B.P.R.D. Omnibus Volume 5 story by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, art by Guy Davis, Tyler Crook, and Duncan Fegredo, colors by Dave Stewart, and letters by Clem Robins
The start of the Hell on Earth saga begins with this volume.
New World--With the U.N. takeover of the B.P.R.D., the agents are running thin. Global coverage is hard to maintain as problems break out all over. Abe gets a lead on where Ben Daimio is, which leads into a backwoods encounter with a disheartening resolution. If that wasn't bad enough, the agents at the Bureau are starting to get on each others' nerves. Johan suspects Panya of personal intrigues. Devon suspect Abe of being the next creature of the apocalypse. It's an unhappy start to the new storyline.
Seattle--Seattle is wiped out by a big demon, though this story is just a conversation between a B.P.R.D. agent and a local cop. They discuss whether this new war can be won or not and what they should do about it. It's a nice bit of human interest and all too brief.
Gods--Survivors from the Houston volcano are following a teen-age girl named Fenix. She has some sort of precognitive ability that's enabled her and people following her to avoid disaster. As the B.P.R.D. catches up to their group, a lot of bad things happen. Kate tries to force Abe and Devon to patch up their differences, though both are very reluctant to move on. In the field, they still are very cool to each other, until Abe gets shot up at one of the monster hunts.
Monsters--Liz Sherman has settled in a trailer park where she hopes to live a quiet life. The locals don't make that possible when they start dabbling in the occult, forcing Liz back toward her "secret agent" life, though she's a long way from the B.P.R.D. Meanwhile, Abe's condition gets worse, as does the world-wide supernatural disasters. While it's nice to know what's happening with Liz, it's not happy news.
Russia--Kate goes to meet with the Russian equivalent of the B.P.R.D., an agency named the SSS or Special Sciences Service. Following the typical Russian stereotype, they are both secretive and invasive. They know a lot more about the B.P.R.D. than they initially admit too and have plans that they do not reveal until the very last moment. Their manipulativeness pays off in some unexpected ways, making for an intriguing story.
An Unmarked Grave--Kate goes to England to follow up on clues to where Hellboy might have wound up. She finds out very little, other than that impending sense of doom is only getting worse and worse. This was quite a downer, even with its very brief page count.
The book ends with a sketchbook of ideas and visual drafts of the various characters and creatures.
Overall, the plot and tone are too bleak to be fun to read. While the characters keep fighting the good fight, the hope of success, either short-term or long-term, has dwindled so much. Having read the ending of the Abe Sapien storyline, I know the bad place they will wind up and just don't have the heart to keep watching the trainwreck.
Mildly recommended, though I probably won't read more of this storyline.
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