B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Devil's Engine

[Kees_L]

I by no means am saying the comics should skip the single issues, only that for me it would be nice if they did as it would fit my reading style perfectly, and it would have potential storytelling benefits. The fact is, it's probably not a very realistic business model. It's still fun to talk about though.

I suppose part of the reason I like reading comics the way I do is because the cliffhangers at the end of singles are usually pretty manufactured, like an ad break for a TV show, whereas the cliffhanger at the end of an entire trade is more satisfying, like the cliffhanger at the end of an episode of TV. I don't watch live TV because I hate ad breaks (I haven't in seven years now. As such, my tolerance for ads is about five seconds). If I'm going to stop watching or reading, I need to feel like I've finished a complete unit of the story. An episode of television has a clear beginning, middle and an end, as does a miniseries. A section of TV between ad breaks or a single issue of a miniseries do not. All I'm saying is for me personally, not making any claims for anyone else, that's not satisfying.

I still really want to see an original B.P.R.D. graphic novel, just to see what John Arcudi would do with the format. I'm not talking something like Hellboy: House of the Living Dead which was barely the length of two issues, but a full trade, 5 to 6 issues worth material completely unencumbered by restrictive issue lengths for its chapters. This is one of the the reasons I'm looking forward to the second Marquis book too.

I like having discussions about the impact of format on story, even if there are no viable alternatives.

I get what you mean. (I think...)

I think that basically a weird thing about reading or "reading style"(s) as you say, would be that reading can be two thousand different things all at once, even as per reader, plus also even as per writer.
Either Hellboy or the BPRD can be to seem very outstanding examples of what comics may amount to. But at the same time they may seem nothing or hardly like any other comics.
And it could be that Hellboy or the BPRD would want to be seeming like outstanding other types of stuff too on and off, like outstanding old horror movies, or antique action tales both as folklore or proud tragedies potentially. Wayward or in-depth, or teamy-uppy and character- or continuity-laden, earth-shatteringly doom-impendant yet also intricate or delicately moodswept.
It's all comics, although the stories seem often organic or so hardly like anything that it's as if the stories would seem to tell themselves.

And as such it seems to me that after the first Hellboy story, which is said to be made not necessarily as being a starting point to a definite series - but more rather as something which needed to work and be good or there wouldn't likely be more to come, until one more story followed, later another and then another - that the dynamic of forming either part issues / issues / two parters / story-arcs would be deliberate and rather encompassing.
For both Hellboy or either the BPRD, or any related titles or standalones to spin off.
So that the 'writing styles' could be to vary. Eventhough it would basically all fit side-by-side as being to inter-connect. Hellboy as a title may take on rather different story formats and so does the BPRD, for either ongoing stuff or more rather side stuff, I'd think.
Like to the point that either mr Mike or anyone collaborating, could be to take on different voicings or storytelling formats or be to move in different directions or fashions as desired, all FOR the sake of storytelling or effect, more rather than against it. (Eventhough any such styles or effects would all be adding up to conscious choices made already yonks and yonks before - again FOR the sake of how stuff would be meaning to be as, like neededly.)

Which would have it be not onlly a thing of reading style, but well, two thousand other perspectives (or 1999) as well potentially, I'd feel.
Which could be fun, because any rereading can be producing new stuff to consider.

If stuff like Tolkien or Star Trek, or Star Wars once you'd know any of it fully by heart, if stuff like that would be one thing, than to me 'Hellboy etc' would seem as quite another, because eventhough it would amount to in-your-face full-on enticement, it would also be making itself far more impossible sort of, as being such a hard to oversee wealth of different things, like horns that could resemble goggles almost or weird hands and crazy life-spans or powers and destinies which could be proving curses in the end or any event.
With offering telling tales in different voicings and y'know, all that.
Like there would REALLY be nothing like it?

Plus also, that for created or creative produce, such as comics or books or graphic stories, more importantly than what things (like formats) would be, would be what it could SEEM?
Like that maybe comics stuff might really WORK as seeming potentially very different things? Either as loose issues or TPB's or collections - all fitting side by side? Or as however any reader or fan would want to be seeing things?

As for "cliffhangers", since mr Mike would be the stuff's creator, things may work as issue-ending cliffhangers potentially as much as not so much - because mr Mike uses cliffhangers as per panel moreso than only as per page-ending or as per issue I'd be to think. The panels seem as vital and essential as much as or more than how the issues'd be set up as issues? Even with other writers or other artists at work, the stories would be seeming similarly storytelling-driven both as graphically driven, in distinct ways, I'd think?

[Thomas Uk]

Actually, all the chapter breaks are in colour in the trades now, and variant covers are always included in the sketchbook section. Also, the BPRD Omnibuses have the original covers in full colour too.

But yeah, the Mignolaverse trades are of excellent quality.

Nice! The latest trade I have is 'King of fear' which still has the faded out versions of covers at the start of 'chapters'. Hmm, maybe I should start waiting for trades after all! Nah. Not patient enough!

[Middenway]

Some art by Joe Querio (Tony Masso's Finest hour) of the monsters from this story and Gods:

[Gary_B]

Tucker Stone at www.tcj.com really summed up how I felt about this issue.



except he left out the part about how Fenix got on the train only because her dog was on it, "knowing" of its imminent doom, but then bailed out regardless of her dog due to the immediate impending aforementioned doom. and that's where it really lost me. because that made about as much sense as... as nothing. because it made no sense whatsoever. none.

This opening comic helped establish that Devon is going to have to respect Fenix' "feelings" when they happen. I'm having a "feeling" of my own right now - that Bruiser survives the train crash and maybe even helps save Fenix and Devon from the monsters that are likely to emerge from the crevice that formed in the path of the train. I thought this comic did a good job of setting up the story and I'm looking forward to the next issue, especially the parts with Zinco, Kurtz and Kroenen.

[Jr. Wormwood]

I could never give up buying the singles/floppies. It's in my blood. The joy of going into the comic book shop, seeing each monthly cover given the full treatment, stacked against the shelf saying, "I'm here! I'm here! It's been a whole month, but I'm back and I'm here!!"

There's not many things I get sentimental about, but comic books is one of them. When I was a kid, before I knew there were entire shops devoted to comic books, I would ride my bike a couple of miles to the local mom-and-pop and pick my comics off of one of those spin racks they'd have at most convenient stores back in the day. It was such a rush! Then when I got a little older, I would bus into the bigger town to go the comic book store. It was heaven! Rows and rows of comics, all kinds of people perusing the shelves, flipping through the pages...

Anyway... There's a culture to comic books that is lost on trade waiting. On digital, as well. I buy the collected hardcovers, and before those were being produced, the trades, but there's no way I'm abandoning the format that's brought me SOO much joy in my life. I don't buy anything other than BPRD and Hellboy, so I don't feel shelling out an extra $20 to $30 every few months is that big of a deal. Especially for material from creators and a company that I feel very much deserve my respect and support. Hell, one night out at a bar and you're out more than that.

[Jr. Wormwood]

Tucker Stone at www.tcj.com really summed up how I felt about this issue.



except he left out the part about how Fenix got on the train only because her dog was on it, "knowing" of its imminent doom, but then bailed out regardless of her dog due to the immediate impending aforementioned doom. and that's where it really lost me. because that made about as much sense as... as nothing. because it made no sense whatsoever. none.

You ever run after a kid who's running out into the street, even though you know you're gonna get hit by a car? Me either, but it happens.

Maybe her "spider sense" was more tingly once she actually got ON the train? I dunno, but I don't see why any of this is that big of a stretch.

In a world where DC's Justice League and the new Batman Inc. are getting ridiculous amounts of praise (unwarranted IMHO), this issue was a breath of fresh air. I like quieter issues now and then, especially as an opening issue.

[Kelly Tindall]

I'm hoping I like these two a bit more by the end; Devon is a great guy to dump on (who can forget his little moment with the phone booth in The Warning?) but I don't buy him as a hero. Same with Fenix; her last move was to shoot a beloved character for no reason. So, I'm predisposed to dislike these two as heroes from the get-go.

The Nazi subplot doesn't feel compelling yet; why are these guys still alive? That's more interesting than who their Frankenstein is... And are we really supposed to get excited about the possible return of Rasputin?

I'm almost tempted to move to trades on the main series.

[Donald]

And are we really supposed to get excited about the possible return of Rasputin?

I'm almost tempted to move to trades on the main series.

Is the body for Rasputin or the Ogdru-Jahad to inhabit like Nimue?

I've moved to trades. There's just too many loose plots, characters, and stories flapping around to try to make sense of. Actually start resolving...well, anything, and I might go back to monthlys.

[Middenway]

Same with Fenix; her last move was to shoot a beloved character for no reason.

Really? Judging from the way she looked at Abe when she first saw him, I'm guessing she had a very good reason, we just don't know it yet.

The Nazi subplot doesn't feel compelling yet; why are these guys still alive?

I'm sure they'll get to that. It would be very awkward to explain that at this early stage. They've been in a grand total of two panels in Russia and five panels in this issue. We probably won't get an answer for a while yet.

That's more interesting than who their Frankenstein is... And are we really supposed to get excited about the possible return of Rasputin?

I really don't think it's going to be Rasputin. That has to be the most boring possible answer to that question.

I'm almost tempted to move to trades on the main series.

Me too. I'm very sure this story will read better in the trade.

I've moved to trades. There's just too many loose plots, characters, and stories flapping around to try to make sense of. Actually start resolving...well, anything, and I might go back to monthlys.

I don't feel any need to tie up anything at this point. We're still at the beginning of the Hell on Earth cycle so I'm not expecting resolution any time soon. At this point they're still in the stage of ripping everything open, not stitching it up.

[Kelly Tindall]

Really? Judging from the way she looked at Abe when she first saw him, I'm guessing she had a very good reason, we just don't know it yet.

Then how can we be expected to sympathize with her right now? At this point, she's the would-be assassin of the book's de facto hero.

[Middenway]

Then how can we be expected to sympathize with her right now? At this point, she's the would-be assassin of the book's de facto hero.

If she was a grown adult, I'd agree. But she's just a child. She doesn't know Abe like we do. He looks like every other monster, and if she's been surviving by following her premonitions (often the only thing that have prevented her and others from being killed), then it seems perfectly reasonable to shoot him. I'm enjoying The Devil's Engine because we're finally getting to know her, instead of looking at her from the outside. But a lot does hinge on the answer to that question, Why did she shoot Abe? It must be something pretty big to make a sixteen-year-old willing to commit murder with absolute certainty.

I'm actually curious about what that answer will mean to Devon too. The whole reason he didn't tell anyone who shot Abe was because having a psychic attempt to kill him was almost confirmation of his own fears. But as we saw in this issue, he wasn't entirely convinced Fenix is psychic. So, Devon isn't very sympathetic, but he is compelling for me, and from that he could grow into a sympathetic character.

At this point, I'm glad they've taken time for this story to focus on the characters, because the real questions driving the series forward depend on the choices these two have made. Plus, it's only three issues and you know things are going ramp up to something huge for Return of the Master.

[Gary_B]

If she was a grown adult, I'd agree. But she's just a child. She doesn't know Abe like we do. He looks like every other monster, and if she's been surviving by following her premonitions (often the only thing that have prevented her and others from being killed), then it seems perfectly reasonable to shoot him. I'm enjoying The Devil's Engine because we're finally getting to know her, instead of looking at her from the outside. But a lot does hinge on the answer to that question, Why did she shoot Abe?

According to the one sentence preview on the Dark Horse sight we will learn Fenix' motives for shooting Abe in the third and final issue of this very story.

Link.

[Donald]

I don't feel any need to tie up anything at this point.

Not even:

Does Liz have her powers? Why was she living in the trailer park? How did she get to the trailer park?

What was Shonchin doing in the Black Flame's underground hide out? Why did he teleport the agents before Liz went nova? Where is he now?

What's Abe turning into & what does it have to do with Caul & his origin? (This one is probably too early to expect an answer for.)

Is Ben dead-dead or is his soul in the Wendigo? What about Darryl?

What's Panya up to with the key stealing? Does she have and end game? Did she cause Johan's dream? Will Johan's body ever get done cooking?

What is the last Oannes society member doing with the sub?

The new stuff with the mushroom vampires. (too early again)

And does any of it matter with the Ogdru hem awake? I know they're not the same as Lovecraft's Great Old Ones, but I still get the vibe when they're awake, it is all over for the world. And since Liz is the only one who took one down, there doesn't seem to be ANY hope of stopping them.

For me this isn't building suspense or adding layers, it just dangling points that won't be resolved anytime soon.

[M.Hammerman]

For me this isn't building suspense or adding layers, it just dangling points that won't be resolved anytime soon.

AGREED. Sorry to sound sort of cranky about it, but I've been really frustrated with BPRD for way too long. All the praise I always hear for the series is about what a rich, rewarding, interconnected world is being built. But... Honestly, I've gotten tired of it in the last year (and probably earlier). When an X-Men or Avengers comic has five year long dangling plot threads, we generally just call it sloppy writing. How can I continue to think of BPRD as a superior version of other mainstream cape comics when its world is becoming even more convoluted than the X-verse?
Again, forgive my crankiness--I just really really really miss Liz and Abe (among others) and am finding it very hard to get excited about a comic starring Devon.

[Middenway]

Not even:

Does Liz have her powers? Why was she living in the trailer park? How did she get to the trailer park?

What was Shonchin doing in the Black Flame's underground hide out? Why did he teleport the agents before Liz went nova? Where is he now?

What's Abe turning into & what does it have to do with Caul & his origin? (This one is probably too early to expect an answer for.)

Is Ben dead-dead or is his soul in the Wendigo? What about Darryl?

What's Panya up to with the key stealing? Does she have and end game? Did she cause Johan's dream? Will Johan's body ever get done cooking?

What is the last Oannes society member doing with the sub?

The new stuff with the mushroom vampires. (too early again)

And does any of it matter with the Ogdru hem awake? I know they're not the same as Lovecraft's Great Old Ones, but I still get the vibe when they're awake, it is all over for the world. And since Liz is the only one who took one down, there doesn't seem to be ANY hope of stopping them.

For me this isn't building suspense or adding layers, it just dangling points that won't be resolved anytime soon.

Surprisingly, no, all of those feel like they're building to something, but none of them feel like they're pressing to be answered now for me. The only exception is, "Why was [Liz] living in the trailer park? How did she get to the trailer park?" It would have been nice to have touched on why she left Bangkok, and why she thought a trailer park was a better place to hide, though I'm assuming it was because of the instability of Asia after the fallout of King of Fear. I assume we'll learn more about Liz the next time we catch up with her.

Touching in on these plot elements from time to time is all I need for now, just to remind me that they're still in play. For example, seeing the Oannes guy in the sub at the end of King of Fear was just to remind you he's there, not to hint at some new plot development. I don't expect to see him again for at least a couple of years.

The fact is good comics take too long to make. You have to invest years to tell a story of decent length. Most of the time they're only really good for telling short stories. Personally, I love the pace of storytelling in B.P.R.D.. It almost feels custom made for me. It's like Mike Mignola and John Arcudi have basically looked at this thing and gone, "This story could take fifteen years or more to tell" and then launched into it anyway. The vast majority of comics I read feel rushed to me, answering things before they've properly established the question. B.P.R.D. feels natural and I really appreciate that.

But I can totally see how it can be frustrating. It's like reading a really good book, but only reading one chapter every year.