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B.P.R.D.
B.P.R.D.: 1948
Atomic-bred monsters are killing civilians in the Utah desert, prompting Professor Bruttenholm, guardian of the child Hellboy, and Anders, the agent possessed by vampires, to investigate. All signs point to a mysterious glassy element discovered in the desert as the origin of these dangerous creatures entering our world.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 2013
10 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,884 books2,518 followersMike 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 15, 2022
This is an enjoyable chapter of the Mignolaverse that sees Bruttenholm and crew in New Mexico investigating weird phenomena in the wake of atomic testing. He is attracted to a lovely physicist, but their relationship is doomed due to the magic vs. science dynamic. It's told rather effectively as a story-within-a-story as a flashback from 1983. There are some parts and characters that won't make any sense to anyone who hasn't read several of the previous books in the series (why is the crazy guy with the weird mark on his chest wandering around the desert fighting monsters, and who or what is the little Russian doll girl, for example), but the main theme is nicely self-contained in the story, and there's are a few brief young Hellboy appearances that are poignant. Max Fiumara's art is not Mignola, Moon, or Ba, but is pretty firmly in their style and is nicely serviceable.
May 31, 2019
Clearly the weakest BPRD book so far. Other than some scenes with Lil Hellboy, there's not much to like about this. Professor Bruttenholm heads to New Mexico when some monsters appear after a nuclear test. What follows is pages of exposition about dimensional riffs and science versus magic while the professor hits on a hot physicist. Mignola ventures outside his safe space of shadowy monsters and it all falls apart. Go reread 1946 and 1947 instead and skip this turkey.
August 21, 2025
Not as good as the previous volumes.
February 9, 2014
What I love about Hellboy, BPRD and all of the associated books is the way Mike Mignola and co. work in haunted houses, gothic castles, black forests, demons, witches, and folklorish characters-turned-evil into their stories. And sometimes they throw in some Nazi vampires and cyborg gorillas too! It’s a potent combination to read a horror comic with horror elements done right which is why the first two Trevor Bruttenholm (pronounced “Broom”) BPRD books, 1946 and 1947, are such enjoyable reads. 1948 though? Uh uh. Mignola drops the ball on this one.
In 1948 we’re in the middle of the Utah desert where the army are experimenting with atomic bombs as a viable means of blasting astronauts into space. Except the atomic blasts have caused a rift to open up - not unlike the rift that brought Hellboy into our world - and a number of monsters have come through. Enter Trevor Bruttenholm.
In 1948, gone are the romantic and spooky backdrops, replaced with boring flat desert and rocks. The Utah desert is completely charmless and dull. Gone are the complex creepy villain characters, replaced with monsters who can’t speak and just attack for no reason. Great, completely arbitrary threats that are there because the authors haven’t got any other ideas. Gone is any semblance of mystery, replaced with nothing. This is such a boring book because its the most straightforward, predictable story without any surprises that you could read. Gone is the originality and imagination that made readers like me look forward to these books, replaced with tedious dialogue scenes between two-dimensional army goons and scientists, bland monster action and a static plot.
This has got to be one of the least interesting BPRD books I’ve ever read. Trevor rocks up, he and the other characters blather on for a few issues, then he figures out what to do about the monsters - the very first plan he thinks of turns out to be the right solution - and it’s done! There’s a subplot about Trevor trying to court a sexy female scientist, while at BPRD HQ a young Hellboy’s feelings are hurt, but really, that’s it for the book? What a load of nothing! None of the storylines tie together at all and seem completely unconnected to one another.
Trevor is the only developed character and that’s thanks in large part to having been around for 20 years! The others couldn’t be more lifeless. And that Anders character is just terrible - I can’t believe he’s become such a prominent figure in this series! Ooo, I’m troubled, I’m gonna wander about alone in the desert and shoot stuff and yell! Yawn. Seriously, get a personality, chum.
I don’t think I’ve seen this artist’s work before but I really liked Max Fiumara’s art in this book. He has an excellent eye for motion and the action scenes between the giant bird monster and the army were good if only for his efforts. And of course Dave Stewart’s colours remain second to none.
Like the BPRD: Vampire book with Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon that follows this, Mike Mignola and John Arcudi are on autopilot in 1948, lazily throwing together some things that make this look like a story but is in fact a load of insubstantial and forgettable codswallop. This was so disappointing because the Trevor Bruttenholm books are usually among the best in the BPRD series. 1946 and 1947 both show that a BPRD book can work without Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, Johann Krauss or Lobster Johnson, and that Trevor is a great character in himself though you wouldn’t know that from reading 1948. If you haven’t read them, pick up 1946 and 1947 instead - I can’t recommend 1948.
In 1948 we’re in the middle of the Utah desert where the army are experimenting with atomic bombs as a viable means of blasting astronauts into space. Except the atomic blasts have caused a rift to open up - not unlike the rift that brought Hellboy into our world - and a number of monsters have come through. Enter Trevor Bruttenholm.
In 1948, gone are the romantic and spooky backdrops, replaced with boring flat desert and rocks. The Utah desert is completely charmless and dull. Gone are the complex creepy villain characters, replaced with monsters who can’t speak and just attack for no reason. Great, completely arbitrary threats that are there because the authors haven’t got any other ideas. Gone is any semblance of mystery, replaced with nothing. This is such a boring book because its the most straightforward, predictable story without any surprises that you could read. Gone is the originality and imagination that made readers like me look forward to these books, replaced with tedious dialogue scenes between two-dimensional army goons and scientists, bland monster action and a static plot.
This has got to be one of the least interesting BPRD books I’ve ever read. Trevor rocks up, he and the other characters blather on for a few issues, then he figures out what to do about the monsters - the very first plan he thinks of turns out to be the right solution - and it’s done! There’s a subplot about Trevor trying to court a sexy female scientist, while at BPRD HQ a young Hellboy’s feelings are hurt, but really, that’s it for the book? What a load of nothing! None of the storylines tie together at all and seem completely unconnected to one another.
Trevor is the only developed character and that’s thanks in large part to having been around for 20 years! The others couldn’t be more lifeless. And that Anders character is just terrible - I can’t believe he’s become such a prominent figure in this series! Ooo, I’m troubled, I’m gonna wander about alone in the desert and shoot stuff and yell! Yawn. Seriously, get a personality, chum.
I don’t think I’ve seen this artist’s work before but I really liked Max Fiumara’s art in this book. He has an excellent eye for motion and the action scenes between the giant bird monster and the army were good if only for his efforts. And of course Dave Stewart’s colours remain second to none.
Like the BPRD: Vampire book with Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon that follows this, Mike Mignola and John Arcudi are on autopilot in 1948, lazily throwing together some things that make this look like a story but is in fact a load of insubstantial and forgettable codswallop. This was so disappointing because the Trevor Bruttenholm books are usually among the best in the BPRD series. 1946 and 1947 both show that a BPRD book can work without Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman, Johann Krauss or Lobster Johnson, and that Trevor is a great character in himself though you wouldn’t know that from reading 1948. If you haven’t read them, pick up 1946 and 1947 instead - I can’t recommend 1948.
September 14, 2015
Melancholy and heartbreaking a book of consequences and how the past is never truly buried.
Having recently read 1947 and the tragic tale of Anders I was highly anticipating this next arc. Man did this arc not disappoint or what!
World: Fiumara's art is amazing (where does Mignola find all these artists!), not only are his monsters absolutely amazing, but his characters are gorgeous. Read this for the art if for nothing else (but there is so much to read this book for). More amazing world building and insanely deep character building from Mignola and Arcudi. I've said that the last arc focused on characters and it really paid off, this time around it is even more so. But yes world building, let's get back to this, it's amazing, the gaps that we have for the BPRD are slowly being filled and I am slowly not minding reading a prequel, and it is all because the story that Mignola and crew here are telling is absolutely worth telling and the world absolutely something Mignola fans need to experience.
Story: Heartbreaking absolutely heartbreaking. I shed a tear for the last image and the story of Anders keeps going in a direction that will haunt and also hook readers. The time jump here to 1983 was very interesting but also makes us want to know even more what happened throughout those years. It's a funny thing, I said I'm not a fan of prequels but these three arcs have slowly told me that, yes prequels can be good if the story is worth telling and the characters matter, and honestly right now they do. It's also very tragic as these characters don't show up in the modern day series which already tells me this won't end well (a problem with prequels). I am talking mostly about my feelings about this story as I don't want to ruin the story for you, but trust me, the story will make you weep.
Characters: Tragic, dark and deep. Character development is key here, sure there is a story here but it is there to serve the main purpose of this tale, dealing with characters. This is, as I've said above, a tale about demons and the past coming back to bite someone, about fitting in and not fitting in. This is truly a sad and tragic tale. What we see in Anders and also HB are stunningly good and will make you weep. This is truly a wonderful arc about shitty things happening to good people.
Amazing, this is by far my favorite prequel title with Broom, I just hope we get more of them ASAP.
Onward to the next book!
Having recently read 1947 and the tragic tale of Anders I was highly anticipating this next arc. Man did this arc not disappoint or what!
World: Fiumara's art is amazing (where does Mignola find all these artists!), not only are his monsters absolutely amazing, but his characters are gorgeous. Read this for the art if for nothing else (but there is so much to read this book for). More amazing world building and insanely deep character building from Mignola and Arcudi. I've said that the last arc focused on characters and it really paid off, this time around it is even more so. But yes world building, let's get back to this, it's amazing, the gaps that we have for the BPRD are slowly being filled and I am slowly not minding reading a prequel, and it is all because the story that Mignola and crew here are telling is absolutely worth telling and the world absolutely something Mignola fans need to experience.
Story: Heartbreaking absolutely heartbreaking. I shed a tear for the last image and the story of Anders keeps going in a direction that will haunt and also hook readers. The time jump here to 1983 was very interesting but also makes us want to know even more what happened throughout those years. It's a funny thing, I said I'm not a fan of prequels but these three arcs have slowly told me that, yes prequels can be good if the story is worth telling and the characters matter, and honestly right now they do. It's also very tragic as these characters don't show up in the modern day series which already tells me this won't end well (a problem with prequels). I am talking mostly about my feelings about this story as I don't want to ruin the story for you, but trust me, the story will make you weep.
Characters: Tragic, dark and deep. Character development is key here, sure there is a story here but it is there to serve the main purpose of this tale, dealing with characters. This is, as I've said above, a tale about demons and the past coming back to bite someone, about fitting in and not fitting in. This is truly a sad and tragic tale. What we see in Anders and also HB are stunningly good and will make you weep. This is truly a wonderful arc about shitty things happening to good people.
Amazing, this is by far my favorite prequel title with Broom, I just hope we get more of them ASAP.
Onward to the next book!
June 1, 2016
Another flashback book from the Mignolaverse takes us back to 1983 and then, via a flashback-within-a-flashback device, back even further to 1948.
Occultism and physics collide when an atomic bomb test in the Utah desert creates a hole in reality which horrifying creatures jump through and start killing people left, right and centre.
Meanwhile, Trevor is falling for a physicist working with the military. Could the good professor find love under the desert moon? Well, it looks as though their respective philosophies could be a spanner in the works.
Back at BPRD, Hellbaby is growing up fast and longing to be one of the boys... There could be trouble ahead...
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, more for the more human moments in amongst the carnage, to be honest. Not that I'm averse to some good, old-fashioned carnage, you understand... The artwork was pretty damned good, too... and some of Dave Johnson's covers were jaw-dropping.
Occultism and physics collide when an atomic bomb test in the Utah desert creates a hole in reality which horrifying creatures jump through and start killing people left, right and centre.
Meanwhile, Trevor is falling for a physicist working with the military. Could the good professor find love under the desert moon? Well, it looks as though their respective philosophies could be a spanner in the works.
Back at BPRD, Hellbaby is growing up fast and longing to be one of the boys... There could be trouble ahead...
I enjoyed this one quite a bit, more for the more human moments in amongst the carnage, to be honest. Not that I'm averse to some good, old-fashioned carnage, you understand... The artwork was pretty damned good, too... and some of Dave Johnson's covers were jaw-dropping.
November 17, 2015
An annoyingly long and boring story about nothing. Honestly, the only two good things about this volume were the art and a couple little cameos by young Hellboy. Everything else in this story was, literally, professor Bruttenholm trying to hit on a woman and that annoying prick Anders wandering around in the desert being all emo and shit. Blergh. Definitely the worst BPRD volume so far.
June 16, 2024
Nuclear rocket tests create some strange situations, which require the attention of the B.P.R.D. In this case, the B.P.R.D. on mission includes the professor and some soldiers. Hellboy sits this one out, and there aren't any other monstrous members of the B.P.R.D. on the team, so it's not as exciting as it could be. The end of the story is a bit anticlimactic as well.
February 26, 2014
1948 sees the B.P.R.D. team investigating monsters that appear after a nuclear test in Utah. Whilst there, Trevor Bruttenholme has a bit of a flirt with a sexy female scientist, and vampire-possessed Anders goes off the rails. In other news, Hellboy learns to smoke and is excited by a potential meeting with President Truman but has an important lesson to learn about appearances. He may still be just a child, but he's a demon child after all. Varvara makes a couple of appearances but only to pout a lot.
After complaining about spending too much time with vampires in old Europe in the first two books, I get my wish to have a story set in the USA only to find it falls rather flat. The Utah desert scenes are lifeless and boring to look at (much like the Utah desert, I suspect). Anders is just not an interesting character and cannot hold the storyline together. The monsters are well designed and really quite nasty looking, but as mindless creatures they are not much of a threat.
The relationship angle is potentially an interesting one, but the female scientist is written very inconsistently - she wants to be taken seriously as a scientist but spends too much time doing "girly" things for my liking. Maybe this is a consequence of the period in which this story was set, but we could have had a strong, interesting female character instead of the passive-aggressive, screaming girl we get here.
Project Enkeladus is mentioned here, which was an idea to use nuclear bombs to power a spaceship - I was going to complain that this was a British rather than an American idea but a quick Google search proved me wrong. Project Orion was an American idea from the 1940s, and the British idea (Daedalus) was in the 1970s.
Hellboy makes more of an appearance in this story than in previous ones. He is growing up fast, but at heart he is still a child. A careless jest made at his expense leads him to contemplate removing his horns, the most obviously non-human part of him, missing the point that he is still a demon and will be treated as such by most people. This is probably the most intriguing part of this story.
After complaining about spending too much time with vampires in old Europe in the first two books, I get my wish to have a story set in the USA only to find it falls rather flat. The Utah desert scenes are lifeless and boring to look at (much like the Utah desert, I suspect). Anders is just not an interesting character and cannot hold the storyline together. The monsters are well designed and really quite nasty looking, but as mindless creatures they are not much of a threat.
The relationship angle is potentially an interesting one, but the female scientist is written very inconsistently - she wants to be taken seriously as a scientist but spends too much time doing "girly" things for my liking. Maybe this is a consequence of the period in which this story was set, but we could have had a strong, interesting female character instead of the passive-aggressive, screaming girl we get here.
Project Enkeladus is mentioned here, which was an idea to use nuclear bombs to power a spaceship - I was going to complain that this was a British rather than an American idea but a quick Google search proved me wrong. Project Orion was an American idea from the 1940s, and the British idea (Daedalus) was in the 1970s.
Hellboy makes more of an appearance in this story than in previous ones. He is growing up fast, but at heart he is still a child. A careless jest made at his expense leads him to contemplate removing his horns, the most obviously non-human part of him, missing the point that he is still a demon and will be treated as such by most people. This is probably the most intriguing part of this story.
Read
June 26, 2024And so we come to the end of the 1948s stories (at least so far I guess as I know then embark on new stories through the 50s - surprisingly).
The story covers the early years after the war and the growing fledgling organisation of BRD - there are a few Hellboy cameos here which is great - as he is really only a boy at this point. But you can start to see how the organisation starts to grow and exert its influence (something that I still find intriguing compared to the films that assumed a level of secrecy)
You have here a classic story that goes back and forth through time (no no time travel) but it also sets up perfect another standalone story which as you can imagine I will be reading next/
The story covers the early years after the war and the growing fledgling organisation of BRD - there are a few Hellboy cameos here which is great - as he is really only a boy at this point. But you can start to see how the organisation starts to grow and exert its influence (something that I still find intriguing compared to the films that assumed a level of secrecy)
You have here a classic story that goes back and forth through time (no no time travel) but it also sets up perfect another standalone story which as you can imagine I will be reading next/
August 13, 2020
Decent story and art, not even close though to 1946 and 1947. If I could go with 2.5/5, I would.
February 10, 2014
Disappointing. There didn't seem to be a lot of thought given to the threat here, and few of the characters had any real development. One of the weakest volumes in any of the Hellboy related titles.
August 2, 2025
Testing experimental nukes in the middle of the Utah desert- splits a hole in the fabric of reality and creatures pour out that mimic life on earth but with a lot more bloodlust. The professor tries to woo a physicist but can’t help but be too self-assured and dismissive toward her when it comes to these creatures, she ends up falling for the cool soldier tasked with following her.
Little Hellboy is an all time character- he is so damn cute (and just a bit evil). He’s really relatable, he is just another kid (who very possibly will destroy the world)
Little Hellboy is an all time character- he is so damn cute (and just a bit evil). He’s really relatable, he is just another kid (who very possibly will destroy the world)
October 1, 2017
The series has many highs but this issue was a little boring and not the imaginative fantasy I've grown accustomed with. The weaker volumes are normally the spinoffs and this fails to hit the high quality of storytelling Hellboy or B.P.R.D main series. Mignola needed to infuse more mythology, the story is visually interesting but carries little depth.
January 16, 2022
B.P.R.D.-ovi 1946. i 1947. su stvarno natprosječno dobri, ali 1948. je najbolja od svih. Profesor Bruttenholm je zahvaljujući Dysartu i Arcudiju postao najbolje razrađen lik u Mignolaverseu. Nadam se samo da ovaj mini nije bio zadnji s njim u glavnoj ulozi.
February 11, 2022
Feels like a step down from its predecessor, because of its generic plot, but is still entertaining enough.
June 11, 2022
As usually BPRD delivers nice combination of mystery and action. Nothing exceptional, but from time to time it scratches that itch and it is still fun to read and get back to this world
September 15, 2013
I didn't like this as much as I did the previous B.P.R.D. 194- volumes. It's still pretty good, but the others were so good, and felt like powerful, self-contained stories that also left plenty of open-ended questions, whereas this one feels like several storylines that never really tie together completely, and many of the character moments feel like they're just building to later things.
December 26, 2019
Господи, хоч би закінчили чимось, хоч би розказали щось, що нам ще ніколи не розповідалося та про що ще не було вагань та міркувань... але ж ні. Утім, це проговорення стосується переважно самого Червоного, і показ його дитинства доволі таки потрібний (напевно) не скільки для розкриття, скільки для затвердження персонажа. Решта ж - вода водяна, нескінченна тягомотина у багатолітерному слабкому серіальчику.
February 15, 2014
This one felt a little deeper than the usual B.P.R.D. formula, and as a result was pretty fantastic.
This one had heart.
Excellent work!
This one had heart.
Excellent work!
March 26, 2014
Read this last night and I loved this a lot but I wished I had read 1947 earlier because I had to google what happened to Anders. Highly recommend this for the Hell Boy fans.
March 24, 2021
I love the whole Hellboy and B.P.R.D. world. I had been unable to find a copy of the 1948 adventures anywhere digital or dead tree. So I was thrilled when the 1946/47/48 comics were all collected. Unfortunately this is the weakest of the Hellboy collections. Hellboy is hardly in the story. The cute little Russian doll demon is hardly in the story unless she is taunting the Professor. The story is all hitting and guns and aliens and mutants, the whole here comes the cold war is not Mr Mignola's strong suit. The whole spy vs spy cold war stuff is just badly done and not just here but in other B.P.R.D. stories. Oh well.
January 20, 2019
This is a pretty good BPRD story. It's mostly a Bruttenholm story. There's some advancement of the Simon Anders character who, I think, was introduced in the 1947 series and is apparently a major character in the BPRD: Vampire series. We get about 10 pages of a very young Hellboy in this series, but those pages really don't tie into the main plot at all. (Not that I'm complaining. Kid Hellboy is fun.)
The art, by Max Fiumara, is good. The monsters look great, and the storytelling is well done. Existing characters, like Bruttenholm and Varvara, look good. It all fits in pretty well with other Hellboy/BPRD stuff that was coming out in this time period (2012 or thereabouts). (The Dave Johnson covers are excellent, by the way.)
I originally read the 1946 and 1947 books when they first came out, so I don't remember them that well. I think this series might be a bit more enjoyable if I'd read (or reread) at least the 1947 series first. The bits with Varvara, Anders, and other supporting characters don't make much sense and don't have much impact if you don't remember much about the characters.
As with other Mignolaverse stuff I've read recently, I wouldn't recommend this as a good starting point for anybody new to these books. Looking at this book as a standalone volume, I don't think it holds up that well. The main plot is interesting, but it's not really enough on its own, and it's nor really resolved in a satisfying way.
The art, by Max Fiumara, is good. The monsters look great, and the storytelling is well done. Existing characters, like Bruttenholm and Varvara, look good. It all fits in pretty well with other Hellboy/BPRD stuff that was coming out in this time period (2012 or thereabouts). (The Dave Johnson covers are excellent, by the way.)
I originally read the 1946 and 1947 books when they first came out, so I don't remember them that well. I think this series might be a bit more enjoyable if I'd read (or reread) at least the 1947 series first. The bits with Varvara, Anders, and other supporting characters don't make much sense and don't have much impact if you don't remember much about the characters.
As with other Mignolaverse stuff I've read recently, I wouldn't recommend this as a good starting point for anybody new to these books. Looking at this book as a standalone volume, I don't think it holds up that well. The main plot is interesting, but it's not really enough on its own, and it's nor really resolved in a satisfying way.
September 12, 2020
Another volume of stories that seems to be a bit of a breather for the creative team before they launch into he massive Hell on Earth cycle. So, what we get here is a fairly self-contained story that feels more sci-fi than horror, and lays the groundwork for the Hellboy & the BPRD series that comes out some time later. This is all a bit more fun than the most recent BPRD volumes, and reminds us of the earlier Hellboy adventures. Fun, but feels a bit without consequence. But then again, knowing where the future BPRD volumes will take us, one can be forgiven for embracing a throwaway story where our monstrous heroes clobber even bigger monsters for a win.
April 5, 2023
Ženské… Když s nimi souhlasíte, tak jsou kouzelné. Ale zkuste mít jiný názor. Profesor Trevor Bruttenholm si to v roce 1948 vyzkoušel na vlastní kůži. Příběh této knihy je skvělý. Vlastně je to jen krátká povídka se spoustou omáčky kolem. Ale právě ta omáčka je nejlepší. Dojde i na malého Hellboye, ale toto není jeho příběh a tak má hodně vedlejší roli mimo hlavní dění. Povedená je i kresba Maxe Fiumary. Jeho práci jsem si užíval už v Doktorovi Andromedě a i tady mi velmi sedla.
Mimochodem celá zápletka se zeleným sklem po atomovém výbuchu v poušti mi připomněla Immortal Hulka. Nepochybuji o tom, že podobnost je čistě náhodná, ale je to zajímavé.
Mimochodem celá zápletka se zeleným sklem po atomovém výbuchu v poušti mi připomněla Immortal Hulka. Nepochybuji o tom, že podobnost je čistě náhodná, ale je to zajímavé.
August 2, 2020
I love the extended Hellboy universe. The army is exploding atomic bombs in the Utah desert. Great idea. Knock, knock. Enter monsters. Enter the B.R.P.D. One of my favorite characters Varvara, the young Russian girl possessed by an ancient demon, pops in and out of conversations with Professor Bruttenholm, giving the Prof love advice as the monsters still roam. Also young Hellboy is present. Can't lie. I dug it. Last panel of the young Hellboy with a hacksaw blade contemplating his horns is gold.
October 9, 2023
Mignola and crew take us back to the early days of the B.P.R.D. but this one wasn't up to the previous volume's quality level. Professor Broom heads to the desert to investigate strange monster sightings. The book's paranormal elements weren't that interesting and the story not definitive enough. I liked seeing how Anders' is dealing with new situation but it didn't seem to fit this story. Young Hellboy was great to see though. I really did enjoy Max Fiumara's art and his monsters were imposing and grotesque. Overall, a decent read but didn't feel like a B.P.R.D. tale.
December 12, 2024
I’m realizing now these prequel series are still ongoing, which is maybe not for me because I am looking for a way out of the hellboy universe even tho I love it a lot. I love the baby hellboy stuff and seeing the development of the early BPRD, Broom’s relationship with Varvara, but I the plots that I most care about are all finished (the burden all prequels must bear) and all the occult Cold War build up that these series are starting isn’t something I wanna get sucked into for volumes and volumes to come.
February 28, 2019
This was so great! Maybe part of ehy i loved it so much is because its the last unread piece of Hellboy verse and I’ve tried to get my hands on it for years on and off...
Insight into Trevor Bruttenholm and Hellboy’s characters - I just loved it.
I’m also inexplicably sad for Hellboy, for how he feels in this volume when he was just four years old and in general for his life and death. He was a good sort and deserved better.
Insight into Trevor Bruttenholm and Hellboy’s characters - I just loved it.
I’m also inexplicably sad for Hellboy, for how he feels in this volume when he was just four years old and in general for his life and death. He was a good sort and deserved better.
July 26, 2023
I didn't really like that one at all. The framing story was completely pointless. It was really focused on dumbass love triangle bullshit. Anders went from being like solemn and brooding to just a selfish asshole and why did hellboy feel Shame about his horns that feels really out of character for him. He should cut them off out of the desire to be human not out of hatred for being a demon. I think this is the worst arcudi story by far I wonder what caused it to be so messy.
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