Another week, another read. You know the drill by now. Publisher: Dark Horse | Writers: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegos-Ki, Brian McDonald, Miles Gunter, Michael Avon Oeming, Brian Augustyn, Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, Joe Harris | Artists: Mike Mignola, Ryan Sook, Curtis Arnold, Matt Smith, Derek Thompson, Michael Avon Oeming, Guy Davis, Scott Kolins, Dave Stewart, Adam Pollina, Guillermo Zubiaga, Cameron Stewart | Contains: BPRD: Hollow Earth (and Other Stories), BPRD: The Soul of Venice (and Other Stories), BPRD: Plague of Frogs BACKGROUND:
I've discussed my familiarity with Hellboy in my blog entry on Seed of Destruction (which you can find here), so I won't repeat myself on that front. All I will add is that, apart from a few Lobster Johnson comics, I haven't read many Hellboy spinoff comics. THE WRITING: This book is actually a collection of multiple stories, including the titular Plague of Frogs. The first big story is Hollow Earth, which sees the BPRD team rescue Liz Sherman after her pilgrimage to a monastery goes horribly wrong. The second is called Soul of Venice, where the team investigates disturbing goings-on in the Italian city. Lastly, Plague of Frogs builds upon events that occurred in Seed of Destruction to bring back a familiar threat into the fold. Plague of Frogs was the standout in my eyes, as it's a decently long story with a lot of interesting bits of lore, but the other two stories had plenty to offer themselves. Hollow Earth was interesting from a character standpoint, as it sees the fallout of Hellboy leaving the BPRD, and how that affected the other members. Soul of Venice had a sense of mystery to it, as it hinted at Roger having a bigger role in the overarching story than I initially assumed, which I hope to explore in later books. Although this is very much set in the Hellboy universe, the man himself is nowhere to be found here (apart from the occasional flashback). The stars of the show this time around are his fellow BPRD investigators: Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, Roger the homunculus, Dr. Kate Corrigan, and Johann Kraus. Everyone gets a bit of time to shine and show their character (apart from Kate, perhaps), but you'll see the most out of Abe in this collection. Abe's origins have always been rather mysterious, but it's finally revealed (somewhat) in Plague of Frogs, and the significance of that cannot be understated. While the other characters were introduced within the pages of Hellboy books and have had some of their growth happen there, Johann Kraus makes his debut in Hollow Earth. His origins were super fascinating to me, and it puts him in a rather interesting position in terms of his character and personality. I also just think his entire concept and design (an incorporeal spirit of sorts housed in a suit) is awesome. Aside from the three story arcs I mentioned, there are also a small assortment of one-shots in the collection. These are short stories featuring the other BPRD members in case-of-the-week situations, and I found them just as enjoyable as the proper story arcs due to their wildly varied scenarios (like evil stuffed toys taking children, or perfectly preserved corpses from the witch trial days). There are even a couple of stories that star Lobster Johnson, which is neat. Of all these one-shots, I'd say Drums of the Dead was my favorite; the circumstances surrounding the paranormal activity in that story felt poignant to me. None of the stories are really tied strongly in terms of each event building upon the last. That said, one can sense the passage of time as you go through the book; it begins with Hollow Earth (where, at the end, Liz returns to the BPRD after her departure), goes into Soul of Venice (Liz is back as a full-time agent), and then into Plague of Frogs (Roger is seen reading about something he saw in Venice). Most of the cases BPRD tackles in this book are not connected, but there's still a sense of structure thanks to elements like this that help readers place events in a chronological order. THE ART: As this is a collection of several stories as opposed to a regular graphic novel with a singular creative team, this book features a wide assortment of artists and writers. To my understanding, these were among the first Hellboy spinoffs where Mike Mignola let other creators have a go at the art, so seeing familiar characters in different art styles was quite the treat. Some of the stories still had direct artistic input from Mignola, so his style is not completely absent (see: Killer in My Skull), but the others feature a dramatic shift in style. A couple lean more into detail and realism (Night Train, Drums of the Dead), while others had a more distinct look that felt cartoony in a good way (Dark Waters, There's Something Under My Bed). VERDICT: I thought BPRD: Plague of Frogs Vol. 1 was an excellent collection of comics: its major story arcs were engaging and helped flesh out the Hellboy universe, the one-shots were entertaining and had all sorts of interesting scenarios, a lot of the secondary characters in the Hellboy books got some time in the limelight (especially Abe Sapien), and the variety of art styles was a delight to see. This is highly recommended for anybody who is a fan of or is getting into the Hellboy comics; the stories and characters still feel interesting even without Big Red himself, so they're still worth reading. Plus, if you're a relative newcomer to the series, it's a great place to see the secondary characters in action and get to know them a little bit better. You can read this collection on Comixology: https://m.comixology.com/B-P-R-D-Plague-of-Frogs-Vol-1/digital-comic/229948?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L21vYmlsZS9zbGlkZXJMaXN0L2l0ZW1TbGlkZXI - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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