B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 2 stories by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi; art by Mike Mignola, Guy Davis, and others; letters by Clem Robins
Another series of stories featuring the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, the place where Hellboy grew up and worked for years (though he is no longer with them in these stories). These naturally come after Volume 1.
The Dead--The B.P.R.D. headquarters moves from Connecticut to Colorado, partly as a cost-saving measure, partly because the plague of supernatural frogs is moving west across the United States. Director Manning hires a new guy named Benjamin Daimo to run the team while Kate Corrigan and Abe Sapien are on a different assignment. The Colorado facility is an old scientific research center built just after World War II. Unfortunately there's a lot of stuff that goes bump in the night in the several sub-basements. Meanwhile, Kate and Abe research Everett Caul, who is the person Abe was before something happened to change him into a fish man. Abe has no memories of that time. After consulting with a Connecticut librarian, they go to a seaside house that Caul built. Caul moved there and married, though his widow committed suicide soon after Caul's disappearance. Abe visits the abandoned house on a dark and stormy night. He meets the wife's spirit and has to struggle with what to do.
The parallel stories are both interesting since they delve into different histories and different personal dynamics. Liz Sherman and the others have a hard time accepting Daimo, who is a former soldier and very much a shoot-first-ask-question-later guy, along with his dismissive attitude toward Roger the Homunculus. I enjoyed both stories very much. Guy Davis's art is distinct from Mignola's style and became the standard for the B.P.R.D. stories. It's less dark and spooky but still creepy.
War on Frogs--Five separate stories of fighting with the frog monsters highlight different situations and different characters. Roger is getting overly influenced by Daimo, turning into a soldier of fortune. Abe has decided to forego field work which spooks out the regular B.P.R.D. agents. Johann has his own problems dealing with the ghosts of frogs who were killed just after being changed from humans.
The stories provide no real forward movement for the main storyline, just a bunch of creepy character moments for everyone involved.
The Black Flame--Zinco Corporation's head Mr. Pope is a fan of Nazi Germany, but only the occult extremism. He has a secret office with memorabilia and records from World War II. His research references various occult allies like the Crimson Lotus. Pope is interesting in becoming the new Black Flame, a Nazi occult warrior. Zinco's R&D department has captured some frogs for experiments, like making them speak in English. Meanwhile, the B.P.R.D. has its hands full assaulting various nests of frogmen across the U.S. Roger is gung-ho at fighting while Abe sticks to paperwork at headquarters. Liz is slowly turning into a living weapon, only interested in roasting the frogs. When the Black Flame tries to claim the frogs as his own followers, they merge into an even greater and more horrible monster.
Here's the forward motion missing earlier. Things move at a relatively quick pace. A lot of people's lives are changed and the big finale leaves a lot of damage on the Earth and in the B.P.R.D. roster. It's an exciting finale...at least I hope it's the end for the war on frogs.
Epilogue--A story told from the perspective of a B.P.R.D. recruit who tries to befriend Liz. Ashley Strode is her name. She has a hard time dealing with Liz's off-putting attitude after the events of the Black Flame storyline. It's interesting and melancholic.
The book ends with some sketches and commentary from the artists. The stories are fascinating and the character arcs are interesting. I enjoy the B.P.R.D. characters a lot and they get their due here.
Recommended.
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