From Mike Mignola's first release of Hellboy in a promotional comic book at the San Diego Comic Con in August of 1993 until now, the success of his character has been pretty amazing. Currently released in 2007, Hellboy: Blood and Iron is 2 of 3 animated versions of the comic hero. The next installment is due out in 2008. This means that thus far, the hero Hellboy has had a run of fourteen years; in formats from Comics to Animation to the Silver Screen. Pretty amazing, indeed.

Hellboy has followed the ranks of Hollywood's adaptation craze. Did it hurt the comic? Obviously not since the movie, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Blade II) was actually quite good. Ticket sales and DVD rentals have far surpassed what it cost to make the film. With an estimated budget of $66,000,000 the movie has had a return of almost three times that.

There have been several good comic to film adaptations; and several not so good. But how can you possibly go wrong with a storyline like Hellboy's? He is a demon that was born in WWII when Nazis wanted to use him for military strategic actions; in other words World Domination. To prevent this from happening Allied Forces headed by Professor Trevor (Broom) Bruttenholm, rescued him and took him back to the secret society founded by Broom, the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense). There Hellboy was raised like a son by Broom and taught how to develop his paranormal gifts to battle the forces of evil.

With a decent, action-oriented director in del Toro and a lead character played by the imposing Ron Perlman (Alien: Resurrection, Romeo is Bleeding) there really was no way for this movie to go bad. It kept with the basic outline for the story and using the best Hollywood magic, Hellboy comes to life on the big screen. This adaptation has done so well that Hellboy II: The Golden Army is set for release in August of 2008. Guillermo del Toro will direct and Ron Perlman will once again reprise his role as Hellboy. If the first movie is any indication, with monetary success and two awards; the second one will be a blockbuster triumph as well.

Sources include:

www.sonypictures.com

www.imdb.com/title/tt0167190/b usiness

www.imdb.com

www.hellboy.com

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