“The Devil You Know,” the third and final cycle of “B.P.R.D.” begins, picking up the pieces in the wake of “Hell on Earth” and “Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible.”
Written by Mike Mignola and Scott AllieCover by Duncan Fegredo
Illustrated by Laurence Campbell
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Clem RobinsBefore they were vanquished by the BPRD, Lovecraftian monsters created a Hell on Earth. Now Liz Sherman leads a crew through monster-infested ruins on the most important rescue mission of her life. As society tries to rebuild, strange cults vie for influence, and a demon emerges to lead the way…
Mark Tweedale: This issue is a strange beast. It’s the simultaneously the sequel to two cycles from two different series, and while “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth” had a kind of natural stopping point, the ongoing “Abe Sapien” series simply stopped at #36. The B.P.R.D. found an unconscious Abe, stuck him in a van and… well, that was it. The last panel may have said ‘the end,’ but it was clearly ‘to be continued.’ This issue is essentially the start of something new for “B.P.R.D.” while also functioning as “Abe Sapien” #37.
This may be a new cycle, but it comes with nearly two hundred issues of baggage between both “B.P.R.D.” and “Abe Sapien.” There may be a #1 on the cover, but I wouldn’t call this a jumping on point.
Brian Salvatore: I was actually surprised by how there wasn’t even an attempt to make this a new starting point. The first thing you see in the issue is the second page in a five-page memo, and that seems about as clear of a sign as any that there isn’t much place here for new readers.
Now, I’m not saying they needed to New 52 this—to borrow a phrase from another D-publisher—but it sort of strains the mind to imagine them launching a new number one without any attempt to make it easy-ish for new readers to hop on.
Mike Romeo: Yeah, I’ve got to agree. I was about halfway through this issue when I realized that it didn’t feel like a new beginning in the slightest. I found it odd that there weren’t even any character reintroductions, or any sort of reestablishment of the series. Like you said, Brian, not at all new reader friendly.
And Mark’s right, this did feel a little like “Abe” #37, which doesn’t exactly fill me with warmth and good feelings…
Mark: I’ll be interested to see how it handles the “Abe Sapien” material when it gets to it. It’s somewhat reasonable to expect “The Devil You Know” readers to have read “Hell on Earth,” but not everyone will have read the “Abe Sapien” ongoing series.
There’s a bit of a stylistic shift here too. Instead of the familiar style of location box in a new scene, it’s been replaced with a location and military timestamp. At this point, it’s impossible to tell if this is a shift for just this arc or something we’ll see a lot of going forward, but for me, it felt distancing right away. Under Devon’s leadership, the Bureau seems a much colder organization.
Below: “B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know” location box
Brian: I dropped off of “Abe” after the first arc or so because it felt so sterile and decompressed. I’m with Mike—this first issue didn’t fill me with a ton of hope for the series under the new banner, even though, on the surface, it has everything I would want from the series: Ashley Strode! Fenix gone rogue! Howards fucking shit up!
It sounds funny to say that the book feels ‘militarized,’ as it has been about a paramilitary organization since the beginning, but in a lot of ways, the series has been about finding humanity in the institution. It seems now like the institution has won.
Mike: I think you’re on to something there. It’s my impression that Devon wasn’t too popular amongst his peers from the start, so I can’t imagine the dynamic between the Bureau’s higher ups to be too great at the moment. Plus, there’s the Liz/Devon/Fenix confrontation that’s pretty clearly on the horizon.
Continued belowSo just to put narrative stuff aside for a second, can we all gush about Laurence Campbell? He had his hooks in me from page one, and there wasn’t even any action! Those first few images really set the tone for the entire issue, I think. The giant, petrified Ogdru Hem was a nice indicator of the series change in direction, almost making the declaration that the old order is dead. From there I think these pages are some of Campbell’s best work to date. Reexamining the issue, I’m struck at the type of contorting he’s got to do to make the issue work. He’s bouncing from atmosphere to action to talking heads to just pure mood and doing it all with real grace. In my opinion, he’s not leaving anything to be desired with any element of his storytelling.
And, of course, there’s what Dave Stewart’s doing. To call back to that very first page, I could almost feel the grit in my teeth just by looking at the way the dust and dirt just seem to be suspended in the air. That’s the sort of thing that wouldn’t come through in Campbell’s inks alone, right? I think these two together make a potent combination.
Mark: I’m glad Laurence Campbell’s on board for “The Devil You Know.” Clearly “B.P.R.D.” is going through some big changes, and having him and Stewart maintaining the visual continuity is really important especially since big changes don’t really read too well if there’s nothing to contrast against. We need the familiar through which to gauge the changes.
Brian mentioned how humanity seems to be gone, and I think if there was a new artist on this series, I might think that that was accidental, but having Campbell on board, I’m familiar with the way he acts through his drawings. Spoilers ahead. The way Liz reacts to Tian’s death stuck out to me. I think after “Cometh the Hour,” we’re seeing a hollowed out Liz to an extent. Contrast that against the way Campbell tackles Ashley Strode learning about Kate’s death. There’s barely a word spoken, but boy did I feel how it hits her.
Don’t get me wrong, I love it when he draws Howards hacking up a hammerhead too, but it’s his character work that most keeps this feeling like “B.P.R.D.” for me.
Brian: I agree—Campbell’s art is the tether to the heart of this book. His work is so nuanced and yet so raw; his characters wear their hearts on their sleeve in a way that doesn’t feel false or put upon.
Perhaps this is presumptuous, but it seems like Campbell is the successor to Guy Davis and Tyler Crook as the third signature artist on the book. Does that seem premature?
Mark: It’s possible, although he could be the first of multiple artists on this title, the way he was with Tyler Crook and James Harren for “Hell on Earth.”
Mike: That’d be my guess. It seems like an easier way to keep the trains on schedule, right?
OK, Mark already tagged one, but let’s make it totally clear that we are now entering the spoiler zone. Jump to our grades at the bottom if you want to be spared!
So this is the first time we’re seeing the B.P.R.D.-branded helicarrier in the real world, right? Before this, it was either in a vision or was S.S.S. branded if I’m not mistaken.
Mark: Yeah, that appears to be the case. The S.S.S. largely collapsed during the final two arcs of “Hell on Earth,” and what was left appears to have been folded into the Bureau. That much hinted at in the last issue when we saw Leonid was under Devon’s command. And the Bureau agents are now wearing the same armor they wore in Liz’s vision from “King of Fear.”
I’m curious what you make of this ‘unidentified young woman appearing in dreams’ calling people to the East Coast. Originally I thought it was Maggie from “Abe Sapien” #29, and perhaps it is—she is supposed to lead humanity to Hyperberum—but given the way this issue ends, with Varvara amassing followers, it seems Varvara may have hijacked the signal so to speak.
Continued below
Brian: That part of the issue was reminiscent of Stephen King’s The Stand, where Mother Abigail is using dreams to call people to Nebraska, and Flagg is doing the same for Las Vegas. There are more than a few The Stand references floating around this universe come to think of it.
When I pull back and look at this issue from a bit of a perspective, it is quite effective as a ‘where are they now?’ issue, and lets us know the status quo of the world of this book. Where it is less effective is as the start of a story. I fear that, much like “Abe Sapien,” this book will be more of a decompressed travelogue through this burnt-out world, instead of the propulsive story that “B.P.R.D.” has always been. One of the many things that John Arcudi was great at was putting the intense character moments and quiet, meditative beats within stories that had very clear beginnings, middles, and ends, but also were part of this ever-shifting, ever-moving story. I fear that that sort of storytelling may have left the book with Arcudi.
Mike: I don’t know that there’s going to be a whole lot of room to meander. Didn’t I read somewhere that this won’t be as long of a movement as “Hell on Earth”? I see where you’re coming from, though, as Allie went pretty far in that direction when it came to “Abe.”
So what are some thoughts on where we go from here? I think it’s interesting to see Strode looking to come in, as a big part of her last arc was how long she’d been out in the world solo. Are we going to see the series shift towards a set of problems that are more in her wheelhouse?
Mark: I’d say that’s the case. With the Bureau going up against Varvara, demonic problems are likely going to be a big part of the series going forward. Having an exorcist on the team is definitely advantageous.
Man, I can’t believe we’re this far into the review and we haven’t spoken about the return of Kroenen and von Klempt yet. Last time we saw them, Kroenen escaped from New York with a lifeless von Klempt head at the end of “The Reign of the Black Flame,” and now it appears they’re throwing in their lot with Varvara.
My hope is that with von Klempt back in action, he’ll shake Kroenen out of the funk he’s been in ever since “The Devil’s Engine.” Von Klempt has never been one to go quietly, so I imagine he’ll be making quite a bit of noise for the Bureau before too long.
Brian: It seems like both ‘sides’ of this conflict are consolidating their resources, with Strode rejoining the active Bureau and, as you said, Kroenen and von Klempt working with Varvara. I suspect we may see more of this sort of thing happening in the near future, with any ‘free agents’ so to speak having a quite simple choice at this point in the game: are you with good, or are you with evil? The series has always tackled these big issues, but due to how far down this path we’ve come already, it seems like the grey area between the two sides is dwindling mightily.
Mike: Speaking of free agents and grey areas, looks like Abe’s back with the Bureau, though he may not even know it at the moment. Seeing him all cocooned up in the back of the van was a weird moment, and one that I hope doesn’t take him off the board for too long. So much of “Hell on Earth” saw Abe in stasis, only to jettison him out into his own series the moment he woke up, so I’m hoping he’s back on his feet in a timely manner. Reading this issue was a reminder of the characters we’ll never see again, so I guess I’m aching for more ‘classic’ agents in the cast.
Continued belowAnd that whole business with him being dragged toward the Ogdru Hem? Interesting stuff…
Mark: Yeah. It’s a big reminder the Ogdru Hem are dormant, not dead. They still have a role to play.
So what’s everyone think of this one?
Mike: In terms of narrative, this issue hits a lot of marks. In spite of that, I still feel like there was something… missing. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, though. On the art side of things, Campbell and Stewart are superstars. This was a fantastic looking issue from top to bottom.
Let’s call this a 7 from me.
Brian: A 7 sounds fair to me, too. This is a comic with a lot going for it, artistically, but narratively is a bit scattered and without too much forward momentum. I enjoyed reading it, but it is far from what the series has, and could, be.
Mark: I think this first issue is primarily interested in reintroducing the world itself rather than the characters at this point, and even still it ends up going six pages over the usual word count. I mean just look at the way Liz discovers Abe. His face is lost in shadow, her face is lost in shadow… the scene is focused on the facts of the scene but not the emotion of the scene. We’re kept at arm’s length here.
I don’t think that’s an accident either—it seems to have a lot to do with Devon being in command and the place Liz is in right now—but I think in terms of a monthly book that’s returning after an eight-month absence, the clinical nature of the story is keeping us from fully engaging too. The scenes that worked best for me were the ones where we were much closer to the characters emotionally, like the one with Fenix, Eris, and Bruiser near the end.
I’m going to go with a 7 too. There are a lot of interesting pieces being put into play, but the team is pretty broken right now.
Final verdict: 7. After the fallout from “Hell on Earth” the Bureau’s dynamic is pretty shaken up, but it’s good to have “B.P.R.D.” back.
