Hellboy Animated

Hellboy Animated are original straight-to-DVD animated films based upon the Hellboy comic books by Mike Mignola. Both films, Sword of Storms and Blood and Iron, received the signature of Mike Mignola and Guillermo del Toro. A third film was being planned but was never greenlit.^[1]

Cast

Ron Perlman, who played Hellboy in the live-action movie, also provides the voice of the character in the animated version. Selma Blair and John Hurt also reprise their roles from the film of Liz Sherman and Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, respectively. The voice of Abe Sapien is Doug Jones, who played Abe in prosthetic work in the live-action movies but did not provide the voice for the first film - Abe's vocals for that film were done by David Hyde Pierce - he did, however, voice the character in the second film. Kate Corrigan is voiced by Peri Gilpin.

Music is by Christopher Drake.

Films

Sword of Storms

In Sword of Storms, Hellboy and Kate Corrigan are dispatched to Japan to solve the mystery of a professor possessed by the Japanese demons Thunder and Lightning. The demons wish to get their hands on a powerful haunted sword, which will free them, and allow them to unleash their brothers and destroy the world. While Hellboy is sent into an alternate dimension, facing Yokai on the way, his B.P.R.D. teammates, Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman, try to stop one of the Dragons on the first wave of the coming chaos.

Blood and Iron

Hellboy: Blood and Iron deals with Professor Trevor Bruttenholm's experience with a vampiress (the blood countess) in 1934 and the present day. Hellboy also faces off against Hecate. The DVD for this also includes a bonus short called Hellboy: Iron Shoes.

Comics

As with the DC animated universe's spin-off comic books, Dark Horse released three volumes under the Hellboy Animated range. These continued the adventures of the animated characters.

• Hellboy Animated:
  • The Black Wedding (80 pages, January 2007, ISBN 1-59307-700-9)^[2] contains:
    • "The Black Wedding" (written by Jim Pascoe with art by Rick Lacy)
    • "Pyramid of Death" (written by Tad Stones with art by Fabio Laguna)
  • Judgment Bell (80 pages, June 2007, ISBN 1-59307-799-8)^[3] contains:
    • "The Judgment Bell" (written by Jim Pascoe with art by Rick Lacy)
    • Unspecified (written by Tad Stones)
  • The Menagerie (80 pages, December 2007, ISBN 1-59307-861-7)^[4] contains:
    • "The Menagerie" (written by Jason Hall with art by Rick Lacy)
    • "Small Victories" (written by Nate Piekos with art by Fabio Laguna)

Merchandise

Gentle Giant Ltd, famed for its statues, has been given the license for the Hellboy Animated action figures. A first-look Hellboy figure shrinkwrapped to a copy of the Blood and Iron DVD was released as a Best Buy exclusive.^[5][6]

References

1. Hellboy Animated: I Need Mignola to Storyboard for Me
2. Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Hellboy Animated Volume 1: The Black Wedding
3. Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Hellboy Animated Volume 2: Judgment Bell
4. Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Hellboy Animated Volume 3: The Menagerie TPB
5. http://www.gotohellboy.com/site/dvd-exclusives.html
6. https://www.gentlegiantltd.com/catalog/search/brand/7

External links

• Official Hellboy Animated production blog
• Hellboy: Sword of Storms at the Internet Movie Database
• Hellboy: Blood and Iron at the Internet Movie Database