Team Mignolaversity stops for a nice cup of joe on the way to the next arc. Nothing bad will happen, right?
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Tyler CrookLife goes on in Santa Fe despite the Ogdru Hem on the edge of town. But the B.P.R.D. comes to town too late to help at least one guy . . . and probably a lot more!
David: Brian, it feels like ages. Ages and ages. But we’re back with another issue of our trusty B.P.R.D., as issue #124 hits today. Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi with art by Tyler Crook, this is a one and done story amidst a sea of big tidings at the Bureau. What was your take on this joint?
Brian: If you had told me the essential gist of this issue: an outsider’s perspective on a giant monster in their backyard, I wouldn’t have been all that excited. However, this issue exceeded just about all of my expectations – and broke my heart. What about you?
David: I had no idea what it was about either, but I love stories like this. I love when you take a dystopian story – really any story, but dystopian in particular – and tell a story of just an ordinary person. Sometimes those stories can do a whole lot to illuminate the whole and realize things about what you’re usually focusing on, and I think this did a lot in that regard. This comic was really spectacular, and I thought Tyler Crook was absolutely perfect for it. You need a really expressive artist for this type of story, and I loved everything he did with Aaron. He and Arcudi combined to make this a really subtly powerful story, and when Javier was taking pictures of Ira the Mushroom Girl and Aaron ran him off and told her sorry, that very nearly killed me.
It gives you what the world is like now. What it’d be like for you or me, and I loved the insight from Aaron in the beginning about the different sides of the city. How the Western side has it better and he has to deal with random monsters. And I loved at the end when Johann was waiting by himself in the coffee shop. This comic was amazing. I know it’s going to seem like hyperbole coming off of a year with The Reign of the Black Flame, but this is the most remarkable B.P.R.D. comic in a long time, and it’s a pitch perfect example of what makes this not just one of today’s great comics, but one of the greats for its entire run.
Brian: I don’t know if I would call this the most remarkable B.P.R.D. comic in a long time, but it is certainly an excellent one, and I agree with a lot of your spotlight moments: Johann waiting in the coffee shop was a pretty incredible piece of visual storytelling, Aaron’s empathy for his lost neighbor was also quite touching.
As you mentioned, Crook fit the piece like a glove, and his expressive storytelling really shone here. He manages to get more life experience and personality into even the most basic characters than almost anyone else working in comics today. Take the sequence where Ms. Orlanda orders her decaf coffee, only to find that the store no longer carries it – in her one panel appearance, Crook gives her an entire lifetime of experiences and opinion. Her face is that of exasperation, of stubbornness, of strength, and perhaps a hint of entitlement. His work in this issue is among the best he’s ever done on “B.P.R.D.”
The one sequence that seemed a bit out of place here, though a well done one, was the scene of Liz and the fighter pilots. While I understand its purpose in the larger scheme of the story, it didn’t necessarily fit the tone of this issue. Do you agree, or did it not stand out for you?
David: It stood out for me, but in a good way, not in a bad one. In an issue that was all about the “other people” besides the B.P.R.D. all-star team, the fact that we’re given the perspective of some grunts about the changing role of Liz – who is new to Bureau members of a certain generation – is very valuable. I loved the analogy the pilot shared, and I absolutely get the trepidation he had in dealing with Liz. She’s scary. Like Abe, in the new world order, what separates someone like her from the monsters? Not a whole lot, really.
Continued belowIt was a fascinating perspective. I suppose the only downer would be it was the only part not from Aaron’s perspective, but it still worked really well for me.
What do you think of the idea that the Bureau, post New York, is taking the fight to the monsters and is using Liz as the monster killer (after testing other weapons against them, of course)?
Brian: It makes sense to me – I think the era of biding their time and waiting for calamity to come to them has passed, perhaps for good – this is the world they now live in, a world of shitty choices. Do you go out, risk life and limb to stop monsters, or do you wait for them to come to you, where they also will threaten your life? There’s no good answer, but if Liz is the best weapon they have, it makes sense that they’d mobilize her and deal with as many threats as they can right now.
Anything else you want to add before we slap a grade on this?
David: Just that I’m really glad they did this. If a comic is always one level, always dealing with one monster or another and not with the people of the world, then its tone can flatten and it can start losing me as a reader. Sometimes, it’s nice to take a break for a little cup of coffee, even if it’s one that ends in tears. I know you weren’t into me calling it remarkable, but hey, it’s subjective medium! This was my favorite issue in a while, and one that reaffirms everything I love about this book. I’ll give it a 8.5, even knowing in our new grading system that makes me a mad man.
What about you?
Brian: I agreed that it was remarkable, just not the most remarkable in recent memory, that’s all. This was still an excellent comic – 8.5 works for me, too.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – this cup of coffee was one that was well worth taking in
