Give ’em Hell(boy)!

When it debuted in 1993, Mike Mignola's highly acclaimed and innovative Hellboy was a vivid respite from the then-overwhelming dominance of superheroes in comics. The story of a demonic paranormal investigator who fights evil was a veritable love letter to doom-drenched, Lovecraftian horror. This lavish 'Library Edition' collects the first two series: Seed of Destruction, in which Hellboy confronts a resurrected Apocalypse-courting Rasputin and Wake the Devil, facing off against a cabal of mad Nazis. Both are brilliant in their usage of folklore and pulp fiction, and Mignola's artwork is a masterclass in atmosphere - every panel heavy with the dreadful weight of history and shrouded in shadows.

Danny Graydon