Today, the Mignolaversity Team has a look at the finale of The Abyss of Time, with B.P.R.D. #104. Then, after the review we have a quick question for co-writer/Mignolaverse editor Scott Allie.
Written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie
Illustrated by James HarrenTransported back to the Prehistoric times, a B.P.R.D. agent finds himself among a tribe of cavemen locked in battle with a group of monsters and the evil god they worship.
Brian: Well, David, the second arc of the new ‘ongoing’ “B.P.R.D.” is finished, and it was quite a different type of story than the first. It’s one I also have mixed feelings about. What was your overall impression of it?
David: JAMES HARREN!
Brian: Am I going to have to do this on my own, because you’re just going to keep yelling “James Harren” the whole time?
David: No. But man, I really love James Harren. This was actually a way better issue for him than the first one because it gave him more to work with. Some crazy stuff went down, and he really got to go nuts with it. Not only that, but it was great reading in the letters column how Harren a) will be returning and b) it will be on something big. Excited to see that.
That said, I know what you’re talking about. It’s kind of a weird spot for this two issue arc. If it was a side mini-series, we’d probably be like, “yeah, that was good.” But having just come out of the world basically ending in The Return of the Master, it’s kind of distracting going back in time TWICE here. I do think this is going to be hugely important eventually though, and it was a really cool story showing a bit of the relationship between the “cold people” and the Ogdru Hem a bit. Having read Abe Sapien #1 (which I know you haven’t), that last point is even more underlined knowing what I know.
But yeah, it’s kind of in a weird spot, isn’t it?
Brian: I think this is an arc that will age very well, for a lot of reasons. I often times bring music into my critical thinking, because I think about music whenever I’m not thinking about comics or baseball (or, you know, family and friends). A lot of the albums that I love I can appreciate because of my position in history. Sure, “Let It Be” is no one’s favorite Beatles album, but how disappointing is it that for fans during their time that was the last bit of Beatles they got? But I got to hear it at the same time I heard all the other Beatles music, so there wasn’t that anticipation and letdown associated with it.
So, when my daughter one day goes back and reads the entire B.P.R.D. epic, she’ll probably think this is a fine arc with brilliant art and some interesting historical/mythological connections, but for us month to monthers, it sort of stopped dead any momentum that “Return of the Master” gave the series. Am I being too harsh?
David: I think so, because I think that this is still good and interesting and will factor in. I think it’s just strange because if fits into an ongoing series instead of as an interconnected series of minis. If it was the latter, we’d still kind of make a weird face, but it’d be understandable.
I think it’s sort of like the “Revenge of the Giant Face” segment in Inglourious Basterds I think. You’re getting some amazing Basterds action, and you just had that rad sequence with Michael Fassbender, and then next thing you know you’re at a theater in Paris. Of course, that was a great segment, but it still temporarily took you out of the momentum. I think this was a good story – albeit a bit short and a bit lopped off at the end – and one that will have ramifications later. Is it an all-timer for B.P.R.D.? No way. But it’s solid enough. It’s kind of just weird as part of an ongoing I think. Do you think that would make a difference for you?
Continued belowBrian: Perhaps, sir, perhaps.
Let’s talk about the story itself. WIth the exception of the final pages, the entirety of the issue takes place in the past, with Gall Dennar leading his people to another attack on the Cold People. While I was reading this issue, I kept thinking the same question: how much of Gall made it throughout the ages? Are the two characters, separated by thousands of years, simply both in possession of a shared weapon (and therefore shared memories), are they descendants, or is there something more substantial tying them together? What do you think?
David: Personally, I’d say just shared memories. Like, I think the agent whose name currently escapes me whose mind went back in time into Gall Dennar may have insight into the connection between the vampires and the Ogrdu Hem/Jahad now, and may factor in more. Not only that, but there’s gotta be something coming from Witchfinder now with the sword. I wish I remembered more of that story besides the sword being involved, but it has to factor in.
I doubt much of Gall comes back though, save for a little bit of his memories in the form of flashes in the agent’s mind.
What did you think of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra guy showing up at the end? We know that Chicago is factoring in soon again (per the letters column), so do you think that means it will be rescue mission after this ending?
Brian: I tend to agree with you, and I also couldn’t pull the agent’s name for a thousand dollars. This is one of those stories that will be the Rosetta Stone of future installments, with lots of clues and hints and subtext that will inform future stories.
In thinking about this story, and others that Scott Allie co-wrote in the past, it seems like Allie is interested in filling in a lot of the blanks, historically and geographically, in the B.P.R.D. universe, and this story fits right in.
Ok, I’ve waited as long as you’ve let me: how amazing was Harren’s work in this issue?
David: SO AMAZING BRIAN! Oh man, so damn amazing. How fantastic was that last sequence where Gall Dennar and his crew went after the Cold People and then the Ogdru Hem?! CRAZY STUFF IS BETTER WITH A LITTLE HARREN.
Ahem.
Brian: Speaking of crazy, his crazy guy in the woods is one of my favorite characters he’s done. Both Muppet-ish and terrifying, he really stands out in an issue of crazy guys.
Harren’s action sequences are always a highlight, and these are no exception. It is hard to draw a sequence where the readers are, more or less, clueless about what is happening, and Harren walks that line between utter insanity and deliberate visual storytelling. The last ten pages or so were just a master class in how to draw action.
David: Yeah, I thought of Muppets with him too. I think it’s because he’s always crouching, but he’s a really excellent character. Very distinct and full of life and strangeness.
He is great at action, but I have to give credit where credit is due: he’s also pretty fantastic at character acting. The expressions ons his characters faces and the gestures they make are so spot on it kind of kills me. He’s a super gifted guy, and I am a fan.
So, do you have anything else to add before we grade? Or is that enough for you this week?
Brian: Not particularly, I think we covered the broad strokes.
I’ll give this a 7, which is a painfully low grade from me, but I just have a hard time getting much more excited than that over this book. What say you?
David: Let’s call it a 7.5, because of my adoration for James Harren’s work. Have I mentioned I like his work?
Brian: Once or twice, I think…
Final Verdict: 7.25 – Buy
This week, as an added bonus we have a quick question with co-writer and Dark Horse EIC Scott Allie about this issue.
Scott, to some, Abyss of Time might seem like a random tangent given the conclusion of The Return of the Master, but having read it, it seems pretty apparent that a lot of the threads involved with AoT are going to be important going forward in the series and in others like Abe Sapien even. For those that read Abyss of Time and wonder why now for this story, what do you have to say? Why now for this story in particular?
Scott Allie: The story connects deeply to a lot of things that are going. People felt like it was coming out of nowhere because they were looking in one direction—backward. It felt like a real detour after Return of the Master. But Return of the Master was a big turning point leading to bigger things. Threads that go really far back are starting to come together. Most readers have already figured out the connection between Abyss of Time and Hellboy in Hell, but there’s more to come.
