This is an older reading order. Please check out the 2023 version.
With Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Universe now spanning over seventy trade paperbacks, it can be a little intimidating, especially for new readers. Fortunately, the Hellboy Universe is designed to work from many different starting points. Pick a series—“Hellboy,” “B.P.R.D.,” “Witchfinder,” “Lobster Johnson”—they’re all good starting points. Just follow the numbers on the spines of the trades. And many of these series can be read in isolation from the others. You don’t need to read “Hellboy” to read “Lobster Johnson.”
However, there is a certain joy in starting from the beginning and working your way through the whole line of books. That’s what this reading order is for. It’s made with the big collections in mind (the library editions and omnibus editions). You simply pick up a book, read it cover to cover, then move on to the next. No switching books halfway through.
This is not the official reading order, it’s simply one way to explore the Hellboy Universe. Discovery is meant to be a part of the reading experience. As editor Scott Allie said to me once, ‘Different reading orders will tell different stories, the surprises will be in different places. Everyone’s experience will be different.’ So don’t be afraid to explore a little bit; this is not a rigid reading order.
TEXT ONLY VERSION
HELLBOY – VOLUME 1
—LIBRARY EDITION—
• Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
• Hellboy: Wake the Devil
—
HELLBOY – VOLUME 2
—LIBRARY EDITION—
• Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others
• Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom
—
HELLBOY – VOLUME 3
—LIBRARY EDITION—
• Hellboy: Conqueror Worm
• Hellboy: Strange Places
—
Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea (OGN)
—
HELLBOY – VOLUME 4
—LIBRARY EDITION—
• Hellboy: The Crooked Man and Others
• Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others
—
B.P.R.D.
PLAGUE OF FROGS – VOLUME 1
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
• B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth & Other Stories
• B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice & Other Stories
• B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs
—
B.P.R.D.
PLAGUE OF FROGS – VOLUME 2
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
• B.P.R.D.: The Dead
• B.P.R.D.: War on Frogs
• B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame
—
B.P.R.D.
PLAGUE OF FROGS – VOLUME 3
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
• B.P.R.D.: The Universal Machine
• B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls
• B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground
—
HELLBOY – VOLUME 5
—LIBRARY EDITION—
• Hellboy: Darkness Calls
• Hellboy: The Wild Hunt
—
HELLBOY
WEIRD TALES
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
• “How Koshchei Became Deathless”
• “Baba Yaga’s Feast”
• Hellboy: Weird Tales – Volume 1 (Out of continuity)
• Hellboy: Weird Tales – Volume 2 (Out of continuity)
—
Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels
Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever
Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland
—
Continued belowLobster Johnson: The Burning Hand
Lobster Johnson: Satan Smells a Rat
Lobster Johnson: Get the Lobster
Lobster Johnson: A Chain Forged in Life
(Coming March 2018)
Lobster Johnson: The Pirate’s Ghost and Metal Monsters of Midtown
(Coming December 2017)
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
—
—
B.P.R.D.
1946–1948
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
• B.P.R.D.: 1946
• B.P.R.D.: 1947
• B.P.R.D.: 1948
—
—
Hellboy: The Midnight Circus (OGN)
—
—
Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories
—
—
B.P.R.D.
PLAGUE OF FROGS – VOLUME 4
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
• B.P.R.D.: The Warning
• B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess
• B.P.R.D.: King of Fear
—
HELLBOY – VOLUME 6
—LIBRARY EDITION—
• Hellboy: The Storm and the Fury
• Hellboy: The Bride of Hell and Others
—
B.P.R.D.
HELL ON EARTH – VOLUME 1
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
(Coming December 2017)
• B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: New World
• B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Gods and Monsters
• B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Russia
—
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Devil’s Engine & The Long Death
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror & Others
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Return of the Master
—
HELLBOY IN HELL
—LIBRARY EDITION—
(Coming October 2017)
• Hellboy in Hell: The Descent
• Hellboy in Hell: The Death Card
—
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: A Cold Day in Hell
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Lake of Fire
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Reign of the Black Flame
—
ABE SAPIEN
DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 1
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
(Coming November 2017)
• Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible and The New Race of Man
• Abe Sapien: The Shape of Things to Come
• Abe Sapien: Sacred Places
—
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Devil’s Wings
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Flesh and Stone
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Metamorphosis
—
ABE SAPIEN
DARK AND TERRIBLE – VOLUME 2
—OMNIBUS EDITION—
(Coming 2018)
• Abe Sapien: A Darkness so Great
• Abe Sapien: The Secret Fire
• Abe Sapien: The Desolate Shore
—
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Exorcist
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: End of Days
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Cometh the Hour
—
—
—
Continued belowHellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953
Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1954
(Coming January 2018)
—
The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed
(Coming October 2017)
—
Abe Sapien: Lost Lives and Other Stories
(Coming June 2017)
NOTES
“Baltimore” and “Joe Golem” aren’t included in the reading order because they aren’t a part of the Hellboy Universe. “The Amazing Screw-on Head” isn’t in there either, although I would suggest reading it before “Hellboy in Hell” just to give the ending some context.
I’ve only included stories in continuity. I made an exception for the “Hellboy: Weird Tales” omnibus edition because it collects the short stories “How Koshchei Became Deathless” and “Baba Yaga’s Feast.” This list does not include things like “Hellboy Junior” or any “Hellboy” crossovers.
If there’s anything else you want to know, the Hellboy Wiki is a helpful resource.
