Mike Mignola's two new 2026 Hellboy in Hell minis arrived close together, which naturally raises the question of which order to actually read them in.
Dark Horse released Nothing But Blood first in October, with Parade of Horrors following in December, and officially frames the second as coming after the first.
But the two stories don't actually sit in the same narrative gap within the original saga, which makes the reading-order question a little more interesting than a simple release-date list.
Here is how to read both, whether you care about publication order, in-universe placement, or just want the clearest story experience.
For most readers, reading Nothing But Blood first and Parade of Horrors second is the right call, matching how Dark Horse marketed and released both books.
Each story is self-contained enough that release order won't leave you confused, even though they technically occupy different points in Hellboy's timeline in Hell.
Nothing But Blood is set after the death of Satan and the fall of Pandemonium in Hellboy in Hell #8, late in the original ten-issue run.
Parade of Horrors, by contrast, fills a gap Mignola identified closer to issue #5, The Three Gold Whips, meaning it technically depicts an earlier moment than Nothing But Blood despite releasing second.
Reading Parade of Horrors as if it happens after Nothing But Blood doesn't create any real contradictions, since both are largely self-contained single encounters rather than tightly serialized chapters.
The funeral procession and uprising each story centers on are different enough events that neither story depends on having just read the other to make sense.
Readers who haven't revisited Hellboy in Hell in years will get more out of both minis after a quick reread of issues #5 and #8 specifically, since those are the two chapters each new story is anchored to.
New readers jumping straight into Nothing But Blood without that background will still follow the plot fine, since Dark Horse's own solicitation recaps the key Satan/Pandemonium beat up front.
If you're pulling your original run off the shelf to reread alongside the new minis, keep Three Gold Whips and The Hounds of Pluto Part Two together as your anchor issues rather than digging through the full ten-issue run at random.
Store all four books, the two new minis plus your two anchor back issues, in matching current-age comic bags so the whole reading stack stays uniform while you work through it. If you plan on flipping back into any of the anchor issues mid-reread instead of sealing them away for good, a resealable comic bag makes that easy without constantly swapping in a fresh one.
Mignola filling two separate, previously unexplored gaps in one calendar year suggests there may be more room left in the original saga's timeline than most readers assumed when it concluded in 2016.
If that pattern continues, future minis may not follow a strict release-equals-story order either, so it's worth checking each new announcement's actual in-universe placement rather than assuming a simple continuation.
Dark Horse clearly understood that most readers would approach these two minis in release order rather than hunting down the exact in-universe placement of each one before starting.
That's part of why both books recap their own key context directly in their opening pages, rather than assuming readers have already worked out where each story technically falls on Hellboy's timeline.
If Dark Horse keeps using release order as a loose guide while letting individual stories fill whichever narrative gap actually interests Mignola, future announcements may require this same kind of order-versus-placement check.
Treating each new Hellboy in Hell announcement as its own puzzle, rather than assuming a strict continuation, is probably the safest approach going forward.
If you want to finish your reread before Parade of Horrors ships, starting with issue #5 as soon as Nothing But Blood wraps up in November gives you roughly a month before December 16 arrives.
That's enough time for a relaxed pace through both anchor issues without having to rush through either one just to beat the release date.
Release order: Nothing But Blood first, then Parade of Horrors.
No, Parade of Horrors fills an earlier gap near issue #5 despite releasing second.
Not strictly, but issues #5 and #8 add useful context for each new mini.
No, both new minis recap the key context they need in their own solicitation and opening pages.
Whichever order you end up reading in, having both new minis and your two anchor back issues on hand makes the whole experience click together faster.
Round out your stack with gear from EVORETRO's comic supplies collection before you start rereading.
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