B.P.R.D. Volume 1: Hollow Earth & Other Stories

This is a review of B.P.R.D. Volume 1: Hollow Earth & Other Stories. In case you were wondering, B.P.R.D. stands for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. This title is a Hellboy spinoff. Humble Bundle has a deal that gives you most of the B.P.R.D. material and some of the Hellboy material (digital files, not physical media) – price tag $30, which is great for over thirty graphic novels. The only negative is that they are large PDF files, so the reading experience isn’t as good.

The main story in this volume takes place right after Hellboy, angry because B.P.R.D. brass placed a bomb in Roger’s chest, quits. Roger is a golem, and became violent when activated. The other remaining member – Abe Sapien, Fishman – is planning to quit also. Salvation comes in the form of pyrokinetic Liz Sherman, who is once again kidnapped. This is a plotline that’s been overdone in the Hellboy universe, but it’s fine. Abe and Roger are joined by physical medium Johann Kraus, who lost his body and whose spirit now lives in a containment suit, just like in Fullmetal Alchemist.

The trio descend into the depths of the earth and find a race of subterranean mole-beings, a wrecked Nazi submarine, and the remains of ancient machines. Liz is being used as a battery to power one of the machines – I assume it’s a doomsday machine, but it doesn’t matter. The boys rescue Liz. They resurface in the Scottish highlands, of all places, so the story ends with sheep.

This volume features a few other tales – the first stars Lobster Johnson, a noir character, battling an enormous disembodied brain; and the second involves Abe Sapien exorcising a bunch of drowned spirits. This volume doesn’t break any ground, but it’s well-done and entertaining as well as being a fine starting point to a storyline that lasts years.

Recommended, especially for horror, Hellboy, and X-Files fans!