Comic Review: BPRD: The Black Goddess

Fans of the various BPRD miniseries and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe already know pretty much what to expect from the latest volume, The Black Goddess. For those of you unfortunate enough to have missed out on this whole boat, most of the stuff is still in print. Go find it. The latest mini is a great read – but if you’re not caught up on the recent happenings at the eponymous Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, you’ll be more than a little lost. But to give you the jist: the BPRD is a U.S. government organization formed for the purpose of defending the nation, and the world, from paranormal and supernatural threats. The agency employs several supernatural “enhanced talents” agents, including a humanoid amphibian named Abraham Sapien, a disembodied, ectoplasmic German psychic named Johann Kraus, and the pyrokinetic Liz Sherman.

It’s Liz that this latest story arc most focuses on, as she’s been kidnapped by Martin Gilfryd, AKA Memnan Saa, an impossibly old East Asian mystic whose image recalls pulp fiction villains of the “yellow peril” era. The storyline brings some real closure to Liz’s years-in-the-making character arc – but Liz herself stays largely on the sidelines, as Abe and Johann lead a BPRD team – with some help from the U.S. Army – in finding Gilfryd’s hideout and staging a rescue.

To cut to the chase – and I swear, I’m not ruining anything here – they find the hideout. It’s what they find while they’re there, that really makes the bulk of the story, both for Liz as a character and, well, for the world. This miniseries really highlights a lot of the things I love best about BPRD. If you’re a noir aficionado, look no further. This is as much a pulp story as anything else. The storylines are over-the-top, epic, and full of adventure, and the dialogue is snappy and full of wit. But at the same time, longtime BPRD writer John Arcudi gives each of these characters time to shine – and develop. If you’re a horror fan – well, there’s quite a bit here for you, too. The world Mignola created way back in 1994 is chock full of mythical creatures drawn from other sources. These bits of various mythos would feel forced if thrust into the “real world” by less talented hands. But the creatives who have worked on Hellboy and BPRD since the beginning have proved more than a match, making each creature their own and twisting the legends to fit their world.

This blend of pulp and horror styles is what really gives artist Guy Davis room to breathe – and shine. Davis draws 1930s pulp action scenes, World War II battles, and modern black-ops missions with a hardnosed, angular style that recalls a latter-day, more nuanced Dick Tracy. Within pages of this, he delivers stunning spreads filled with legions of Lovecraftian horrors, ready to pour into our world and devour us alive. Oh – and there’s ‘frogs’ there, too. Lots of ‘em. At no point does his art style change – yet, somehow, it feels tailor-made to each of the genres that are represented here. Oh, and when I say “legions” of these monsters – I mean legions. Once again, the end times and latter days BPRD keeps promising us seem to be looming directly over our heads. Will our heroes get out of it? Probably. But then, I suppose you’ll have to read it to really find out, won’t you?

Speaking of Mr. Davis, keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming interview with the man himself. And if you’re reading this from Michigan, you might not even have to wait that long – he’ll be doing an exclusive book signing this Saturday, November 28th, from 6-8 PM at Vault of Midnight in Ann Arbor, MI. Grab some comics, meet a great artist, get a signature – it’s one-stop shopping for everyone as geeky as me!