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

I’m a huge fan of the Hellboy comic book series and some time ago I set out to read all of the Hellboy trade paperback graphic novels. As of today, there are 12 of these books in print, and over the weekend, I scratched two more off my list of those to read.

Many of you will be familiar with Hellboy thanks to the two live action movies starring the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator” – 2004’s “Hellboy” and 2008’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” For those of you unfamiliar with Hellboy, 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.

Over the weekend, I read “Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others” and “Hellboy, Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others.”

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,” “Hellboy, Vol. 6: Strange Places,” “Hellboy, Vol. 7: The Troll Witch and Others,” “Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls” and “Hellboy, Vol. 9: The Wild Hunt.”

“The Crooked Man and Others” was published in June 2010 and contains four separate Hellboy stories – “The Crooked Man,” “They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships,” “In the Chapel of Moloch” and “The Mole.” Of those, I’d say that “They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships” was my favorite with “The Crooked Man” a very close second. This book also contained a short article by author John Pelan about pulp fiction writer, Manly Wade Wellman. I can’t say that I’d ever heard of Wellman prior to this, and based on what I read in the article, I will be checking out his stories and books soon.

“The Bride of Hell and Others” was published in October 2011 and contains six separate stories – “Hellboy in Mexico,” “Double Feature of Evil,” “The Sleeping and the Dead,” “The Bride of Hell,” “The Whittier Legacy” and “Buster Oakley Gets His Wish.” “Double Feature of Evil” was probably my favorite with “The Whittier Legacy” being a close second.

By my count, I’ve only got one more Hellboy trade paperback collection to read before I can say that I’ve read them all, that is, “Hellboy, Vol. 12: The Storm and the Fury,” which was published in March 2012. I suspect that a thirteenth volumes and others will likely follow as Hellboy is an ongoing series with no foreseeable end in sight, which is a good thing for us Hellboy fans.

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.