Abe Sapien, Vol. 2: The Devil Does Not Jest and Other Stories

Abe Sapien

by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, James Harren (Artist)

Paranormal crime scenes wreak havoc on Abe Sapien as he investigates a recluse demonologist's evil house, a haunted lake, and a sunken Soviet U-boat filled with zombies!
Abe gets his hands dirty in these early adventures!
Collects The Haunted Boy, The Abyssal Plain #1-2 and The Devil Does Not Jest #1-2.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2012

About the author

Mike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.

In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.

In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.

Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.

Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume collects two two-part stories, 'The Abyssal Plain' and 'The Devil Does Not Jest', along with 'The Haunted Boy' one-shot.

I really enjoyed all these stories and they make for a really nice collection. If you're looking for an introduction to Abe Sapien's solo career, you could do worse than to give this book a try. It's genuinely creepy at times and in most cases things are not as they initially appear. It's a lot of fun and the artwork's pretty good, too.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of eeries short stories, that embraces both Lovecraftian and Poe's horror.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike Mignola returns to pen the second volume in Abe’s solo series “The Devil Does Not Jest”, but unlike the first book “The Drowning” which had a single story arc, this book is a collection of 3 short stories. The stories are: “The Haunted Boy”, “The Abyssal Plain”, and “The Devil Does Not Jest”.

Besides the fact that Abe is the main character in each story, these could easily be another BPRD volume. There’s no distinction in storyline like the first book that made you think Abe was setting off on something unique to his character. “Haunted Boy” reads like any BPRD story short - ghost of murdered boy, monster, the end. Ditto the title story which is another devilish demon haunted house kinda affair - if you’re a long time reader of Hellboy/BPRD and their various spinoffs you’ll know what I’m talking about. Basically a story you’ve seen before in one guise or another.

“The Abyssal Plain” was my favourite of the three because it actually felt like it had a heart to the story and was a bit different from the kind of supernatural stories Mignola excels at.

This second Abe Sapien book is welcome as I love the character but feel he could benefit from a larger story arc to give him more drive and direction (not to mention more books!) but for now “The Devil Does Not Jest” will have to do. It’s not a bad book just don’t expect the same quality as the first, and if you’ve not read that, I highly recommend it.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection, with three stories. The first, and shortest, has Abe investigating a haunting that's more than it seems. The best of the lot, mostly for how the story is resolved. The second story introduces Iosif, who will eventually show up in B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Russia. I wish I'd read this collection first, because I think the added background would have been useful. I suppose this would be the weakest of the lot, but it does have a strong ending. The last story is the most classic Hellboy of the lot, which makes it a lot of fun. All in all, some good stories, with some decent art.

[Walome · Rating 5 out of 5]

#fanboy

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second Abe Sapien volume collects three short tales of Abe's adventures while Big Red is elsewhere. All three have different artists and I thought they were all quite enjoyable, though noticeably different; the contrast was part of the enjoyment. The Abyssal Plain was my favorite of the three, though they all had some seriously creepy moments.

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 3 out of 5]

First story is pretty good, short but managed to build atmosphere and close up at the right time. Second and third had potential, but they actually ended beferp they could extend to full potential. Art in this two is also not really my thing, so overal feeling is average. Abe should come with something bigger in the background soon, otherwise it eill be just collection of easy forgettable stpries of various quality.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent collection of random Abe Sapien stories. I really wish Jason Shawn Alexander would come back to this series because his art was gorgeous

[Jessica at Book Sake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won’t lie. Mike Mignola is one of my favorite comic writers. Hellboy and BPRD are great comics. It’s full of supernatural fun. Abe Sapien falls right in line.

I think the best part about Mignola’s stories is that he can tell these epic, end of world stories but still make it all seem like personal struggles. These stories aren't of some chiseled, pretty boy with golden locks flowing as he saves the world and gets the girl. These stories are about people who don’t know what they are or what their purpose is, but they still struggle against ancient evil. Nothing ever works out perfectly and everyone is left with scars, but they still fight.

It also helps that this book has a story drawn by my new favorite artist, James Harren. This guy is starting to get more and more popular and he is illustrating a BPRD story now called ‘The Long Death’. His style has a lot of kinetic energy and his monsters are always creepy. There is a scene in this Abe Sapien book that made me scream with more delight than any movie of recent memory. A giant demon bursting through the floor of someone’s basement? Yay, pure win.

The book does have art from different artists telling different unrelated stories. So some art may or may not strike your fancy, but the stories are great. If you love supernatural action, then you will love this.

Reviewed by Chris for Book Sake.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories that follow Abe as he sets out to solve various mysteries around the world, from a possessed child and evil recluse to a submarine full of zombies, all of which show off Abe's skills and abilities which often get lost in the Hellboy world. The artwork is superb, supporting and telling the story at the same time with some excellent dashes of gore thrown in for good measure.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love everything Hellboy and B.P.R.D. but I find Abe Sapien's solo series to be missing something. Maybe it is Abe's serious, brooding personality or maybe he suffers a bit like Aquaman and the underseas hero just isn't quite as cool as an on land one. Whatever the case, even great art was unable to fully grab me when I read this volume. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, I just didn't love it like I do most Hellboy and B.P.R.D. stories. Hopefully that changes as I read more of this series.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shit! This trade should not be called "The Devil Does Not Jest", it should be called "Abe Does Not Jest"!

Man o man Abe is a wonderful character, not only because of what his story is in the BPRD but in these standalone tales we finally get a glimpse of the character he when he works alone and he gets all the time to develop. This trade is awesome!

World: All 3 artists for this trade are wonderful, each brings something a bit different to the table for Abe, Harren brings a creepiness and horror to the table, Reynolds brings a unsettling and era style all, while Snejbjerg...he brings the fucking dynamite! I will not lie the art in "The Devil Does Not Jest" is stunning, simply because of the framing and the utter kinetic and frantic nature of Snejbjerg's art, it's stunning to behold. The world building is also Mignola strong, with a lot of emphasis (due to Arcudi) on characters. The Mignolaverse is used to full effect and the tales and myths told in these 3 tales are creepy and awesome. Typical good stuff!

Story: All three tales have something different to offer, but one very strong similarity, they are here to showcase Abe and his personality when he works alone. We don't actually see that a lot in the BPRD series as it's an ensemble book, but here we get to see his inner workings and get a big dose of his development. I'll go into character a bit more below but the tales are paced well, the mysteries creepy and full of intrigue plus the world building is superb. Each stand on it's own but also contribute to the greater Mignolaverse so it's wonderful stuff. The Devil Does Not Jest is the highlight and that's all I'll say, just read it.

Characters: Abe is a badass in this arc, he gets to flex his muscles literally. Normally quiet and reserved and just a normal agent in the BPRD these three stories, the third one in particular, shows how much of a force he is. It's still not the deep arc that we see with the Caul stuff in the main series, but it's a healthy does of development in terms of how he thinks and how he acts. Good stuff!

Man this is a great series of tales, it gives us a look at Abe the agent and it's a wonderful thing to witness. Often Abe lives under the shadow of HB and well, no longer, these tales are great!

Onward to the next book!

[Orrin Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been saying this more often about Mignola-related books than makes me comfortable lately, but: not a fan. None of the art really grabbed me, except for some of the stuff by James Harren in the title story. (Which, admittedly, had a couple of really amazing reveals, including the giant demon in the floor and the first appearance of the "Momster.") Really, the title story is really the only thing in the book that did much for me at all, and even that felt a little spottier than I'm used to.

It's still got a great cover, though!

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one problem with these BPRD and other Hellboy offshoots is chronology - it's very hard to get them in order, and it's not clear in many cases what the order should be. This book, for example, takes stories from across Abe's career, both before he was a field agent and late in his career. They're enjoyable stories on their own, but they're supporting a larger mythology that seems to be fascinating, but ends up being frustrating in its unfriendliness to readers.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abe is best known as Hellboy's best buddy, but is a highly valued member of the BRPD in his own right. This collection of shorts shows how Abe is often more human and compassionate that the humans who surround him. The tale of the Soviet sub, its ancient talisman that it was transporting before sinking, and the man entrusted to guard it was kind of touching.

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good collection of early Abe Sapien stories. The middle one was my favorite, since it departed from the usual "find the monster and beat it" story line. The art work on the first was not as good as on the other two. I did find it amusing on the last story that Hellboy was brought in mostly to just deliver a closing line.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of three stories and whilst they're fun they seem to lack the depth and meaning Mignola usually puts in to his work. They're not bad, they just seem to be lacking something.
The art also ranges from ok to very good, so overall the whole collection is a bit uneven.

[Canavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

✭✭

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know that there was an off-shoot to he Hellboy series starring Abe Sapien, the fish guy. I enjoyed this volume, and I'll have to keep an eye out for them for my own collection.

[R.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three creepy, dark short adventures featuring the capabilities of Agent Sapien. Very much in keeping with the tone and style of Mignola's other HB stories.

[Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Haunted Boy - 4*

Two boys go ice skating on a like, both fall through the ice. One comes out. The other drowns and his ghost haunts the lake. Abe is sent to investigate what turns out to be a fantastic story. The lore is well within the realms of belief, and it also has action plus emotional payoff.

The Abyssal Plain - 5*

This is Iosif's background story, as alluded to in many future BPRD stories with the *The Abyssal Plain. My only question is why ... the Abyssal Plain? Because the submarine was found under the sea in an abyss? It doesn't look like an abyss or the Mariana Trench or anything like that? So puzzling. This story also explains why Iosif hates Varvara.

There's a lot we learn about Abe's character. He has all the makings of a great field agent. He is cool, calm and can analyze even under pressure. At times his wit breaks through like when he says "Hello Captain. I was beginning to think your idea of running a ship was to run around it". The characters, humor ... everything worked right. Loved it. Need more.

The Devil Does Not Jest - 3*

BPRD Agent Salvatore Tasso has tracked down an elusive man. Can Abe handle meeting his idol, the man who wrote all those demonology books he reads? He ends up in backwoods Maine, but things are not what they seem as the professor of Demonology has meddled in things he later discovers he cannot control, despite his best efforts. I want to say I told you so, but unfortunately things like this happen a lot even today.

[Centauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunted Boy: 3 of 5 stars
A bit predictable but still a nice short story and good art. A good tug at ethos though. Its a glimpse story and left me with questions I want answers to.
What was that creature? Was it random victimization? I thought BPRD was a covert operation?

Abyssal Plain: 5 of 5 stars
I don't like zombies, so I was ready to not enjoy this tale. But its description is misleading. There is a dead man who can't stay dead because they must complete their mission in order to return home. This one could be considered a skewed romance atory if the reader pays attention to the subtleties. But I was left wondering what would come next with its cliffhangerish ending.

Devil Doesn't Jest: 2 of 5 stars
A weird one for sure. But again, I was left with more questions. Maybe that was the point? I'm not sure.
Cliche theme of a scientist tampering with forces beyond their comprehension is the foundation (without any flare). Throw in a sprinkle of happenstance meetings and the story is done. Some of the plot didn't really make sense
1. Why did the uncle kill the nephew now?
2. What actually happened to the scientist that started it all?
3. Was there more to the "replacement relationship" than just lust? <-- this may be an assumption, but not enough details to prove either way.
I could go on but I won't. Its difficult to rate without qccounting for other stories in the Hellboy universe.

In the end I want to give it an extra star just because I like the character Abe and want to see more tales centered around his work with BPRD, but I won't do that.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

After several disappointing Mignolaverse books in a row, I considered giving up my marathon. I saw that this collection fell into the And Other Stories category, and the pangs of Hellboy, Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others started twitching my peepers.

But the first story, The Haunted Boy, co-written by John Arcudi, felt more like a finished story than Mignola's usual Weird Set Up, Fight Scene, Okay We're Done style of narrative. All the characters felt real and fleshed out, and had conversations and motives that seemed more than just devices to push the story to its conclusion.

This is followed up with The Abyssal Plain, which twisted tropes like some of the better episodes of Venture Brothers but without winking at the reader, hoping they're impressed with the trope twisting.

The Devil Does Not Jest was the weakest of the stories, for me, but it didn't at all make me regret continuing on with reading a ton of Mignola books to start off this snowy year.

[Kyle Dinges · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil Does Not Jest is the second collection from Abe Sapien's solo stories. Unlike the first volume, which was a single 5 part story, this book collects 3 different stories.

The first story, The Haunted Boy, is largely forgettable. It's a decent enough one shot, but not much else. On the other hand, the second story is a 2 parter called The Abyssal Plain and its one of my favorite stories from the BPRD universe. It gives Abe a chance to show off his humanity. The third story is the titular, The Devil Does Not Jest. It's a fine Lovecraftian monster romp but there's not a whole lot going on beyond that. I was delighted, however, to see James Harren pencil the two part story. Mignola and Arcudi really play to his strengths and give him loads of over the top monsters to draw.

This was a good collection, but it never quite reaches the heights of the first volume. It's hard for an anthology to maintain consistent quality just by the nature of the format.

[Mark Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setting: Rural Northeastern USA and a very cold North Atlantic Ocean.
Language: Some "magical words" but otherwise language is straightforward and serves the story well.
Plot: Abe Sapien investigates bizarre things and some creepy action ensues. Lovecraftian horror tales, there are 3 stories collected here.
Art: Various styles/artists but consistently muted colors are used. Heavy blacks throughout when needed for effect, works well. Variations do exist with the first story having a more sketch-like quality while the other two have a less heavy and slightly clearer line.
Character: Abe Sapien and colleagues are enjoyable action hero types but not over the top. The local people and witnesses are engaging. With feelings about the situations that make sense and make the stories a bit more than a "monster of the week" type story.
Summary: Light horror type tales that are fun on their own, not really a starting point for the Hellboy Universe but doesn't require a deep knowledge.

[Kate Dostálová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Posedlý

Krátký příběh, kdy jde Abe k rutinnímu případu. U rybníka, kde se utopil malý chlapec se zjevuje duch. Abe je rad, že se aspoň dostane do terénu, protože všechno je lepší než sedět a nic nedělat.

Pohřbený slib

Abe se svým novým parťákem Salem se vydají hledat Melchiorreův burgonet někam na Norské moře. Najdou potopenou ruskou ponorku a Abe se ji vydá prozkoumat. Najde tam spoustu mrtvých. Jeden však není jako ostatní, byl zavřený sám v jedné části ponorky. Evidentně měl nějaký úkol, který musel být důležitý.

S ďáblem nejsou žerty

Abe má rád knihy Van Laera a Sam mu přivede hosta, Vana Laera osobně! Tedy, alespoň jeho vnuka, který chce od Abea pomoci s hledáním dědečka, který zmizel před padesáti lety. Abe se případu ujme a jedou spolu do domu strýce Van Laera. A překvapení je čeká hned za dveřmi.

[Rizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those covers by Dave Johnson, wow! Some of the most bold, attention-grabbing covers I've seen in a while. As for the volume itself, I'm glad to see Abe get his own grab-bag of stories as Hellboy often does. All three stories were quite good. The uptight, no-nonsense Abe and his itchy trigger finger are such a refreshing contrast to the big red guy. Hellboy's tendancy to just roll with the punches and wait for the nonsense to resolve itself is enjoyable to be sure, but I can't help but appreciate Abe's frantic yet cold tenacity. He's a deceptively complicated character. This volume reaffirms that it was a good choice to give him his own series.

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're putting together a super team, you need a fish man. Take note.

You might THINK you don't, you might think your Aquamen are unnecessary, but you'd be wrong.

Somehow, Abe Sapien manages to be pretty cool, even though he's totally the Aquaman of the BPRD. I'm not sure how he managed that. Maybe because he doesn't dress in green and gold. I even Googled to see if there is fan art of Abe Sapien dressed as Aquaman, maybe for Halloween, and no dice. Not once, not even in a fan's imagination has Abe dressed as Aquaman. Probably a key to his success.

[Etain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty fun fish-flavored collection of adventures. The art, and especially the cover art give it a distinctly different feel than alot of the other Mignolaverse books it's more flowy as opposed to Mignola's very angular style. It sort of subtly shows the fire/water thing that hellboy and Abe have going on. I do wish they had more substance. Abe is an interesting character but there's not much of him explored here we don't even learn why he likes that author guy so much and Liz is just a cameo, she's always so underused it's a shame.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Sapien by himself. The U-Boat story reminds me of Creepy Tales and those other horror comics from the past that I loved. Sapien reads like those but with a human heart. Putting a monster in charge of looking for monsters changes the dynamic of those traditional horror tropes and I find it refreshing.