It feels like Christmas...

[Juno Reactor]

...because my B.P.R.D. order arrived!

As a B.P.R.D. newbie, I'd like to share some impressions. But first, a word of praise for InStockTrades (instocktrades.com), the company I bought my books from. You save a ton of cash -- 35% off the MSPR, no taxes and free shipping on orders over $50 -- and they're VERY careful with the packaging of your order. My books arrived in perfect condition, sealed in a protective plastic sleeve with a cardboard slip to brace it, and cushioned with piles of foam inside a sturdy box. There was so much foam that the books didn't even slide around inside the box! I highly recommend InStockTrades, because they treat your order like royalty. A big "Thank you" to Petriacce for telling me about them!

Now then, the books.

I'm new to B.P.R.D., unlike many people here. It took me a while to warm up to Davis' style. But after spending some time with the previews at darkhorse.com, I began to "get" it, and now that I have all of the TPB's except Volume 1 (it wasn't available at the time), I don't know why I didn't appreciate Guy's brilliance sooner. Leafing through the books, I see things like Abe approaching an old seaside house oozing with atmopshere; what looks like a skyscraping Ogdru-Hem, a hundred stories of pure awesome; and even a friggin' jaguar god -- and it all looks AMAZING. I can't wait to read these stories and find out what the hell's going on.

I just finished "The Soul of Venice and Other Stories," a short story collection by various writers and artists, and I wanted to say that everything's off to a great start. Each story had its highlights: the stunning Shax reveal and Roger's crush on Cloacina in "The Soul of Venice"; the theme of being a monster vs. being monstrous in "There's Something Under My Bed," and the touching coda with Charlie; the train chase with Lobster Johnson in "Night Train," and the great chemistry between Liz and Roger around the campfire; and the whole concept in "Dark Waters" of the town's buried sin coming to life and possessing a hateful preacher. Oh, and then there's "Another Day At The Office" -- I love zombies and can never get enough of them in Hellboy's world. The title was fitting, because the story focused on an incident that's crazy by nature, but quite routine for the B.P.R.D.

So yeah, great book. But now it's time for the REAL DEAL: the Davis-drawn story arcs of Mignola and Arcudi. I'm particularly excited about "The Universal Machine," which I skimmed a little more than I should have, but it'll have to wait for last. I'm reading them all in order. Expect impressions as they come.

That's right, Hellboarders. At long last, I've joined the ranks of the B.P.R.D. I'm a Davis convert. I've fully embraced the rest of the Hellboy universe, and I'm loving it. Maybe I should drag out my readings so that the wait for the "Garden of Souls" TPB won't be so painful? ^_^

- JR

[Maija]

Welcome to the wonderful world of the BPRD.

Reading your post makes me want to gather up all my trades and start reading them again from the beginning, except that I have a pile of stuff to do today. :p

[gdeo]

Congrats Juno....these are all great treasures:D

[Juno Reactor]

Hmm.

I'm reading "A Plague of Frogs," I'm at the part where Abe is dying (!!!), and I have so many great things to say... But my book is falling apart! It appears the binding is glued, and while the pages are all staying together, the front and back cover (which is all one piece) is sliding off.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? I remember Rachel Edidin was able to help others with this problem.

This is... a bit of a buzz kill. :(

- JR

[Todd H]

Hmm.

I'm reading "A Plague of Frogs," I'm at the part where Abe is dying (!!!), and I have so many great things to say... But my book is falling apart! It appears the binding is glued, and while the pages are all staying together, the front and back cover (which is all one piece) is sliding off.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? I remember Rachel Edidin was able to help others with this problem.

This is... a bit of a buzz kill. :(

- JR

That also happened to one of my Goon trade (right after I got it signed.Argh!). I'd like to hear a solution as well!

[Juno Reactor]

While we wait for somebody from Dark Horse to chime in on the glued binding problem, I'll go ahead and share some impressions of "A Plague of Frogs":

This story was so cinematic it felt like a movie. How about the part where the camera pans from the torched zombies in the graveyard to the church's open window, then through the window and across the altar, then out the backdoor and across the yard, into the house by the woods where Abe is tracking the miracle-boy, all in one deft chain of panels? Or how about the amazing near-death experience Abe has, where he sees a jellyfish-like entity in a marble city, then eons pass in the blink of an eye and it's a stone egg, then Caul clomps along in his scuba suit and picks up the egg, and Abe watches as the submarine departs, the light disappearing with it, leaving Abe's spirit in the darkness of the deep... Only to reappear in a Victorian-era building, during a storm raining frogs, and how Abe's spirit finds the secret room where Caul and company are gathered 'round the egg, and how the egg hatches, the jellyfish assimilating into Caul, who then sees the spirit, of himself, from the future, embracing himself and completing the mind-bending past-to-future-to-past circle that is the birth of Abe Sapien.

Wow. Talk about one hell of an ending!

And everything leading up to that ending was deliciously weird. There was an elephant-man, and not just any elephant man but a fungus elephant-man. There were frog monsters by the hundreds, and plenty of cosmic horror permeating every line about the coming gods and the end of man. How all this trouble germinated with the discovery of one lil' piece of fungus tissue, a decade after "Seed of Destruction," is awesome. And how Rasputin got his revenge after ten years -- brilliant, plain and simple.

The sheer amount of detail Guy put into Crab Point was amazing, making it one of the most memorable locales in a Hellboy-universe story to date (well, at least of the books I've read so far). And Mignola's writing is in top form; as an aspiring storyteller myself, I always marvel at his ability to make a moment humorous, heartwarming and sad all at once -- such as when Roger shares his dream about being a child with parents and a red toy ball.

And the coloring! This is probably one of the most colorful Hellboy-universe books I've read so far. The bright yellows and reds of a blazing forest fire, the unearthly green light of the walking dead, the deep blues of the ocean depths -- Stewart's a genius.

I have some questions, though.

Is Hans Werner Schlegel a real person? When the crazy scientist raves about Sadu-Hem, his quote about a skull-shaped bowl made of coffin nails is attributed to Schlegel. However, I googled his name and can't find anything about him. Also, is Crab Point a real place? I live in Michigan and I don't recall such a town. I'm guessing it was made up since Mignola planned to doom everyone there from the start!

Well, I loved "A Plague of Frogs." My enjoyment of it was only diminished by the cover's tendency to slide off (I managed to squeeze it back on, but it's still loose at the spine and will slide off the next time I open it). But the book's construction is not a fault of the story, and where the story and art is concerned, this is a must-see, must-read experience! I'm hoping the people at Dark Horse will be able to tell me how to fix my book's binding problem, so that I'll be able to revisit and enjoy it many times again in the future.

I'm looking forward to "The Dead," "The Black Flame," and "The Universal Machine" (as well as "Hollow Earth and Other Stories" once I order it this Wednesday). I just need more time to read them all!

- JR

[Rachel Edidin]

I think there was another, earlier thread that involved a lot of discussion of binding issues and some possible solutions / contact info--can anyone find a link?

[parrish]

I think its this thread.

My Seed of Destruction trade sort of fell apart.. (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=144290&highlight=fell)

[patrick r]

It feels like Christmas because my B.P.R.D. order arrived!

- JR *shortened for those easily distractedThat's great. Enjoy the reads stuffed full of BPRD goodness.