If you can't find the first volume of Hellboy after the movie, but you really want to dive into the Hellboy stories right away, The Chained Coffin is probably not a bad place to start. Sure, you won't get the origin of Hellboy as relates to Rasputin and the B.P.R.D., but you will get a little more information on his origin courtesy of "The Chained Coffin," a little information on current B.P.R.D. member Roger the Homunculus in "Almost Colossus," Mignola's favorite Hellboy story (and one of mine as well) in "The Corpse" and plenty of folklore-related stories that give you a sense of the character and the world he adventures in. Mignola intersperses these stories with his own short recollections of the tales, which gives way to fascinating insights about the myths and folklore that gave birth to the stories or juicy behind-the-scenes info like the original fate of Liz Sherman, which now seems almost inconceivable. The Chained Coffin is a Hellboy sampler, a variety of great standalones that when looked at together hint at why the character has earned such enduring popularity.
The Chained Coffin starts off with "The Corpse," the tale that was also recently reprinted as a quarter issue by Dark Horse. "The Corpse" deserves that much attention, though, because it really is a fun story that seems to capture all of what Hellboy is about. Obscure folklore, unusual quests, Hellboy's wisecracks and working guy demeanor played out alongside weird monsters and fables and of course a noble pursuit define the story. I love that Mignola makes the Faerie, who are in fact the villains of the piece, somewhat sympathetic in their reason for committing such a heinous act, and that he's able to combine horror (both the potential fate of the child and some of the creepier moments during his quest for a burial place) and humor (the dialogue with The Corpse, the unfortunate fate of Gruagach) along with some terrific action sequences.
Many of the stories in this volume revolve around folklore that I've never heard of, but which definitely benefits from being something a little bit older and well-told. It's nice to see more of Baba Yaga, one of the more gruesome villains of all folk tales, I love the unusual werewolves that crop up for "The Wolves of Saint August" and of course "The Chained Coffin" itself is quite the ripping yarn as well. "The Chained Coffin" is unusual for a Hellboy story in that it doesn't feature Hellboy punching anyone at the end. Instead, he's mostly observer to a haunting, tragic tale that might be the tale of his birth. Though Mignola's artwork maintains the more outrageous, in-your-face presentation of demons and evil than a folktale of this nature might generally have, in general the story reads as more of a creepy, haunting ghost story than a pulp adventure, and it's very powerful as a result.
Which is not to say that the pulp adventure style is missing in these pages. Indeed, there's no small amount of Hellboy kicking evil creatures' butts. One of the most enduring visuals from these pages sees Hellboy leaping into the air to tackle the magnificently-realized visual of Baba Yaga, and I also love the visuals of the Wolves of Saint August, tearing free of its human form and dripping blood from its immense fangs. The confrontation between Hellboy and the demons of "The Christmas Underground" is also a fantastic scene, vivid with fiery red and orange and interrupted by white panels that give off a sort of white heat intensity as a result. This is also one of the more overtly heroic and noble stories in the book, as Hellboy's physical quest is contrasted with the priest's spiritual ones.
The Chained Coffin is a great read, in some respects actually better than Seed of Destruction and Wake The Devil in that it can be broken up and read in smaller chunks, giving it a little more of the pulp magazine flavor that Hellboy has. I love the varying lengths, from involved stories like "Almost Colossus" and "The Wolves of Saint August" to the almost bite-sized snack type tale of "The Iron Shoes," which works largely on the strength of the daffy goblin with oversized iron shoes visual. Whatever you're looking for in Hellboy, be it larger-than-life action, atmospheric horror or imaginative folk tales, you'll find it in the pages of The Chained Coffin and Other Stories.
