastic and broody and matches perfectly with the character.  I don’t always love the Lovecraftian villains (like Ogdru-Jahad in this story), but it is worth simply reading because of the art.  Mignola also introduces series mainstays like Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, but does a great job not revealing everything about his characters in a single issue.

Hellboy:  Seed of Destruction is a definite must for Hellboy fans who might only base their opinions on the movies (parts of this story were loosely constructed in the first Hellboy movie).  I also recommend Hellboy:  Seed of Destruction for all comic book fans to show a nice blend of art and writing and to show that “horror” comics can be more than flaming skulls on motorcycles or scantily dressed vampire women…this is horror at its roots and maybe its best.