Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible, Volume 1

Abe Sapien #3-5

by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Max Fiumara (Illustrator)

On the run from the B.P.R.D., a newly mutated Abe Sapien--more inhuman than before--travels across a United States transformed and overrun by monsters. Abe's search for the truth about himself--or his race away from his fate--mirrors the quest of an ancient necromancer to seize control of a world literally going to hell.
This deluxe hardover edition collects Abe Sapien volumes 3-5 (the beggining of the Dark and Terrible story), plus an expanded sketchbook section.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure, Comic Book

442 pages, Hardcover

First published November 21, 2017

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

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Put all together you can really see how "meh" this series is. Abe just pointlessly wanders the desert, never advancing the story, like David Carradine in Kung Fu. Scott Allie's writing is not very good. it really sticks out compared to the other books in the Mignolaverse.

[Artemy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This omnibus collects the beginning of Abe Sapien's ongoing series which was originally collected in paperback volumes 3 to 5. It follows Abe as he leaves BPRD mid-way through BPRD: Hell on Earth story arc and begins his own journey through the monster-infested world, trying to discover the secrets of his true purpose.

Unfortunately, as much as I am a fan of Abe, I really wasn't into this book. Except for one story in the beginning that was written by John Arcudi, the rest of them are penned by Scott Allie, a long-time Hellboy group editor who recently also started writing comics with Mike Mignola's supervision. Allie is nowhere near as good a writer as he is an editor — his stories feel scattered and disjointed, the plots themselves range from boring to viscerally unpleasant, and there is no semblance of an ongoing story here. The entire 'ongoing' nature of this series comes down to Abe aimlessly wandering from one town to the next, coming across some monsters and shitty humans who are worse than monsters. It has a sense of novelty at first since the stories here are very down to earth and people-centered compared to the global, all-encompassing threats we're used to seeing in the main BPRD series. That sense of novelty wears off fast though, and what's left has little to do with anything, let alone Abe's true role in the upcoming Apocalypse.

I'd say that this book is only for the Mignolaverse completionists, but I am one of them and even I would rather have read something else.

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty avg

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few stories of this volume are interesting and engaging, and the Fiumaras art is consistently excellent, but as a whole this Abe Sapien series fails to live up to its potential and for his first titular series often feels uninterested in Abe as a character. This alongside the Rasputin miniseries is the weakest story in the Hellboy universe. After the third story it quickly becomes repetitive and meandering, and Abe himself becomes a frustrating protagonist to follow as he barely changes or learns anything. This series writing also misses a lot of the charming humour and weirdness present in comics like Hellboy and BPRD, leaving the storyline depressing and dreary.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this is the lowest that I have ever rated a Hellboy-related book...The choice to let Editor Scott Allie take over the writing chores was an unfortunate one. A lot of the stories in this book are disjointed affairs, and feel completely weightless, pointless, and poorly thought-out. Luckily, there is a John Arcudi-penned story here to boost the rating a bit.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifull art wise, the story was a bit dull at times. Hope i like the second one better.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars - It was really good

This review is for Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible volumes 1 and 2.

Abe Sapien has woken from a coma to find himself mutated and more inhuman than ever. He leaves the B.R.P.D. and travels across the U.S. which has been overrun by monsters. Abe is searching for the truth about himself and the fate of the human race.

These were very interesting stories. The world has been overrun with monsters and humans are slowly being wiped off the face of the earth. Abe is basically on a journey of self discovery. He wants answers but doesn’t know where to look for them, or even what all answers he is searching for. I enjoyed seeing the world through Abe’s point of view. Abe isn’t the confident warrior like Hellboy was, which I liked. He is more insecure about himself and his place in the world, especially since people keep pushing him away.

As with all of the Mignola comics I have read, I loved the artwork for this book. The Fiumara brothers have done an amazing job at illustrating this story. I loved the mixture of dark and color for the panels, especially with the monsters and battle scenes.

Overall, I really enjoyed Abe’s story even if it wasn’t what i was expecting. I do think I should have read B.R.P.D.: Plague of Frogs before reading this but I don’t think it has impacted my enjoyment of the story.

You can also find my reviews at Red-Haired Ash Reads.

[Sohan Surag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abe Sapien was one of my favorite characters from the Del Toro's movies. I often felt sympathetic and worried about him. I always thought he was weak as depicted in the movie. Boy was I WRONG! BPRD comics let me know that he's just as badass as the Big Red and he's more than what was adapted into the movie. The guy is a force to reckon with and this spin off title proves it even further. What a journey he's taken after the 'change' and him questioning his destiny is as intriguing, scary and thick and draws a parallel between how Hellboy questions his Anung Un Rama destiny. Can't wait to read more of this!

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 2.25/5
I'm not sure what happened to Mignola and all of his Hellboy energy, but everything from the 'World of Hellboy' I have read so far has been about as enjoyable as an extended stay in a porta potty on an extremely hot day.
The Fuimara's art is really hit and miss for me. You can tell they have talent, but I have rarely seen a books art differ from panel to panel so drastically, but it is the writing that is the true anchor around the neck of this book/series. Quite how Arcudi and Allie manage to both suck and blow at the same time is one for the scientists to get cracking on. I guess Mignola was happy to hand off his series to any near do well he could find and sit back and take his cut. Pretty disappointing on all fronts. 2.25/5


OmniBen.

[Bibliophileverse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is entirely based on Abe Sapien’s life which is very interesting and mysterious. The plot has an emotional touch where Abe is trying to find his place in this cruel world. Some thinks he is a monster and some just another being. A very different kind of comic with attractive graphics.

4 stars for the book and thanks to Edelweiss and Dark Horse Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

[Ella Zegarra]

dnf: 123 pg.

mi experimento de leer en desorden no resulto tan bien con este volumen e.e

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Progress was made slow by a flooded house, which might be ironic for an Abe Sapien comic, but this was a good volume! Abe might have a worse prophecy than Hellboy did.

[Václav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible, Volume 1
(4,2 of 5 for that nice gritty atmosphere)
I was just remembering Sicario and The Road, and some of each I got with this Abe Sapien series. The hell is on earth, there are monsters of all kinds lurking around, the apocalypse is raging and it seems there is no hope. There is death and suffering behind each corner.
Fiumara brothers do a great job, and I loved every single page of it, with the exception of that part with the backstory of a girl, who Abes "saves" from a weirdo in the cottage. That was a bit confusing and out of rhythm. And of course that 80 pages of sketches and so...
Anyway, the art is great, the story too and I love the dark depressing atmosphere.

[Arlomisty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was ok... not as good as some of the BPRD graphic novels... kind of a filler story...

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've loved every other Mignola-related work I've read, but this one was extremely disappointing. The premise of Abe trying to find out how he fits into the current ongoing apocalypse is interesting, but in practice it became 350 pages of almost no story advancement at all. Abe simply wanders around, meets a group of people, the people are slaughtered by monsters, then he moves on to meet the next group of people. This repeats 4-5 times, and that's the whole book. I'm honestly surprised this story even made it into production considering the normally excellent quality I'm used to from anything in the Hellboy/BPRD/etc. universe.

[Angel Hench · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really tried to get into this, I love the world of Hellboy, but I just didn't care about this at all. I felt like I had jumped into the middle of a series (which I guess I kind of did, although this is labeled Volume 1. Help a reader out here) and couldn't catch up. Also, I had a difficult time following the action sequences. Nice artwork, though.

[Luke Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Abe, super invested in him as a character and in the mystery he's trying to get to the bottom of, here. Don't love Allie as a writer, or as a person! Bad person! Fuck that guy forever for tainting one of my favorite things in the world by being an abusive sex criminal!

While I enjoyed individual elements and arcs of this a lot, it feels structurally undercooked. It's like, by the end of this volume, we're basically back where we started. Abe is on this voyage of self discovery, and everywhere he goes, people are like, you gotta stop hanging around here and go on your voyage of self discovery! And he's like, yeah man, you're right, and then he goes to the next town for the exact same reasons and leaves for the exact same reasons. Everyone agrees constantly that Abe needs to solve the mystery of Abe! But it's like... presented as though its some kind of struggle. Even though the audience, the main character, and all the supporting cast all just want to get to the bottom of what' shappening to abe. Very weird. It's like when you go to a movie theater and they play an ad for the movie theater you're already in. Yeah. You got me. I'm in. You don't have to keep selling me the hook!

Still and all, I do kind of enjoy Abe in this lone wanderer mode. Lots of good critters and I'm now sold on the fiumara art, which I wasn't originally.

[Jinji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible Volume 1!!! Just as Hellboy is on his journey to hell, and the BPRD is dealing with the effects of the Plague of Frogs, Abe went out on his own to investigate the vision he received while on a BPRD assignment. Now, having resigned from the agency he is searching for clues into his past and recent evolution, while being followed by lovecraftian monsters, members of the agency, and even religious fanatics thinking that he is the messiah from the apparent Gods brought by the plague. On the other side of the country, Gustav Strobl, a practitioner of the Dark Arts, is also in search of the mysteries of Abe’s changes, and could also be a key to finding his past. This volume sets up his journey, but also opens up a myriad of question, that you’ll just have to wait for on the next volume to be answered.

Just as with the Hellboy series, Abe’s is also filled mysteries, monsters, and some lore. Main difference is Abe’s not as trigger happy, or stone knuckled as Hellboy. Can’t wait for the next volume to come out!!!

[Leif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent art. Does something else in the Mignolaverse. Surprised at how sensitive and human this series is.

[Etain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Very excited to read volume 2 and extremely excited for volume 3 when it comes out

[Monika Kilijańska · Rating 5 out of 5]

W tym tomie Abe jest po drugiej przemianie i nie przypomina już wcale człowieka. Z wyjątkiem myślenia i porozumiewania się jak ludzie. Pierwsza z dwóch opowieści to tytułowe „Mroczne i straszliwe”. Abe jest wolny, nie służy BBPO. Tym razem znajduje schronienie w małym kościółku. Próbuje zrozumieć znaczenie swojej fizycznej transformacji i widzi, w jaki sposób rzeczy zmieniły umysły ludzi. Niektórzy widzą w pladze żab czy przyjściu potworów zapowiedź armageddonu i zmiany świata. Jednak czy Abe jest aniołem czy kolejnym krokiem w ewolucji?
Druga historia, „Nowa ludzka rasa”, przedstawia Abe’a w pobliżu Salton Sea. Tu wszystko, co go spotkało, się zaczęło. Może uda się więc znaleźć odpowiedzi na temat np. drugiej mutacji mutacji i dowiedzieć się, czy jest ona w jakiś sposób powiązana ze wszystkim, co się wokół dzieje. Na miejscu nie ma już potworów. Zostały same jajka, z których od czasu do czasu wykluwa się nowy mutant i szybko zmierza w słoną toń. Strach przed nowym sprawia, że te kuliste jaja stały się dla niektórych obiektem kultu. Ludzie wierzą, że pozostały, aby ocalić ludzkość przed samą sobą i zmienić planetę z powrotem w raj.
„Kształt przyszłości” pokazuje bardzo ciekawy związek pojawienia się potworów z wierzeniami etnicznymi ludności tych terenów, „Do ostatka” wprowadza nieumarłych w różnych postaciach. W „Uzdrowicielu” Abe znajduje człowieka, który uważa, że znalazł sposób na zatrzymanie, a nawet cofnięcie mutacji, a przechodząc przez dość melancholijny zeszyt „Wizje, sny i ryby” dochodzimy do „Świętych miejsc” – basenu, przy którym kiedyś kobieta-medium postrzeliła Aba. Ona twierdziła, że Abe to zło, ludzie, którzy teraz koczują przy basenie, znajdują w Abe’ie swego Wybrańca. Okazuje się, że miejsce to jest ośrodkiem dość specyficznego kultu śmierci.
Najbardziej metaforyczny jest jednak „Ogród (1)”. Widzimy akcję oczyma mężczyzny, który siedzi na dachu swojego krzywego domu i wypatruje. Teoretycznie trzyma w rękach strzelbę, jednak wypatruje wody, jaka powinna pojawić się w pobliskiej rzece. Wtedy ponownie zakwitnie ogród, niczym raj utracony. Kim jest mężczyzna? Człowiekiem o nieciekawej przeszłości, który uratował pewną kobietę. Ale też człowiekiem, który ją przetrzymuje i pod pozorem opieki nie pozwala opuszczać domu. Są jak biblijna para pierwszych ludzi i kto wie, czy właśnie tak nie myśli o swoim obecnym położeniu sam mężczyzna. Wszak jest na pustkowiu, dookoła krążą potwory, nie ma innych ludzi. Musi to oznaczać, że trzeba poczekać na ostateczne oczyszczenie ziemi i na ziemię, a także do jego życia, powróci spokój i radość. W tej części Abe jawi się niczym biblijny wąż kusiciel.
Więcej na: https://www.monime.pl/abe-sapien-mroc...

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, they certainly got the "Terrible" part right. It's been such a depressing run of the Mignolaverse in these mid-Hell On Earth volumes, and spinning Abe, one of the best characters in BPRD, off into his own series only to have him spin his wheels and accomplish literally nothing for 350 pages really rubs salt in the wound.

The writing in this book is by far the worst of any book in the Hellboy universe so far. Mignola and Scott Allie have genuinely given Abe nothing to do for 90% of this book. He is literally wandering around the American Southwest, aimless, with no idea what he should be doing, supposedly searching for "meaning" but doing nothing direct to actually find it. It's like reading a book about a depressed dude just kind of walking around, only it's set during the apocalypse while there are millions of monsters to fight. It makes Abe seem like a complete asshole, uninterested in trying to make any sort of difference, just selfishly going around Introspecting while the world collapses around him. It's not dynamic, he has no clear goal or motivation.

And on top of that, it's boring. The individual stories he finds himself a part of go nowhere and are so thinly written that you can't feel any impact from them whatsoever. Not to mention the fact that we meet a fair amount of new characters, each more forgettable and/or annoying than the last (particularly Grace, a nonstop-complaining stick-in-the-mud who we're forced to spend the last half of the book with). Outside of one short, still kind of confusing story early on that feels like it's setting up some thematic elements for the future of the series, this book really has almost nothing to offer.

I really can't believe how far and how fast these Hell on Earth stories fell off. It's honestly worth studying. I think switching from sets of 5-issue miniseries to a full monthly ongoing title really killed these guys' ability to create dynamic stories. They're too rushed by deadlines or trying to churn out filler to fit the monthly schedule. You can feel how much worse all these books became after they became monthlies, and it's a huge bummer. Oh well. Hoping they start to course correct soon, but my hopes aren't up.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

In parallel to the Hellboy's self-exile to find out what his true purpose is, Abe Sapien also decides to leave BPRD and find out if it is true that his mutations are linked with eruption of literal hell on Earth. Since some members of BPRD openly suspect he is connected with the appearances of the frogs he needs to show them he is not what they think he is.

During his wanderings through Texas, Arizona and Mexico Abe comes across signs of eroding human society, various cults and appearances of monsters, healers, witches and warlocks - some with the noble intentions, some not and others totally undecipherable. After rescuing girl named Grace from rather bizarre imprisonment Abe decides to stay with her and see where will the road take him next.

And in yet another parallel path we follow third "pilgrim" in these troubling times - necromancer and warlock Gustav Strobl in his quest to regain his position among the daemons of the deep (hell is suddenly very silent and Strobl cannot use it as a source of power) and finally obtain the mysterious power that Abe might be very part of.

Interesting collection of stories with wonderful art. Entire collection is more introspective and lethargic - almost all humans Abe comes across are more or less OK with their fate and this fatalistic view of the world only shows how deep did the society fall when confronted with unimaginable horrors from the deep.

Recommended for fans of horror and Hellboy's universe.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review covers volumes 1 and 2. Basically I'm unclear why this needed to be its own series rather than like a 5-issue arc within BPRD. It doesn't feel substantial enough for an entire series, much less two giant omnibuses, and the repetitiveness makes that clear to me. So many scenes of Abe flashing back to previous things we've seen, so much of Abe swimming through water, seeing visions, etc. So many times meeting new boring characters and then he's just sort of hanging around. Actually, that was the entire two books, Abe just sort of hanging around while a bunch of characters we don't care much about also hang around or freak out about stuff.

I just expect better from the Hellboy universe after reading so much great stuff. Like the Lobster Johnson books aren't genius or groundbreaking but at least they are fun to read. These were not even fun. On a positive, I did like the mood of it at times. I found the end of volume 2 interesting as things about Abe's origins start to become more clear (but to be honest, I still don't understand.) And I liked the side story of the villain guy and the living dead BPRD agent who has to serve him. But really, these whole two lengthy books could have been a short side story and not such a lengthy departure. Abe's passiveness and hangin' out is just not very interesting to watch. IN MY OPINION!

[Joseph R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abe Sapien has woken from his coma in the middle of the B.P. R.D. Hell on Earth storyline. He's less human-looking than before and has left the Bureau. The United States (and indeed, the rest of the world) has turned into an apocalyptic landscape. Abe wanders around trying to understand more about himself and his role in what's going on, if any. He goes to the Salton Sea where a water-themed elder god arose and to Rosario, Texas, where he took the bullet that put him in the coma. Meanwhile, Gustav Strobl is also wandering the United States looking for answers about Abe's role, though he clear has sinister motives and is upset that he does not have the mystical control that he once had before. He only takes up a quarter of the narrative, most of the focus is on Abe.

The story is very bleak. Abe has given up on the Bureau and the bigger mission of saving the world. He does help people along the way. But the aid is fairly minimal and some people are beyond help. Abe is not very successful in finding information though he is starting to remember his life as Langdon Caul. Caul lived during the American Civil War and transformed into Abe when he found some underwater relic. I found the stories hard to read (this volume is about 400 pages) with the ongoing dismal tone and the lack of progress on any front.

Not recommended.

[Timothy Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a lot of great art in this book. The pencils and inks and colors are all wonderful, however, the story blows. It's vague and meandering and dull. I was real bored and I ended up just flipping through the end because I completely lost interest. Nothing has changed for Abe since the beginning of the book. We get no answers to anything really. Hell on Earth HC vol 1 did such a great job of building the mystery surrounding Abe and his role in everything and what he might be becoming and Dark and Terrible squanders all of it.
What really bothers me though is how much this book isn't about Abe at all. In most of these stories the titular character is passive, until some big dumb meaningless action scene that has zero stakes. This book is mostly about world building and giving us a tour of the landscape and the survivors of the Hell on Earth apocalypse but there's zero reason to care about any of them because the authors do such a terrible job giving us reasons to care or in a few cases they go on and on and on about how awful it was for some of them. Their stories are either way too much or barely anything and all the while Abe is just kind of... there.

Wonderful art. Bad, bland, vague, boring story. Completely skippable.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this after finishing off the main BPRD storyline, so the whole side trips style didn't have a whole lot of resonance with me. And either I never understood Abe's character, or he's just out of that character for this entire series. He's wandering the country, ducking the BPRD, all because he's afraid people think he's a frog man (something that does happen multiple times here). He becomes the base for a cult, and he just kind of stumbles through people's lives, bringing at least some resolution to the nightmares the world has become by this time. Sometimes the adventures work, but some of them just fall flat (To the Last Man especially left me bored and confused). The whole Grace character and plot seems off as well, although I did like Dayana. The art is suitable throughout, with a few inspired moments. But overall, I can't recommend this to anyone who isn't really into Abe, and even those people might be put off by the direction he goes here.

[Daniel Kovacs Rezsuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides the artwork, which is always amazing in these Mignolaverse books, there is not much to write home about. While the premise of a monstrous human trying to learn about his role in the apocalypse while roaming around in rural America has plenty of potential, none of the individiuals stories collected here really live up to it. They are not badly written, but they lack the clear direction and punch I expect from B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth volumes and even if I approach them on their own terms as more personal tales of dealing with the end of the world, they are a bit underwhelming. I'll definitely check out the next collection as part of my Mignolaverse marathon, but unless you are a completionist like me, I cannot give this the same recommendation as most of the previous books in the series.

[Jarrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some cool ideas, and some interesting art, but none of it really comes together to amount to much more than its parts. The overarching story is garbled and hard to follow at times. Looking back at the whole volume Abe doesn't go through much of an arc, he just wanders a blasted USA (while more impactful and interesting events take place in other books). On some level it is interesting to see these parts of a society in decay to add to the rest of the universe. This is most apparent in the art which, while again never getting to really shine due to the lack of interesting or epic scenes requested by the writer, does do a great job of bringing life to the gritty post-apocalyptic America. I suppose to sum up, read this because you love BPRD and want to explore the world a bit more but also if you skip it you aren't missing too much.

[Justin Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d never read a book from the Mignola-verse before, but this was a strangely fascinating starting point. Abe’s walkabout journey through an apocalyptic wasteland is bleak and violent, but certainly with deep emotional merit and consideration. The almost standalone stories we encounter throughout this collection are not easy to swallow, and often left me with an empty pit of dread or sadness in my chest. I had very little problem figuring out “what was going on” and found the writing helpful in immersing me without a lore dump. In addition, I love the Fiumara brothers’ art style and how it complements the rugged rich colors of the story being told — the transformed Abe design is amazing and many of the creatures and landscapes are striking. An excellent read.