Hellboy is published in French by Delcourt, in its Contrebande collection. There are two routes: the numbered softcover albums, volumes 1 to 19, released from 1999 to 2024 in an order that did not match the original American run, or the Hellboy Deluxe series, a large-format line since 2016 that collects the volumes in their original order with sketches new to French readers. To get started, begin with Deluxe 1 or volume 1.
Created in 1994, Hellboy took several years to settle in France, and its French edition still bears the marks of that start: offset numbering, reprints, large formats. Here is how to find your way around without buying the same story twice.
As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of protected artwork or dialogue.
The US original in brief
Hellboy was created by Mike Mignola and has been published by Dark Horse since 1994. The first story, Seed of Destruction, is credited to John Byrne as scripter and Mike Mignola as artist and writer, according to the French national library catalog. Richard Corben appears in the credits of some French volumes, and Dave Stewart is the credited colorist on the large-format editions.
Our article Hellboy collected editions covers the American volumes. This article deals only with what you can find in French: who published it, under what title and in what format.
The French editions, in order of release
Dark Horse France (1994)
The very first French editions came from Dark Horse France: Les Germes de la destruction (Seed of Destruction) in two parts (1994, the second in December 1994), followed by albums for Les Loups de Saint Auguste and Au nom du diable, whose dates are not given in the sources we consulted. These albums were later reissued by Delcourt. According to a review of Deluxe 1 in 2016, the translation that preceded that edition mostly reused the Dark Horse France one.
Semic and one-off appearances (2000 to 2004)
Semic published several Hellboy appearances outside his own series: Ghost number 5 (2000), which reprints issues 1 and 2 of Ghost/Hellboy; Rencontres (2004, Semic Books collection), which contains Batman/Hellboy/Starman, already released in 1999 in a Batman special issue; and number 18 of the Collection Image (2004), which reprints a crossover that originally ran in Savage Dragon. These are collector curiosities, not editions of the series.
Delcourt, Contrebande collection (since 1999)
Delcourt acquired the rights and published the series in its Contrebande collection. It did not start at the beginning: the first Delcourt album was Le Diable dans la boîte (The Devil in the Box), in November 1999, which was later numbered volume 5. What followed alternated new material and reprints of the Dark Horse France albums, which explains a numbering that does not follow release chronology. Volumes 1 to 6, for example, came out in this order: volume 5 in 1999, volume 3 in 2000, volume 4 in 2001, volume 1 in 2002, volume 6 in 2002, volume 2 in 2003.
The following volumes then appeared at a steadier pace, according to the dates we found: volume 7 Le Troisième souhait (2006, which also exists in a large-format black-and-white edition), volume 8 Trolls et sorcières (2008), volume 9 L'Appel des ténèbres (2008), volume 10 La Grande Battue (2010), volume 11 L'Homme tordu (2011), volume 12 La Fiancée de l'enfer (2012), volume 13 L'Ultime Tempête (2013), volume 14 Masques & monstres (2015), volume 15 Hellboy au Mexique (2016) and volume 16 Le Cirque de minuit (January 2018). Volumes 17 (Les Os des géants, March 2023), 18 (Le Club de la lanterne d'argent, September 2023) and 19 (In love, August 2024) extend the numbered series.
The sequel series, Hellboy en Enfer (Hellboy in Hell), has its own albums: Secrets de famille (April 2014) and La Carte de la mort (November 2016). Delcourt also published a special issue, La Bible infernale (November 2003), and several collections of short stories under the title Histoires bizarres, which we cover in our article on Hellboy's short stories.
Hellboy Deluxe (since 2016)
The Deluxe is Delcourt's premium reissue, modeled on the American Library Editions. It puts the albums back in their original order and adds sketches to each volume that had not been seen in France before.
- Deluxe 1 (November 30, 2016). Collects the first two stories, Les Germes de la destruction and Au nom du diable. An introduction by Scott Allie, an afterword by Mignola and a sketchbook complete the volume. Some extras from the earlier editions, notably series of drawings by other artists, are not included.
- Deluxe 2 (November 29, 2017). Collects volumes 3 to 5 of the series, 328 pages with more than 40 pages of sketches.
- Deluxe 3 (November 28, 2018). Collects volumes 6 and 7, 328 pages, with nearly 50 pages of previously unpublished sketches.
- Deluxe 4 (November 20, 2019). Collects volumes 8 and 11, with nearly 50 pages of sketches. The page count varies by source (328 from the publisher, 318 in one database).
- Deluxe 5 (February 2021), Deluxe 6 (November 24, 2021) and Deluxe 7 (January 18, 2023). They exist, but we do not detail their contents for lack of a clear catalog entry. Deluxe 7, at 352 pages, is the Hellboy en Enfer volume.
The format of the volumes we consulted is around 23.5 by 31 centimeters, in the Contrebande collection.
30th anniversary special edition (May 2024)
On May 15, 2024, Delcourt published a special edition for the character's thirtieth anniversary. Its exact contents could not be confirmed with a reliable source; we mention it without going into detail.
US / French correspondence
| French edition | French story | American original |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Horse France (1994) | Les Germes de la destruction, parts 1 and 2 | Seed of Destruction |
| Delcourt, volume 1 | Les Germes de la destruction (2002) | Seed of Destruction |
| Delcourt, volume 2 | Au nom du diable (2003) | Wake the Devil |
| Delcourt, volume 3 | Le Cercueil enchaîné (2000), collection of seven stories | The Chained Coffin and Others |
| Delcourt, volume 6 | Le Ver conquérant (2002) | The Conqueror Worm |
| Delcourt, volume 8 | Trolls et sorcières (2008), collection | The Troll Witch and Others |
| Deluxe 1 | Volumes 1 and 2 | Library Edition, volume 1 |
| Deluxe 2 | Volumes 3 to 5 | not detailed |
| Deluxe 3 | Volumes 6 and 7 | not detailed |
| Deluxe 4 | Volumes 8 and 11 | not detailed |
The American originals of the other volumes are not listed here: we did not cross-check them.
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Start my trial →Which edition to choose for your profile
You are new to Hellboy
Deluxe 1 or softcover volume 1 puts you in the right place: the first two stories, in order. The Deluxe is a premium volume; the softcover album is the simplest choice. Our starter guide offers a path through Mignola in general.
You want the first French edition
You will need to aim for the 1994 Dark Horse France albums and the first Delcourt albums, from 1999 to 2003. These are the oldest ones, and their translation has not been revised. The publication dates we found vary from one source to another for some volumes, a sign of reprints: go by the printing statement on the copy in your hands.
You like large formats
The Deluxe is made for you. Its volumes add previously unseen sketches and group several albums together. When volume 4 came out, the publisher announced seven or eight volumes in total; volume 7 appeared in January 2023, but we found no reliable announcement for what comes next.
You are completing a softcover run
Start from the Delcourt numbering, from volume 1 to volume 19, and note that volume 16 is sometimes numbered 17 in certain copyright notices. Check the cover and title of the volume, not just its number.
Pitfalls and points to watch
- The double numbering. Delcourt albums carry a series number, and the Deluxe carries a different one. Deluxe 4 contains volumes 8 and 11, not volume 4: this is the most common mix-up.
- Retouched translations. Deluxe 1 retranslated several texts and modernized some of Hellboy's expressions. The softcover album's translation is therefore not the Deluxe's: a reader who has read one will not find exactly the same wording in the other.
- Extras that change. Earlier editions had series of drawings by other artists that Deluxe 1 did not carry over. This is not a printing defect but an editorial choice.
- The translators. Jean-Paul Jennequin is credited on Le Cercueil enchaîné. For volume 1, sources disagree on the translator's name: one record gives Franck Reichert, another Anne Capuron and Martin Winckler. We do not take sides.
- Diverging dates. Le Cercueil enchaîné is dated March 2000 in one listing and November 2003 in a bookseller's record describing a 175-page printing. It may be a later printing; we do not take sides.
- Out-of-print editions. A reading article on Hellboy notes that some editions seem to be running out. Check availability before completing a series.
For the vocabulary of editions (softcover, printing, reprint), see our French-edition collector's glossary.
What these editions are worth in a collection
Hellboy softcover albums are bookstore editions, so their price follows mostly condition and availability. The 1994 Dark Horse France albums and the first Delcourt ones are the oldest, and their translation has since changed in Deluxe 1: that is what interests the collector of first French editions, though we cannot draw a pricing rule from it. Deluxe volumes trade like art books: the gap with the new price depends on the condition of the spine, corners and edges.
To estimate an album, the method stays the same: compare the new price with the publisher's catalog and with used copies in good condition, then look at the ratio between the two. A softcover volume in good condition from a series still in print sells close to new; an out-of-print volume can exceed its catalog price. Avoid thinking in terms of appreciation: a series published in several formats does not guarantee that any particular printing will rise. For the context of independent publishers in France, read Delcourt and independent comics.
Frequently asked questions
Delcourt has published Hellboy in its Contrebande collection since 1999, after the first Dark Horse France albums in 1994. Delcourt offers the numbered softcover albums and the large-format Deluxe series, as well as Hellboy en Enfer and special issues.
With volume 1, Les Germes de la destruction, or with Deluxe 1, which collects volumes 1 and 2 in a large format. Volume 1 only came out at Delcourt in 2002, hence the offset in the numbering.
Deluxe 1 collects volumes 1 and 2, Deluxe 2 volumes 3 to 5, Deluxe 3 volumes 6 and 7, Deluxe 4 volumes 8 and 11. Each volume adds previously unseen sketches, at least forty pages for the first two.
Not at first: Delcourt began with Le Diable dans la boîte, which became volume 5, then alternated new material and reprints. It then numbered its volumes to restore the original order. Release dates therefore do not follow the numbers.
For reading, yes on the volumes it covers: same stories, more sketches, and for Deluxe 1 partly retranslated texts. For a first-French-edition collection, no: the softcover albums remain the period editions. The choice depends on what you are looking for.
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