Product Description: The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and their new team leader, a former corpse himself, moves into their new headquarters only to unearth a gigantic long-buried secret involving United States government covert experiments and Nazi scientists. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams with artist Guy Davis and co-writer John Arcudi to carve out a bold new direction for the B.P.R.D., while Abe Sapien, still reeling from the revelation of his former life as a Victorian scientist, meets his long-dead wife in their crumbling home by the sea. The strangest team book in comics gets weirder with this tale of the walking dead, madness, the Spear of Destiny, and a monstrous gateway to heaven.
An enjoyable addition to my Hellboy library I have actually been avoiding these BPRD books for a while now, because initially I had been turned off by the lack of Mignola art. I also remember looking through one of the books and not caring for Guy Davis' style. I recently flipped through a BPRD book at a Borders, though, and realized that I've been depriving myself of something I'd actually really enjoy.
I like this book quite a bit. Guy Davis' art has really grown on me. In fact, I think it's great stuff. It serves the story very well. His renditions of Mignola's characters and stories achieve just the right feeling, that of horror mixed with humor mixed with pulp. The writing, too, holds that balance at the same level as the art.
The story concerns the BPRD moving their headquarters to an abandoned military research facility in Colorado. Once there, they encounter crazy Nazi/ghostly/paranormal weirdness, of course. There are some great moments of humor and horror as the story unfolds. One such moment involves Ben, the new team leader, ordering Roger to put on some pants, then changing his mind when he sees the result of his order. Roger is also mystified throughout by everyone's insistence that he should have a gun. Johann, at one point, finds this awesome looking 40's style machine/weapon that he straps to his back to fight an "angel," and the image is one of my favorite illustrations from the book.
There is also a secondary story about Abe Sapien's past. It's ok, but it is sort of distracting from the main story. It takes a long time to get where it's going, which is not that climactic once it's there. It feels like it should have been a standalone section in one of Mignola's Hellboy books rather than a back-up in a BPRD book.
I love the new characters Johann and Ben. Johann adds more good weirdness and Ben's personality hits off the other characters in interesting ways. I'm looking forward to finding more out about each of them.
Another reviewer mentioned that Roger's personality seems a bit different from his outings in the pages of Hellboy. I agree with that, but I don't think the change is a bad one. It actually adds another layer to the team dynamic, and it's not so far off from Roger's previous depictions so as to be jarring.
I will definitely be picking up more of these books, provided that this creative team is still involved. I'm partial to consistent creative teams, and since book 3 on is all Davis, Arcudi, and Mignola, it looks like those will be the ones I collect.
Graphic SF Reader The B.P.R.D. team is sans Hellboy, but the result is still pretty good. They have a new member, a disembodied ghost type, in a suit to designed to give him some corporeal functions.
Other than that, they have problems within their own location, and must journey to the site of an old case.
Decent plot undermined by mediocre artwork This graphic novel features Hellboy spin-off the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, a sort of offbeat superhero group who devote their time to defeating supernatural threats when Hellboy is out of town. If you're a big Mignola / Hellboy fan, and can find it in the discount bins, or in a used bookstore, it may be worth picking up, but not at full price.
Arcudi is an experienced comics writer who I'm familiar with from his previous efforts with Dark Horse, and the main storyline, dealing with a "bad things are loose in our installation" theme, is competent. A sideplot involving Abe Sapien's adventures in a haunted house seems underdeveloped, and its inclusion distracts from the main plot rather than enhancing it.
The main problem with The Dead is the artwork: Guy Davis is simply not a very good draftsman and his pencils have a crude and unfinished character that undermines the book. Too often, I had the sense I was reading a pre-production copy that awaited more polishing before seeing print. Davis has illustrated other BPRD titles ("The Black Flame", "Plague of Frogs") and looks to do the newest one as well, so there's no escaping him as far as this series is concerned. Sad to say, mediocre artwork has always been a real problem with much of Dark Horse's output over the past two decades.
It's hard not to conclude that Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is stretching himself too thin with all his various projects over the past four years. The highly anticipated, two-issue comic "The Island" that came out in 2005 was his first Hellboy effort in several years and was a major disappointment. The plot was essentially nonexistent, and the supposed Big Revelation about Hellboy's True Nature was underwhelming at best. Mignola seems to be taking a step in the right direction with having the well-known and distinctive artist Richard Corben assist with the artwork on the brand-new "Hellboy: Makoma" series; it's time to apply the same care to the BPRD series if it is to emerge as a worthy franchise in its own right.
Lots of fun, albeit with some reservations This was one of those "oh my goodness, I didn't know this was out" moments in the store. I hardly ever do impulse buying of _anything_, but well - I'm glad I brought this one home.
The art style is noticeably different from Mignola's classic work, but still quite eyeworthy. Spoilers ahoy! *
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* The views of the long-abandoned home of Langdon Caul were fascinating, from a purely draftsmanship point of view. Something about it reminded me powerfully of parts of "In the Mouth of Madness", which was both disquieting and very satisfying. The paralleling of the storylines - Abe's quest and the team's difficulties in the sub-basement - was very well handled. The characterization of the unfortunate Gunter was enjoyable. Having all this brouhaha happening, not in some remote fastness, but under the BPRD's new headquarters, was an inspired choice.
Another thing I liked is how the new character - 'Captain Zombie'- is introduced. We don't get a whole bellyful of exposition and flashback - just quick and to the point, leaving the tantalizing possibility of finding out more about this guy in future stories.
My only real quibble is the characterization of Roger in this story. He's something of a _naif_, yes, and unfamiliar with the ways of the world (five centuries dormant in a cellar can do that to you) but in this he's portrayed as essentially childlike - which is NOT how I'm used to seeing him.
All in all, a great addition to my growing library of Hellboyiana.
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