Other than the first issue of Hellboy: Weird Tales and the first trade paperback, I haven't had much exposure to Hellboy, and I worried that a mini-series focusing on the supporting cast might be inaccessible and not that entertaining to someone who hadn't already formed an attachment to the characters. Boy was I wrong. Though reference is made to previous story events, it's perfectly clear for new readers, and without Hellboy to take center stage, Mignola and company are free to really explore the other cast members who make up the investigative team of B.P.R.D., including a fascinating new member, as well as creating a nifty threat for them to face. This is an anthology trade in some ways, with backup stories that feature the other characters in action solo and I found all the stories included here to be great reads.
The central story in B.P.R.D. concerns the fallout of Hellboy's departure from the agency, and whether his departure is going to start a flood of resignations from the decorated operatives of the agency. Given that the concept of the B.P.R.D. and its members is pretty out there, it's interesting that this notion of loyalty and office politics feels so normal. Of course, on top of things like worrying about how the boss really thinks of you (as a cog or as a valued employee) and being the new guy in the office, we have weirdness like creatures from the Hollow Earth kidnapping your friend or your body being replaced by an artificial suit that holds in your ectoplasmic consciousness. The mix of easy-to-relate-to and "what the hell?" works surprisingly well.
A big part of that is the work done on the characters here, and while I'm roughly familiar with the characters of Abe Sapien and Liz, I didn't feel like I knew them as well going in as I did on the way out. The same is true for new guy Johann and rough-and-tumble homunculous Roger, as Golden, Mignola & Sniegoski do a great job of showing off the team dynamic while giving each individual character their own personality. I was particularly taken with Abe slowly realizing that he held the leadership role, and with Johann serving as a fresh pair of eyes, providing instead of the cliched naivete a new perspective that helped all involved.
The artwork on the lead story is by Ryan Sook, and it looks fantastic. I know some see Sook as little more than Mignola knock-off, and the resemblance is uncanny, but I actually find a lot of Sook's artwork to be stronger in terms of providing a little more anatomy and definition to the characters. The designs for the creatures and technology of the Hollow Earth are especially cool, and Dave Stewart's muted but strong colors really bring the piece to life. Sook can't match Mignola in terms of his absolute mastery of how to use shadows and light, but his work here is moody and effective, and those who skipped B.P.R.D. because it wasn't done by Mignola and therefore "wasn't real Hellboy" should really, really reconsider.
The rest of the trade is filled out with reprinted short stories, and I found these to be quite enjoyable as well. Not quite as lightweight as the stories that make up the first issue of Hellboy: Weird Tales, these serve instead to introduce the reader to the cast members of the B.P.R.D., or to provide regular Hellboy readers with a little bit more insight into these characters. Both "The Killer in My Skull" and "Abe Sapien Versus Science" are fun, self-contained tales, but the real gem in this bunch is "Drums of the Dead." Created by two unfamiliar names to me, Brian McDonald and Derek Thompson, the piece is beautifully illustrated in a more realistic style than I'm used to on Hellboy, and mixes a story that would make a good episode of the Twilight Zone with familiar B.P.R.D. operative Abe Sapien.
I've been having an increasing interest in all things Hellboy as I see more of what the comics have to offer and start to get hyped up for the movie, but B.P.R.D. brought with it a real surprise. I now want not just more of the big red demon who is the title character of this series, but more of Abe Sapien and his crew, and I look forward to the future one-shots, minis and (maybe?) an ongoing if the talent can be kept at this level.
