Hellboy: Seed of Destruction (Comics) Review

What happens when you take Nazi occultism, throw in a red-skinned demon with daddy issues and wrap it all in 1990s comic book storytelling that refuses to hold your hand? You get something that makes today's superhero formula look like paint-by-numbers.

Written by John Byrne (Darkseid/Galactus: The Hunger, X-Men: The Hidden Years) with art by Mike Mignola (Cosmic Odyssey, Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure), this four-issue series launched what would become Dark Horse Comics' most enduring supernatural franchise.

Most comic readers stumble into Hellboy backwards, through the movies or random panels floating around social media. That's doing it wrong. Seed of Destruction is where Mike Mignola planted his flag and said "forget what you think you know about monster stories."

This isn't your typical good-versus-evil setup where the hero saves the day and everyone goes home happy. Mignola builds a world where victory comes with costs, mysteries stay unsolved and doing the right thing doesn't guarantee happy endings.

The year is 1944. Nazis are desperate, dabbling in dark magic to turn the tide of World War II. Their ritual goes sideways, summoning a demon child who ends up being raised by Allied forces instead of becoming Hitler's secret weapon.

Fast forward fifty years and that demon child is now Hellboy, working for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Here's where it gets interesting. Hellboy's adoptive father, Professor Bruttenholm, gets murdered by a frog-monster that shouldn't exist.

The investigation pulls our red-skinned protagonist into a conspiracy involving his true origins, ancient prophecies and the kind of cosmic horror that would make Lovecraft nervous. Nothing is what it seems and answers only lead to darker questions.

The story doesn't waste time explaining every supernatural element. Mignola trusts you to keep up while he weaves together folklore, mythology and original nightmares. When Rasputin shows up as the main antagonist, it's not some random villain-of-the-week situation.

This guy has history with Hellboy's summoning and their connection runs deeper. Rasputin isn't just another megalomaniac villain seeking true power. He's the architect of Hellboy's entire existence, making this conflict deeply personal and cosmically significant.

What makes this work is how Hellboy himself approaches the madness around him. He's not brooding in shadows or delivering philosophical monologues about the nature of evil. He shows up, cracks jokes and punches things that need punching.

When faced with his demonic destiny, he basically says "nah, I'm good" and keeps doing the right thing anyway. Free will triumphs over prophecy in Hellboy's world and his choice to reject cosmic evil makes him genuinely heroic rather than just powerful.

The supporting cast gets real development too. Liz Sherman brings pyrokinetic powers and actual personality. Abe Sapien isn't just the fish-guy sidekick. These characters have their own problems and motivations that don't revolve around making Hellboy look better.

Mignola's art-style was revolutionary in 1994 and still holds up today. Those heavy shadows and geometric shapes create atmosphere that most artists can't achieve with twice the detail. Every panel feels cinematic, guiding your eye exactly where it needs to go.

The color palette sticks to earth tones and muted colors, making Hellboy's red skin pop without feeling cartoonish. When supernatural elements appear, they feel genuinely otherworldly because the normal world looks so grounded and real.

Writing-wise, Mignola keeps dialogue tight and natural. Characters talk like actual people, not exposition machines. When someone explains supernatural lore, it happens organically through conversation, not info-dumps. The pacing moves fast enough to maintain tension without rushing past important character moments.

Seed of Destruction established the template that countless horror comics still try to copy. It proved you could tell monster stories with real emotional weight while keeping the fun factor intact. This isn't grim-dark misery or sanitized superhero fare. It's something else entirely.

If you're tired of comic-books that explain everything to death or treat readers like they can't handle complexity, this is your perfect antidote. Hellboy works because it respects both the horror tradition and the intelligence of its audience.

Nearly thirty years later, it still feels fresh while everything else feels like recycled ideas. Modern horror comics either over-explain their mythology or rely on cheap shock value but Mignola's atmospheric storytelling approach respects reader intelligence.

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction is available in trade paperback, omnibus and digital formats. You can read it via ComiXology, Dark Horse Digital and Kindle or pick up the paperback and library editions through Amazon, local comic shops, or bookstores. It's also included in the Hellboy Omnibus Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction for those starting the series fresh.