As a big fan of Hellboy (and the excellent spin-off, BPRD) I thought it might be helpful to put together a complete reading order for the entire series.Those who have read the first three trade-paperback collections might have noticed that the published order isn't the order you should actually read the stories in. Very confusing for first time readers!
Of course a reading order can be tricky to judge because it's perfectly usual for Hellboy's timeline to jump around the place and without any serious knock-on effect to any other story.
With this in mind I only mark stories in RED that require you to read them in order. Stories in BLACK are related to the stories in red, but can be read at any time. The other stories (those in GREY) can be read at absolutely any time and are completely stand-alone.
So if you want to mix it around, you can now make your own decisions as to what to read next.
How to use this reading order:
Just start at the top and work your way down. Pretty simple! The order is my own personal recommendation (grouped by the trade paperbacks you need to own in order to read the story), but the Red/Black/Grey system means you can mix it up however you please, so long as you read the RED stories in order.
Note: The years the stories are set are included for the sake of interest only. (I just liked seeing them :)
Enjoy!
THE COMPLETE RECOMMENDED HELLBOY/BPRD READING ORDER
Hellboy #1: Seed of Destruction
1993: Untitled promo story (originally published in San Diego Comic Con Comics #2)
1994: Seed of Destruction
1994: Untitled promo story (originally published in The Comic Buyer's Guide #1070)
Please note: If you own Volumes 2 and 3, then you might want to read The Chained Coffin from Volume 3 before continuing with Volume 2. The reason for this is that Hellboy makes a passing reference to this story in Volume 2.
If you don't own Volume 3 (or 2) then it's perfectly fine to go straight ahead and read Volume 2 first. Reading The Chained Coffin before Volume 2 adds very little to the main story.
Hellboy #2: Wake the Devil
1996: Wake the Devil
Hellboy #3: The Chained Coffin and Others
1959: The Corpse
1961: The Iron Shoes
1989: A Christmas Underground
1994: The Wolves of Saint August
1995: The Chained Coffin
1964: The Baba Yaga
1996: Almost Colossus
Hellboy #4: The Right Hand of Doom
1947: Pancakes
1954: The Nature of the Beast
1956: King Vold
1967: Heads
1979: Goodbye, Mister Tod
1982: The Vârcolac
1998: The Right Hand of Doom
1999: Box Full of Evil
BPRD #1: Hollow Earth and Other Stories
1998: Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead
1938: Lobster Johnson: The Killer in my Skull
1997: Abe Sapien vs Science
Hellboy #5: Conqueror Worm
2001: Conqueror Worm
BPRD #1: Hollow Earth and Other Stories
2002: BPRD: Hollow Earth
Hellboy #6: Strange Places
2002: The Third Wish
BPRD #2: The Soul of Venice & Other Stories
2003: The Soul of Venice
2003: Dark Waters
2003: Night Train
2003: There's Something Under My Bed
2004: Another Day at the Office
Hellboy #7: The Troll Witch and Others
1963: The Troll Witch
1958: The Penanggalan
1991: Dr. Carp's Experiment
1992: The Ghoul
1993: Makoma
BPRD #3: Plague of Frogs
2004: Plague of Frogs
BPRD #4: The Dead
2004: Born Again (Listed as "Prologue" to main story.)
2004: The Dead
BPRD #5: The Black Flame
2005: The Black Flame
Hellboy #6: Strange Places
2005: The Island (You can read this any time after The Third Wish, if you like, but it might retain more impact if you wait.)
BPRD #6: The Universal Machine
2006: The Universal Machine
Hellboy #8: Darkness Calls
2007: Darkness Calls
BPRD #7: Garden of Souls
2006: Garden of Souls
BPRD #8: Killing Ground
2007: Killing Ground
BPRD #9: 1946
1946: 1946
1939: Bishop Olek's Devil
Ape Sapien #1: The Drowning
1981: The Drowning
Lobster Johnson #1: The Iron Prometheus
1937: The Iron Prometheus
BPRD #10: The Warning
2008: The Warning
BPRD #11: The Black Goddess
2008: The Black Goddess
Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder #1: In the Service of Angels
1879: In the Service of Angels
1879: Murderous Intent
1879: The Burial of Katharine Baker
Hellboy #9: The Wild Hunt
2009: The Wild Hunt
BPRD #12: War on Frogs
2006: War on Frogs
2008: Revival
BPRD #13: 1947
1947: 1947
194?: And What Shall I Find There
BPRD #14: King of Fear
2010: King of Fear
Hellboy #10: The Crooked Man and Other Stories
1958: The Crooked Man
1992: In the Chapel of Moloch
1986: They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships
2007: The Mole
Please let me know if you have any corrections and/or suggestions. Thanks!
Thanks to Shady on the Darkhorse forums for additional help.
