RRP £37.99 Lowest New Price £25.05

Dark Horse Number of pages: 278 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown) Language: English (Published)

RRP: £37.99
STUNNING!
Review date: 2009-01-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

If you are new to Hellboy and are unsure of where to start with the series, then this edition is by far the best choice. The library edition contains the equivalent of two trade paperbacks, Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil. The first story introduces Hellboy and two major supporting characters, Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman. Seed of Destruction is a weird, wonderful story of Nazi world domination and an immortal sorcerers attempt to bring about the apocalypse. The second story is even weirder than Seed of Destruction, introducing a myriad of gods and demons hailing from nearly every mythology and religion you can think of. Both Stories are fantastically told, well written and engaging. The myriad of different creatures make the stories all the more fantastic and enjoyable.

However, such great stories wouldn't be the same without great artwork to support them. Something that Hellboy has in abundance. Seed of Destruction has a dark and gothic feel, filled to the brim with brooding blacks and shadows. Wake the Devil contains the same flair and style as Seed of destruction; however the artwork feels brighter and fresher.

The overall quality of this volume is stunning. The paper quality is vastly improved over the standard trade paperbacks with the larger pages making the incredible art work all the more breathtaking. The presentation is fantastic with generous supplementary materials and a fabric hardcover that makes the book feel all the more expensive. The paperback editions are enjoyable, however they are flimsy and dont do Hellboy justice. The hardcover edition maybe more exspensive, however the extra quality is worth paying for.