Mezco's figures are responsible for me getting into Hellboy, I saw them hanging on the pegs at Suncoast and absolutely loved the look of Hellboy. Great character design, and top notch figure design. So I bought him and looked up more info about the character and then picked up the first trade the next day. I devoured it and bought the next one and then the next...I think I read the first 3 books before the movie was released.
I liked the movie, but there was definitely something lacking from the book. I eventually just held on to the idea that they're different interpretations and can both coexist and they don't have to compete, and that made me appreciate both movies much more.
Since then I've read every Hellboy and BPRD related book, own all the trades and have started to get the library editions(man, these are nice).