We’re back with another thrilling installment of Mignolaversity! This week, we get a one-shot that looks back on a time when Hellboy and Dr. O’Donnell went to get some books. Well, it is probably a BIT more complicated than that.
Written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie
Illustrated by Max FiumaraTwenty-four years ago, Hellboy took mild-mannered Professor O’Donnell to the secret library of a recently dead necromancer. Since that day, O’Donnell has been the Bureau’s expert on the powerful ancient forces intent on ending the age of man. Find out what O’Donnell saw in this supernatural thrill ride.
* From the pages of Hellboy.
“B.P.R.D. continues to be a solidly crafted horror/adventure serial with many surprises to keep its readers guessing.” –Broken Frontier
Brian: Let’s start by talking JH for a second – I, for one, have no great affinity for the character. David, are you a fan?
David: I appreciate his existence, but I’d hardly say I have a great affinity for the character. He’s always been that kooky guy who was around but more of a wallflower of the B.P.R.D. world. The question is, will what happens in this issue get some play later somewhere in the Mignolaverse? It’s hard to tell, but even without that, it was a pretty entertaining comic that, honestly, felt like a weird blend of Hellboy and B.P.R.D. (which are actually pretty different books from a storytelling and tone standpoint) and featured nice art from Max Fiumara (well, save some curious character models early on in the issue). Did I say too much? What are your thoughts?
Brian: I couldn’t agree more – I felt that this felt more like a Hellboy comic than any B.P.R.D. issue, even those that featured the big red guy. That was actually my favorite part of the issue, how it really felt like JH was having a B.P.R.D. adventure, and Hellboy was having his own side adventure. It’s a dynamic we haven’t really seen before.
As for whether or not this ties into the “main” storyline, I think this is similar to what we’ve said about the various Lobster Johnson stories: these are simply world-building fun, rather than anything that will be a major plot point in the future. That said, I can certainly see elements of this story popping up elsewhere, but I don’t think of this as any sort of linchpin tale.
You mentioned Fiumara’s art; let’s explore that a little deeper. What characters did you feel were a bit off?
David: The two characters who the narrative was told through. I don’t remember their names to be honest, but the B.P.R.D. grunt and the woman who trained him. They were so angular that it made them feel a little more unreal than you’d expect from regular people in a comic. It was just a little jarring at first, and felt more like Eric Canete (whom I love) than Fiumara’s art at first. But his art was pretty amazing overall, and I loved his Hellboy and his J.H. O’Donnell. Especially his O’Donnell actually – the little touches he threw in there, like his paranoid, curious eyes and his hunched posture really gave the character a distinct feel. He’s a great artist in terms of building out nuances in characters.
Like when Hellboy was napping. There were a lot of great individual shots in this issue. What did you think of Fiumara’s art?
Brian: I thought that he handled the dual stories really well and, as you said, added some really great small character moments throughout. I’ve liked Fiumara’s art in the past, and I think he’s a pretty good fit for B.P.R.D. work. However, when you’re going up against the likes of Tonci Zonjic, James Harren, Tyler Crook and Cameron Stewart, to name just a few, it is hard to come out on top.
I always find the timing of B.P.R.D. releases curious; granted, this year has seen a lot of different minis and one-shots, but this release feels odd to me. Why not save this for a month without anything else going on? As it stands, we’re in the middle of ‘The Devil’s Engine,’ just finished up ‘Pickens County Horror,’ ‘the Long Death,’ and ‘the Burning Hand.’ Plus, June brings us the start of ‘Exorcism’ – so maybe this will be more important than it initially appears, as Mignola and co. wanted to get it out now.
Continued belowOverall, I enjoyed the book, but wouldn’t exactly call it a must read. What say you, David?
David: Well, first off, I will be the terrible person that says I enjoy Fiumara’s art more than anyone you listed besides Harren. Fiumara’s stuff is pretty fantastic and versatile – I loved his work on Four Eyes as much as I loved his stuff on Spider-Man, and they’re both wildly different books, obviously. He’s a really talented guy.
And I think the idea is this – they’re having a big year and they’re looking to tell the stories they’ve always wanted to tell. So instead of waiting until later, they’re just doing it. And as we’ve learned from books like Abe Sapien: The Abyssal Plain, you never know when something is going to come back and pay off big time later in this world. This by no means was Russia or The Long Death good, but I would not be the least bit surprised if this was the best book I read this week.
Of course, that is heavily tied to the fact that I think this is easily the worst month in comics of 2012 to date, but that’s neither here nor there. So I’ll say I quite liked it. It’s not amazing, it’s not even necessary, but it was a good book that stuck with me well. So I’ll give it a 7.5 with the caveat that it might get an upgrade if it plays into further stories. What about you?
Brian: 7 sounds like a fair grade for this. And, just to clarify, I love the diverse batch of stories that Mignola, Arcudi and co. have been telling this year. They manage to, in their own way, keeping adding richness and diversity to what is already one of the most fully realized universe in all of comics. And I’ll continue to read them, essential, inessential, disposable, or otherwise.
David: Yeah, and I don’t mean to devalue the book in any way because it doesn’t, from our simple, one-sided view, “matter.” It does matter, because it explains what happened to a supporting character of the story, and apparently the answer is he is now a fly demon of sorts. But it doesn’t matter in the continuity architecture of the story, which is important to so many readers.
In my mind though, some of the best stories they’ve ever told in this universe, namely the Hellboy in Mexico stuff, doesn’t matter from a continuity standpoint. They’re just awesome, and awesome? I can deal with awesome.
Brian: Truer words may never have been spoken.
Final Verdict: 7.25 – Buy
