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hellboy2
Kareem Ali 4

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1952 #2

 

  • The good

    Story advances slightly, and the mystery deepens. Some action

  • The bad

    No semblance of a village so those remaining are suspects but investigation lacking.

  • The ugly

    • Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1952 #2 continues with Hellboy and the Bureau hunting the strange monster terrorizing a Brazilian village. It opens up with Father Souza and Olavo heading towards the local cemetery while the former is saying a prayer. Father Souza tells him that the reason they’re there is to end the curse that has haunted the village too long and observe where the monster rests at night. And then the plan is to kill it after the sun rises. However, Father Souza is mainly doing this because Isadora called him a coward for not defeating the monster and blamed him for the situation getting worse all this time. So it’s no surprise they’re ill-equipped when the monster surprises and kills Father Souza, whose screams ring out all across the countryside. By the time Hellboy and the others find his body, the monster is long gone. Thankfully, they’re able to find Olavo, who is unharmed but in shock and covered in Father Souza’s blood. Since Hellboy seems to be unsure of what to do, he’s tasked with taking Olavo back to the church, keeping him company and making him feel safe. Yet more is going on than meets the eye as Susan Xiang gets an unusual feeling when touching the cross the monster was on briefly.  And the locals believe the old fortress being used for filming is haunted yet filming continues. Is this monster just one supernatural occurrence or is it connected to something deeper that’s been going on in this village?

    hellboy2
    The pacing in the first issue was deliberate, and I enjoyed it because it felt like things were being setup to ultimately be a rewarding experience. So there was the brief introduction to Hellboy and the Bureau laying out a foundation for those familiar or unfamiliar with Hellboy. And the creepy atmosphere at the Brazilian village was established in a foreboding manner. Despite the lack of action I enjoyed the issue overall. This issue started off with action involving Father Souza and Olavo, although it was abundantly clear that Father Souza would meet his end from the beginning of this sequence. Of course Isadora would regret the words she said to him urging him to take these reckless actions. However, once they found his body and Hellboy would take Olavo back to the church, things would become more mysterious. And that’s good or bad depending on your patience. And the pace is similar to last issue so for me it depends on the payoff, and if the panels implying a deeper mystery do have significance then it’ll be worth the build up. So does the man in the car driving by the team have any significance? Does Robert’s interaction with the crime scene give clues about everything going on or is it just shown in that manner with no extra significance? Susan’s premonitions heavily imply that there is, and so for now I’m going with that approach. As far as suspects being involved are concerned, there really is no mystery because the entire village is gone so it’s just a matter of what’s going on being revealed. There is action this episode involving Hellboy and the Bureau, and it’s decent and it’s also brief. But it whet my appetite for more action to come. There’s also a development at the end that makes things more interesting for next issue, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1952 #2 is a solid follow-up to the first issue and gives enough hints about what’s being going on in this village to make the overall story more titillating. This is done through a couple of developments but also through ominous looking panels, and so I’m hopeful that the payoff will be worth the wait. There was some action this issue but even that mostly makes me look forward to when there’s more intense action because of the potential here. The investigation should move forward next issue since there isn’t more to explore on the surface and no other villagers, so unlike Susan, I’m excited about what’s ahead.

     

    Release Date: 1/7/14

    Writer: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi

    Artist: Alex Maleev

  • Rating ( 8.1 )
  • Total score 8.1

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