Which of the 'Hellboy' trade paperback collections is your favorite?

I’ve always been a big fan of the two, live-action “Hellboy” movies, and I recently set out to read all of the “Hellboy” trade paperback collections. During the past month, I’ve scratched three off my list “Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, “Hellboy: Wake the Devil” and “Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the Hellboy character, he’s a comic book superhero with red skin, horns, a tail and an unusual, oversized right hand made of stone. Known as the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator,” he works for the United States Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. He does seem to have a few superpowers. He’s abnormally strong, appears to heal quickly among other things. He was created by writer and artist Mike Mignola, and most of the Hellboy comics have been published by Dark Horse Comics.

“Hellboy: Seed of Destruction” was published in October 1994 and formed the primary basis for the first Hellboy movie, which was released in 2004. Characters that appear in the book include Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Grigori Rasputin, Tom Manning, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien and Karl Ruprecht Kroenen. It also contains a couple of cool short stories and a gallery of drawings by famous artists, including Frank Miller and Art Adams. The collection won two Eisner Awards in 1995 – “Best Graphic Album: Reprint” and “Best Writer/Artist” for Mignola.

“Hellboy: Wake the Devil” was published in May 1997 and parts of the plot made their way into the Hellboy animated movie “Hellboy: Blood and Iron,” which I haven’t seen. Characters appearing in this book include Rasputin, Baba Yaga, Ilsa Haupstein, Kroenen, Manning, Kate Corrigan, Vladimir Giurescu, Sapien and Sherman. At the 1997 Eisner Awards, Mignola won top honors for “Best Writer/Artist: Drama.”

“Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others” was published in August 1998. It contains seven great stories, including “The Corpse,” “Iron Shoes,” “The Baba Yaga,” “A Christmas Underground,” “The Chained Coffin,” “The Wolves of Saint August” and “Almost Colossus.” Familiar characters appearing in the book include Jenny Greenteeth and Baba Yaga. The book also contains another gallery of Hellboy artwork by various artists.

Of the three collections that I’ve read so far, I’d have to say that “Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others” was probably my favorite. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy all three.

By my count, I’ve got nine more trade paperback collections to read before I can say that I’ve read them all. Here a list of the other titles in order of their release.

- Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom (April 2000)

- Hellboy: Conqueror Worm (February 2002)

- Hellboy: Strange Places (April 2006)

- Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others (November 2007)

- Hellboy: Darkness Calls (May 2008)

- Hellboy: The Wild Hunt (March 2010)

- Hellboy: The Crooked Man and Others (June 2010)

- Hellboy: The Bride of Hell and Others (October 2011)

- Hellboy: The Storm and the Fury (March 2012)

In the end, how many of these trade paperback collections have you had the chance to read? Which did you like or dislike and why? Which is your personal favorite and why? Let us know in the comments section below.