Many of us have been fans of the numerous limited collectibles Mondo's released since the company got its start. Over the years, there have been countless movie posters, soundtracks, VHS tapes and other niche items offered by Mondo, with more and more seemingly coming each and every day. Recently, Mondo started dipping its toes into the figure/statue game, with a fully-articulated Iron Giant and a few Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes pieces already on the way.

Today, Mondo took another step towards obscure geek memorabilia masters with the announcement of the First Hellboy statue. Before appearing in his own self-titled series, Hellboy existed merely as a sketch done by creator Mike Mignola at a convention in the early '90s. This First Hellboy shared a few things in common with his eventual successor, but lacked the trenchcoat, Right Hand of Doom, killer sideburns and proclivity for pamcakes. Now, nearly 25 years later, the First Hellboy is finally getting his due.

The statue comes in at a healthy 12", and will be offered in two varieties. You can get a full-color Hellboy (with a paint app designed by regular Hellboy colorist Dave Stewart) or a black and white version based on the preliminary sketch. Neither version is quite as hairy as the original art, but both do a very good job of translating Mignola's style into three dimensions. Though there have been a decent amount of Hellboy figures and collectibles over the years, few have done Mignola's signature aesthetic justice. This statue looks to rectify that lack of Mignola-ness.

Both versions offer their own unique benefits. The black and white puts a heavier focus on clearly separating the various elements, from the feathers to the rock and belt textures. It's a lot cleaner and crisper, but it also lacks that dynamic heavy shading that stylize so many of Mignola's panels and pages. The color version, while also lacking that darkness, does ring a bit truer to the spirit of the character. Plus, with Dave Stewart overseeing this particular colorway, you have a statue whose palette is immediately recognizable as from that world. It's an unmistakable style, and one that is sure to pop on any shelf.

You can pre-order either version now over on Mondo's site. The painted First Hellboy statue will set you back $200, and the black and white First Hellboy, which is limited to 200 pieces, will run $225. The statues are expected to arrive during Q4 2015.

 

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