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Kareem Ali 4

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1952 #1

 

  • The good

    Solid start establishes an intriguing story offering a refreshing take on the characters. Artwork adds perfect tone

  • The bad

    Lack of action stands out with an abrupt ending

  • The ugly

    • Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1952 #1 is a new mini-series written by Mike Mignola and published by Dark Horse Comics about Hellboy’s early years and his first mission ever. It’s set in 1952 when he is only 8 years old but physically an adult and mentally only lacking real world experience. And the question of whether or not he was dangerous went all the way back to when he was first found, and even when Professor Bruttenholm was in a hospital recovering from wounds. Varvara would pay him a visit with some information about Project Ragnarok and Rasputin’s involvement in it. And despite Rasputin wanting Hellboy, Bruttenholm was still adamant that the boy wasn’t dangerous and that he saw a good spark in him. So this belief in Hellboy over the years is what would make the Professor change the rule of not having non-agents in the field and want the B.P.R.D. team to take him on the next mission. A village in Brazil named Terroso has been having problems with a superhuman creature that has so far killed 33 people. None of the physical descriptions of the actual creature have been consistent but it’s their responsibility to address these supernatural matters. Not all are pleased about bringing Hellboy along but they have no choice in the matter and Archie is completely on board. But is Hellboy truly ready for his first mission or will it feel more like babysitting….or even worse?

    hellboy
    Sometimes the early stories for a well-established character can just feel like the rehashing of events or the only value is in recognizing a reference and connecting it to those future events and personality traits. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. thankfully takes a different approach and crafts an interesting story that can stand on its own, and gives enough of a quick backstory so even if you’re completely unfamiliar with Hellboy you won’t have a difficult time following it. Of course, if you’re already familiar you’ll just enjoy it slightly more. The angle it starts off with in 1952 isn’t heavy-handed in terms of the opposition to Hellboy among the team so none of them come across as caricatures. However, none of this is ignored because even when they arrive in Brazil the question arises of whether he’ll help or be similar to the supernatural creature terrorizing the area. This wouldn’t be addressed through any action sequences in this issue because there wouldn’t be any action but through the responses of others and showing a little bit of Hellboy’s excitement of finally being outside. However this was still an entertaining issue because of the story being built up with intriguing characters adding some mystery to the town. And the artwork by Alex Maleev adds perfectly to the dark tone of the story with the perfect balance of shading and color, adding a dramatic effect to the appropriate panels. So I’m looking forward to see the characters in action, and not just for the artwork but for a little more excitement to what is a solid start for this series.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1952 #1 is a solid start to the series and sets up an intriguing story rich with the potential for some fresh character development, avoiding the pitfalls of prequel stories. And enough is given about Hellboy’s origin with Professor Bruttenholm that even those completely unfamiliar with the character can get on board and enjoy this story. There isn’t any action in this issue, and that stands out with the abrupt ending but it was still entertaining and the build up suggests that the pacing will be worth it in more than one way. So I’m looking forward to the next issue and seeing how things unfold.

     

    Release Date: 12/3/14

    Writer: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi

    Artist: Alex Maleev

  • Rating ( 8.3 )
  • Total score 8.3

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