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

I’m a huge fan of the two, live-action “Hellboy” movies (“Hellboy” and “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”), and about a year ago I set out to read all of the “Hellboy” trade paperback collections.

During the past week, I scratched two more of these books off my list – “Hellboy, Vol. 7: The Troll Witch and Others” and “Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls.”

Earlier this year, I finished “Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction, “Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil,” “Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others,” “Hellboy, Vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom,” “Hellboy, Vol. 5: Conquer Worm” and “Hellboy, Vol. 6: Strange Places.”

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 and 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.

“The Troll Witch and Others” was originally published in October 2007, and it contains seven stories within its 144 pages. Stories in this book include “The Penanggalan,” “The Hydra and the Lion,” “The Troll Witch,” “Dr. Carp’s Experiment,” “The Ghoul,” “The Vampire of Prague” and “Makoma.” Of the seven, I’d say that my personal favorite was “Dr. Carp’s Experiment.”

“Darkness Calls” was originally published in May 2008 and contains one long story, rather than numerous short stories. At 192 pages, this book contains all six issues and two epilogues that were originally published as a monthly series between April and November 2007. Written by Mignola, the artist for this book was Duncan Fegredo.

This book was especially good, and I’d rank it among the best of the “Hellboy” trade paperbacks that I’ve read so far. The story tied up a number of ongoing story lines and answered a lot of questions people probably had about where everything was going. It also left me looking forward to reading Vol. 9 in the series soon.

Of the five Hellboy trade paperback 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 eight.

By my count, I’ve got four 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, Vol. 9: The Wild Hunt (March 2010)

- Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others (June 2010)

- Hellboy, Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others (October 2011)

- Hellboy, Vol. 12: 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.