B.P.R.D. 1948 #1 (of 5)

The long awaited sequel to B.P.R.D. 1947 is finally here! While agent Anders is adjusting to being relocated, Professor Bruttenholm is contacted by a team of scientists who have launched a space capsule powered by a nuclear bomb. Now the capsule and its crew are missing and a mysterious creature has appeared in its wake.

The Team

Written by Mike Mignola (Baltimore : The Plague Ships, Hellboy : Seed of Destruction, Witchfinder : Lost & Gone Forever) & John Arcudi (A God Somewhere, Aliens : More Than Human, The Mask Omnibus Vol. 1). Illustrated by Max Fiumara (Four Eyes Vol. 1 : Forged In Flames, The Punisher by Greg Rucka Vol. 1). Published by Dark Horse Comics.

The Pros

What a great way to start a new mini series, it’s loaded with great characters, a sense of mystery, a little bit of action, Hellboy as kid and a B.P.R.D. series wouldn’t be complete without a giant monster. The story jumps from 1948 to 1983 which involves a scientist by the name of Anna Rieu, which Professor Bruttenholm fancies, a first I think for this iconic character. Regular scripters Mignola & Arcudi’s story focuses on a handful of scientists who have successfully launched a nuke propelled capsule into the far reaches of space and has returned to earth with a rather nasty visitor. The plot seems to have a more sci-fi vibe, rather than the usual supernatural stuff we’re used to from this series and that’s a welcome change. The timeline approaches the fifties nuclear era, so it makes sense to make a story around nukes. Hellboy also makes an appearance as a young kid and seems to have befriended agent Anders, the two have nice friendly moment, as Anders catches the lad smoking his cigarettes.

I’m completely unfamiliar with Max Fiumara work, but from what I’ve seen so far, I’m quite impressed. Part of the reason I’m having trouble enjoying the other current series B.R.R.D. Hell On Earth : The Return of the Master is that I’m not a huge fan of Tyler Crook’s illustrations. His drawings seem very straight forward and don’t have anything special that makes them stand out. Fiumara’s images seem to have a unique style as the characters have detailed facial expressions and chiselled looks and not to mention a very gothic looking Hellboy Jr. One cover is fantastically drawn by Joe Johnson with a nice nuclear mushroom cloud in the background and the other is of course a variant cover by Mike Mignola’s Year of Monsters cover series featuring a giant praying mantis which is what I think, a tribute to those cheesy sci-fi matinee movies like “Them!” The man loves his monsters.

The Cons

Not over here comic book fans!

The Outcome

This is only the first issue, but it has an awesome start to it and I got a feeling this will be a very different series, but will still deliver the goods we’ve come to except from this series of the B.P.R.D.