This is an older reading order. Please check out the 2023 version.
There’s no Hell Notes this month, so here’s something a little different. I often find posts, comments, or messages on an almost weekly basis from people new to Hellboy looking for a reading order for the whole universe. The answers they get range from “Just read Hellboy, then read everything else,” to some really complicated stuff that often sparks a long dialogue about publishing order, intended publishing order, chronological order, thematic order, and a bunch of other considerations.
There will always be debate because reading order is a very personal thing. This reading order is intended first and foremost to simplify as much as possible while preserving the integrity of the story arcs and reveals. There’s no switching in between books halfway through on this list. And it’s designed with the hardcover collections in mind because they are clearly awesome.
This first version has all the collections currently released, and future collections coming up until the end of 2014. It should be noted that while I did work with Dark Horse to put this together, this is not an official reading order. (Here’s a link as a single image and there’s a text only version at the bottom of the page)
Text Only Version
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION: VOLUME 1
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION: VOLUME 2
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION: VOLUME 3
B.P.R.D. PLAGUE OF FROGS: VOLUME 1
B.P.R.D. PLAGUE OF FROGS: VOLUME 2
B.P.R.D. PLAGUE OF FROGS: VOLUME 3
Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand
Lobster Johnson: Satan Smells a Rat
Lobster Johnson: Get the Lobster
Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels
Witchfinder: Lost and Gone Forever
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION: VOLUME 4
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION: VOLUME 5
B.P.R.D. PLAGUE OF FROGS: VOLUME 4
Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories
HELLBOY LIBRARY EDITION: VOLUME 6
Hellboy: House of the Living Dead
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 and Others
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Return of the Master
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