# Is "Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom" by Mike Mignola a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse Comics, 2000) is identified by: First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 2000, ISBN 1-56971-489-0 (978-1-56971-489-8), the fourth Hellboy collection. Most of the contents first appeared in various anthologies and single issues; the 2000 trade paperback is the first collection of these stories, and King Volmer was printed here for the first time.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 2000, ISBN 1-56971-489-0 (978-1-56971-489-8), the fourth Hellboy collection
- It gathers shorter stories, among them Box Full of Evil, The Varcolac, and the first-printed King Volmer, several appearing in color for the first time after earlier black-and-white anthology and Dark Horse Presents appearances
- The first printing has no later-printing statement in the indicia
- Correct publisher/imprint: Dark Horse Comics

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mike Mignola |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| Year | 2000 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 2000, ISBN 1-56971-489-0 (978-1-56971-489-8), the fourth Hellboy collection |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 2000, ISBN 1-56971-489-0 (978-1-56971-489-8), the fourth Hellboy collection. It gathers shorter stories, among them Box Full of Evil, The Varcolac, and the first-printed King Volmer, several appearing in color for the first time after earlier black-and-white anthology and Dark Horse Presents appearances. The first printing has no later-printing statement in the indicia.

## Is this the true first?
Most of the contents first appeared in various anthologies and single issues; the 2000 trade paperback is the first collection of these stories, and King Volmer was printed here for the first time.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom* by Mike Mignola a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hellboy-the-right-hand-of-doom
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.