Adapting 'Hellboy'

The first challenge of the "Hellboy" adaptation was to impart to both fans and first-timers the essential core of the comic. Like most super heroes, Hellboy has a complex history explored over years in dozens of different stories. To begin to understand this, let's look at Hellboy's origins.

"Hellboy" the comic book was created in 1994 by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics. In the 10 years that have followed, Hellboy has made his way into a comic book series, trade paperbacks, novels, illustrated short-story anthologies and a video game.

Mignola pulls heavily from his fascination with the occult and folklore to weave the world of "Hellboy." Reminiscent of the pulp detective novels of the '40s, Hellboy is filled with strange characters, bizarre monsters, conspiracies, shadowy agencies and secret Nazi armies.

The first "mini-series" Mignola created was "Hellboy - Seed of Destruction." This mini series covers the origins of Hellboy the character.