His unique filmmaking vision was exactly what the subject matter needed to make the successful leap from one media form to another.In this edition of The Silver Lining, we’ll be covering Neil Marshall’s ill-fated comic-book adaptation, Hellboy.įrom Sin City to Umbrella Academy, Dark Horse Comics has always lived up to its name by betting on oddball titles and unusual creators. Instead, he was found by the Allies and raised to fight for the good guys.įortunately, the movie was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, who could not have been more perfect for the job. He’s a half-demon brought to the mortal plane by Nazis, presumably to fight on their behalf. Trying to translate a character like Hellboy to a film is no easy task. But 2004’s Hellboy might be the best of those outings to date. That means live-action movies, animated features, video games, and more. With that kind of popularity always comes multimedia cross-promotion. A lot of those characters have gotten their own comics over the years. Hellboy works for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and has several friends and allies associated with that group. In addition to that, an entire world of characters has been built around him. Related Story: The Flash: Is Michael Keaton’s return setting up a Batman Beyond movie in the DCEU? There have been dozens of titles that have taken the form of ongoing series, mini-series, one-shots, and more. Since then, Hellboy has become a key pillar for Dark Horse Comics, the company that publishes titles featuring him. At that point, it was hard to imagine the media empire the character would spawn. Hellboy arrivesĬreated by Mike Mignola, Hellboy made his very first appearance in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 which was published in August 1993. It remains one of the better comic book movies not from the Marvel or DC universes that have been made to date. While a more recent attempt to reboot the film franchise fell flat on its face, 2004’s Hellboy seemed to understand the source material. Casting Ron Perlman as the lead character certainly didn’t hurt the situation. Without question, the first of those movies was the best one.

And on three separate occasions, Hellboy has made the difficult leap from comic book pages to movie theaters. There are more than a few classic comic book characters outside of Marvel and DC who have made their way to the big screen. 2004’s Hellboy remains the character’s best live-action outing yet.

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