Do i need to read or know anything before reading the Omnibuses?

[Red_Drag0n]

I've never read any comics from the Hellboy universe before. But i would like to, especially the B.P.R.D. titles. Recently while browsing the wiki page i came to know that there are a few B.P.R.D. omnibuses. Can i jump right into them? ... If i start reading them without reading the hellboy issues first, then will i miss out on anything?
... I think there was a run in the past in which Hellboy and the members of the B.P.R.D. appeared together in the same books ... Do i need to read those first before reading the B.P.R.D. omnibuses?

What about the Abe Sapien omnibuses and Witchfinder omnibuses. Do i need to read any other series before jumping into Abe Sapien and Witchfinder titles?

Also are there any crossovers between these titles (Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Witchfinder, B.P.R.D. etc.) and do i need a reading order ... or can i just pick up any of these omnibuses and start reading them?

Thanks.

[middenway]

Most of these series work without the context of the others. You don't need to read Hellboy to read B.P.R.D., but you get more out of it if you have. The exception to this is the Abe Sapien series, which is very dependant on other series, and the final B.P.R.D. omnibus, The Devil You Know.

Or you can just follow this list:

1. Hellboy – Volume 1: Seed of Destruction
2. Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories – Volumes 1–2
3. Hellboy – Volume 2: Strange Places
4. B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs – Volumes 1-4
5. Hellboy – Volume 3: The Wild Hunt
6. Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder – Volumes 1–2
7. Lobster Johnson – Volume 1 (coming out March 2022)
8. Hellboy Universe: The Secret Histories
9. B.P.R.D.: 1946–1948
10. Hellboy – Volume 4: Hellboy in Hell
11. B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – Volumes 1-3
12. Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible – Volume 1
13. B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – Volume 4
14. Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible – Volume 2
15. B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – Volumes 5
16. Frankenstein Underground (not yet in an omnibus)
17. Koshchei the Deathless (not yet in an omnibus)
18. B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know
19. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952–1954
20. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1955–1957 (probably coming out 2023)

[Red_Drag0n]

So if i don't read any other series and only stick to B.P.R.D., including the final omnibus "the devil you know" (which you said depends upon other series), then will i be left with many questions in the end? Does "the devil you know" crosses over to other series?

[middenway]

So if i don't read any other series and only stick to B.P.R.D., including the final omnibus "the devil you know" (which you said depends upon other series), then will i be left with many questions in the end? Does "the devil you know" crosses over to other series?

B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know is the ending for Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and B.P.R.D., and sort of a continuation of Witchfinder. Without at least reading Hellboy, large portions of B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know will not mean anything.

[Red_Drag0n]

B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know is the ending for Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and B.P.R.D., and sort of a continuation of Witchfinder. Without at least reading Hellboy, large portions of B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know will not mean anything.

Thanks. I recently collected the two Baltimore Omnibus volumes as well, after knowing that Baltimore is a standalone/separate story and has nothing to do with the other titles. I'm very happy with the purchase.

Btw, do you think i need to read the very first novel that came out in 2007 - "BALTIMORE AND THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE" before reading the two baltimore omnibuses? ... The sad part is, it is not available on amazon at a reasonable price. If i don't read it and directly start with the Baltimore omnibuses, will that be ok?

[Skinkie]

Baltimore comic can be read without reading the novel. The important plot stuff from the novel is recreated in the comic. Though you’ll be missing a little bit of fun character background. But the comic was made to stand alone

[middenway]

Btw, do you think i need to read the very first novel that came out in 2007 - "BALTIMORE AND THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE" before reading the two baltimore omnibuses? ... The sad part is, it is not available on amazon at a reasonable price. If i don't read it and directly start with the Baltimore omnibuses, will that be ok?

Baltimore comic can be read without reading the novel. The important plot stuff from the novel is recreated in the comic. Though you’ll be missing a little bit of fun character background. But the comic was made to stand alone

Yeah, you can launch straight into the comic. That said, when you can, circle back to the novel... It's good!

[MajorHoy]

Most of these series work without the context of the others. You don't need to read Hellboy to read B.P.R.D., but you get more out of it if you have. The exception to this is the Abe Sapien series, which is very dependant on other series, and the final B.P.R.D. omnibus, The Devil You Know.

Or you can just follow this list:

1. Hellboy – Volume 1: Seed of Destruction . . .

If nothing else, you may want to read the Seed of Destruction issues early on, just because those four issues of Hellboy were the first ones published and things were introduced in those issues that would play a part in everything later on.