“Rise of the Black Flame” continues to impress in this visually stunning issue.
Written by Mike Mignola and Chris RobersonCover by Laurence Campbell
Illustrated by Christopher Mitten
Colored by Dave Stewart
Lettered by Clem RobinsRumors of the Black Flame cult practicing human sacrifice lead downriver and deep into the jungle, while the group’s guide is plagued by dreams of a dark goddess.
Mark Tweedale: Oh boy, I had fun with this one. I suppose it’s no surprise really; the last issue got off to such a great start. But, there’s new stuff to get excited about here.
First up, I have to mention Laurence Campbell’s cover. I seem to always enjoy his covers, but this one is extra special, and Dave Stewart’s colors punched it up to a whole other level. Then you open up the book and page after page Stewart’s colors continue to impress. This is one beautiful looking comic!
Mike Romeo: It really is! To start with the cover, for some reason I was struck by the lack of figure in it. There’s no recognizable character to sell the book, just a ship sitting on the horizon. It’s so nicely rendered and beautifully colored, but at the same time… unassuming? I find a real boldness in its subtlety, if I can sound like an art snob for a second.
And the interior colors are gorgeous as well. It’s interesting to me that you pulled that specific panel, because when I first read the issue it made me jump back to the credits page to double check that this was Stewart. I feel like his colors, for the Mignola books at least, are usually either moody or dramatic. It’s not often that we get to see pastels show up in these comics, and like the cover, I found it pleasantly surprising.
Mark: That’s something I’ve noticed creeping into his work since “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Reign of the Black Flame,” though I’ve never seen it pushed to this degree before.
Mike: It’s fitting though, given the delicateness of Mitten’s linework here. After reviewing the last issue, I went and pulled out my copies of “Bad Medicine,” that Oni series he drew a few years back. Not the first thing people probably think of when Mitten’s name comes up, but it’s what I have on hand. Anyway, I was struck by how differently Mitten used to approach his linework. Back in that series, and “Wasteland” as well, his line was heavier, more involved looking. Like he had worked some of them over a couple of times. But here, there’s almost a wispiness at times. If Stewart’s colors were to be stripped away, these pages would feel sparer and more refined than any of his other work to date. It’s still obviously Mitten, his voice comes through clear as a bell, but it’s certainly evolved. Last month I went into comparing and contrasting Mitten’s minimalness with Mignola’s, so I won’t rehash that, but I’ll say that I was thinking a lot about that stuff as I took in these pages.
Mark: Yeah, I remember his work from “Criminal Macabre” had a much heavier feeling to it than here. Given the tone of Mignola’s books, before reading this I expected very much the same approach. I’m glad Mitten didn’t go that way in the end. The darkness comes through from the narrative so clearly, it doesn’t need the artwork to amplify it.
I loved the way this issue fully embraced this classic adventure feel as its characters plunge deeper into the territory of the Black Flame cult. I was reminded strongly of “The Adventures of Tintin”, the Indiana Jones trilogy, and the 1933 version of King Kong in this section. The mood in this issue is right on point. Although, I have to admit, I found the ads downright jarring, like striking the wrong note with the wrong instrument in the middle of a song. I suppose it’s part of the experience of reading a story issue by issue, but I’ll never get used to it.
Mike: That’s funny you say that about the ads. I definitely notice them, but I’m probably way more conditioned when it comes to seeing them than you are. I’ve been ignoring ads in comics for 25 years now, and to my memory you didn’t grow up with the single-issue comic book, right?
Continued belowMark: Yeah, I grew up with the French-style comic albums, so ads seem very intrusive.
Mike: So yeah, I can totally see how having to acclimate to them as an adult would be a bit of a jarring experience.
To your second point: I, too, got the same adventure impression you did, though you put better references to it than I could’ve. It’s certainly got that early 20th century imperialist vibe to it, but not in the way something like an early Tintin adventure does. A lot of that type of adventure story was maybe made too close to the time when these things were actually happening, so they weren’t truly afforded the luxury of hindsight. We’re now a century out, so Roberson is able to depict things as they were for an audience that, for lack of a more delicate phrasing, knows better. So when a missing kid is written off for her non-Englishness, or a country is rejoicing over the pillaging of another nation’s artifacts, we see it as it is, not as it was. This sort of delicacy in the story is impressive, because Roberson never tells the reader how they should interpret any of what’s happening, in regards to the broader, social elements of the story. So while he’s certainly leaning hard on that specific story type, he never falls into the easy traps that the genre’s early works unintentionally laid.
Mark: That was an aspect of the story I particularly appreciated, because it makes most scenes operate on multiple levels. And I like that you can see the characters each having different reactions to it. There’s a lot of subtext to the acting.
Shall we launch into spoilers?
Mike: Yeah, let’s do it. I gotta say that I’m a little surprised by the slow-burn direction this series has chosen. Not in a bad way, mind you, as I’m into this sort of storytelling. I’m just taken by the confidence it takes to be two issues into this thing without any indication that we’ll be seeing a more conventional form of the titular character any time soon. There’s a start on the lineage of the Black Flame in this issue, if I’m not mistaken. Or at least that’s what I gleaned from that cryptic dream sequence at the top of things. I feel like I’m nibbling on the edges of your expertise, so can you break a little of that down for us?
Mark: Something that’s becoming readily apparent as we get further into this story is that this story isn’t just a random flashback coming out now because now is as good a time as any. “Witchfinder,” “Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.,” and “Rise of the Black Flame” are all circling around the Black Goddess, the Black Flame, and the Black Sun. We seen this sort of thing in the Mignolaverse before, but I don’t recall it being done to this degree before. I feel like if you’re reading all three of these stories, it heightens the experience of each title.
One of our commenters, Holtor, pointed out in our last review that ‘farang’ is a Thai term for someone of European birth. Given the introduction to this issue, it seems pretty clear to me that Farang is actually Raimund Diestel, who goes on to become the Black Flame and fight the Lobster in 1932 and Sledgehammer in 1944.
Like you, I’m enjoying the slow burn, but at the same time it feels like this story is delving into material I’ve been waiting for since I saw Mr. Pope’s room of Nazi memorabilia in “B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame” back in 2005. The opening of this issue, when the young Farang saw the Black Goddess, finally connected Hecate with the Mesopotamian goddess Ereshkigal, something I’d suspected, but now I’ve finally got confirmation. (I’m pretty sure this name is cognate with Ereshigal, the darkness that entered into the Ogdru Jahad and corrupted them. I used to think that Hecate was created by the darkness, but now I think she is the darkness, or at least an aspect of it.)
For a long time, virtually everything we know about the Black Flame has been learned from visual cues. The Black Flame has been set up as the opposite to Vril without that ever been explicitly said—it’s something we largely gleaned from witnessing Sledgehammer and the Black Flame’s fight in 1944. And look at the way the Black Flame appears in “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth”—he looks like a distorted version of one of the Watchers that created the Ogdru Jahad.
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That’s all been great, but it’s nice to have a story like this come along, which appears to be promising something more concrete.
Mike: But every time we’re given answers, the scales are balanced with even more questions, right? While all the finer points of the mythology are getting hashed out, we’re becoming more acquainted with two new and really interesting characters. The longer I’m around Jewell and LaFleur the more I wonder about their histories. How’d they come to this line of business? Why are they even in Siam to begin with? How’d they meet? What’s up with Jewell and Edward Grey? For being so fresh to the world, these characters already feel really rich, and that really makes me want to fill in the gaps.
Mark: Yeah, and we’ll be seeing more of Sarah Jewell in January’s “Hellboy Winter Special 2017.” It’s exciting to see the universe expand in unpredictable directions. (Plus it’s nice to know the Winter Special wasn’t just a one-off thing. It’s an excellent addition to the line.)
Mike: Nice! And can I say that I can’t believe it’s already time for another winter special? This year really sped by.
But that has nothing to do with comics, ready to put a score on this thing?
Mark: Yeah, let’s do this.
Mike: Another solidly written issue with art that is somehow more impressive than last issue. I will say, though, I’m feeling like Roberson has worked himself into a position not unlike he’s found himself in over on “Witchfinder.” Two issues in and things are feeling really dense, and the info is coming fast and heavy. I’m hoping that the next issue or so can be spent unpacking what we’ve already been given. I’ll say a 7.5 from me.
Mark: I’d agree, but I’m giving it another 0.5 just for the color. Dave Stewart really knocked my socks off. 8 from me.
Mike: Shit, that’s a real good point. I’ll revise and say an 8, too!
Final verdict: 8. This is a packed read, and yet also a slow burn. The art is fantastic from cover to cover.
