A couple of days ago I bought the first trade paperback of Hellboy, called Seed of Destruction. I must admit, the first movie of Hellboy didn't make a terrific impression on me. I thought it was good and entertaining, but not great either. Particularly in comparison with 'comic movies' like the Batman movies of Burton and Nolan, I found it lacking in depth, the character development was decent, however. Because of this, it never occured to me that maybe the comics could be different, or at least could make a better impression on me. The reason that I eventually bought a Hellboy comic was the art of Mike Mignola. I never have been a fan of a particular style, I actually like the diversity of styles in comics. I found the art of Mignola very appealing, because of it's esthetic quality. It's definitely not 'realistic', but it makes an interesting use of shadows through the dominant use of the color black. It gives the story a kind of special tension. It's not easy to explain, but in a more 'realistic' style, drawings speak more for themselves I think.   
        What about the story? I thought it was good. Of course, the characters had to be introduced, so that factor limited the flow of the story a bit. What I liked about it, is because of almost exactly the same reasons why I like Batman so much. First of all, I like characters who are not straightforward, but somehow have weaknesses. It doesn't have to be an anti-hero, however. Second, I found that the 'detective' part of the story made Hellboy more interesting. I think without it, it would have been a more generic story about supernatural creatures and events. The detective part is also an important aspect of the Batman stories. The different parts of Hellboy may not be the most original out there, but I think that the sum of its parts is what makes Hellboy a great comic character. Overall, this tpb made me curious to see how the Hellboy story is developed further in the other tpb's.