Often times, when manga are released in collected volumes for Japan or overseas prints, they’re sized down to fit a smaller page compared to the original magazine-sized format they were printed on. A select few manga series, though, end up getting special re-prints or deluxe editions that collect the stories into large, magazine-sized volumes that let fans experience the gorgeous art in all of its original glory. According to Dark Horse Comics, the latest iconic manga series to get that treatment is none other than Hellsing.
Recently confirmed by comic, art book and manga publishing company Dark Horse, the Hellsing Deluxe Edition series aims to collect the original manga in three jump-sized volumes, as opposed to the 10 volume run of the original release. Each of these extra-long books will also be printed on larger, 7×10 paper that matches the original format the series was first serialized in. On top of all of that, these gorgeous deluxe volumes will also include “an embossed casing, sewn binding, and a ribbon marker.”
The first hardcover release in the Hellsing Deluxe Edition series will have 696 pages, compiling the first four volumes of the manga series. While the third hardcover volume will be a bit shorter on main manga content, the total length will be beefed up by the inclusion of a bonus section that contains three “Crossfire” side stories.
A description of the original Hellsing manga, according to MyAnimeList:
Hellsing, a secret organization of the British government, have long been battling supernatural threats to keep the people safe from creatures of the night. The current leader, Integra Wingates Hellsing controls her own personal army to eliminate the undead beings, but even her highly trained soldiers pale in comparison to her most trusted vampire exterminator, a man by the name of Alucard, who is actually a powerful vampire himself. Along with Integra’s mysterious butler and Alucard’s new vampire minion, Seras Victoria, The Hellsing Organization must face not only regular ghouls and vampires, but a rivaling secret organization from the Vatican, and Millennium, an enigmatic group of madmen spawned by a certain war over 50 years ago…
A bloody battle between monsters is about to begin, The dead are dancing, and all hell is singing…
Hellsing was authored by Kouta Hirano, who launched the grim action manga in 1997 in the Shonengahosha-produced Young King Ours magazine. The manga ran for 11 years, ending in September of 2008. The 10th and final original book volume for the series shipped soon after in Japan in March of 2009. Dark Horse Comics would go on to license and publish the series, releasing the 10th volume in North America in May 2010.
Hellsing also went on to inspire an iconic anime series in 2001 produced by studio Gonzo. It premiered in October of 2001, running for 13 episodes and ending in January of 2002. Geneon would then release the series on DVD format through 2003, with Funimation re-releasing the series on DVD in 2012 after they obtained the licensing rights for it. A 10-episode series of 50-minute OVAs aiming to re-adapt the series, titled Hellsing Ultimate, began being produced by Madhouse in February of 2006. The final episode of Hellsing Ultimate released in December of 2012, later being broadcast on Toonami and streamed digitally by Crunchyroll.
