Rate this book

B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth, Vol. 4: The Devil's Engine & The Long Death (2012)

by Mike Mignola(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1595829814 (ISBN13: 9781595829818)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Dark Horse

series

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth

review 1: Mike Mignola has been an "artists' artist" since he first blew everyone away in the mid-late eighties, emerging from behind a Walt Simonson/Jack Kirby fusion with his now unmistakable atmospheric and angular chiaroscuro style. Just as he was becoming one of the biggest names in comics, with books like the 'prestige' format 'Batman: Gotham by Gaslight' tailor-made to showcase his brilliance and originality, he decided to jump ship. Leaving superheroes and the 'big two' for the creative freedom of Dark Horse, he joined Frank Miller and John Byrne as part of the 'Legend' imprint of creator-owned titles. When 'Hellboy' debuted, the strength of the art obscured the insecurities Mignola felt as a writer. The first mini-series, 'Seed of Destruction', was scripted by John Byrne, b... moreut 'Wake the Devil' saw a rapid development in his abilities as a storyteller, as he broke free of the assembly-line mind-set that reinforces a distinction between writers and artists at Marvel and DC. His honesty and utter lack of pretention has always been admirable, and from the start he explained 'Hellboy' as a vehicle for his obsessions with pulp fiction and gothic horror, with a reckless approach to plotting that was often decided by an urge to draw a giant ape with bolts in its neck (for example).The scope and complexity of the 'Mignolaverse' grew exponentially when the BPRD and Hellboy went their separate ways. John Arcudi took the 'Plague of Frogs' storyline in exciting and always unpredictable directions, and Guy Davis emerged as a singular artistic force, with Eisner awards confirming the critical and popular acclaim he so richly deserved. When Mignola chose Davis as artist on the first 'Plague of Frogs' arc, he was best known for his run on the Vertigo series 'Sandman Mystery Theatre', which was not the best representation of his abilities. Given their seemingly opposing artistic styles, it is a testament to Mignola's judgement that he saw the potential in Davis, who is now considered the most imaginative monster artist ever, perhaps even better than Mignola himself. The Hellboy and BPRD books have become the most reliably entertaining and artistically brilliant titles on the shelf, using a combination of respected veterans and gifted newcomers: Richard Corben, John Severin, Duncan Fegredo, Ryan Sook, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Paul Azaceta, Jason Shawn Alexander, Peter Snejbjerg, Ben Stenbeck, Sebastian & Max Fiumara, Scott Hampton, Kevin Nowlan, Jason Latour... and so on. Pound for pound, Hellboy, BPRD, Abe Sapien, Witchfinder, Baltimore and Lobster Johnson have the best art in mainstream comics.[SPOILERS}With Volume 4 of the 'Hell on Earth' storyline, the reader gets two entertaining tales, smaller in scope, that serve to develop newer characters and resolve one of the original series best narrative threads. With Guy Davis gone, Mignola's unerring eye for talent is proven once more, with two exceptional new artists who each put their skill to the test on their respective stories. 'The Devil's Engine' is illustrated by Tyler Crook, who has a style similar enough to Guy Davis' pencils and inks to keep the unique look of BPRD intact, but uses a flawless European 'ligne claire' that contrasts with the sketchier, suggestive rendering of his predecessor. 'The Devil's Engine' begins with Agent Devon trying to escort the teenaged danger-detector Fenix back to BPRD headquarters. What promises to be an aggravating train-ride with a hostile girl who may or may not have useful premonitory powers, soon turns into a nightmare. After she freaks out and leaps from the moving train, Devon is forced to follow. She provides all the proof he needs of 'useful abilities' when the train crashes violently into a deep crater, killing the passengers. Their close call provides little relief, however; terrifying Hammerheaded monstrosities force them to seek refuge in an overturned trailer. Their desperate battle for survival makes for an exciting tale, and Crook proves himself to be among the very best artists in comics.Both of the stories in this softcover collection are great, but it is 'The Long Death' that steals the show. Johann Kraus heads north to find his former boss, Ben Daimio -- whose shocking secret about his mysterious death and rebirth in Central America resulted in the massacre of several BPRD agents. It also destroyed the colossal human body that Krauss had been able to inhabit, living once more as a human, instead of a vaporous ectoplasmic revenant in a containment suit. The disappearance of a couple forest rangers in British Columbia alerts Kraus to Daimio's location, but his hunt goes very wrong when he leaves his squad to search on his own, as Daimio eludes him to surprise the sleeping BPRD agents in his Were-Jaguar form. Kraus gets his own shot at vengeance, involving a stone knife, a ranger's mutilated corpse, and a rotting moose carcass, but is unable to kill the beast. When the Jaguar-god that has possessed Daimio faces off against Daryl the Wendigo, however, it is one of the most terrifically violent episodes of monster mayhem in recent memory. The writing is excellent, but the art of James Harren is truly something special. He renders the violence between two legendary creatures with an exaggerated style that is stunning, with a gift for conveying natural/unnatural movement and kinetic impact in a way that is both shocking and convincing. The rampage of the Jaguar-thing is explosive; as it tears through human bodies, blood and viscera practically drip from the page. Harren's fusion of American comics, Japanese manga, and European bande dessinee techniques produce a final showdown between Daryl and Daimio that almost feels animated. His way of depicting the contortions and movements of two supernatural beasts engaged in a wordless, brutal struggle to the (second) death is brilliant. This three-issue mini-series put the comic-world on notice -- James Harren is a f***ing superstar. He's destined to become the new 'monster-master', but it's hard to say, since he's still playing with toys that belong to Guy Davis, even though his heavily stylized twist is unique. Once he brings a few toys of his own to the BPRD sandbox, things will get even more interesting. It's a fun read all around, but the art alone is worth the price-tag. There have been murmurs of complaint that BPRD: Hell on Earth has stalled, but it remains one of the few mainstream comics I follow, along with Saga, Fatale, Stray Bullets: Killers, Pretty Deadly, The Walking Dead, Prophet and Sovereign (by a strange coincidence, all titles published by Image... a few years back, The Walking Dead was the only title Image published worth reading). And while I'm screwing around with lists, James Harren and Tyler Crook join Michael Deforge, Jesse Jacobs, Paul Maybury, Emma Rios, and James Stokoe, as amazing artists who have only been at it seriously for a few years, making very different comics, but who have emerged as truly original talents.
review 2: “The Long Death” was definitely my favourite of the two 3-issue stories collected in this volume. Johann leads a team of agents to British Columbia to investigate a spate of bloody killings carried out by a were-jaguar and former BPRD colleague, Daimio. But Johann goes prepared to stop Daimio’s bloody rampage once and for all.As good as the story is, the artist James Harren deserves special mention for his outstanding work, drawing what is one of the goriest BPRD stories I’ve read in a good while. He draws the Wendigo amazingly too, giving him this profound sadness in his silent panels, and the Wendigo’s close-up expression on his face before fighting the were-jaguar? Extraordinary. The background art is beautiful too, he really captures the stillness and eeriness of the snowy woods at night perfectly.There is a massive fight between Wendigo and were-jaguar in this story that I didn’t expect to be as epic as it was but Harren does a marvellous job with the action. The characters move on the page and I loved how Wendigo’s movements seemed believable despite his figure being wholly unreal.Not that “The Devil’s Engine” is bad, it just isn’t as inspired as “The Long Death”. In this one Agent Devon is escorting Fenix and her dog, Bruiser, back to BPRD HQ but finds trouble when their train derails and some kind of spider monsters chase them in the middle of a desert. It’s a testament to Mike Mignola and John Arcudi’s storytelling abilities that they’re able to take 2 characters, Johann Krauss and Agent Devon, who, when the series started out, were solely background characters but are now the leads of a book - and you care about them as much as you would if it were Hellboy and Abe in their roles. Johann especially is becoming more and more likeable.Duncan Fegredo who draws the covers for all the issues has to be mentioned. He is simply the best. Each one of those covers blew me away. He takes Mignola and his team’s outlandish monster creations and turns them into things of utter beauty. That first cover of “The Long Death” where Johann is walking in the woods is wonderful as is the cover of the second issue to ”The Devil’s Engine” with the careening lorry with the monstrosity atop it, and when Dave Stewart’s colouring them? Comic book nirvana. I wish these two would draw everything Mignola wrote, they are an unbeatable artistic duo.This is an excellent fourth volume in the “Hell on Earth” series proving that Mignola only gets better with age. I don’t know where it’s going but Mike Mignola’s creating a helluva comics tapestry with all of his books that are swelling literally into the dozens and seem to overlap in the most brilliant ways. I re-read “BPRD, Volume 6: The Universal Machine” recently because I love that book but it turned out to be fortuitous as the Wendigo character in Abe’s story from that book reappears for the first time since then in “The Long Death”. Also, if you want to get the most out of this story, check out “BPRD, Volume 8: Killing Ground” to find out who this Daimio chap is and how he came to be a were-jaguar. You can still enjoy this book without reading either book but “The Universal Machine” is seriously one of the best books Mignola’s ever written so it’s well worth checking out. Nobody else is doing monster comics this good - can’t wait to read more in this brilliant series! less

Download links for: B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, Vol. 4: The Devil's Engine & The Long Death

Advertising