B.P.R.D., Vol. 1: Hollow Earth & Other Stories (Hellboy)

B.P.R.D., Vol. 1: Hollow Earth & Other Stories (Hellboy)

By: Mike Mignola  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Publisher: Dark Horse

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Nothing hollow about it - The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, or B. P. R. D., are the organisation Hellboy and co. work for and here, minus Hellboy, it's given it's own series. The focus is on the other members of the Hellboy world: Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, and two new characters, Roger the golem, and Johann Kraus, a disembodied medium.

The first volume introduces each character giving them their origin stories. We find out how Abe's first days at the Bureau were like, Roger's reanimation came about, and Liz's first meeting with Hellboy. Johann Kraus' backstory is included here too along with a funny Lobster Johnson short story about a killer brain.

The best story here is "Hollow Earth" following Liz, Abe, Roger, and Johann as they descend to the centre of the Earth to battle Morlock-type creatures from activating millenia old machines that could take over the world. The other stories here are excellent too with Abe battling ancient slave monsters in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

If you're a Hellboy fan and wondering if BPRD is a series that can match the quality of Hellboy's, have no fear, this is an excellent series and "Hollow Earth" is a great introduction to it.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
B.P.R.D. Volume 1 - Hollow Earth

The first B.P.R.D. mini-series was written by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by Ryan Sook and Curtis Arnold and was published from January to June 2002.

Hellboy novelist Golden and his long-time writing partner Sniegoski wrote the story with regular input from Mignola. Sook was chose to draw the book following a meeting with Mignola at a convention in Oakland, CA in 1995 and saw it as a chance to have a book all to himself although Arnold joined as inker when schedules started running tight halfway through production.

A three-page newspaper-format teaser for the series called B.P.R.D. was published in Dark Horse Extra from December 2001 to February 2002 and is also included in this collection.

The story features Dr. Kate Corrigan, Abe Sapien and Roger the Homunculus on a mission to rescue Liz Sherman and features the first appearance of Johann Kraus and flashbacks of Hellboy.


The Killer in My Skull

Lobster Johnson made his first appearance in this story by Mike Mignola, Matthew Dow Smith and Ryan Sook (in his first contribution to the series) which was originally published as a back-up feature in Hellboy: Box Full of Evil #1 (September 1999).[5]

In the story Johnson and his sidekick investigate a series of bizarre deaths which appear to have been committed using telekinesis.[1]


Abe Sapien versus Science

Abe Sapien made a solo appearance in this story by Mike Mignola and Matthew Dow Smith originally published in 1999 as a back-up feature in Hellboy: Box Full of Evil #2 (September 1999).[6]

In the story Sapien rescues and reanimates Roger the homunculus when B.P.R.D. scientist Dr. Roddel threatens to dissect him just as Abe recalls he threatened to do with him when he was first discovered.

Drums of the Dead

Abe Sapien made his first solo appearance in this story by Brian McDonald and Derek Thompson originally published as the main feature in the one-shot Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead (March 4, 1998) with new Hellboy short story Heads by Mike Mignola as the back up feature.

Series editor Scott Allie had been in discussions with Brian McDonald about his next project after the success of Harry the Cop and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola had been considering using Derek Thompson on a Hellboy and so it naturally evolved that the two friends should end up working together on this project.[1]

In the story weird deaths in the South Seas expose an ancient tragedy linked to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
the paranormal misfits - Hollow Earth is a wonderful story. First of all the characters are so alive. Complex emotions. I keep coming back to scenes and not get bored. Even tough, it lacks the charismatic character of Hellboy is not there. Abraham is an reluctant leader and the enigmatic Roger and the awkward and puzzling Johannes, makes up for the Hellboy's power play. I was introduced to BPRD from Hellboy movie so, was a little bit confused about the relation between Liz and Abraham. The intro is great. Subtle cues go a long way. Perhaps I am being hard on the book but the draw back is the fighting scenes in the caves. Kind of reminds me of D&D. Yeah, I am being hard. Because, there are always twists and new insights in the cave as well. The little bit that we see of HellBoy in this book is do not failed to amuse. The other three stories in the book are ok. The development of character of Abraham who was called the "fish-God" lead me on. The story of Lobster Johnson was perhaps too short, or too thin. And the story of Roger and Abraham did explain a little bit about the two character, but nothing really more.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Graphic SF Reader - I am happy to read Mignola BPRD type tales whenever he comes up with them, or the cows come home, whichever comes last. These are Hellboyless, but have some other characters. A homunculus, and a ghost man who wears a suit so that he can interact with the physical environment, and a new field leader hard bitten, deformed military man type.

Some of this is to show the relationships between the characters, and how the BPRD humans are increasingly alienating them. It shows how Hellboy rescues Abe from test after test after test, and then Abe does the same thing for Roger the Homunculus, from the very same scientists, a couple of decades later.

They also have to rescue Liz, who appears in a sending, after being gone yet again, for a couple of years.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
A Solid Outing for Hollow Earth - B.P.R.D. stands for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, a secret U.S. agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. It is a spin-off title from Mike Magnolia's popular Hellboy comic book series, and details the adventures of the agency's other "special" operatives.

The team includes Abe Sapien, a blue-skinned gill-man with a mysterious past; Liz Sherman, a neurotic pyrokinetic; Johann Kraus, a German psychic whose body was destroyed while his spirit was visiting the astral plane; and Roger the Homunculus, a medieval golem with tremendous strength and a child-like personality.

"The Hollow Earth" storyline serves as a general introduction to the B.P.R.D team for those readers unfamiliar with the Hellboy mythos. It does a good job of showing how Hellboy's resignation affects each member. The bureau just brings the newly-disembodied medium, Johann, into the group while Abe Sapien debates quitting the team and taking Roger with him. Meanwhile, Liz Sherman has taken a sabbatical, traveling to the mystical realm of Agarta in the hopes of learning to tame the fire within her.

Outside events soon bring everyone together, however, as an attack on the monastery Liz is staying at prompts her to send a psychic S.O.S. to her friend Abe. The bureau quickly mobilizes and sends the team out on a search and rescue mission that leads them into the very bowels of the earth. This is a very good story. Each member's unique strengths are highlighted, and the group dynamic is set up very well.

This collection also features two shorter stories. The first, "The Killer in My Head" features Lobster Johnson (a grim 1930s paranormal investigator first introduced in "Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm"). Several prominent scientists are found dead inside locked rooms and our hero has to solve the mystery. The second, "Abe Sapien Versus Science" is a short vignette that shows Abe filling the void left by Hellboy by rescuing Roger from the perpetual prodding of the bureau's scientists, mirroring Hellboy's actions years ago when he rescued Abe from the same thing.

Also included is the rare Abe Sapien one-shot, "The Drums of the Dead", written by Brian McDonald and drawn by Derek Thompson. This is a story about the mysterious and deadly happenings aboard cargo and fishing ships along the oceanic trade routes between America and Africa. The artwork is very dark, which mirrors the mood of the story. The plot is simple, but action packed and delivers an emotional punch as well.

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