Tag: dark horse

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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!

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Conan Omnibus Volume One: Birth of the Legend

This is a review of Conan Omnibus Vol. 1: Birth of the Legend. I’ve read a fair amount of Conan comics in my youth. Back then Marvel Comics had the license, and a typical Conan story went like this. Conan kills the Monster of the Week, summoned by the Warlock of the Week to threaten the Damsel of the Week. Afterwards, he ends up with treasure and probably gets laid, although they don’t show that very last part. Conan is usually drawn looking like a ‘roided-up pro wrestler by John Buscema, one of my favorite comic artists. Most of the issues are one-shots and are enjoyable but forgettable. I recall one story where Conan is hired to escort a baby across a river to its mother or father (I forget which), and the baby turns out to be a baby monster.

This is a different Conan indeed. The opening scene of this graphic novel shows a woman, nine months pregnant, shoving a spear through the back of the warrior about to kill her husband. Conan comes into this world moments afterwards, born on the battlefield. I don’t want to get too specific, for fear of spoiling things for the reader. Suffice it to say that this graphic novel has three storylines – the first depicting Conan’s childhood, the second set in the city of Hyperborea, and the third involving Conan’s first encounter with sorcerer Thoth-Amon. Sorcerers seem to be a recurring theme with Conan, as in he doesn’t like them. And the feeling is mutual.

Unlike the comics of my youth, Conan is not written as an invincible, unstoppable juggernaut. In one scene, he comes face-to-face with a lion pride and runs away. He makes a ton of mistakes, and pays for each and every one of them. His actions – whether intentional or not – hurt other people. He has prominent strengths and weaknesses, although many of the mistakes he makes are from inexperience. But he’s a fast learner.

This is the best Conan I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.