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Hellboy Universe Reading Order (Hellboy, BPRD, Abe Sapien), from the mind of Mike Mignola

The Hellboy Universe is vast and full of monsters. It’s also composed of multiple series and miniseries, stories published in a non-chronological order. The following article is not the ultimate reading order. It’s a reading guide, an attempt to offer a good view of one of the best comic book universes.

Created by writer-artist Mike Mignola (you can read about the origin of the creation of the character here), Hellboy is a half-demon who was summoned from Hell to Earth as a baby by the “Mad Monk” Grigori Rasputin for the Nazis. Adopted by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, the man behind the United States Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (also called the B.P.R.D.), Hellboy grew up with humans and learned to hunt monsters. As an adult, he is easily identifiable. After all, he is red-skinned, huge, with a tail, horns, and cloven hooves for feet, and his right hand is made of stone.

Working with the B.P.R.D., he hunts Nazis, witches, and other types of Lovecraftian monsters, teaming up with the amphibian humanoid Abe Sapien, and pyrokinetic Liz Sherman. As the years pass, Hellboy must confront who he really is and fulfill his destiny as the B.P.R.D. becomes the first line of defense against cosmic menaces.

Hellboy Universe Reading Order:

Chronological or non-chronological? In the beginning, the Hellboy series was a collection of short stories. They were not published in chronological fashion. You can read them in chronological order if you want (in that case, the best way is to pick up the omnibus editions), but if it’s your first reading, you’d better start without the added complication of jumping around. Follow the original publication order. Once familiar with the Hellboy Universe, you can try to read everything to see if it’s a different experience. Your choice.

In the following reading order, we’ll start with Hellboy short stories. For all of the prequel books published later, we’ll come back to them in the second part of the guide.

Because the main story is finished at that point, I decided to move some Hellboy books out of the way, and I put them in the section about the prequel books (like the Hellboy & the BPRD series). The fact is that you can read them when you want, and re-reading the stories, I thought they were a distraction, taking me out of the most important developments at that moment. I realized I’ll have more pleasure revisiting them in the context of the prequels.

What are the main series? Even if Hellboy is the most famous series from this big universe created by Mike Mignola, there’s a lot more. The most notable ones are Hellboy, Hellboy in Hell, B.P.R.D., and Abe Sapien. Add to that the spin-offs Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder, Lobster Johnson, and a lot of miniseries.

What are the best editions? The Trade Paperbacks don’t collect the stories in chronological order, unlike the omnibuses. The best? You decide. In my collection, I have a lot of Hellboy TPBs and mostly omnibuses for the B.P.R.D. stuff. I kind of jump around. It’s not easy, I’ll admit. For the reading order, I prioritize TPBs, but I added notes about the omnibuses too. I hope this will help you.

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Where to find Hellboy & the B.P.R.D.: The Omnibus Collection?

From Seed of Destruction to Koshchei the Deathless, The Plague of Frogs, the solo adventures of Abe Sapiens, Sir Edward Grey, Lobster Johnson, the 1950s investigations of the B.P.R.D. and every step Hellboy made in Hell, you can find those comics in the omnibus collection published by Dark Horse Comics. Hardcovers or paperback reprints usually collecting the content of three previously published trade paperbacks in chronological order, those editions are a great way to explore this massive comic book universe. But they are not listed here, they have their dedicated guide, the Hellboy Omnibus Reading Order!

  1. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Main Story
    1. Welcome to the Hellboy Universe
    2. The Plague of Frogs
    3. Hell on Earth
    4. The Devil You Know
    5. The New World
  2. Previously in the Hellboy universe: Prequels and Side Stories
    1. Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder
    2. The Lobster Johnson Pulp Adventures
    3. B.P.R.D. during the 1940s (including Young Hellboy)
    4. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The 1950s and Beyond
    5. Other Hellboy Solo Adventures
  3. Out of Continuity Hellboy Adventures

I. Welcome to the Hellboy Universe

The earliest books in the Hellboy series established the central characters, mythological framework, and recurring themes that would come to define the larger Hellboy Universe.

Seed of Destruction introduced Hellboy as a paranormal investigator for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). Alongside him appeared key figures such as Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman, who would remain integral to the story in subsequent volumes. For new readers, this first volume is generally regarded as the most accessible and recommended starting point for entering the Hellboy Universe.

  • Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
    Collects Hellboy: Seed of Destruction #1-4. The Introduction of Hellboy, Abe Sapiens, Liz Sherman, and the B.P.R.D.
  • Hellboy: Wake the Devil
    Collects Hellboy: Wake the Devil #1-5.
  • Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others
    Collects short stories like “The Baba Yaga,” “Wolves of Saint August,” “The Corpse and the Iron Shoes,” “A Christmas Underground,” “The Chained Coffin,” and “Almost Colossus.”
  • Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom
    Collects short stories like “The Right Hand of Doom,” “Pancakes,” “The Vårcolac,”  “King Vold,” and “Box Full of Evil.” 

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Abe Sapien is not as well-known as Hellboy, but he’s an incredible character and a major player in the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. Universe. His solo adventures were, at first, about his early solo missions. You can read them at any time, but I decided to put them here because it’s a good way to understand Abe before his backstory becomes really important in the B.P.R.D. Plague of Frogs storyline.

B.P.R.D.: Being Human collects past stories, but also more recent ones that give a better understanding of the connection between Roger the Homunculus and Hellboy.

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Initially, I took out of the reading order The Troll Witch and Others, Hellboy: The Crooked Man and Others, Weird Tales, The Bride of Hell and Others, and a few others because they are more (great) short stories, but add nothing to the overarching narrative. You can read them here, or when you want, really. I put them in the section about the prequel books with even more stories set before Seed of Destruction.

II. The Plague of Frogs

During this period, Hellboy stops working for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, embarking on solo adventures that, while significant to his personal arc, remain largely separate from the overarching storyline developed in the companion series B.P.R.D. The primary focus of the expanded universe shifts to the so-called “Plague of Frogs” saga, which chronicles the rise of the frog monsters first encountered in Seed of Destruction and the B.P.R.D.’s escalating battles against them.

Although Hellboy and B.P.R.D. share the same continuity, the two series were designed to be read independently. Connections exist—occasional references, overlapping characters, and thematic parallels—but readers who choose to follow only Hellboy will find his storyline coherent on its own. Unlike Hellboy, B.P.R.D. quickly became heavily serialized. It’s better not to skip one book in the series.

The original Hellboy series comes to a close with the events of The Storm and the Fury, in which Hellboy fulfils a key part of his destiny and seemingly meets his end. However, this does not mark the end of the character’s story. The story continues directly in Hellboy in Hell, where Hellboy awakens in the afterlife and embarks on a different style of adventures. Also, a lot more Hellboy stories set in the past have come out since. Go to the “prequel“ section below for more information.

III. B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth

At that point, the story of the B.P.R.D. series entered a new era. The stories are not isolated investigations as the series morphed into a full-scale epic, depicting the decline of human civilization under overwhelming otherworldly threats, and the humans fight for survival. At the forefront is the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, with Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, Johann Kraus and Kate Corrigan leading the fight.

Before reading Hell on Earth: Russia, you may want to read B.P.R.D. 1946-48 to familiarize yourself with the character of Varvara. It’s not a necessity, though.

This is when Abe Sapien left the B.P.R.D. to lead his own solo series. What happened in his series doesn’t affect B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth and vice versa. All you need to know is that the Abe Sapien series must be read before B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth: End of Days. I chose to alternate between the titles because it’s more fluid like that.

This is a good point to reconnect with Hellboy with the Hellboy in Hell series that picks up his story after The Storm and the Fury. There’s no apparent link with B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth, but some events taking place in Hell have consequences in the world of the living.

Before reading Metamorphosis, you may want to read Sledgehammer 44 to familiarize yourself with the Vril suit. It’s optional, but it helps.

IV. B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know

This is where the main story ends, concluding character arcs for Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, and other central figures. The surviving members of the B.P.R.D. stand alongside humanity for the ultimate confrontation with cosmic and infernal forces.

The Devil You Know cycle serves as the definitive endpoint of the primary Hellboy/B.P.R.D. saga, providing a natural conclusion to more than two decades of interconnected stories (but it’s not the end of the Hellboy Universe!).

V. The New World

Although the central saga of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. concludes with The Devil You Know, the Hellboy Universe continues in a new cycle of stories collectively called The New World. Rather than focusing on Hellboy or the core B.P.R.D. team, the new titles introduce fresh characters, revisit surviving figures, and expand the universe’s mythology.

Previously in the Hellboy universe: Prequels and Side Stories

You can’t limit the Hellboy Universe to the main storylines. From the start, Mike Mignola wrote stories taking place in the past. As the franchise expanded, additional characters emerged. Among them, we met Lobster Johnson, Sir Edward Grey (Witchfinder), and the Victorian occult adventurers of Rise of the Black Flame. Each contributes to the expanded mythology by adding perspectives beyond Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. So, there are still a lot of books to read.

What follows is a chronological presentation of these stories, with details on the most effective points at which to read them in relation to the main storylines.

Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder

Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder is a spin-off series set within the Hellboy Universe, focusing primarily on Sir Edward Grey, an agent of Queen Victoria and a dedicated paranormal investigator. The series blends Victorian-era detective work with supernatural horror, exploring occult threats across 19th-century Britain.

Occasionally, the series has expanded to include tangentially related stories, such as The Burial of Katharine Baker, which follows another witchfinder, Henry Hood. Notably, The Mysteries of Unland represents one of the few stories in the Hellboy Universe in which creator Mike Mignola was not involved in writing. In August 2016, writer Chris Roberson took over the series.

Those Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder are not the only adventures featuring the Victorian investigator, but he now often appears in other series as a member of the Silver Lantern Club or while working with other weird detectives. There are also a lot more characters to meet and follow through the centuries. 

The Lobster Johnson Pulp Adventures

Lobster Johnson is a Hellboy Universe spin-off series centered on the eponymous vigilante, active primarily between 1932 and 1939. Known for his pulp-inspired crime-fighting style, Johnson combats both ordinary criminals and occult threats, employing a combination of ingenuity, martial skill, and supernatural knowledge.

The first Lobster Johnson miniseries, The Iron Prometheus, is the last of his adventures and the one you really should read as part of the overarching narrative surrounding Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. However, the other stories also contains elements that are connected to the Hellboy mythology, making the series an interesting complementary reading. But you can also read it independently from the rest. 

The Burning Hand, Satan Smells a Rat, and Get the Lobster, and the short story “Lobster Johnson: The Empty Chair” are collected in the first Lobster Johnson Omnibus.

The Iron Prometheus, The Pirate’s Ghost, and Metal Monsters of Midtown, A Chain Forged in Life, and the short story “The Killer in My Skull” are collected in the second Lobster Johnson Omnibus.

With World War II raging, Trevor Bruttenholm is thrown into a treacherous journey that leads him face-to-face with Rasputin. Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon is a prequel that tells the story of how Bruttenholm ended up on the trail of Rasputin and how he found Hellboy. Must read. 

  • Sledgehammer 44
    Collects Sledgehammer 44 #1-2 and Lightning War #1-3. Takes place 10 years after Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus. It’s recommended to read it before B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth: Metamorphosis. Also collected in Hellboy Universe: The Secret Histories.

B.P.R.D. during the 1940s

Also collected in the B.P.R.D. 1946-1948 Omnibus, the trilogy of B.P.R.D. miniseries set during the 1940s focus on the early days of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, right after World War II, with a focus on Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, the leader of the team and the adoptive father of Hellboy, the young Hellboy himself, a group of war veterans helping the professor, and the demon Varvara.

  • B.P.R.D. 1946
    Collects B.P.R.D. 1946 #1-5, Bishop Olek’s Devil.
  • B.P.R.D. 1947
    Collects B.P.R.D. 1947 #1-5, And What Shall I Find There?
FIELD EVIDENCE
📂 Young Hellboy

Set in 1947, the Young Hellboy series is done in a old-school pulp-adventure style set during Hellboy’s childhood, when he was a just kid with a head full of imagination following his father.

  • B.P.R.D. 1948
    Collects B.P.R.D. 1948 #1-5.
  • B.P.R.D. Vampire
    Collects B.P.R.D. Vampire #1-5 and Lost Ones. Picking up after B.P.R.D.: 1948, this is the story of Agent Simon Anders as he hunts vampires.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The 1950s and Beyond

As you may have guessed, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. is about Hellboy and his adventures with the B.P.R.D., focusing on the early adventures of Hellboy as an agent of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense during the 1950s. These comics depict Hellboy in his formative years as an agent, learning the skills and strategies necessary to confront supernatural threats, while building relationships with his colleagues at the Bureau. Those stories are largely episodic and can be read at any time. 

Other Hellboy Solo Adventures

Those stories are part of the original Hellboy series. I took them out of the main reading order because they slowed things down. They are great and enrich the world of Hellboy, but they also don’t add much to the main serialized storylines. If you only read the Hellboy series and not the B.P.R.D. one, you can read them after Seed of Destruction and before Conqueror Worm.

  • Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others
    Collects short stories like “The Penanggalan,” “The Hydra and The Lion,” “The Troll-Witch,” “The Vampire of Prague,” and the 2-issue miniseries “Makoma”.
  • Hellboy: The Crooked Man and Others
    Collects “The Crooked Man” miniseries, one-shots like “They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships”, “In the Chapel of Moloch,” and “The Mole.”

  • Hellboy: The Bride of Hell and Others
    Collects Hellboy in Mexico, Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil, Hellboy: The Sleeping and the Dead #1-2, Hellboy: The Bride of Hell, “Hellboy: The Whittier Legacy,” and Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish || The “Hellboy in Mexico” story is also collected in… Hellboy in Mexico.
  • Hellboy: Weird Tales
    Presented as ‘old-fashioned pulp fun’, it’s a collection of short stories by multiple authors, all over the place chronologically speaking.
  • Hellboy: The Bones of Giants
    Collects Hellboy: The Bones of Giants issues #1-4. Based on the illustrated novel by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Set in 1988, between “The Transformation of J.H. O’Donnell” and “A Christmas Underground“.
  • Koshchei the Deathless
    Collects Koshchei the Deathless #1-6. In the main continuity, it would take place before Hellboy in Hell: The Death Card.

Out-of-Continuity Hellboy Adventures

Some Hellboy Universe stories exist outside the main continuity and do not directly impact the canonical events of Hellboy or the B.P.R.D. These works often explore “what-if” scenarios, playful reinterpretations, or alternative settings and tones. 

If you want to read more Hellboy adventures, you can! There are some novels by various authors. It’s solo stories only.

  • Hellboy: The Lost Army – A novel by Christopher Golden, illustrated by Mike Mignola. The story takes place in 1986 and is about Hellboy searching for a British archeological team and the Lost Army they were after at the edge of the Great Sand Sea.
  • Hellboy: The Fire Wolves – A novel by Tim Lebbon. Hellboy is called to Amalfi, Italy, by Franca, a young member of the Esposito family as she fears that a dark curse on her family is about to claim her cousin as its next victim. Hellboy encounters a flaming demon–a fire wolf.
  • Hellboy: The Ice Wolves – A novel by Mark Chadbourn. Hellboy races against time to prevent a devastating wave of primal savagery. And so he is drawn to Boston’s Beacon Hill and the Grant Mansion, believed to be the most haunted house in New England, where the truth may lie buried.
  • Hellboy: All-Seeing Eye – A novel by Mark Morris. Called in to investigate killings in London, B.P.R.D. agents Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman discover a wellspring of black magic under the streets and a sack of heads. Hellboy descends into the dark underworld of London, encountering demons who prophesy the opening of an Eye to the otherworld.
  • Hellboy: Odd Jobs – An anthology that collects short stories from famous authors like Brian Hodge, Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy A. Collins, Greg Rucka, Chet Williamson.
  • Hellboy: Odder Jobs – An anthology that collects short stories from famous authors like Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, Charles de Lint, Graham Joyce, and Sharyn McCrumb.
  • Hellboy: Oddest Jobs – An anthology that collects short stories from famous authors like Joe R. Lansdale, China Miéville, Barbara Hambly, Ken Bruen and Tad Williams.
  • Hellboy II: The Golden Army – a novelization of the second movie written by Robert Greenberger.
  • Hellboy: Emerald Hell – A novel by Tom Piccirilli. Hellboy comes to the crossroads in Enigma, Georgia, a small town plagued by strange occurrences. Sent to keep an eye on Sarah Nail, a young girl hiding from the curse of her family, he becomes entangled in the blood debt of evil mystical preacher, Brother Jester.
  • Lobster Johnson: The Satan Factory – A Novel by Thomas E. Sniegoski, taking place during the years before World War II. The Lobster has to stop a physician who stumbles across the power to transform men into monsters.

It’s a big one! Maybe I made a mistake. Let me know in the comments section what you would recommend. There are a lot of possible variations with this reading order, all inputs can be valuable!

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5 thoughts on “Hellboy Universe Reading Order (Hellboy, BPRD, Abe Sapien), from the mind of Mike Mignola”

  1. Sarah
    Reply

    Do you have any idea why Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus isn’t included in the first Lobster Johnson Omnibus when it’s first in the reading (and publishing) order? I haven’t read any LJ yet and am wondering if I should track down an old TPB or bank on this arc being included in a future omnibus.

    1. Fabien
      Reply

      I think it’s because the omnibus follows the chronological order of the stories. The Iron Prometheus takes place in 1937, it will probably be at the end of the second omnibus. I should probably change the reading order accordingly now that the Lobster Johnson series seems to have ended.

  3. Tol
    Reply

    I would probably add that Koschei TPB seems to be more important for the future direction of the franchise and maybe needs to be put in before or after devil you know in the main chronology?

    1. Fabien
      Reply

      As I wrote in the reading order, “Koshchei the Deathless” takes place before “Hellboy in Hell: The Death Card”. But if you are talking about the new Koschei series, “Koschei in Hell,” I’ll put it in the chronology when the book will be available, like the new Frankenstein story which also takes place in the main chronology.

  5. Jason
    Reply

    Thanks for writing this Fabien. I was under the impression the Hellboy main story had ended with the in Hell comics and stopped following in 2016. I didn’t really read the BPRD and HB universe comics back then. I am going through your list still but it’s quite rewarding reading about the larger HB universe. Cheers

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