Book Review: Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1956 by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1956 stories by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, art by Mike Norton, Yishan Li, Michael Avon Oeming, and Paul Grist

1956 is a transition year for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense They are getting more funding, which means hiring more agents and getting better equipment. The small staff has been overworked since WWII ended, so the influx is welcome. Well, mostly welcome. Director Trevor Bruttenholm is a bit concerned with the new hires who are mostly law enforcement transfers. The paranormal research may be out of their league. More concerning is where their true loyalties lie...with the B.P.R.D. or their previous agencies (including CIA and FBI)?

Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, the Special Sciences Service (the Soviet equivalent of the B.P.R.D.) is also struggling with larger government interference. The Politburo wants the SSS to produce results, especially in developing weapons. SSS head Varvara (the demon girl from previous stories) is less interested in bureaucratic nonsense and keeps a tight and terrifying grip on the Service. She is keeping tabs on Bruttenholm and seems more connected with Hellboy's fate as Destroyer of the Universe than with the success of the Soviet programs. Her story runs parallel to the B.P.R.D. story, with the back half of each chapter set in the former Russia.

The story here is less compelling than in other volumes. Things move forward at a snail's pace, with little action and only punctuated moments of drama. The cloak and dagger stuff just isn't exciting. Some developments happen toward the end of the story, including the return of Hellboy from Mexico, but they are not a big payoff. Having separate artists and visual styles for the parallel stories is an interesting choice.

The final story in the book presents one of Hellboy's Mexican exploits--co-starring in a luchador film as The Devil, which is fun but inconsequential.

Mildly recommended. This is a narrative connector piece for larger stories but is not all that interesting in and of itself.