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108-593: The series, focused on the titular Hellboy , spawned the Hellboy Universe. There are generally two types of Hellboy stories; Pre-Cavendish (stories set chronologically before the first miniseries Hellboy: Seed of Destruction ) and Post-Cavendish (stories set chronologically after the first miniseries). Post-Cavendish stories are usually very continuity heavy, and require the reader to be relatively familiar with Hellboy's history. Pre-Cavendish stories tend to be primarily short, stand-alone stories. In addition to

216-609: A church bell . However, Hellboy freely admits to having extremely poor aim with the weapon, and often favors fighting hand-to-hand , preferring to use short-ranged physical weapons like swords, spears, and his massive stone fist over firearms. Hellboy's lack of formal combat training and education is compensated for by his decades of experience as a paranormal investigator, though encounters with unfamiliar threats have often forced him to resort to improvisation and using his wits. As revealed in Strange Places , Hellboy's right hand

324-443: A healing factor that allows him to heal quickly from virtually all bodily injuries as well as renders him immune to all diseases. He also has the innate ability to comprehend ancient and magical languages. The extent of his strength is unclear, but he has torn down a large tree and hurled it at an opponent and has lifted massive stones. He has also picked up and thrown opponents weighing at least four to five hundred pounds. Hellboy has

432-459: A 2019 reboot film , and The Crooked Man (2024). The character also appeared in two straight-to-DVD animated films and three video games – Dogs of the Night (2000), The Science of Evil (2004) and Web of Wyrd (2023). A well-meaning Cambion (or half- Demon ) whose true name is Anung Un Rama ("and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"), Hellboy was summoned from Hell to Earth as

540-659: A baby by Nazi occultists (spawning his hatred for the Third Reich ). He appeared in the ruins of an old church in the Outer Hebrides in front of a team assembled by the Allied Forces , among them, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who formed the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). In time, Hellboy grew to be a large, muscular, red-skinned ape/monkey-like man with

648-554: A black and white illustration, with the later recognized name appearing on the demon's belt buckle. This image, accompanied by a short biography of Mike Mignola and his latest creation, appeared in the pamphlet in 1991. It is the first published mention of the later recognized name. This image was reprinted in The Art of Hellboy . This image was also used to create the “First Hellboy” statue by Mondo Tees, in both black and white and full color. A prototype incarnation of Hellboy appeared on

756-587: A black-and-white serial called The Masked Claw . Death was not the end for the Lobster. The Lobster's ghost was one of the strongest yet seen in the Hellboy universe. He was completely corporeal when he chose to be, firing his pistol with deadly effect and burning his sign into the forehead of his victims. It would appear that the Lobster's death greatly increased his powers, as opposed to the Ghost of Rasputin , who

864-440: A couple of movies such as The Phantom Jungle (Republic, 1945), in which he was portrayed by Vic Williams. In the backup materials of The Iron Prometheus , we learn of his appearances in pulp magazines, comic books, movie serials , and masked Mexican wrestling movies . It is revealed that the character is properly called "The Lobster". "Johnson" was the last name of his alter ego, crippled millionaire Walter Johnson, created by

972-587: A demon with the name "Hell Boy" written on his belt. Mignola had initially no intention of doing anything serious with the concept, but eventually decided he liked the name. Later, Mignola became interested in doing a creator-owned comic, as he felt it made more sense to create his own characters for the stories he wanted to tell, rather than trying to shoehorn existing characters into these stories. Mignola elaborated, "The kinds of stories I wanted to do I had in mind before I created Hellboy. It's not like I created Hellboy and said, 'Hey, now what does this guy do?' I knew

1080-487: A fireball that destroys part of the castle and seemingly kills Alice. Convinced that Alice was right, Hellboy takes up Excalibur and suddenly finds himself atop a hill, with Alice, alive and well, standing beside him. As Hellboy: The Storm and the Fury opens, Hellboy and Alice have begun travelling throughout England, amassing an army from the noble dead of England. Soon, they are attacked by one of Nimue's soldiers. Hellboy

1188-584: A five-issue miniseries exploring the history of the Black Flame and the cult around him. In October 2016, The Visitor: How & Why He Stayed was announced, a five-issue miniseries about the alien Hellboy met in Conqueror Worm . In July 2017, a five-issue miniseries, Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon , was announced for November that year. During an interview in 2015, Mike Mignola announced he

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1296-417: A high degree of resilience to injury. He can withstand powerful blows that would severely injure or kill a human. He survived being shot many times in the chest with an MG 42 machine gun before destroying it. He has survived being impaled through the chest with a sword, severe werewolf mauling, being beaten unconscious with heavy iron tongs, falling from extreme heights, being crushed by boulders, and more. In

1404-532: A key: being turned twice in a special obelisk secured by Rasputin would release the Ogdru Jahad. Astaroth and others also told of how the Hand contains the power to awaken the great Army of Hell, an army powerful enough to shatter the boundaries between Heaven, Hell and Earth for the wielder to rule all of Creation. This prophecy had never come to pass thanks to Hellboy's consistent refusal to embrace his destiny. It

1512-417: A long-imprisoned witch who has been freed by Grugach and wants to conquer England. She takes Hellboy to the sword Excalibur, but he does not take it. Alice tries to convince him that he should, but is unsuccessful. Soon afterwards, he is visited again by Astaroth, who reveals to him that he is destined to kill Satan and become the ruler of Hell. Hellboy fights against a demonic illusion of himself, exploding into

1620-572: A mangy mutt that transforms into Anubis , the Ancient Egyptian god of mummification . The story was collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Seed of Destruction . Hellboy makes a guest appearance in John Byrne's Next Men #21 (Dark Horse Comics, December 1993); this is the first American appearance in a full-color cameo. Mike Mignola's Hellboy: World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured

1728-597: A merciful death before returning to England. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt opens with Hellboy receiving an invitation by the Osiris Club to join them in hunting Giants. Hellboy joins, but is betrayed by the Club and left to die. He survives, and, despite being given a means to escape, decides to engage the Giants in battle. He grows more bloodthirsty and demonic over the course of the fight, only returning to his senses when all

1836-545: A mission for the B.P.R.D leads him to Romania to investigate the theft of an ancient box containing the corpse of Vladimir Giurescu, a Napoleonic officer who was, in fact, a vampire before he was "killed" on the order of a fearful Adolf Hitler . The culprit of the theft is revealed to be Ilsa Haupstein, one of the surviving members of Project Ragna Rok, who was revived from suspended animation and then aided in Giurescu's resurrection. Finding Castle Giurescu after splitting up with

1944-405: A monthly ongoing series. John Arcudi is the lead writer with Mike Mignola. Unlike the previous cycle, which was visually defined by mostly a single artist, Hell on Earth had many artists on the title. Following B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs and B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth is the third and final story cycle of B.P.R.D. . Scott Allie is the lead writer with Mike Mignola. The primary artist on the title

2052-644: A new title was released, Frankenstein Underground, following the story of Frankenstein's Monster. This character has previously appeared in Hellboy: House of the Living Dead. In 2020 a second miniseries, Frankenstein Undone , was announced and later canceled after issue #2 due to Mignola's refusal to continue working with writer Scott Allie . In June 2016, Rise of the Black Flame was announced,

2160-425: A normal boy. Hellboy works for the B.P.R.D., an international non-governmental agency, and for himself, against dark forces including Nazis and witches , in a series of tales that have their roots in folklore , pulp magazines , vintage adventure, Lovecraftian horror , and horror fiction . In earlier stories, he is identified as the "World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator". Hellboy, or "anung un Rama " as he

2268-583: A pair of canon stories, How Koshchei Became Deathless and Baba Yaga's Feast , were collected in the Hellboy: Weird Tales hardcover omnibus in November 2014. Any Hellboy crossovers, guest appearances, novels (excepting Christopher Golden's three novels) and role-playing games are not considered within continuity. Guillermo del Toro originally directed two live action films, 2004's Hellboy and its 2008 sequel . Del Toro had planned to do

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2376-413: A radio that was small enough to be built into his helmet. It is not shown in the comics who invented these. Lobster Johnson has an internal numbering on the inside cover of its issues. Lobster Johnson has a brief cameo in the second animated Hellboy film, Blood and Iron , appearing during a flashback scene showing Hellboy's birth and Malcolm Frost's reaction to the creature. After the credits, there

2484-491: A script written by John Byrne and some later stories have been crafted by creators other than Mignola, including Christopher Golden , Guy Davis , Ryan Sook , and Duncan Fegredo . The increasing commitments from the Hellboy franchise meant that 2008 one-shot In the Chapel of Moloch was the first Hellboy comic Mignola had provided the script and art for since The Island in 2005. Hellboy has an internal numbering on

2592-461: A series of announcements commemorating the 25th anniversary of Hellboy's first appearance. Crimson Lotus marks the first time a Hellboy Universe series has borne the name of a female character. In February 2021, Dark Horse announced The House of Lost Horizons: A Sarah Jewell Mystery . Though it is written as a standalone title, it is planned to be a series. In October 2021, Dark Horse announced The Sword of Hyperborea . The story continues on after

2700-507: A stand-alone one-shot published May 15, 2002, The Amazing Screw-On Head was later revealed to be fiction within the Hellboy Universe, created Walter Edmund Heap in 1899, as revealed in Hellboy in Hell . Mike Mignola has also mentioned that the short story The Magician and the Snake is not canon, but rather a fairy tale in the Hellboy Universe. While Hellboy: Weird Tales is out of continuity,

2808-475: A tail, horns (which he files off, leaving behind circular stumps on his forehead that resemble goggles), cloven hooves, and an oversized right hand made of stone (the "Right Hand of Doom"). He has been described as smelling of dry-roasted peanuts . Although a bit gruff, he shows none of the malevolence thought to be intrinsic to classical demons and has an ironic sense of humor. This is said to be because of his upbringing under Professor Bruttenholm, who raised him as

2916-437: A third film to complete a trilogy of films, but he was unable to secure funding. The film franchise was rebooted in 2019 with a new Hellboy film directed by Neil Marshall and again in 2024 by Brian Taylor , titled Hellboy: The Crooked Man . There were a pair of Hellboy Animated films, Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron . The Phantom Claw , a planned third film, was abandoned. The Hellboy Animated continuity

3024-461: A visit to Bromwich Church, Hellboy gets a glimpse of his conception 300+ years ago and learns he has two human half-siblings, a nun and a priest whose spirits haunt the church after their deaths, attempting to stop Azzael from claiming Sarah. During the events of Hellboy: Wake the Devil , Hellboy, ostensibly content to return to his life of ignorance, is set back on his journey of self-discovery when

3132-455: Is Laurence Campbell . The 1946–1948 cycle deals with the early years of the B.P.R.D. The cycle was originally planned to go for longer, on into the 1950s, but it was cut short because Mike Mignola felt he had too many books going on. Joshua Dysart was the lead writer for this series, although the final miniseries was written by John Arcudi to connect with what he was doing in B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth. In addition to 1946 , 1947 and 1948 ,

3240-540: Is a teaser for the unproduced third film The Phantom Claw , where he would have helped Hellboy and Kate Corrigan in battling the ghost of Rasputin . Guillermo del Toro planned to feature Johnson in Hellboy II: The Golden Army , but was cut due to Mike Mignola 's wish to remain true to the character's origin. Del Toro has stated that Johnson would have appeared in the unproduced Hellboy III and expressed interest in casting Bruce Campbell in

3348-528: Is able to defeat the soldier, but while dying the soldier warns Hellboy that Nimue is transforming into something else. The two stop at a pub, where Hellboy decides that he no longer wants the sword, suggesting to Alice that she leave it in a lake. They share a kiss, and Hellboy asks Alice to move to America with him after he has defeated Nimue. On the way to Nimue's fortress, Hellboy has another confrontation with Astartoth, rebuking him again. He then runs into Baba Yaga, who tells him that he will only be able to reach

Hellboy Universe - Misplaced Pages Continue

3456-531: Is about another witchfinder, Henry Hood. The Mysteries of Unland was one of the few Hellboy Universe stories in which Mike Mignola was not involved in the writing. In August 2016, Chris Roberson began his run on the series in a more long-term capacity. First published in March 2013, Sledgehammer 44 is about the Vril Energy Suit "Epimetheus", more commonly known as "Sledgehammer", set in 1944. In 2015

3564-546: Is described by BRPD as "reverse dog years ". In addition to his natural physical abilities, Hellboy keeps a variety of items in his utility belt and jacket that can be used against various supernatural forces. He has been known to carry holy relics , horseshoes, various herbs, and hand grenades . He frequently carries an oversized revolver, which in the Guillermo del Toro films was named the " Good Samaritan ", and whose construction incorporates iron that had been used to forge

3672-491: Is dying after losing her powers when she accidentally revived a homunculus while searching another location for Giurescu, finding Roger in the events of Hellboy: Almost Colossus as he convinces the homunculus to save Liz's life. Following the events of Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom , gaining insight about his stone hand and being referred to as a harbinger of the Apocalypse, Hellboy is accompanied by Abe to hunt down

3780-472: Is eventually summoned to Earth in the final months of World War II by the "Mad Monk" Grigori Rasputin on Tarmagant Island, off the coast of Scotland , having been commissioned by the Nazis to change the tide of a losing war (" Project Ragna Rok "). As a direct result of this rite, the child appears on Earth in a fireball at what remains of the ruined Bromwich Church on December 23, 1944, likely guided there by

3888-591: Is introduced to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD), a private organization dedicated to combating occult threats. Due to the success of his first mission in 1952, Hellboy is granted "honorary human" status by the United Nations and becomes a member of the BPRD as the "world's greatest paranormal investigator". As such, Hellboy interacts regularly with humans, primarily law enforcement officials,

3996-424: Is made clear it is not necessary for the arm to be attached to Hellboy to perform its duties. It has been suggested if Hellboy dies while the Hand is attached to him, it would become useless. He has, therefore, concluded the only way to prevent its falling into the wrong hands is to keep and protect it. Hellboy originated in 1991 with a drawing Mike Mignola did for a Great Salt Lake Comic-Con promotional pamphlet of

4104-403: Is nothing he could have done to prevent any of this. He tries to fight her, but realizes how tired he is of violence. He steps inside her Iron Maiden form, and his blood revives the world. Afforded by his demonic heritage as well as extensive physical training and bodybuilding, Hellboy possesses superhuman strength that exceeds the 1-ton base limit, endurance, a degree of resistance to injury, and

4212-455: Is shown the sleeping army of Hell that his Right Hand has the power to awaken. After this, he is attacked by his fully demonic half brothers Lusk and Gammon who are being manipulated by Astaroth. All three are killed, and Hellboy falls again into the Abyss. He is saved again by Grey, who convinces him to commit to his new life in Hell. In between helping out lost souls, Hellboy learns gradually that

4320-535: The Hellboy universe, the Lobster was a vigilante who worked in secret in New York City during the 1930s. Although the public believes that the Lobster was only the hero of pulp serials and comics, he was a real man who faced gangsters as well as paranormal threats. The Lobster had a reputation for violence, such as killing mobsters and burning his trademark lobster claw symbol into their foreheads with

4428-402: The 1940s was announced November 2020. and Thomas E. Sniegoski PART 2 : September 2022 PART 3: November 2022 PART 4: February 2022 B.P.R.D. ( Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense ) began as an experiment to see if the Hellboy Universe could be expanded with stories without Hellboy in them. It started with an untitled three-page promotional piece before launching into

Hellboy Universe - Misplaced Pages Continue

4536-557: The 2019 reboot, where Hellboy is able to raise an entire army of the dead after embracing his power as Anung Un Rama. Hellboy ages quite differently from human beings. In the story Pancakes he is now two-years old but appears to be somewhere between 6 and 10 in human years old. In Nature of the Beast , set in 1954, the ten-year-old Hellboy appears fully grown. His rapid physical maturation is in contrast to his actual rate of aging, however, which seems to be much slower than humans. Throughout

4644-433: The Abyss, the outermost part of Hell, and being attacked by Eligos. He is saved by Edward Grey, a british paranormal investigator who wound up trapped in Hell and has been watching over Hellboy for many years. Soon after, Hellboy is visited by three spirits. The first takes him to see his birth in Hell and his father's imprisonment. Then he is shown Satan, who he murders as prophesied, but does not remember doing so. Finally, he

4752-669: The Arctic. He finds his adopted father only to witness his death at the hands of a Lovecraftian frog monster. The search takes Hellboy, Abe, and Liz to the Cavendish Hall mansion, which is a trap established by Rasputin to lure Hellboy into an embrace of his own "destiny", with the assistance of Sadu-Hem, one of the 369 spawn of the Ogdru Jahad. Controlled by the spirit of one of the ancestral Cavendish men, Abe impales Rasputin. Liz's firestorm then incinerates Rasputin's body alongside Sadu-Hem's and destroys Cavendish Hall. Soon after, during

4860-419: The B.P.R.D. comics are collected in trade paperbacks . These editions collect the stories in the size they were originally drawn. These editions collect the complete Hellboy series in chronological order. Beyond the Hellboy comic and its associated spinoffs, Hellboy has made appearances in other publications: The character name "Hell Boy" was included in a drawing by Mike Mignola of a demon character in

4968-516: The BPRD. After some time with a witch doctor in Africa, Hellboy is captured by a trio of mermaid sisters and brought underwater to a witch known as the Bog Roosh. In exchange for Hellboy, the Bog Roosh grants each sister a wish. The first two sisters are tricked by the Bog Roosh and killed by their wishes, but the third sister is clever and gets her wish, a missing piece of her father's grave. While

5076-471: The Devil where he describes his mindset since the aftermath of Seed of Destruction by saying, "I like not knowing. I've gotten by for fifty-two years without knowing. I sleep good not knowing ." Before Hellboy was published independently at Dark Horse Comics, the concept was initially pitched to a board of directors for DC Comics , who loved it, but did not like the idea of it involving "Hell". The early stories were conceived and drawn by Mignola with

5184-500: The Giants are dead. He is found by Alice Monaghan, who, since being rescued by Hellboy in her youth, has become a close consort to the faeries of England. She takes Hellboy to meet Mab , Queen of the Faeries, who hints that his mother's ancestry entitles him to a crown. After this, Alice and Hellboy are led into a trap where Alice in nearly fatally poisoned. The two are the taken to the castle of Morgana Le Fay to save Alice. To enter

5292-577: The Homunculus in preventing an alien entity called the Conqueror Worm from arriving on Earth through the continued machinations of the surviving members of Ragna Rok. Over the course of the story, Hellboy learns that the B.P.R.D has implanted a bomb in Roger as a failsafe in case he should turn on them. Disillusioned by this knowledge and finally ready to look deeper into his origins, Hellboy quits

5400-621: The Lobster called off the search. The deaths seemed to weigh heavy on his conscience – always a quiet man, he became increasingly cold and taciturn. Not long after this, he accepted an offer of employment from the United States Government , a chance to lay some ghosts to rest. Aided by a new sidekick, the Lobster spent the late 1930s combating the Nazi threat to the United States. One of his unsuccessful missions involved

5508-482: The Ogdru Jahad to Earth. The Mystic threatens to force all of mankind to worship the Sadu Hem, and Hellboy fights to stop him. Hellboy is ultimately able to win the fight. Rattled, Hellboy sets sail for England, much to the chagrin of Gruagach and the council of fairies who have been watching over him. Six years later, as Hellboy: Darkness Calls opens, Hellboy's search takes him to England where he finds himself in

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5616-474: The aristocracy of Hell have all gone into hiding or been killed by their slaves since his arrival, as they panicked over the thought that he might kill them all. He is poisoned by powerful spirits called the Furies, who were set on him by his half sister Gamori. The furies turn on her, dooming her to destroy the remains of Pandemonium , the capital city of Hell. Eventually, Hellboy, in fully demonic form, hunts down

5724-442: The artists that worked on Nathan Never, and the first two years of the life of this comic were the main topic of the fanzine. With the exception of the cover, there is no other mention of Hellboy within the fanzine. The character shown was still in a draft stage, and although close to the final design of Hellboy, it had gray skin and an outfit not common to the character. Mike Mignola's Hellboy by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured

5832-517: The author of the pulp stories. It was the masked Mexican wrestling movies that combined the names as "Lobster Johnson". "Latchkey Memories from Crab Point" is a memoir by Guy Davis, presented in the back matter to the B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess trade paperback, in which he recounts childhood memories of seeing "the cut-up and dubbed version of the Mexican Lobster Johnson films!" presented on children's after-school television as

5940-522: The basement of the BPRD's new WWII-era base in the Colorado mountains. It was not until his old adversary Memnan Saa began to make his presence felt to the BPRD during the war against Sadu Hem's frog monsters that he returned in earnest; briefly taking possession of Johann's ectoplasm in the wake of Ben Daimio's disastrous end of relations with the team to break the hold Saa had gained over Liz. With something of his past association with Saa thus revealed,

6048-467: The capsule burst through regardless. The subsequent explosion and fire completely gutted the castle. Besides Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt and one German soldier, there were no survivors, including the Lobster himself. According to B.P.R.D. Director Tom Manning (in The Conqueror Worm ), Lobster Johnson was a fictional character created in the pulp magazines and made briefly popular in

6156-399: The castle, Hellboy must fight Eligos , a high-ranking demon from Hell. Hellboy is able to defeat Eligos with the help of one of his slaves, in exchange for Hellboy remembering the slave when he becomes ruler of Hell. Once inside, Morgana reveals to Hellboy that, on his mother's side, he is a descendant of Mordred, and subsequently the rightful ruler of England. She also tells him about Nimue ,

6264-572: The character's first full appearance, and was a four-page black-and-white story that had an approximately 1,500 book print run. It was published by Dark Horse Comics in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (August 1993) for distribution at San Diego Comic-Con . It was also reprinted in The Comic's Buyers Guide #1069, along with an interview with creator Mike Mignola. Hellboy travels to an American ghost town , where he encounters

6372-529: The character's next solo appearance. It was published by Dark Horse Comics in a special four-page mini-comic for distribution in Comics Buyer's Guide #1,070 (May 20, 1994). In the story Hellboy battles with the disembodied head of Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt and his puppet henchman Brutus the Gorilla to rescue a captive girl from the doctor's transference of nutrient fluids process. The story

6480-411: The comics, the Hellboy novels written by author Christopher Golden are also considered in-continuity. In addition to the standard trade paperbacks, Hellboy stories are collected in oversized hardcovers known as library editions, and paperback omnibuses. Unlike previous Hellboy stories, Hellboy in Hell was an ongoing series . It was not a monthly series, but rather a new issue came out when it

6588-470: The corpse of a long dead mystic who was killed in the temple. Hellboy's blood resurrects him and transforms him into a more demonic looking version of Hellboy himself. The Mystic reveals to Hellboy the true nature of his Right Hand of Doom, which is actually the severed hand of one of the Angels involved in the creation of the Ogdru Jahad, and is therefore the only power in the universe capable of fully returning

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6696-523: The cover of Dime Press #4 (Glamour International Production, 1993), an obscure Italian fanzine, with "Hellboy©Mignola 93" written at the bottom of the cover. The cover, illustrated by Mignola and by the Italian artist Nicola Mari, shows Hellboy in the act of attacking a "diabolic" version of the Italian SF comic book character Nathan Never (with bat wings and pointed tail). Mari at the time was one of

6804-523: The culmination of Ragnarok, where Hecate spills Hellboy's blood onto the incinerated Earth to breathe life back into it. It is revealed to Baba Yaga by the dead Russian nobility that Hellboy may not be slain even through supernatural means and that he appears to be as deathless as her warrior, Koschei the Deathless. In the films, Hellboy has shown skill in necromancy , animating a man's dead body so that it could give him directions. This also happened in

6912-426: The demon Yomyael, who is possessing a young girl named Varvara. Once free, however, Varvara reveals herself to be the daughter of their old foe Rasputin, and resurrects him. Hellboy and Rasputin battle one last time, both dying. As a ghost, Hellboy is shown the remaining path to the end of the world by Edward Grey. Agents of the B.P.R.D. are able to save a small portion of humanity, guiding them to shelter underground. On

7020-543: The destruction of the world, but Hellboy, true to his values and somewhat drunk, brushes her off. He travels deeper into the island, and is attacked by a long slumbering Sadu Hem. The fight with the creature takes him into a temple at the center of the island, where the creature stabs him through the chest, seemingly killing him. While dead, Hellboy has another conversation with the Witch Doctor, who somehow resurrects him. Hellboy awakens to find his spilled blood absorbed by

7128-538: The end of B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know , following the history of Agent Howards' mysterious sword, beginning with his prehistoric counterpart, Gall Dennar. This title is the Hellboy Universe debut of writer Rob Williams. Bloody Disgusting announced The British Paranormal Society: Time Out of Mind in January 2022, a miniseries that would focus on the characters Simon Bruttenholm (uncle of Trevor Bruttenholm) and Honora Grant from Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder . Originally

7236-601: The escape of a Nazi criminal in Colorado who destroyed a train full of scientists bound for the Manhattan Project , resulting in the death of his sidekick. The Lobster's final mission was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule at Hunte Castle, Austria , on 20 March 1939. Arriving seconds too late to stop the launch itself, he managed to force the roof of Hunte Castle closed, but

7344-474: The film version, it is stated that Hellboy is immune to all forms of fire and burns, including Liz Sherman's flames, and electrocution. Despite his ability to quickly recover from seemingly mortal wounds, he is far from invulnerable and can be injured or bloodied by conventional weapons. Curiously in certain instances, the spilling of Hellboy's blood causes lilies to sprout - a supernatural indicator of his true good nature. This unique property comes into play even at

7452-512: The fortress with her magical help. In exchange, Hellboy finally sacrifices his eye to Baba Yaga. Reaching Nimue, Hellboy sees she has been completely possessed by the Ogdru Jahad and now seeks to destroy the world. The two engage in battle as storms rage across England, and Hellboy is able to defeat her using a sword given to him by the ghost of Vasilisa . As the Dragon collapses, Nimue's ghost emerges and plucks out Hellboy's heart, damning him to Hell. Hellboy in Hell begins with Hellboy stuck in

7560-445: The ghostly throng inhabiting the castle – having found his own sort of peace in an afterlife where he could continue his battle against Nazis and the forces of evil forever after. The Lobster was an expert combatant. He usually wielded either one or two pistols, but he had used a submachine gun on at least one occasion. He showed skill with both weapons. The Lobster had also occasionally used other weapons such as swords, spears, or even

7668-607: The ghosts of his mother's other children. Proving not to be a devil in the traditional sense, but a devil-like creature, the child was dubbed "Hellboy" by Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm. Taken by the United States Armed Forces to an Air Force base in New Mexico , Hellboy is raised by Professor Bruttenholm in a normal Catholic home environment, and the United States Army where he

7776-467: The inside cover of its issues. Below are the stories listed by their internal numbering for the comics. Hellboy in Hell is a finished series with its own numbering. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. is an ongoing series of miniseries. Special stories were created for hardcover original graphic novels . All in-continuity Hellboy comics are collected in trade paperbacks . All Hellboy in Hell comics are collected in trade paperbacks . All Hellboy and

7884-473: The kinds of stories I wanted to do, but just needed a main guy." He initially created Hellboy as part of a team of five, but scrapped this idea when he realized he could not think of any team names that he liked. Much like other American comic book superheroes, such as Batman , Wolverine , Iron Man , Daredevil , and Spawn , Hellboy is constantly tormented by the knowledge of his past. One example being in Wake

7992-442: The last remaining rulers of Hell and destroys them all with the help of their slaves. After this, he returns to a home on the beach where he is met by three glowing shapes. Hellboy returns, resurrected, in B.P.R.D: The Devil You Know, the final arc of the narrative. He fights alongside his original companions, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien, against the rising Sadu Hem and a small group of demons seeking to conquer Earth. The team defeats

8100-481: The lead writer with Mike Mignola from 2012's The Burning Hand onward with the stories continuing mostly chronologically from there. The first spinoff from Hellboy centred around Abraham Sapien , beginning with Drums of the Dead (March 4, 1998). This story was eventually collected in trade paperback under the B.P.R.D. banner along with the second Abe Sapien story Abe Sapien versus Science (September 8, 1999). It

8208-546: The leg of a broken chair. He was also shown to be a proficient unarmed fighter. The Lobster somehow remained alive after explosions and possibly being hit by gunfire in Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #2 . There has not yet been any explanation of the Lobster's powers, however. In the stories set in the 1930s, the Lobster possessed technology that was advanced for its time. He had used a bulletproof vest on at least one occasion, and he also used

8316-492: The like. In 1937 the gang came up against one of their most imposing enemies to date – the inscrutable and immeasurably powerful Memnan Saa, during the case of the Iron Prometheus. Though the Lobster and his allies escaped the confrontation with their lives, tragedy dogged them thereafter as they continued to research his crimes and history. One by one, the Lobster's allies met various gruesome and mysterious ends, until

8424-471: The middle of a power vacuum caused by Bromhead incapacitating Hecate in Italy. Refusing to serve the witches as their king, Hellboy ends up in the dimension of the witch Baba Yaga . Managing to defeat Baba Yaga's champion Koshchei the Deathless , Hellboy returns to his reality and is led to Bromhead after he became monstrous and in agony from his attempt to take Hecate's powers for his own. Hellboy gives Bromhead

8532-500: The military, Catholic clergy, and various "scholars of the weird", most of whom are not presented as overtly reacting to his strange appearance. During one of his early missions he rescued a young girl named Alice Monaghan, who had been replaced by fairies with a changeling named Gruagach. He also went to Russia and shot out the eye of the witch Baba Yaga . Gruagach and Baba Yaga both held lifelong grudges against Hellboy over these incidents. As an adult, having matured physically within

8640-465: The miniseries The Dead in 2004. Plague of Frogs is collected in the four volumes of the B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs Omnibus Editions (three trades in each volume). B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth is a direct continuation of the B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs cycle dealing with the apocalyptic events in the wake of the Frog War. For the one hundredth issue, it officially shifted from a series of miniseries to

8748-423: The mission he had failed to do in life. Having seemingly formed some bond with Roger during the mission, it was to the homunculus that he next appeared, when in 2003 he helped Roger and Liz Sherman resolve another of his failed missions – bringing to justice the elderly German saboteur in Colorado. The Lobster was quiet for some time after this, although his ghostly presence was half-felt by Johann several times in

8856-407: The new Bog Roosh, releasing the souls of drowned sailors from which the previous Bog Roosh drew her power. She then releases Hellboy, leaving him lost at sea. In Hellboy: Strange Places , after several years adrift at sea and spent drinking with the ghosts of sailors, Hellboy arrives on a mysterious island. He encounters Hecate, who once again insists that they are bound together and must unite in

8964-502: The newborn Hellboy. As the hand which created and bound the Ogdru Jahad, it is also the key that will "loose and command" them; in other words, it is a catalyst that will bring about Ragnarok . The comic books themselves never mention how the Right Hand of Doom would actually perform these tasks; they only explain this is the case and someone or something intends to do it, with or without Hellboy's consent. The film shows it working as

9072-499: The newborn's right hand to replace it with the "Right Hand of Doom", a relic with the power to free the Ogdru Jahad (a destructive, seven headed dragon imprisoned in deep space) and awaken the armies of Hell to wage war against Heaven. When the other princes of Hell learned of his actions, Azzael sent his half-demon child away while he was stripped of his powers and imprisoned in ice (like Lucifer in Dante 's Divine Comedy ). The child

9180-488: The other search groups, Hellboy learns that the source of Giurescu's rebirth is the ancient goddess Hecate . Though Hellboy destroys Hecate's original body by forcing her into the sunlight, he faces her again after Rasputin unintentionally provides her with Ilsa's iron maiden-encased body. Hecate swallows Hellboy and reveals to him his ultimate purpose as destroyer of worlds, but he returns to his own reality after he denounces his supposed destiny. Hellboy later learns that Liz

9288-569: The palm of his gloved hand. This behavior was similar to the Marvel UK comic book character Night Raven , the Phantom and the pulp magazine hero The Spider . Lobster Johnson appeared in the 2019 Hellboy reboot, portrayed by Thomas Haden Church . The Lobster started his career in 1932, working with a small but trusted group of allies out of a secret base in the sewers of New York City . Together they fought against gangsters, spies, and

9396-459: The series also includes the short stories Bishop Olek’s Devil and And What Shall I Find There? The trades B.P.R.D.: 1946 and B.P.R.D.: 1947 were originally volumes 9 and 13 of the original B.P.R.D. numbering before the B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs omnibuses were devised. Reprints of these volumes did not have numbers on their spines after the release of the Plague of Frogs omnibuses. This

9504-427: The sixty-year span of time depicted in the comics, he does not age beyond the plateau of physical maturity. This mystical aging process is similar to the other demons and supernatural beings that populate Hellboy's world. The lifespan of a demon (or half-demon, as Hellboy's mother was human) is left undefined within the comics and seems to range from decades to many thousands of years. In the films, Hellboy's aging process

9612-507: The surface, the Sadu Hem reign for a short time before the Osiris Club use Hellboy's severed Right Hand of Doom to summon the Ogdru Jahad to Earth and kill it. Once this is done, Hellboy takes back the Hand, killing the Osiris Club in the process. Finally, he sees Liz Sherman, somehow still alive, and instructs her to unleash the full brunt of her pyrokinetic abilities, burning down the world. The world gone, Hecate appears before Hellboy, once again in her Iron Maiden form. She assures him that there

9720-684: The team held a séance not long afterwards in which his spirit gave them their first clues in the search for Saa, using the information he had uncovered decades before in his investigations. When the BPRD finally traced Saa to his base somewhere on the Stanovoy Ridge , the Lobster again took possession of Johann's form in the closing moments of the denouement in an attempt to defeat his old nemesis. With all his business on earth thus concluded, Kate took him back to Hunte Castle in Austria, where he relinquished his hold on Johann's ectoplasm and rejoined

9828-425: The third sister returns to her father's grave, the Bog Roosh explains her plan to completely destroy Hellboy, thereby preventing the apocalypse. At the grave, the third sister is told by her father's ghost that the only way to honor him is to save Hellboy. She does, and when the Bog Roosh realizes she cannot prevent the apocalypse, she allows herself to be killed by Hellboy in the ensuing battle. The third sister becomes

9936-409: The three-issue miniseries Hollow Earth . As the series grew, it was split into "story cycles." There are three major cycles: Plague of Frogs, Hell on Earth, and The Devil You Know, as well as two minor cycles 1946–1948 and Vampire. The trade B.P.R.D.: Being Human is the only remaining book from the original series that is not a part of any existing story cycle. The short story Casualties

10044-423: The translations of this name is, lit. "and upon his brow is set a crown of flame"; with the theft of his crown, the name is no longer accurate), and he kills Ualac's mortal body before the demon and the crown are taken to Hell by the archdemon Astaroth , who is later revealed to be Hellboy's paternal uncle. In the events of Hellboy: Conqueror Worm , Hellboy is assisted by the ghost of Lobster Johnson , and Roger

10152-559: The twins have the freedom to write and draw more stories with this character if they wish. Lobster Johnson is the second Hellboy spinoff, concerning the adventures of a vigilante known as " The Lobster " from 1932 to 1939. The first Lobster Johnson story, The Killer in My Skull (August 11, 1999), was collected in trade paperback under the B.P.R.D. banner. Lobster Johnson properly became its own series when The Iron Prometheus miniseries began (September 5, 2007). John Arcudi became

10260-504: The warlock Igor Bromhead in Box Full of Evil . But it turned out to be a trap conducted by Bromhead and the demon Ualac to capture Hellboy, using his True Name , Anung Un Rama, to restrain him, so that the latter can claim Hellboy's normally invisible Crown of the Apocalypse to increase their power. But this act, however, proves to be counterproductive, as it allows Hellboy to no longer be controlled by his true name, Anung Un Rama (as one of

10368-505: The years yet aging slowly mentally with a teenage mind, Hellboy becomes the primary agent for the BPRD, alongside other human and quasi-human agents that include Kate Corrigan , a professor of folklore at New York University ; Abe Sapien , an amphibian humanoid ( Ichthyo sapiens ); and Liz Sherman , a young pyrokinetic . Things change dramatically for Hellboy during the events of Seed of Destruction when he searches for Professor Bruttenholm after he disappears during an expedition in

10476-529: Was called, was conceived on October 5, 1574, the day his birth-mother, Sarah Hughes, a human woman, was on her deathbed. In life, Sarah was a witch who gained her powers from being a consort of the archdemon Azzael, an Archduke of Hell and Hellboy's "biological" father. Taking Sarah's body to hell when she attempted to repent on her deathbed within a church in East Bromwich , England , Azzael burned her away so their child would be born, and chopped off

10584-487: Was collected in the Abe Sapien omnibuses. The Plague of Frogs cycle was published from 2002 to 2010, though it was not known as such at the time. When it came time to collect the stories into omnibus editions, the material collected in trades 1–8, 10–12, and 14 was retroactively retitled B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs. Guy Davis was the primary artist on the series and John Arcudi joined Mike Mignola as co-writer with

10692-412: Was collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Seed of Destruction . Hi, My Name is Hellboy by Mike Mignola was a one-page panel ad that related the character's fictional origins. It was published by Diamond Comic Distributors in catalog supplement Celebrate Diversity collector's edition (October 1994). The ad was collected in the trade paperback The Art of Hellboy . The Dark Horse Book of...

10800-406: Was collected into The Dark Horse Book of Horror in 2017. Hellboy: The First 20 Years was published on 1 April 2014. Lobster Johnson Lobster Johnson (also known as The Lobster or The Claw ) is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics . He was created by Mike Mignola . Within

10908-424: Was discreetly introduced as a new cycle of B.P.R.D. when the trade come out with a number 1 on its spine and "B.P.R.D.: Vampire" written in the series box (instead of just the usual "B.P.R.D." ). Picking up after B.P.R.D.: 1948 , Vampire follows the story of B.P.R.D. Agent Simon Anders as he hunts vampires. The cycle is written and drawn by twins Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon with Mike Mignola. Mike Mignola has said

11016-436: Was finished. When there was an arc spanning multiple issues, each of those issues came out monthly. On July 8, 2014, just prior to SDCC 2014 , Entertainment Weekly and Nerdist announced Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. , a series that was simultaneously a spinoff of both Hellboy and B.P.R.D. Each volume focuses on a single year, beginning the year Hellboy first became a Bureau agent, 1952. A new series focused on young Hellboy in

11124-487: Was further expanded in a series of digest-sized comics . Hellboy Hellboy is a superhero created by Mike Mignola and appearing in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics . The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various miniseries , one-shots , and intercompany crossovers . The character has been adapted into four live-action films: Hellboy (2004) and its sequel The Golden Army (2008),

11232-681: Was not until the third Abe Sapien story, The Drowning that this spinoff was collected in trade paperbacks under its own banner. The series became an ongoing series with Scott Allie as the lead writer with Mike Mignola in April 2013 beginning with the launch of Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible . Most of the issues in the ongoing run of the series were collected in omnibuses as the story cycle Dark and Terrible . This Hellboy spinoff primarily features stories about Sir Edward Grey, an agent of Queen Victoria and paranormal investigator, although on one occasion it included The Burial of Katharine Baker , which

11340-532: Was originally the right hand of Anum, one of the Watcher angels that watched over the burgeoning Earth and created the Ogdru Jahad. After sealing the Ogdru Jahad away, Anum was destroyed by his fellow spirits. Only his right hand remained intact as it was kept and preserved by the Hyperboreans, the first race of man. The Right Hand of Doom eventually ended up in the possession of Azzael before he grafted it onto

11448-438: Was rendered almost immaterial by his death at Abe Sapien's hands. In 2001, Hellboy (a lifelong Lobster fan) and Roger the homunculus encountered his ghost in the haunted ruins of Hunte Castle, beginning a long association between the Lobster and the BPRD, and with Roger and Johann Kraus in particular. The Lobster was instrumental in helping them defeat Rasputin, the Conqueror Worm and Hermann von Klempt, completing in death

11556-457: Was the banner title given to a series of four one-shot hardcover comic book horror anthologies produced annually by Dark Horse Comics between 2004 and 2007. Each issue contained a Hellboy story — “Dr. Carp’s Experiment” (2004), “The Troll Witch” (2005), “The Ghoul” (2006), and “The Hydra and The Lion” (2007). All four stories were collected into the trade paperback Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others in 2007. The Dark Horse Book of... series itself

11664-527: Was working on a Koshchei the Deathless miniseries. This was confirmed in July 2017 with the announcement of a six-issue miniseries drawn by Ben Stenbeck. On the final page of 2021's Sir Edward Grey: Acheron , a new miniseries, Koshchei the Deathless in Hell was announced. With the formal announcement in August 2022, the miniseries was retitled Koshchei in Hell . Crimson Lotus was announced in July 2018 during

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