The Official Hellboy novel discussion thread

[mattmanw54301]

OK, so with a new book just announced (The Fire Wolves) and another book about to hit in about a week (The All Seeing Eye), I thought I would make a one stop shop thread to talk about HB in the pages of prose fiction. This includes the Odd Jobs trilogy.

So what are your favorite stories? Should ALL of these books be considered canon? What foe do you think would make a great novel villain? Who is your favorite HB novel author?

[jnapper]

[arg!]I am so far behind when it somes to reading the novels.[/arg!]

I usually read more in the winter, so here's hoping to some down time for reading.

[Angilas-Man]

I own but have yet to read Odder Jobs and Unnatural Selection. Have yet to buy Oddest Jobs and God Machine.


My absolute favorites have been On Earth as it is in Hell, Odd Jobs, and Bones of Giants. The first being the first one I read. I was unsure about the concept of Hellboy in prose form untill I got that one on sale for $5 and loved it.

[mattmanw54301]

The best part is, they don't rely on the reader having tons of familiarity with the material. They're nice, stand alone adventures. HOWEVER, when you read them, you should read The Lost Army BEFORE reading The Dragon Pool. For those who don't know, here are the books that have been published so far, in no particular order:

1. The Lost Army
2. Unnatural Selection
3. The Bones of Giants
4. The God Machine
5. On Earth as it is in Hell
6. The Dragon Pool
7. Emerald Hell
8. The All Seeing Eye (Oct 22-29, 2008)
9. The Fire Wolves (April 2009)

Odd Jobs
Odder Jobs
Oddest Jobs

All are pretty good, some are better than others. My favs would have to be On Earth As it is in Hell, and The God Machine.

[Ambassador Curt]

The God Machine was brilliant. I have read all the prose and it was my favorite. On Earth as it is in Hell is also great. I also have a soft spot for Emerald Hell, but it might just be a personal liking due to the fact I haven't heard that much praise for it.

[The Lobster]

The only Hellboy novels I own are Hellboy:

-Odder Jobs

-Hellboy II the novel

-And Baltimore ( Yes I know it's not Hellboy but sort of related.)

[mattmanw54301]

Just talked to my LCBS...they DID get All Seeing Eye in today!!! WOO!!!!I will snag it after work today.

[noble_enough]

Is the fire wolves cover drawn by Mignola?
It doesn't really look like it to me... or maybe its just the mosaic-ness that's causing my disbelief...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1595822046/sr=8-5/qid=1224708938/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1224708938&sr=8-5

[mattmanw54301]

Cool cover. From the shape of HB's face, it looks almost like a Guy Davis, IMO. Could be wrong. Not enough detail for Fegredo. I think its Guy Davis. Definitely not MM tho. In my opinion at least.

[Kees_L]

Is the fire wolves cover drawn by Mignola?
It doesn't really look like it to me... or maybe its just the mosaic-ness that's causing my disbelief...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1595822046/sr=8-5/qid=1224708938/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1224708938&sr=8-5

Hmmm, the pics' seeming pixelly texture wards me off commenting just yet. But the detail within the "water-colour fading parts" suggest alternate involvement I would say. A bit like the Nowlan hand in that Warning cover with Liz in it... If I had to guess I would say it's Herb Trimpe :tongue: (for the heck of it really) :smile:

[Neil Hill]

What, nobody noticed the traces of Duncan Fegredo in that cover image? *Edit- looks like someone noticed the Fegredo, but didn't think it was him. I think it really is Fegredo!* Strange that Mike would now turn over that duty to Duncan, but perhaps he's become the true face of the character for licensing and such....at least for now?

[mattmanw54301]

Is it Fegredo? I mean, Fegredo's art usually has crazy amounts of detail in it. This seems too clean, too sylized, to be Fegredo. But if you are sure, I will take your word for it.

[dogboy443]

I also think it's Duncan.

Faves of the novels;

The Lost Army
Odd Jobs
Bones of Ginats
God Machine
Dragon Pool
Odder Jobs

[Myron L]

Really enjoyed Emerald Hell recently, and Lost Army and Bones of Giants as long-term favs...

not a fan of The God Machine...
Liked The Dragon Pool and Unnatural Selection...

On Earth AS It Is In Hell was OK...

Odd,Odder and Oddest were all enjoyable compilations...

[noble_enough]

Of the novels I only own, Bones of Giants, Lost Army, On Earth As It Is In Hell, and Unnatural Selection.

I was wondering though, Christopher Golden wrote, Bones and Lost army, and those were in a slightly different format than the other novels as having illustrations by Mike sprinkled throughout and being a larger size.

Does anyone know if Christopher's "The Dragon Pool" Novel is the same, with Mike's art throughout?
Or is it just the smaller sized format like the rest?

[mattmanw54301]

smaller format. No illustrations.

[noble_enough]

smaller format. No illustrations.

too bad...
:frown:

[Neil Hill]

Is it Fegredo? I mean, Fegredo's art usually has crazy amounts of detail in it. This seems too clean, too sylized, to be Fegredo. But if you are sure, I will take your word for it.

Oh, I certainly didn't say that I was sure. In fact, I very well may not be. It just seemed like a logical possibility, based on the art style. :biggrin:

[St August]

Just talked to my LCBS...they DID get All Seeing Eye in today!!! WOO!!!!I will snag it after work today.
did they really have it?
the All-Seeing Eye was a no-show at my LCS and B&N store even though it was on the ship lists. and even Amazon now lists Oct 29.
did it get delayed a week?

[mattmanw54301]

I am 20 pages into it, so yeah, it did show. It's thick, too. Pretty good so far. The scene that brings Hellboy and company into the story is priceless.

[Myron L]

Just a heads up on The All-Seeing Eye...I was told at my local B&N that the stores did not get it and would not get it (there was some type of restriction on the title) and the ONLY way it was available was to order online...they couldn't even really tell me why...they surmised that there was too limited a print run on it.

[mattmanw54301]

I got it from my local comic shop with no problems. Of course, they only got one copy in. I scored it by putting it on my pull list 3 weeks before it hit.

[Tad]

My always great shop, Comics Factory in Pasadena got plenty of copies in. I've snagged mine and am diving in.

[mattmanw54301]

Hellboy: The All-Seeing Eye- 7.5/10. All in all, this was a damned good book. Not quite as much action as I like, but hey, the plot made up for it. One thing that impressed me is how well the dynamic between Liz, Abe, and HB was. He nailed their relationship IMO. It really FELT like these 3 are friends, and not only did each individual character feel right, but the tone of their friendship was spot on as well.

Sometimes, when you are constrained into making a story that has to stand on its own, and is somewhat limited by continuity, it is easy to fall into a formula. This one does not list a specific time, but based on 1. mentioning 'the late Professor Broom' and 2. Hellboy being a BPRD agent in the story, we can assume it took place some time between 1994-5 and 2001. Morris succeeds in making it feel like these main characters are in danger, even though we know they have to live through it. And that is a difficult thing to do.

I would put this one in the order of favorite to least favorite in the following order:

1. On Earth As it is in Hell
2. The God Machine
3. Emerald Hell
4. The All Seeing Eye
5. The Bones of Giants
6. Unnatural Selection
7. The Lost Army
8. The Dragon Pool

Check this one out guys, it's pretty good.

[St August]

my local B&N store *finally* got there copies of the All Seeing Eye in today.
why it was delayed 2 weeks, who knows.