B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Return of the Master

[thwhtGuardian]

I wonder if we'll ever get a story set in 1984, when Iosif is brought back to the SSS. And whatever happened to Melchiorre's Burgonet?

I'd certainly like to see that, we got allusions to that in Russia but I'd love to see more.

[edhopper]

It is a good start. Though I had to read it twice to get all that was happening. Tyler's art is stellar and the story should be great. I don't know how I feel about the changing of the guard. The frontpiece illio shows the new guys in front of a pic of the old. I just don't find Devon, Fenix and Giaracco that interesting. The are okay as supporting characters, but when they take center stage I lose interest. Compared to Abe, Liz, Johann...they don't do it for me. I am sure the story and art will keep me in it, but the new blood is a bit of a yawn.

[Artie Ness]

The frontpiece illio shows the new guys in front of a pic of the old. I just don't find Devon, Fenix and Giaracco that interesting. The are okay as supporting characters, but when they take center stage I lose interest. Compared to Abe, Liz, Johann...they don't do it for me. I am sure the story and art will keep me in it, but the new blood is a bit of a yawn.

I see what you mean. I wouldn't say they are just "okay" though. Giarocco's role in The Long Death was really cool. Devon has been unforgettable since the phone cabin incident and his Abe fear was really engaging. But in The Devil's Engine... I mean, if the whole trip would have been about Fenix and Liz, now that would have been really cool! For all the monsters and disasters I was left disappointed. The Pickens County Horror was fantastic in many senses but "Agent Vaughn"... I had to check back his name to write it in here. Ashley in Exorcism felt better, amazing story, dialogues and art but even there I guess I kept on hoping for Abe, Liz or Johann to take the stage indeed. Or for Panya to show her true colours at last.

But going back to Return of the Master and beyond the issue of supporting characters growing into main characters I also had a "yawn" (mixed with a "it's that it??") feeling when finishing this first issue. Like all I had seen were talking heads at the B.P.R.D. headquarters... so I even counted the pages: it's really half the book, even French movies have more action these days. Lots of "just keep on waiting, it's going to be awesome". Which has always been around and thrilled me and has most definitely paid off in the past but... lately I have the acute feeling something is thinning, despite all new threads and characters popping up everywhere. Like a bubble growing and then... pop! ...it could not grow any more without falling apart.

The covers hint for some sound action and some good old main characters back in stage though so... in the meantime I guess I'll read The Long Death again

[Gary_B]

Great first issue for me. Any theories on who will co-captain the mission Kate sent Giarocco on? My theory is Bruno.

[Middenway]

Great first issue for me. Any theories on who will co-captain the mission Kate sent Giarocco on? My theory is Bruno.

I didn't even consider that. Seems very likely to me.

[pimpernel]

Great first issue for me. Any theories on who will co-captain the mission Kate sent Giarocco on? My theory is Bruno.

It's set in Scotland and they mentioned a Scottish field office so i'm holding out hope it'll be me in comicbook form.

[pimpernel]

Seriously tho Bruno doesn't make much sense to me... i mean Germany is a long way from Scotland and Bruno isn't a BPRD agent so it seems like he would be a bit random. A Brit or a Russian would make much more sense.

Also i think if it was someone from outside the agency she was hooking up with then Kate would have referred to them as a consultant or a liason or something rather than a co-captain... unless maybe they were SSS as this whole situation is their mess... and Iosif is on most of the covers.

Of course it might just be Vaughn or Nichols... but then i think Kate would have just mentioned them by name instead of just teasing.

[pimpernel]

It is a good start. Though I had to read it twice to get all that was happening. Tyler's art is stellar and the story should be great. I don't know how I feel about the changing of the guard. The frontpiece illio shows the new guys in front of a pic of the old. I just don't find Devon, Fenix and Giaracco that interesting. The are okay as supporting characters, but when they take center stage I lose interest. Compared to Abe, Liz, Johann...they don't do it for me. I am sure the story and art will keep me in it, but the new blood is a bit of a yawn.

I like the new characters but i do miss the old ones and i must admit i find the the new characters less interesting so far and the team a bit blander. I think the new characters work best as supporting characters or in combination with the older characters... Giarocco is better but i can't imagine most of the others holding my interest over a five or six issue arc themselves.

I miss when the team was a bit weirder... i mean we have gone from a fishman, a firestarter, a homunculus, an ectoplasmic man, and a werejaguar to a bunch of normal folks in more-or-less identical uniforms and a housebound mummy.

[Rastagir]

Great first issue for me. Any theories on who will co-captain the mission Kate sent Giarocco on? My theory is Bruno.

Maybe Sal from Abyssal Plain and The Devil does not Jest?


He was a Brit, if I remember correctly..........

[Artie Ness]

Seriously tho Bruno doesn't make much sense to me... i mean Germany is a long way from Scotland and Bruno isn't a BPRD agent so it seems like he would be a bit random. A Brit or a Russian would make much more sense.

I agree but maybe it would make sense for Kate in a different way

[Storey74]

I miss when the team was a bit weirder... i mean we have gone from a fishman, a firestarter, a homunculus, an ectoplasmic man, and a werejaguar to a bunch of normal folks in more-or-less identical uniforms and a housebound mummy.

Exactly! Maybe it is time to get a vampire or a talking Gorilla onn the team on the team... Iosif is a decent consolation prize tho.

[Gary_B]

It's set in Scotland and they mentioned a Scottish field office so i'm holding out hope it'll be me in comicbook form.

That would be awesome! I just thought of an even further stretch than Bruno: Alice Monaghan!

[cantide]

I really loved this starter issue! So great to see the threads pulling together a bit, so interesting to see what the BPRD's become without so many of its core members. Not that the change is necessarily BAD--but the BPRD feels so different from what it once was. The team dynamic isn't there, forces are spread thin, there's so much uncertainty and so much to worry about. It hurts and I love it. The change is unfair and unpleasant and that is a great reflection of the awful situation in their world, I think. But even if the BPRD has changed from what it was before, the spirit of the organization and the atmosphere of the comics continues to be spot on for me.

I think a lot of that strong sense of continuity is thanks to Dave Stewart's phenomenal work as colorist--no matter what aspect of the comics he's working on, he nails it every time. I always love the linework in these comics, but it's Stewart's colors that really bring the whole thing to another level. And I find it so intriguing to see how he's modified his coloring style to fit the different artists--for Crook's there's a softer texture, almost reminiscent of pastels, to his colors that just works so well with the inks. I've fully warmed up to Tyler Crook's art, too. His take on these characters just feels right.

As for plot business--I suppose I can see other people's points about the newer characters being boring or not strong enough to carry the book on their own, and it is a very bold move to bring so many to the forefront at around the same time, but I'm happy to sit back and watch their stories unfold. Even if it breaks my heart not to see Abe or Liz on the page, I'm interested to see how other people, especially 'normal' people, are dealing with the way things are going, and I've always wondered exactly what goes on in the rest of the BPRD. Devon started out as a pretty boring guy, but now I'm compelled by his fear of Abe, his essential betrayal of him, his willingness to lie to his employers. I have faith that at least some of the other normals will differentiate themselves and show their own personalities as time goes on.

Though, speaking of Devon, I'm very curious--why do he and Fenix think it's a good idea to keep the real reason she shot Abe from the BPRD? Wouldn't it be important for them to know that someone who can sense things about the future felt that he needed to die? I don't think that at this point they would use that against her at all. It doesn't make too much sense for them to keep it a secret. But then again, Fenix is just a kid and no master strategist, and Devon might feel that stirring the pot regarding Abe would be a bad idea right now... I don't know. The secret doesn't seem necessary, but I love the intrigue it invites. Wonder if Panya will be able to sniff it out...

Abe's transformation seems to be nearing its end. Though I don't think he's quite reached the stage we saw in Liz's vision or in the concept art at the end of BPRD: Russia, he's been steadily changing in every glimpse we've had of him, and wow... I'm still in denial over it. And insanely curious what's next for him. Will he wake up? Will he still be himself? Or Caul? Or a blank slate again? Will he be a monster, or still basically human inside?

I still can't quite believe Liz left the way she did. I know she has a ton to deal with, but she obviously believes that her vision is what WILL happen--she thinks HB's going to come back, for one--so she knew what was going to happen to Abe, and she left anyway. What a great friend. :(

As for that agent in Scotland, hmmmm... how about Sidney Leach? Where IS that guy, anyway?

[thwhtGuardian]

I know I'd love to see Sidney Leach again, I doubt it will be him but I'd like another story with him some day.

[Mechano]

i'm going to read this thing tonight, but it sounds as though abe is still MIA... except for maybe a floating tank scene