Book Review: Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1957 by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1957 stories by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson, art by Laurence Campbell, Stephen Green, Shawn Martinbrough, Alison Sampson, Mike Norton, and Mike Mignola

Another set of random adventures from the old days of the B.P.R.D.

Family Ties--Hellboy and field agent Sue hunt down a paperback copy of Gustav Strobl's "Witchcraft and Demonology," an authentic text of occult practices. This particular copy is in a Dayton, Ohio, suburb, where a family is suffering from one of the members being possessed. That particular demon causes a lot of trouble. The telling has creepy atmosphere and a build-up that pays off well.

Forgotten Lives--Professor Bruttenholm and Hellboy set out to investigate a haunted graveyard. This particular cemetery has mass graves for the indigent, so finding the right unsettled spirit is much tougher. They wind up at an auction of personal effects from the indigent, which indirectly solves the problem. The story is charming in its way. There's an old security guy who is completely unphased by ghosts since he's seen 'em all already, unlike the newer interment crew. I liked this one a lot.

Falling Sky--Hellboy and cryptozoologist Woody Farrier go on a field assignment to investigate a flying saucer sighting that has resulted in a monster in the woods. Woody has been work for a few years with the Bureau and is dissatisfied, since any weird creature they find has been either a hoax or a demon-crossed regular animal, not an actual new species. Hellboy tries to cheer him up but that is not Hellboy's core competency. They discover the UFO is just a downed weather balloon. The locals are still fearful of something in the woods, so the investigation continues with a mixed-blessing ending. This story is a nice character study, mostly of Woody, but a bit of Hellboy too.

Fearful Symmetry--Hellboy visits an old college friend of Bruttenholm's in India. He teams up with Ginny Payne who had been something like a summer intern for the Bureau seven years earlier. They investigate some animal attacks in a remote village, probably a were-tiger but people aren't sure. It's another monster-of-the-week story for Hellboy.

From Below--Hellboy, Bruttenholm, and Agent Archie go to investigate a noisy, abandoned saw mill in Oregon. The spot has had sporadic sightings or, more precisely, sounds of the supernatural. Archie had investigated seven years ago and came up with nothing. This time, they discover a trap door leading to a basement full of arcane equipment and a symbol of the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra. So something bad is down there. It's another fun venture that uses Archie's background well.

Happy New Year, Ava Galluci--Hellboy attends a New Year's Eve seance where a shyster medium, the titular Ava Galluci, is guest of honor. The locals want to summon a discredited ancestor with the usual unhappy results. This is a quick story that hits the typical Hellboy horror vibe, with art by Mignola as well as the story.

This collection is a lot of fun, with Forgotten Lives being the standout.

Recommended, highly for Hellboy fans.

Book Review: Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1955 by M. Mignola et al.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1955 stories by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson with art by Shawn Martinbrough, Brian Churilla, and Paolo and Joe Rivera

This volume collects three stories from Hellboy's earlier years at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

Secret Nature--Hellboy visits a midwest farm with Woodrow Farrier, a black B.P.R.D. agent with a Ph.D. and an interest in cryptozoology. The local farmers have lost livestock to some vicious night predatory. One farmer is racist toward Dr. Farrier, a weirdness that's flagged up by Hellboy who asks if Farrier is annoyed that a red-skinned, horned and tailed demon guy gets a pass but not an African-American. They don't get too deep into the issue because they find a cabin in the woods with some torn up teenagers, a chalk pentagram, and a book of witchcraft. A little translating by Farrier draws the summoned hellspawn back to the cabin. Hellboy does hand-to-hand combat while Farrier figures out from the book how to despawn the demon. A mostly happy ending ensues.

Occult Intelligence--Hellboy and a crew of B.P.R.D. agents stop off for refueling on the Marshall Islands, only to discover a covert agency is working on some new type of weapon. All they find is a bunch of mutated animals who attack the base and a mysterious Soviet agent who claims to have run into Hellboy several times before. Meanwhile, Prof. Bruttenholm discovers a British covert agency that is tracking occult activities in other countries, including the USA, so he is not welcome. B.P.R.D. Agent Susan Xiang does get help with her paranormal abilities (mostly visions of the future) while in England, inspiring Bruttenholm to get more resources from the Feds since it looks like they'll be dealing with a lot more paranormal stuff in the future. This story has a couple of action sequences; the plot just seems like set-up for future stories and is not that interesting in and of itself.

Burning Season--Hellboy, Susan, and Bruttenholm investigate the latest in a long series of spontaneous human combustions in Port Orange, Florida. The debate over whether the fires are supernaturally or scientifically caused ends pretty quickly when psychic Susan uses her powers to see what's causing the problem--the long history of violence and horror in the area. The story was surprisingly short to me, consequently lacking any real depth or excitement.

The first story has the most Mignola-esque art, with black shadows giving a menacing feeling to the story. The other stories have the more cartoony B.P.R.D. style which works well enough. The stories are a bit disjointed, more of a random set of adventures than an overall story arc, which is unfortunate since Occult Intelligence really suggests a bigger story arc that doesn't get developed. Maybe in future stories.

Recommended for Hellboy fans.