Interested in Hellboy!

[togeteiku42]

I have seen both the movies and love them both which has gotten be interested in the comics.

I don't like reading comics with nudity or a ton of gore, basically I don't like R rated comics.
My question is this: What rating would you say the comics are? I know the movies are PG-13 but are they toned down from the comics? Is there nudity or excessive gore?

If you could help me that would be great. I never know with the Indy/Creator owned stuff because they don't have the guidelines that the mainstream stuff has.

Thanks a lot.

[hellboyone]

Hellboy comics contain no nudity or gore so you're good.

[togeteiku42]

Hellboy comics contain no nudity or gore so you're good.

Awesome! Thanks for the help!

[noble_enough]

Actually there is quite a bit of blood. At least Hellboy's blood.
But its so artistic, I hardly think of it as blood.

What I err mean is, it's not gory.

[Markers]

Yeah, and I think at least "The Penanggalan" has some gore. But as a general rule, they're not that gory. And Mike's art tends to make what little blood and gore there is kinda abstract... then again Guy Davis' art is another story....

-M

[togeteiku42]

Thanks for the impute. Some blood doesn't bother me I'm just a fan of the comics that are full of gory gratuitous violence.

[Noct]

Thanks for the impute. Some blood doesn't bother me I'm just a fan of the comics that are full of gory gratuitous violence.

Hellboy should be fine then. Nothing is gratuitous. There is blood, but it's nothing worse than a lot of these PG-13 movies today.

B.P.R.D. Does get a little bit more gory, but even then it still doesn't feel gratuitous. They use it in a mature way and for the most part sparingly. I think you would even been fine with these books.

Nudity there is none. Though I think on occasion you get some silhouettes. Once again it's usually background or something ugly. It's never used in a sexual way.

I hope you enjoy the books. They're quite different from the movies so that's my biggest warning. You sound a bit like me when I was first getting into the books though so I think you'll have no problem making the transition.

Enjoy.

[Kees_L]

Yeah, it's true and funny actually: Hellboy or any work of Mignola is hardly gory. Although moody enough. And dark enough. Even quite mindful of the quaint and mysterious workings of life and nature. There can be skeletons or bones. Dead things and even undead things.
But should blood or gore be stressed for effect, it will be done so artistically, like for example a single droplet of red from the mouth of a beast. Or a strange puddle from which a lily might grow.

I believe mr. Guillermo Del Toro (and Co.) might have tributed this (mr. Mignola's 'knowledgableness regarding life vs. horror') with the scene of the dying Nature Elemental turning to bloom in HB2: the Golden Army.
And it (mr. Mignola's artisticality regarding gore) doesn't feel very political or anything. But it seems apparent.

Like how mr. Moebius (a French artist) seems to wish to not fully paint all the pictures all the time but remaining imaginatively challenging.
Like how for humor mr. Robin Williams seems different to many stand-up comedians regarding foul language or tastelessness.
Mr. Miyazaki (the Japanese animation director) has himself declared for a fact to try and steer clear from all too conventional imagery of weapons or war, since on TV there'll be enough of that and since children like TV a lot.
So in the actual declaring of such, this mr. Miyazaki will be a bit different (since neither did Mignola or Moebius as far as I know).

Go read with an appetite togeteiku42, and let us know how you fare if you'd care to :smile:.

[Angilas-Man]

The violence depicted is so stylized it's like an illustration in an old book of fairytales.

In fact, that's the tone of Hellboy; old European fairytales, mythology, early 20th century pulp stories, Universal monsters movies, ect.

[jlagory]

Oh man....I was here about a year ago, not into comics but interested in Hellboy. I'd forgotten how much Hellboy got me interested in the medium and how exciting it was to get my hands on all the stories as quickly as possible.

[MyBoggy]

Everyone seems to be dancing around their initial reaction. Allow me.

BUY IT. BUY IT RIGHT FRIGGIN' NOW! (http://www.amazon.com/Hellboy-Vol-Chained-Coffin-Others/dp/1593070918/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240268351&sr=8-1)

[togeteiku42]

Thank you for your impute. I'm pretty set reading it now. Let me ask you this though. Would you say I should start reading with the Trades that are out or with the Library Editions since they have started collecting them in those?

[Rabid Trekkie]

Thank you for your impute. I'm pretty set reading it now. Let me ask you this though. Would you say I should start reading with the Trades that are out or with the Library Editions since they have started collecting them in those?

The Trades will be easier on you budget, but if you got the extra money then go for it. The introductions to the trades were pretty cool if your someone who's interested in another famous guy's opinion on a work your going to read. I've never actually had a library edition so I can't tell you what the difference is more than the price.

[Gary_B]

The Trades will be easier on you budget, but if you got the extra money then go for it. The introductions to the trades were pretty cool if your someone who's interested in another famous guy's opinion on a work your going to read. I've never actually had a library edition so I can't tell you what the difference is more than the price.

The pages and the art are bigger in the library editions. They also collect two trades worth of material, are hard bound and include a bunch of sketches and studies by Mike Mignola at the back. They are quite beautiful.

[Kees_L]

The Trades will be easier on you budget, but if you got the extra money then go for it. The introductions to the trades were pretty cool if your someone who's interested in another famous guy's opinion on a work your going to read. I've never actually had a library edition so I can't tell you what the difference is more than the price.

For money worth, the Library Editions are actually best, if you like extra-lush print-paper and print-quality and extra's such as sketchbook sections (really gorgeous) and hindsight info.
The trades are good too, again with extra's like sketchbooks and hindsight texts, although these are different to the Library Editions.
The comics are perfect in being the original thing, with the letter columns and contemporary ads occasionally dealing with Hellboy / BPRD material.
So really, all the extra's really are extra's in Hellboy-books.
That's why I rabidly hunt to own all formats.

But you just go for what will seem to suit you. Each Hellboy-trade, comic mini-series or HC will be a fine starting-point.

[Boston Style]

Thank you for your impute. I'm pretty set reading it now. Let me ask you this though. Would you say I should start reading with the Trades that are out or with the Library Editions since they have started collecting them in those?

Id go with the Library Editions. The quality of the books along with the larger size make them more than worth the price. And if you order them thru Amazon they're really not that much more than if you bought a couple of trades.

[togeteiku42]

I ordered the first Hellboy Library today!
Thanks for your help everyone.

[Hair]

I really like the Hellboy comic books (at least the ones I have read), but they are way different than the movies, so be warned. There is less character development, at least in the earlier issues I read. Some of the characters like Liz and Abe don't show as much personality or "panel time" (but they may be developed more in later issues I haven't read). But as a work of art, the books far surpass the movies. No doubt. The movies are much more "normal" in their storytelling style. They are typical cinematic stories with a typical story flow that everyone can follow. The Hellboy books are much more about the fantastic art and creepy stories and situations. As far as I have read, there is no analog in the Hellboy books for the movies. They are totally different storylines and the characters are wildly different.

I guess what it is taking me so long to explain is that the movies feature more typical storytelling and character development, while the books are more about achieving a dark, moody feeling which the movies cannot even come close to. The books feel very vague to me, in a good way.

BTW, I haven't read any Hellboy in a long time, so my thoughts might be a little off, but that was the impression I got when I saw the first movie. I think I need to read some Hellboy tonight.

[Grape Juice]

As far as I have read, there is no analog in the Hellboy books for the movies. They are totally different storylines and the characters are wildly different.


Actually, the first Hellboy movie is a somewhat liberal adaptation of the Seed of Destruction arc. But other than that, yeah, I agree with you. With The Golden Army the live action films have diverged enormously from the source material in terms of mood, approach to characters, etc. Especially now that the Hellboy books are less about ghost-busting (for obvious reasons) and more about experimenting with dark, high-concept fantasy stuff, the movies feel alot closer in spirit to the BPRD books. I've known a couple people who've tried to get into the comics after liking the movies and being turned off for these reasons. But then, these were typical Spawn / X-Men fanboys, so...

If you liked the live-action movies you should definitely check out the animated movies. They're sortof inbetween Del Toro's and Mignola's versions, and they are excellent.

[Kees_L]

With The Golden Army the live action films have diverged enormously from the source material in terms of mood, approach to characters, etc. Especially now that the Hellboy books are less about ghost-busting (for obvious reasons) and more about experimenting with dark, high-concept fantasy stuff, the movies feel alot closer in spirit to the BPRD books.

Or go see Pan's Labyrinth and just read Hellboy (& BPRD). In essence the original comic Hellboy / BPRD are both ghost-busting (or rather occult monster-busting) but with finding out the world / nether-world(s) to be working in mysterious ways, I'd say. Like old lore tries to have us revealed, for ages.
Such feel for outlandish authenticism is also carried by Pan's Labyrinth, Del Toro's masterpiece, in many a view. Be this my petty coinery, off course :wink:.

EDIT: And about character development: I myself don't think the characters are more deep or fleshed out better in the movies - quite the opposite actually. Movies seem to work differently than comics: in movies often characters are portrayed plasticly - under-lined and stressed much: "I am changing now... undergoing phases... or am I?..." Yet in the Hellboy comic a certain look or pose should be enough, to suggest all kinds of depth and psyche in stuff, especially if story development and plot allows for eccentricities or controversy to be happening.
I mean look at BPRD. That oozes psyche and controversy! And what are we looking at really, but characters and some setting :-]?

EDIT 2: Or the tone of it: I mean I'll let everyone enjoy what they're reading or watching.
But superheros contstantly contemplating evt. through many Stan Lee type text boxes, or Doom doctors and tyrant Gods embodying deeper Multiverse mechanisms, angsty adolescent flamboyant hero-teams swaying from one footsweep to another, don't seem more profound to me than Hellboy so essentially - rather than limitedly - understanding things ("Hey! Stop pokin' me."). Or someone like Roger, looking a little sorry for something.
Or take Mignola's Liz Sherman. To me that looks pwetty well-developed.

But at the same time, I can feel glad for Del Toro's versions: as if he translated the cool world of Hellboy into Hollywood material. And to me Hellboy: the Golden Army feels very complete for a Hellboy story, rich in mood and with even folklore stuff.

[togeteiku42]

I got the first Hellboy Library and read it and quite enjoyed it. Thanks everyone for convincing me to read it. I can't wait to get volume 2.

[AsterisX18]

The library edition vol 1 was great to read! I read it until I finished, more than an hour non stop