Need Others Opinions on Possible BPRD Purchase

[TheCollector222]

Yes, recently I decided to finally get around to purchasing the BPRD books.

I haven't gotten any of the single issues in long time and really don't plan to as I can't afford to keep buying them.

But what I can do is afford the TPB's thanks in part to the holidays being here in all honesty.

But and here comes my dilemma, I see that most of the first 15 books have been made into Omnibus editions, but from the sounds of it, if Hell on Earth books are ever made into Omnibus editions it won't be for a long long time.

And well, I'd like to have everything as the same format, not some Omnibus' and some TPBs, so should I just go ahead and get the Trades or wait for the Omnibus' to be made for Hell on Earth? What would you do?

Only reason I'm not sure is cause with how long it'll be before the Hell on Earth stories are Omnibused, I don't really wanna wait that long to read them.

[Middenway]

The only bonus with omnibus editions is the expanded sketchbooks (and the cheaper price). If you think that's worth waiting for, that'd be the way to collect them. But I suspect that's not the case. The trades will be available 6 months after the conclusion of each story, so the wait is minimal. Meanwhile, if you wait for the omnibuses, the absolute earliest you'll be able to buy the first volume of B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth will be late 2015 (and that is an extremely optimistic estimate).

[UnravThreads]

The only bonus with omnibus editions is the expanded sketchbooks (and the cheaper price).

And higher quality printing, and they're slightly rejiggled to improve the reading order.

To be honest, you can't really work with B.P.R.D./Mignolaverse as just one format as some titles (Being Human, for example) will likely never be collected in hardcover, and the same goes for a number of the 'fringe' titles that link into B.P.R.D. - Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder, Abe Sapien and I suppose you could even count Hellboy in this as it's Oversized HC or Trade. On top of that, as Middenway said above, you're talking 2-3 years at the bare minimum before we even get a sniff of a solicitation for a Hell on Earth collection, unless something unexpected happens with the series. I believe a number of the 12 trades now in omnibus form are out of print, so you would have to buy them used or from your local comic shop if they have them.

I think if money is an issue, you can't be this picky. I know it's a pain, trust me, but really you're going to be spending a LOT more buying the first storyline in trade. It also works quite nicely with the PoF stories in HC, then next to them having the trades for Hell on Earth, 194X, etc.

[Middenway]

And higher quality printing, and they're slightly rejiggled to improve the reading order.

Yeah, that too. There's no doubt in my mind that the omnibuses are the best way to read them.

[TheCollector222]

Thanks for the help, I actually decided to go ahead and get the trades, since the hardcovers don't have everything. Plus seeing how big the hardcovers are in comparison helped, I like carrying books around with me and those hardcovers are far from portable.

[Superchino]

The BPRD HCs aren't huge like the Hellboy Library editions! They're the perfect size to throw in your bag for a trip! I cannot recommend them enough,

[Zevious Zoquis]

I'd recommend the HCs too. The Hellboy LEs are just ridiculously gorgeous. The The portability of the trades is a poor trade-off for the overall quality and beauty of the LEs. The PoF BPRD HCs are really nice too but not quite as impressive as the HB LEs. I think you'll end up wishing you'd just gone for the hardcovers at some point...

[TheCollector222]

I gotta say, I got some of the TPB's and I don't understand what they were doing in the HC's, cause according to the wiki the order in the second book is The Dead, War on Frogs, and the The Black Flame. Yet War on Frogs makes a reference to something that happens in the Black Flame. So, did the wiki get the HC order wrong, or did the book actually get it wrong?

[Kees_L]

I gotta say, I got some of the TPB's and I don't understand what they were doing in the HC's, cause according to the wiki the order in the second book is The Dead, War on Frogs, and the The Black Flame. Yet War on Frogs makes a reference to something that happens in the Black Flame. So, did the wiki get the HC order wrong, or did the book actually get it wrong?

None of the books get it wrong, actually.

It's just that the BPRD story "War On Frogs" came out originally as placing itself outside of or alongside main BPRD-continuity.
The 4 part story took over two years to get published in its entirity for a first time, alongside or next to the main BPRD narrative, for a matter of fact.

And the thing with any reading-order or continuity-order is that it doesn't need to get served up only in pure chronology. Although in case of the BPRD comics, maybe the War on Frogs issue containing the Black Flame reference will have coincided with the Black Flame issues coming out, when they actually came out for a first time.
It is fun to see separate issues from separate storylines or even from separate titles coinciding. This happens in the Mignolaverse.

But mainly stories might do with becoming realized or made in their own good time, when opportunity would be serving them.
Plus piecing together chronologicalness or actual sequence to events would simply be fun and good more rather than not.

Usually stuff in either Hellboy or BPRD or any titles get dated or referenced towards for the sake of it when or whenever such would be needed.
Since in many instances the books or stories might not be following mere chronology, for good reason.

Storytelling or good reading doesn't solely rely on chronology nor would it need to, not one bit.
I'm sure you could see that if you'd ponder on it enough.
Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes doesn't rely on mere or utter chronology, RE Howard doesn't, Star Trek doesn't, Star Wars doesn't, Tolkien doesn't,
superhero comics don't either.
No fiction needs to stay within chronology. It can do that because that is what fiction can do.

The full body of all Hellboy-related material will be a massive number of stories and adventures once it'll all be done, but at the same time they all may convey interconnectedness a lot in one way or another.

So to think all issues or stories could separately be placed in exact sequence as corresponding to but one sequence of issues or storylines would be not the goal of it at all. I'd say. When more rather readers could be piecing stuff out or imagining it all into chronology to their hearts content. I'd say such would be a goal far more rather. Wouldn't you?

[TheCollector222]

Wow. That was a long post. I read the whole thing, don't get me wrong. But that was long. You are very passionate about all things Hellboy huh? Good to see, that is. Wish more people were, these comics get so little fanart for one thing, maybe I'm being a bit selfish on that front though as I would like more pictures of Liz Sherman.

Y'know, I still remember the first time I saw her, not much but it was in a KB toys that has since closed down, and there was her old Mezco figure sitting on the shelf. Now this was long before I ever knew what Hellboy was, that didn't come about till the first movie to be honest. But I still remember what I thought when I saw the figure. . "Man she's ugly."

Lol, we all make mistakes, now I recently acquired one of my own at long last and I love it. Liz is great, always been my favorite character, which is why I actually stopped reading for awhile, Liz left BPRD and well, compiled with everything going on in my life at the time, BPRD just slipped from my reading schedule, just wasn't as interested without Liz.

That's why even with the condition she was in in issue 5 of Return of the Master, I was still ecstatic to see her. Hopefully she becomes a main again. I'd love that.

Though I gotta say, I really hope this series doesn't actually end with the end of the world like in Liz's vision, cause looking at Abe's mutations and that Russian ship, seems like everything seen is beginning to come true.

[Middenway]

Not to mention Devon now has a beard... although he still has to hit the gym before he'll match the photo of him in the future. And Panya still isn't walking yet.

[TheCollector222]

Hopefully it's the same thing as alot of other media where in the end they're able to stop the world from ending. Though with Mignola you never know. I just feel that'd be a suck way to end the comic, everyone dying, I love them all to much for that to happen.

[Middenway]

I think the world will end. As Scott Allie said in the last Hellmail, "Mike has always said that when a character dies in his books, they just become more interesting. The same might be true for the Earth."

Whatever comes after that will be really interesting...

[TheCollector222]

But we saw that future, just a grey ash covered landscape covered in giant monsters with everything destroyed and everyone dead. I'm having a hard time figuring how something more interesting can be made out of that. I have complete faith in Mignola, but I can't help but worry. As all I can imagine is panel after panel of dead, barren landscape. With the occasional giant monster foot and or tentacle going by of course.

[Middenway]

I see that as an intermediate stage. Remember the glimpse of the world anew in Conqueror Worm? I imagine something will follow. No idea what though.