# Is "Hellboy: Wake the Devil" by Mike Mignola a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hellboy: Wake the Devil by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse Comics, 1997) is identified by: First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 1997, ISBN 1-56971-226-X (978-1-56971-226-9), collecting the five-issue 1996 mini-series Hellboy: Wake the Devil. The single issues, Wake the Devil numbers 1 through 5 from 1996, are the true first appearance; the 1997 trade paperback is the first book collection, the second Hellboy collection overall.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 1997, ISBN 1-56971-226-X (978-1-56971-226-9), collecting the five-issue 1996 mini-series Hellboy: Wake the Devil
- The first printing has the original cover and no later-printing statement in the indicia
- The collected edition adds a new epilogue
- Correct publisher/imprint: Dark Horse Comics

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mike Mignola |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 1997, ISBN 1-56971-226-X (978-1-56971-226-9), collecting the five-issue 1996 mini-series Hellboy… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 1997, ISBN 1-56971-226-X (978-1-56971-226-9), collecting the five-issue 1996 mini-series Hellboy: Wake the Devil. The first printing has the original cover and no later-printing statement in the indicia. The collected edition adds a new epilogue.

## Is this the true first?
The single issues, Wake the Devil numbers 1 through 5 from 1996, are the true first appearance; the 1997 trade paperback is the first book collection, the second Hellboy collection overall.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; later re-covered and library/omnibus editions exist.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hellboy: Wake the Devil* by Mike Mignola a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hellboy-wake-the-devil
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.