5 Star Graphic Novel Review: Seed of Destruction (Hellboy Vol. 1)

Author| Mike Mignola  Edition| Kindle eBook  Rating| 5 Stars

Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

I had no idea what to expect going into this, and it absolutely blew my mind.  I loved it, and I can say that as soon as my bank account allows it, I'll be buying up the whole series at once and binge reading.

I debated whether I should offer a description of this title, but decided not to. Not know what to expect made the whole thing so much better.  I had a vague idea of what Hellboy looked like, and knew it was a movie, but didn't know any plot or premise.  I picked it up because it was on sale on the kindle store (a while ago, actually; it's been sitting on my kindle for way to long) and my dad had mentioned it.

Everything from the art to the story to the dialogue was smooth, fast-paced, and unexpected.  It's such an ingenious story and captured my interest completely.  All three major characters, Hellboy, Liz, and Abe, were unique and fully three-dimensional.  The story filled in enough backstory to give a good idea of who and what each was, while still leaving it open enough for a good mystery. 

I absolutely loved the art, as well.  It came right off the page and into my imagination.  It's one of my favorite art styles that I've seen and I'd read the books just for it.  The fact that it's so full of vibrant colors definitely helped.

I do want to watch the Hellboy movie at some point (it's on Netflix now) but I can't decide if I want to read some more of the graphic novels first.  If you haven't read this series, I really recommend it to everyone, particularly those fond of fantasy and urban fantasy.  Here's a link to goodreads so you can add it your shelf.