Hellboy NFTs surface online, made without the consent of its publishing company Dark Horse Comics and creator Mike Mignola.
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola warns fans against unauthorized NFTs featuring the demonic character.
“Just so everyone knows,” the writer-artist wrote on Twitter, “There are HELLBOY NFT’s out there that are unauthorized and were made without our’s or [Dark Horse Comics’] consent so buyer beware.” The post from Mignola is the latest example of creator issues with NFTs, which has become an increasing problem as the NFT digital market expands and gains more popularity.
Just so everyone knows. There are HELLBOY NFT’s out there that are unauthorized and were made without our’s or @DarkHorseComics consent so buyer beware.
— Mike Mignola (@artofmmignola) December 20, 2021
Most recently in the realm of comic art, artist Liam Sharp’s work on the website DeviantArt was being stolen as NFTs, something he was alerted to by the platform’s DeviantArt Protect safeguards tracking this form of digital piracy. As a result, the artist announced on Twitter that he would be shutting down his page to put a stop to the issue, being that reports he made to the appropriate parties were “consistently ignored.” For Mignola, while he does not specify where the Hellboy NFTs came from or how they are being distributed, the issue revolves around a character he built up nearly 30 years ago.
Though his definitive first appearance is debatable, Hellboy was created by Mignola in 1993 under comic book publisher Dark Horse Comics, known for properties like The Umbrella Academy and Black Hammer. Dark Horse quote tweeted Mignola’s Twitter statement saying, “Please be aware: any Hellboy NFTs you may come across are not authorized by [Mike Mignola] or by Dark Horse Comics,” clarifying that all NFTs featuring the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator” at the present moment are not officially licensed by either the publisher or creator. Based on other legal battles in the works, both might need to give their expressed consent for any NFT distribution for Hellboy, being that film director Quentin Tarantino was sued by Miramax over his own NFT release of unseen content from the cult-classic Pulp Fiction.
Speaking of films, Hellboy did not stick to the comic book page alone. The character’s popularity was boosted even higher after appearing in three feature films — Hellboy (2004), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) and Hellboy (2019) — with the first two movies being led by actor Ron Perlman and the third reboot starring Stranger Things‘ David Harbour. Additionally, the character has received animated, video game and written novel adaptations in the 2000s, with one of his most recent adaptations being a DLC character for the fighting game Injustice 2, based on DC Comics.
Whether the NFTs being referenced by Mignola and Dark Horse pertain solely to the character’s comic book appearances and art, or also adaptations of the series and character, is unclear. Being that Mignola’s advice is for buyers to “beware” the digital sale of any Hellboy-related NFTs, you may want to give them a closer look if you see any starring the B.R.P.D.’s finest.
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