After a rare week off, the Mignolaversity team is back with a review of two fantastic, and totally different, comics.
B.P.R.D. #110
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Tyler CrookAs Liz Sherman fights for her life in a Utah hospital, the B.P.R.D. sends a recon team into the no-man’s land that used to be New York City, and the young psychic Fenix encounters a monster-worshiping cult at the Salton Sea.
David Harper: Brian, it feels like ages since I’ve done a review, but we’re back with a big double shot week! Up first, before we get into some LoJo action, we have B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth#110, the beginning of the “Lake of Fire” arc that finds both artist Tyler Crook returning to the fold with Mike Mignola and John Arcudi AND Liz Sherman returning as a regular character. What was your impression of this issue?
Brian Salvatore: It wasn’t until I was reading her in this issue that I realized how much I missed Liz. Mike and John have such a way with that character, and it was great to hang out with her again.
Outside of that? This was an effective “reset” issue, getting us up to speed on what is going on, and prepping us for the rest of the arc.
What about you? What did you think?
David: While I wouldn’t say it really felt like it set up an arc all that much – we know Liz and Fenix will be involved somehow, but we don’t really know what is causing the dramatic tension – it was a very enjoyable read, if only because I love these characters (even Fenix to a far lesser extent).
As you said, it’s great to see Liz again, and I love the way Crook brings her to life. I love the playful tension they rendered between Liz and the doctor, and by the end when he’s about to depart, it’s like they visually told us a date was coming at some point. Liz seems…happy, but I loved the way she leered fearfully at the candles early on. Another standout moment by Crook there.
But it was a really, really solid issue, and I really dug the way Fenix is kind of tailing where Abe is at. It’s an interesting place for her to be given the tension – she shot the guy, after all – between the two. And man, NEW YORK! Comic Con is going to suck this year Brian.
Brian: My beloved New York, which I grew up in the shadow of, seems to be kaputt. Or close to it, at least.
I thought the dovetailing with “Abe Sapien” was really interesting and nice, and gives us readers a clear idea of how all these books fit together. With Abe on the run, Hellboy in Hell, and the other Mignolaverse books, more or less, taking place in the past, “B.P.R.D.” has become the solid foundation upon which the world is built. What I meant by a “reset” issue wasn’t so much that it was setting up the arc, but rather just reminding us about the world that this book takes place in. After seeing how fucked Chicago was, and dealing with a small gang of people and their struggle, this issue pulls back and hits you in the face with just how big of a deal all of this is – survival is the only goal that makes any sense right now. Intense stuff.
We are so spoiled by the abundance of great artists on these books, that it is easy to take these guys from granted. It was great to see Crook back in the driver’s seat – his Liz, in particular, felt so spot on and, if I’m not mistaken, he has drawn very little Liz in the past.
David: Well, she disappeared after the blowout with the Black Flame so…I think he hasn’t ever drawn her, and if he has, it’s been in flashback. So yeah, it really was great having them both back, and it helps that Crook is such an expressive storyteller in an issue like this.
Continued belowGoing back to my original point: what do you think this arc is going to be all about? We have three, arguably four, main threads going on: Liz in the hospital, Fenix at the Salton Sea, and the B.P.R.D. figuring out what to do in New York, with the fourth being the mad scientist doctor (speaking of which, what did he inject into that cat?!). They feel very disparate. Do you think Mignola, Arcudi and Crook are going to try and bring those together, or do you think this is more of “where is everyone at?” type arc after the hyper specificity of recent arcs like “Wasteland” and “Cold Day in Hell?”
Brian: I see it more of the latter – we’re getting caught up with where everyone is, and moving forward from there. I see Liz as the lynch pin of this arc, however, and see it probably focusing most on her. I think Fenix is going to be the B story, and the New York/mad scientist stories are setting up future arcs.
It almost seems weird to say this, but Crook is the “main” artist on these books, so his arcs tend to be the more sweeping, establishing shot type stories that set the book on its course for a little while. We’ve been teased in Hellmail to James Harren and Laurence Campbell arcs coming up, so I see this as sort of the primer to put the next six months or so into motion.
David: I agree with your perspective on what this arc is, although I do think the mad scientist arc begins and ends here as he is in Liz’s hospital as the new doctor, and I imagine that will be where much of the dramatic tension comes from on her end (maybe he inadvertently helps her get her pyrokineticism back?). They’re certainly going to intersect, and I don’t imagine him having legs unless he gets hired at the Bureau.
I’d also generally agree on your perspective on Crook in theory, but we have evidence – The Devil’s Engine – that this is not always the case. I don’t think there is a “main” artist anymore, as we know that Harren will be drawing the next big Black Flame appearance which seems like it could be the next showcase piece (not that they aren’t all great). I think they’re just fitting each of these artists in where their skill set matches the best, and this type of thing just fits Crook quite a bit better.
Anything else you have that you want to talk about, besides maybe how awesome that Mega-Shark monster was that took out the fighter jets? I’d crap my pants if I saw that thing in real life. Straight up.
Brian: I just want to comment on how the book keeps bringing in some really classic horror tropes – vampires, and here the undead (not quite zombies, but almost), but make them fit in and make sense in the Mignolaverse.
And, again, having Liz back is great.
What do you grade this one?
David: I’ll give it an 8.0. It’s a rock solid issue with unclear motivations, but it is still a high quality issue of B.P.R.D. What about you?
Brian: I agree. 8.0 seems like a fair place to put this.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy!
Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus #2 (of 2)
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Sebastian FiumaraAfter a brutal attack by an army of gun-blazing monkeys in a burning brothel, Lobster Johnson confronts the supernatural Japanese spy known as the Crimson Lotus!
Brian: Also out this week is the finale to “A Scent of Lotus,” a two-part Lobster Johnson story, drawn by regular “Abe Sapien” artist Sebastian Fiumara. Last week ended with monkeys and guns, and this week pretty much picked up where that left off. What did you think of this issue?
David: Brian, it’s like they read me saying that LoJo comics could never be more than an 8.0 for me, and then they said “WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT!” This comic was – personally speaking – my favorite LoJo issue ever. I loved the hell out of it, both for the brilliant combination of Sebastian Fiumara and Dave Stewart and for the hugely fun and interesting story that ties into B.P.R.D.’s history. This comic is awesome. What did you think?
Continued belowBrian: I don’t know if this was my favorite LoJo story, but it was certainly a great one. This issue had more LoJo dialogue than I can ever recall, as well as two word bubbles featuring only exclamation points, which I can only assume sounds something like this.
I think this issue, much like last month, really benefits from the supporting cast being more fleshed out. The characters, for the first time, in my opinion, really are an important part of these stories, and have raised them above the pulpy fun that they were to something more significant and enjoyable.
David: I wouldn’t say that made a big difference to me, as I don’t think they appeared anymore in this than anything else. In fact, comparatively, I’d say The Burning Hand featured a bigger cast and more depth to them – granted, that was a 5-issue mini – and it was where a lot of the roots of this book came from.
I just love everything about the Crimson Lotus being involved and her Noh Monkeys. Honestly, I just re-read B.P.R.D. The Dead last night, and seeing how the Noh from The Dead #3 got in that tube was totally fucking awesome. I saw the cops discover the monkey in the alley and literally said “oh my god!” while reading it. It’s not a huge thing, but it was an awesome thing. What did you think of the connective tissue being laid here?
Brian: I think that is part of our overall enthusiasm as well – it can be sometimes hard to connect the dots from LoJo to the modern day stuff, and while that is by no means necessary for my enjoyment of it, it helps. I love that giddy moment when you put together some stray connection (like the Noah from “The Dead”), and that only helps the book.
Let’s talk about the art. I am a huge fan of Tonci Zonjic’s work, but I thought that Fiumara brought his A-game. He is able to make surreal and bizarre elements feel not just rooted in this world, but does so in such a magnificent way that you don’t doubt it for a second.
David: I really enjoy Seb’s art, but strangely, I thought his work felt more fully realized here than it did over on Abe. I think he crushed this issue, and while I’m not sure if some of the moody atmospherics in the LoJo scenes were him or Dave Stewart, I think their work was so in sync that it doesn’t matter. This was a book that featured a couple great artists combining to tell a seamless story that worked on all levels.
I love the subtleties in Seb’s storytelling too. That sequence between Cindy and Eckerd in the diner where she puts together that he is shaking her down for information is a wonderful one with some of the most expressive and realistic acting and movements you’ll see out of anyone. It was brilliant, and it’s fantastic that he can nail moments like that and a large panel of three monkeys firing guns at LoJo.
Brian – this comic rules.
Brian: I agree wholeheartedly. However, I have a feeling I’m going to be the lower grader here. I give this an 8. What say you?
David: I’m giving it a 9. This is the Lobster Johnson comic I always wanted, combining beautiful, expressive art with a pulpy, driving story filled with monkeys and wu assassins. This is just a fantastic comic.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy!
