Things are bad – real bad. But this comic is oh so good.
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Laurence CampbellJohann leads a B.P.R.D. team on a rescue mission in Chicago to locate the group of agents lost in B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Abyss of Time. What they find is a devastated city, full of giant Ogdru Hem, and a flood of humans transformed into monsters.
Brian: We’ve seen things getting bad in the world of “B.P.R.D.” for a long time now, but I don’t know if things have ever appeared, for the average denizen of this world, as bleak as things look here. “Wasteland” is a perfect title for this arc. Good grief. That said, this is a pretty thrilling issue. What is your initial take on it?
David: Murderous monsters. Brilliant character moments. Phenomenal art. A reference to Tremors. Man, what else could I want from a comic? Brian, this comic completely rules, even if that enthusiasm sort of lives in contradiction to the rather dour mood it itself has. This is honestly my favorite main story B.P.R.D. issue in quite some time, and it doesn’t even have Varvara in it!
That said, a major reason has to be Laurence Campbell. Holy crap man, how amazing was his work here?
Brian: Campbell’s work is spooky, and has an almost dream-like feel to it. Certain details are really in focus, while the rest of the world lives in this odd sort of haze. It is a thrilling issue, visually, and his work does nothing but enhance what is a sparse, unflinching look at one area’s total devastation.
Let’s talk big picture for a second here. Do you get the impression that this is how most of the world is at this point?
David: I would say most of the rest of the world. I mean, we know from Abe Sapien that even rural parts of the country have been hit. We know England is gone. We know it’s happening in Russia. Why not most everywhere else?
Well, Alaska is probably fine. But for the most part, I think it’s hard to think that this isn’t just kind of the way things are now. What do you think?
Brian: Oh yeah, I think the world is pretty seriously fucked right now. Maybe some remote islands or winter nightmares remain in tact, but the mainland seems to be, well, a wasteland.
Getting back into the meat of the issue, the cast of this issue is an interesting one, with Johann, Nichols and (I believe) new character Enos taking center stage as the Bureau descends on the Chicagoland area to investigate what exactly is going on. I really enjoyed the chopper exchange between Nichols and the late agent Brandaux. John Arcudi is so good at bringing humanity and personality to even the smallest characters, and that scene gave us readers a good idea of what the typical day in the life of a B.P.R.D. agent is right now.
Am I mistaken, or is Agent Enos a new character?
David: Hey, I hope that “winter nightmares” line wasn’t aimed at Alaska!
I think this issue is really great because it’s getting into that ground level feel of the human agents that B.P.R.D. has been touching on a lot lately. You even have the great juxtaposition of Nichols commenting on Johann being on watch because he never sleeps, and having Nichols, Enos and Gervesh act as, more or less, the leads gives this book a really inside look at what the apocalypse even for the rough and tumble B.P.R.D. crew.
And yeah, I think Enos is a new character. Honestly, some of the other agents, like Gervesh and Nichols, feel new to me, and that might be because this is their most front and center appearances yet. Either way, their presences are certainly felt here too.
I loved the usage of the man and his son too, even if their names escape me. Their section was very haunting, and it adds to the nightmare as Arcudi gives their story a very personal, relatable bent. What a nightmare to begin with, but to go out the front door and to see your wife as a monster? Just awful.
Continued belowBrian: That scene gave me chills. I knew it was coming (the wife isn’t with them, so you know she’s dead), but the execution was just brilliant. Before he contributed to our Abe month, I can’t say I was all that familiar with Campbell’s work, but man does this guy bring the goods.
I think the answer is yes for me, but is this the saddest issue of a “B.P.R.D.” book to date? I mean, we’ve lost characters before, but they all seemed to be, for lack of better term, soldiers, who knew that their lives were at risk by signing up. That is a very different story than a civilian who has to watch his wife become a monster.
David: Yeah, you could say that pretty easily. Honestly, the whole issue has a very funereal tone to it, and it’s like we’re not just mourning a B.P.R.D. agent or some guy’s wife, but the world. Campbell’s art really nails that mood, but I really think this is the issue that says the world has already lost effectively. There’s no heroism here. There’s no hope. There’s just death and a whole lot of weird ass monsters, my friend.
Such a good read though! It’s a bummer of epic proportions, but I loved the hell out of it. Am I a monster?
Brian: No sir, you are no Gamblor (I really hope you know what i’m referring to).
So, anything else you want to add before grading?
David: I don’t, but that’s okay (as far as the Gamblor is concerned).
As for things to add, I don’t really think so. This is just a comic that does what B.P.R.D. does well very well, and with the added treat of Laurence Campbell’s haunting, beautiful art, it’s an up month for the Bureau. I’ll give this bad boy a 9.5. What about you?
Brian: 9.5 seems totally fair.
Final Verdict: 9.5 – Buy you silly people.
