Hellboy vs. Hellboy II - Which do you prefer?

I watched Hellboy II last night and I was reluctant to do so as I thought the 1st one was not very good at all. I liked Ron Perlman's character of Hellboy, but the story line and other aspects of the film were lacking.

I think the biggest and best thing they did for this series was put Guillermo Del Toro in the director seat. Talk about an EXCELLENT film (Hellboy II). It was so visually stunning, like Pan's Labyrinth meets a comic book. The story was fun and fresh, characters were imaginative and interesting. It was great.

I hope he stays on board for Part III.

Discuss.