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==Storia editoriale==
La prima idea per il personaggio di Hellboy [[Mike Mignola]] l'ebbe nel [[1991]] quando realizzò un'illustrazione in bianco e nero di un demone per un opuscolo del ''Great Salt Lake Comic-Con''. Questo personaggio aveva scritto sulla cintura "Hell Boy" e anche se non aveva alcun piano all'epoca, il nome gli piacque<ref name="Back21">{{cite journal|last=Irving|first=Christopher|date=April 2007|title=The Genesis of Hellboy|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=21|pages=3–5}}</ref>. Quel disegno venne incluso nel volume ''The Art of Hellboy'' e utilizzato come base per la statua ''First Hellboy'' realizzata da Mondo Tees.
https://hellboy.fandom.com/wiki/Christopher_Golden
Una seconda illustrazione in cui compare un prototipo di Hellboy Mignola la realizzò nel [[1993]] in coppia con [[Nicola Mari]] per la copertina del quarto numero della rivista ''Dime Press'' in cui un grigio Hellboy sta assalendo un atipico [[Nathan Never (personaggio)|Nathan Never]] dotato di ali e coda diaboliche e con in mano un [[crocifisso]].
Hellboy originated in 1991 with a drawing [[Mike Mignola]] did for a [[FanX|Great Salt Lake Comic-Con]] promotional pamphlet of a demon with the name "Hell Boy" written on his belt. Mignola had initially no intention of doing anything serious with the concept, but eventually decided he liked the name.<ref name="Back21">{{cite journal|last=Irving|first=Christopher|date=April 2007|title=The Genesis of Hellboy|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=21|pages=3–5}}</ref>
Later, Mignola became interested in doing a creator-owned comic, as he felt it made more sense to create his own characters for the stories he wanted to tell, rather than trying to shoehorn existing characters into these stories. Mignola elaborated, "The kinds of stories I wanted to do I had in mind before I created Hellboy. It's not like I created Hellboy and said, 'Hey, now what does this guy do?' I knew the kinds of stories I wanted to do, but just needed a main guy." He initially created Hellboy as part of a team of five, but scrapped this idea when he realized he could not think of any team names that he liked.<ref name="Back21" />
BeforePrima ''Hellboy''di wasproporre publishedil independentlyprogetto atalla Dark Horse Comics, theMignola conceptincontrò wasanche initiallyun pitchedgruppo todi adirigenti boarddella ofDc directorsComics forche [[DCapprezzarono Comics]],il who loved itpersonaggio, butma didnon notil likeriferimento the idea of it involving "Hell".all'Inferno<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bamkapow.com/hellboy2-tokens.php|title=Hellboy II: The Golden Army|work=Bam! Kapow!|access-date=2011-02-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625232409/http://www.bamkapow.com/hellboy2-tokens.php|archive-date=June 25, 2009}}</ref> .▼Much like other American comic book superheroes, such as [[Batman]], [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]], [[Iron Man]], [[Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)|Daredevil]], and [[Spawn (character)|Spawn]], Hellboy is constantly tormented by the knowledge of his past. One example being in ''Wake the Devil'' where he describes his mindset since the aftermath of ''Seed of Destruction'' by saying, "I ''like'' not knowing. I've gotten by for fifty-two years without knowing. I sleep good ''not knowing''."
▲Before ''Hellboy'' was published independently at Dark Horse Comics, the concept was initially pitched to a board of directors for [[DC Comics]], who loved it, but did not like the idea of it involving "Hell".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bamkapow.com/hellboy2-tokens.php|title=Hellboy II: The Golden Army|work=Bam! Kapow!|access-date=2011-02-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625232409/http://www.bamkapow.com/hellboy2-tokens.php|archive-date=June 25, 2009}}</ref>
The early stories were conceived and drawn by Mignola with a script written by [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and some later stories have been crafted by creators other than Mignola, including [[Christopher Golden]], [[Guy Davis (comics)|Guy Davis]], [[Ryan Sook]], and [[Duncan Fegredo]]. The increasing commitments from the ''Hellboy'' franchise meant that 2008 [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] ''In the Chapel of Moloch'' was the first ''Hellboy'' comic Mignola had provided the script and art for since ''The Island'' in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18580|title=Going to the Chapel: Mignola Returns to Drawing ''Hellboy''|work=[[Comic Book Resources]]|date=October 27, 2008}}</ref>
Beyond the ''Hellboy'' comic and its associated spinoffs, Hellboy has made appearances in other publications:
Great Salt Lake Comic-Con pamphlet
The character name "Hell Boy" was included in a drawing by Mike Mignola of a demon character in a black and white illustration, with the later recognized name appearing on the demon's belt buckle. This image, accompanied by a short biography of Mike Mignola and his latest creation, appeared in the pamphlet in 1991. It is the first published mention of the later recognized name. This image was reprinted in ''The Art of Hellboy''. This image was also used to create the “First Hellboy” statue by Mondo Tees, in both black and white and full color.
''Dime Press''
A prototype incarnation of Hellboy appeared on the cover of ''Dime Press'' #4 (Glamour International Production, 1993), an obscure Italian fanzine, with "Hellboy©Mignola 93" written at the bottom of the cover. The cover, illustrated by Mignola and by the Italian artist Nicola Mari, shows Hellboy in the act of attacking a "diabolic" version of the Italian SF comic book character [[Nathan Never]] (with bat wings and pointed tail). Mari at the time was one of the artists that worked on Nathan Never, and the first two years of the life of this comic were the main topic of the fanzine. With the exception of the cover, there is no other mention of Hellboy within the fanzine. The character shown was still in a draft stage, and although close to the final design of Hellboy, it had gray skin and an outfit not common to the character.
''San Diego Comic-Con Comics''
''Mike Mignola's Hellboy'' by Mike Mignola and John Byrne featured the character's first full appearance, and was a four-page black-and-white story that had an approximately 1,500 book print run. It was published by [[Dark Horse Comics]] in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993) for distribution at the [[Comic-Con International|San Diego Comic-Con]] [[Comic book convention|convention]] held in [[San Diego]], [[California]]. It was also reprinted in The Comic's Buyers Guide #1069, along with an interview with creator Mike Mignola.<ref name="HBSDC">{{cite web|url=http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1993-sdcc2.html|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090707120729/http://www.hellboy.com/_rev1/comic_1993-sdcc2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-07-07|title=''San Diego Comic Con Comics'' #2|access-date=2009-02-21|work=Hellboy.com}}</ref>
La prima storia lunga di Hellboy è la miniserie ''Il seme della distruzione'' pubblicata nel 1994 a cui hanno fatto seguito storie autoconclusive e miniserie pubblicate in albi eponimi oppure all'interno di riviste contenitore come ''Dark Horse presents...''. Nelle edizioni in volume degli archi narrativi della serie Mignola ha molte volte incluso al loro interno storie inedite le quali o concludono la trama ponendosi come nuovo epilogo oppure sono indipendenti rispetto ad essa.
Hellboy travels to an American [[ghost town]], where he encounters a mangy mutt that transforms into [[Anubis]], the [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] god of [[Mummy|mummification]].<ref name="SDBook">{{Cite book|first=Mike|last=Mignola|year=2004|title=Hellboy: Seed of Destruction|publisher=Dark Horse Comics|isbn=978-1-59307-094-6|url=https://archive.org/details/hellboy00mich}}</ref>
Con il tempo Mignola ha stretto solide collaborazioni con alcuni sceneggiatori (Christopher Golden, John Arcudi, Scott Allie, Chris Roberson) e disegnatori (Richard Corben, Christopher Mitten, Matt Smith, Laurence Campbell, Duncan Fegredo, Guy Davis, Ben Stenbeck) per lo sviluppo delle storie del suo personaggio e soprattutto dei diversi spin-off che negli anni si sono affiancati alle pubblicazioni incentrate sul solo Hellboy. Vera colonna dell'universo narrativo del personaggio è il colorista Dave Stewart che ha lavorato sulla maggior parte degli albi pubblicati dal 1996 in poi.
The story was collected in the trade paperback ''[[Hellboy: Seed of Destruction]]''.<ref name="SDTPB">{{cite web|url=http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/12-743/Hellboy-Volume-1-Seed-of-Destruction-TPB|title=Hellboy: Seed of Destruction|access-date=2009-02-21|work=Dark Horse Comics}}</ref>
OnIl Julyprimo 8,albo 2014,spin-off justè priorstato topubblicato nel Marzo 1998 intitolato ''Drums of the Dead'' dedicato al personaggio di [[ SanAbraham DiegoSapien|Abe Comic-ConSapien]]. International|SDCCTra 2014Dicembre 2001 e Febbraio 2002 è stata rilasciata la prima miniserie dedicata al [[Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense|B.P.R.D.]] come esperimento per verificare se l'universo narrativo di Hellboy potesse includere storie che non lo vedessero protagonista<ref>Mike Mignola, EntertainmentAfterward Weeklyfrom ''B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs'' trade paperback, February 23, 2005</ref>. Nel Dicembre 2014 debutta ''Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.''E che è contemporaneamente uno spin-off di Hellboy e di ''B.P.R.D.''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Christenson|first1=Kurt|title="Hellboy and the B.P.R.D." delves into Hellboy's—and his creator's—past|url=http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/07/08/hellboy-and-the-b-p-r-d-delves-into-hellboys-and-his-creators-past/|website=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> and Nerdist<ref>{{cite web|last1=Casey|first1=Dan|title=SDCC Exclusive: Alex Maleev Talks Dark Horse's New "Hellboy and the BPRD" Series|url=http://www.nerdist.com/2014/07/sdcc-exclusive-alex-maleev-talks-dark-horses-new-hellboy-the-bprd-series/|website=Nerdist|access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> . announced ''Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.'', a series that was simultaneously a spinoff of both ''Hellboy'' and ''B.P.R.D.'' Each volume focuses on a single year, beginning the year Hellboy first became a Bureau agent, 1952. ▼The series, focused on the titular [[Hellboy]], spawned the Hellboy Universe. There are generally two types of Hellboy stories; Pre-Cavendish (stories set chronologically before the first miniseries ''[[Hellboy: Seed of Destruction]]'') and Post-Cavendish (stories set chronologically after the first miniseries). Post-Cavendish stories are usually very continuity heavy, and require the reader to be relatively familiar with Hellboy's history. Pre-Cavendish stories tend to be primarily short, stand-alone stories.
In addition to the comics, the ''Hellboy'' novels written by author [[Christopher Golden]] are also considered in-continuity.<ref>Christopher Golden, [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=25618 "Post on the CBR Hellboy forum"], ''Comic Book Resources'', January 7, 2011</ref>
In addition to the standard trade paperbacks, ''Hellboy'' stories are collected in oversized hardcovers known as library editions, and paperback omnibuses.
▲On July 8, 2014, just prior to [[San Diego Comic-Con International|SDCC 2014]], Entertainment Weekly<ref>{{cite web|last1=Christenson|first1=Kurt|title="Hellboy and the B.P.R.D." delves into Hellboy's—and his creator's—past|url=http://shelf-life.ew.com/2014/07/08/hellboy-and-the-b-p-r-d-delves-into-hellboys-and-his-creators-past/|website=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> and Nerdist<ref>{{cite web|last1=Casey|first1=Dan|title=SDCC Exclusive: Alex Maleev Talks Dark Horse's New "Hellboy and the BPRD" Series|url=http://www.nerdist.com/2014/07/sdcc-exclusive-alex-maleev-talks-dark-horses-new-hellboy-the-bprd-series/|website=Nerdist|access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref> announced ''Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.'', a series that was simultaneously a spinoff of both ''Hellboy'' and ''B.P.R.D.'' Each volume focuses on a single year, beginning the year Hellboy first became a Bureau agent, 1952.
A new series focused on young Hellboy in the 1940s was announced November 2020.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Weiss|first1=Josh|title=Mike Mignola & Tom Sniegoski Set Sail With 'Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land' Miniseries|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshweiss/2020/11/09/mike-mignola--tom-sniegoski-set-sail-with-young-hellboy-the-hidden-land-miniseries/|website=Forbes}}</ref>
''[[Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense|B.P.R.D.]]'' ([[Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense]]) began as an experiment to see if the Hellboy Universe could be expanded with stories without [[Hellboy]] in them.<ref>Mike Mignola, Afterward from ''B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs'' trade paperback, February 23, 2005</ref> It started with an untitled three-page promotional piece before launching into the three-issue miniseries ''[[B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth and Other Stories|Hollow Earth]]''. As the series grew, it was split into "story cycles." There are three major cycles: ''Plague of Frogs,'' ''Hell on Earth,'' and ''The Devil You Know,'' as well as two minor cycles ''1946–1948'' and ''Vampire.'' The trade ''B.P.R.D.: Being Human'' is the only remaining book from the original series that is not a part of any existing story cycle.
The ''Plague of Frogs'' cycle was published from 2002 to 2010, though it was not known as such at the time. When it came time to collect the stories into omnibus editions, the material collected in trades 1–8, 10–12, and 14 was retroactively retitled ''B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs.'' [[Guy Davis (comics)|Guy Davis]] was the primary artist on the series and [[John Arcudi]] joined Mike Mignola as co-writer with the miniseries ''The Dead'' in 2004. ''Plague of Frogs'' is collected in the four volumes of the ''B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs'' Omnibus Editions (three trades in each volume).
<nowiki>''</nowiki>B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth<nowiki>''</nowiki> is a direct continuation of the <nowiki>''</nowiki>B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs<nowiki>''</nowiki> cycle dealing with the apocalyptic events in the wake of the Frog War. For the one hundredth issue, it officially shifted from a series of miniseries to a monthly ongoing series. John Arcudi is the lead writer with Mike Mignola. Unlike the previous cycle, which was visually defined by mostly a single artist, <nowiki>''</nowiki>Hell on Earth<nowiki>''</nowiki> had many artists on the title.
Following ''B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs'' and ''B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth'' is the third and final story cycle of ''B.P.R.D.''. Scott Allie is the lead writer with Mike Mignola. The primary artist on the title is [[Laurence Campbell]].
The ''1946–1948'' cycle deals with the early years of the B.P.R.D. The cycle was originally planned to go for longer, on into the 1950s,<ref>Shaun Manning, [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=12754 "Mignola on Hellboy's Extended Universe"], ''Comic Book Resources'', March 3, 2008</ref> but it was cut short because Mike Mignola felt he had too many books going on.<ref>Alex Dueben, [http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Mike+Mignola%E2%80%99s+Amazing+Screw-On+Head/ "Mike Mignola’s Amazing Screw-On Head"], ''Suicide Girls'', October 6, 2010</ref> [[Joshua Dysart]] was the lead writer for this series, although the final miniseries was written by John Arcudi to connect with what he was doing in ''B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth.'' In addition to ''1946'', ''1947'' and ''1948'', the series also includes the short stories ''Bishop Olek’s Devil'' and ''And What Shall I Find There?''
The trades ''B.P.R.D.: 1946'' and ''B.P.R.D.: 1947'' were originally volumes 9 and 13 of the original ''B.P.R.D.'' numbering before the ''B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs'' omnibuses were devised. Reprints of these volumes did not have numbers on their spines after the release of the ''Plague of Frogs'' omnibuses.
This was discreetly introduced as a new cycle of ''B.P.R.D.'' when the trade come out with a number 1 on its spine and ''"B.P.R.D.: Vampire"'' written in the series box (instead of just the usual ''"B.P.R.D."''). Picking up after ''B.P.R.D.: 1948'', ''Vampire'' follows the story of B.P.R.D. Agent Simon Anders as he hunts vampires. The cycle is written and drawn by twins Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon with Mike Mignola. Mike Mignola has said the twins have the freedom to write and draw more stories with this character if they wish.<ref>{{cite web|last=Casey|first=Dan|title=Comic Book Day: To Hell and Back with Mike Mignola|url=http://www.nerdist.com/2013/02/comic-book-day-to-hell-and-back-with-mike-mignola/|work=Interview|publisher=Nerdist.com|access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>
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