Book Review: Abe Sapien Vol. 9 by M. Mignola et al.

Abe Sapien Volume 9: Lost Lives and Other Stories written by Mike Mignola, Scott Allie, and John Arcudi, art by Michael Avon Oeming, Juan Ferreyra, Kevin Nowlan, Alise Gluskova, Santiago Caruso, Mark Nelson, and Dave Stewart

Another volume of stories about Abe Sapien, an agent for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense! Here's a story-by-story rundown...

The Land of the Dead--Abe Sapien goes to investigate some lost divers in Mexico. They discovered a cave that mirrors the myths of the Mayan afterlife. The cave is partially flooded. Four divers went down but only one came back. Abe swims down and finds some abominable creatures to fight. The story is an interesting blend of mythology and horror. It suits Abe's skills as a "fish man" but still has the dark and foreboding underworld. The art is from Mignola and has his signature dark and eerie style.

Witchcraft & Demonology--Abe Sapien is wrapping up a night briefing Professor Bruttenholm at his apartment. As the Professor goes to bed, Abe comes across a tome written by Gustav Strobl called Witchcraft and Demonology. Bruttenholm dismisses Strobl and his work as fake, though the B.P.R.D. did confiscate all the copies printed in the 1950s. When Bruttenholm leaves, another person shows up and tells Strobl's story, that he was a Satanist in the 1800s who was reincarnated in World War I, when he wrote the book to pay back Satan for returning him to life. The story gets weirder and more disturbing as it goes along. This was a little too seriously occultish for me to enjoy.

The Ogopogo--A dead body on a Canadian lake draws Hellboy and Abe to investigate. The lake is famous since it's the home of Ogopogo, a sea serpent that the old natives used to worship and make non-human sacrifices to. The locals are happy to make a little money off tourists. A dead body is not so great for business, much less if the monster of the lake is guilty. Not all the locals are happy for the outside interference. The story is an interesting "monster of the week" yarn.

Subconscious--Abe writes a letter to Hellboy after Hellboy gives him advice to try to fit in with the other B.P.R.D. agents. Abe struggles with changing himself to suit others or being more honest about himself or finding some other place where it will be easier to fit in. The story is short and poignant.

Lost Lives--Abe is having a hard time after finding out he was a Civil War scientist named Everett Langdon Caul who was transformed into a fish man and stored in the basement of a Washington, D.C., hospital. He's doing the research part of the Bureau's mission. Field agents Roger the Homunculus and Agent Vaughn try to talk him into going back into the field. Abe is becoming more detached from other people, which is not a good thing as the story shows. It ends with a good bit of creepy horror but does not resolve Abe's situation.

Icthyo Sapien--The more monstrous version of Abe reflects on his previous life as Caul, leading to a story from Caul's adventures in England with the Oannes Club. The club is something of an ocean cult and is looking for pre-human ancestors, leading to a specimen not unlike the current Abe. It's a weird story that doesn't so much fill in holes of Abe's past as it gives more atmosphere and shows Caul's growing obsession with subterranean creatures.

This set of stories is interesting, but mostly for Hellboy/B.P.R.D. fans. Abe is an interesting character with a very different story arc from Hellboy.

Recommended for Hellboy fans.

Book Review: Abe Sapien Dark and Terrible Volume 1 by M. Mignola et al.

Abe Sapien Dark and Terrible Volume 1 story by Mike Mignola, Scott Allie, and John Arcudi, art by Sebastian Fiumara and Max Fiumara, colors by Dave Stewart, and letters by Clem Robins

Abe Sapien has woken from his coma in the middle of the B.P. R.D. Hell on Earth storyline. He's less human-looking than before and has left the Bureau. The United States (and indeed, the rest of the world) has turned into an apocalyptic landscape. Abe wanders around trying to understand more about himself and his role in what's going on, if any. He goes to the Salton Sea where a water-themed elder god arose and to Rosario, Texas, where he took the bullet that put him in the coma. Meanwhile, Gustav Strobl is also wandering the United States looking for answers about Abe's role, though he clear has sinister motives and is upset that he does not have the mystical control that he once had before. He only takes up a quarter of the narrative, most of the focus is on Abe.

The story is very bleak. Abe has given up on the Bureau and the bigger mission of saving the world. He does help people along the way. But the aid is fairly minimal and some people are beyond help. Abe is not very successful in finding information though he is starting to remember his life as Langdon Caul. Caul lived during the American Civil War and transformed into Abe when he found some underwater relic. I found the stories hard to read (this volume is about 400 pages) with the ongoing dismal tone and the lack of progress on any front.

Not recommended.

Book Review: Abe Sapien Vol. 8 by M. Mignola et al.

Abe Sapien Volume 8: The Desolate Shore written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie, art by Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara, and colors by Dave Stewart

A bunch of Abe Sapien short stories, though they are part of a continuing story...

Regressions--Abe travels to Trevor Bruttenholm's home in the wastes of New York City and discovers some research tapes. Bruttenholm interviewed Abe and also did regression therapy on him to speak to Abe's previous lives. He hears about the events that transformed Caul into Abe and it's not pleasant information. If that wasn't bad enough, an enemy, Gustav Strobl, is following Abe through New York and causes problems too. The story is fairly dark and downlifting, but interesting for the background it provides.

Dark and Terrible Deep--Abe travels to an ancient city where he discovers yet more about his horrible past life. He also finds he has a destiny for this world which is unclear. His pursuer from the previous story goes to Saint-Sebastien where he is transformed into a creature just like Abe. The story follows a lot of elder god horror convolutions.

The Garden (III)--Abe tries to retreat from reality to a fairy realm but the lone fairy there reminds him of his greater purpose in his own world. He reluctantly heads back to the devastated America.

The Desolate Shore--Abe comes ashore the same time and the same place as Strobl, who is also a "fish man." Strobl wants to be the founder of the new race of men and fights Abe to ensure that does not happen.

The story has a lot of reminiscences and similarities to Hellboy's struggles with who he is and why he exists. The story comes to a resolution with this graphic novel, though I missed all the middle stuff! Too bad the library didn't have earlier volumes. I will have to hunt around to read the story in the right order.

Recommended, but read the lead up volumes to this first! Don't make my mistake!!

Book Review: Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi

Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi

One of the popular secondary characters in the Hellboy universe is Abe Sapien, a fish man who resembles the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He's been a regular partner with Hellboy in many adventures and also has had some solo adventures investigating paranormal happenings. This collection has three of the fish man's outings.

The first story is The Lost Boy. Two boys fell underneath the ice of a Vermont lake. Only one came back out. The lake is subsequently haunted by the boy's spirit. Abe Sapien is called in to investigate. The tale is melancholic and horrific with an action-packed ending.

The next story is The Abyssal Plain, about a sunken Soviet submarine that contains a magical artifact. Abe Sapien is sent again since he is able to swim to the depths without taking all the scuba gear someone else would need. The back story of the sub is slowly revealed, including a glimpse into the Soviet version of the B.P.R.D.

The final story is The Devil Does Not Jest, about a long-missing professor of demonology, Gaver Van Laer. His grandson provides a new lead which leads to a house full of madness and horror. This tale has the most action (i.e. the most blood and mayhem), though it also delivers some creepy horror.

Overall, the book is interesting but does not have the humor that Hellboy stories have. Abe is more introspective, more of a tough-guy who will brute force his way through a difficult problem. The stories are interesting but not as entertaining as Hellboy tales.

The book does have some concept art and alternate covers in the back. Mignola does not provide any background on the stories, though that's because Arcudi did most of the writing. Reading the background gives more richness to the story.

Parent advisory: The book does contain a lot of gore, including some bloated sea zombie action. There's a very dubious history to the submarine's artifact, part of a supposed battle between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in the middle ages.