It’s hard to find a Hellboy fan who doesn’t love Guillermo del Toro’s movie duology. With Ron Perlman stepping into the role of the legendary Big Red, this was an era that represents the character at his absolute peak. However, a new Hellboy duology is now on the verge of release, and it arrives with the return of an iconic redesign for Hellboy that even del Toro himself would likely applaud.
Hellboy fans need to mark their calendars for July 22, 2026, as this will mark the release of Dark Horse’s upcoming two-part Giant Robot Hellboy Returns series. Die-hard fans are likely already familiar with Giant Robot Hellboy, which was a three-part comic series written by Mike Mignola and illustrated by Duncan Fegredo, featuring a, you guessed it, giant mecha version of Hellboy.
The original series was inspired by Mignola’s viral-hit pencil drawings from Mike Mignola: The Quarantine Sketchbook, which were so beloved by fans that Dark Horse Comics gave this alternate take on Hellboy its own series. And now, this summer, Giant Robot Hellboy returns.
…the mecha will be sporting a redesign that is a bit worse for wear in Giant Robot Hellboy Returns…
Giant Robot Hellboy’s Origins, And What to Expect For His Return
Main Cover by Duncan Fegredo for Giant Robot Hellboy Returns #1 (2026)
As a quick recap, Giant Robot Hellboy revolved around the story of Hellboy being kidnapped and hooked up to a massive mecha-Hellboy for a mission on a mysterious, faraway island. Where did this giant robot version of Hellboy come from? It was built by a secret group of Japanese scientists in the 1950s.
The NeverEnding Story, Hellboy, and Legend are some of the most legendary films in the dark fantasy genre. Now, one of these franchises is returning.
Now, this summer, Hellboy’s robot counterpart returns in Mignola and Fegredo’s Giant Robot Hellboy Returns, but this time he isn’t alone: “Scientists comb the deep sea for any sign of Giant Robot Hellboy after his disappearance, but find more than they bargained for when an interdimensional portal threatens to pull them in — or let monsters of unknown origin out.”
Giant Robot Hellboy Gets New Design (Can You Spot the Difference?)
Cover B Ben Stenbeck Variant for Giant Robot Hellboy Returns #1 (2026)
It is beyond epic to see the Giant Robot Hellboy design return to comics for a brand-new series, as it remains one of the most iconic additions to the franchise in the last decade. While we are still a couple of months away from seeing the mecha version of Hellboy return to the comic pages, the solicitations already give fans a sneak peek of the mech design through the cover art released so far.
Fegredo’s main cover for the issue gives us an up-close headshot of Giant Robot Hellboy, with the mecha version sporting more than a few dents and scratches, a roadmap of past battles. Hence, it is possible that we will see a slightly altered design in the new miniseries, one that reflects the mech’s time under the sea and its past battles.
We also get a sneak peek of the mech in Ben Stenbeck’s variant cover for the issue, which gives us a head-to-toe body shot of Giant Robot Hellboy. He notably lacks an arm and his tail, which further adds credence to the idea that this version of the character will be sporting a design that is a bit worse for wear. However, we will not know the character’s full redesign for sure until Giant Robot Hellboy Returns officially releases in July.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Giant Robot Hellboy Returns #1 from Dark Horse Comics is available to read on July 22, 2026!
