B.P.R.D., Vol. 5: The Black Flame

B.P.R.D.

by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Guy Davis (Artist)

The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense faces its worst tragedy ever as the war against the plague of frogs reaches a devastating new level. Heralded by a bizarre villain from the B.P.R.D.'s past, an ancient monster-god marches across the American heartland portending an end to the reign of men, and leaving a permanent mark on the Bureau.

Hellboycreator Mike Mignola continues his collaboration with artist Guy Davis and co-writer John Arcudi to unravel a tale that will leave the earth shaken and the B.P.R.D. shattered. This collection includes a sketchbook section chronicling Guy Davis's creation of the abominations unleashed in The Black Flame.

The B.P.R.D. is changed forever in this story revealing secret names, visions and dreams, a Nazi madman, and the death of a beloved agent.

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

168 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2006

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 5 out of 5]

Things head south for the BPRD and the rest of the world. With this volume, you realize things have gotten out of hand for the team and it's no longer just a monster of the week for the team. There's a ton of fallout and particularly sad moments. This is where the book really sets itself apart from other comics.

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The war with the frog monsters continues, and the team takes a toll. An excellent volume, although really dark in tone — this trend will continue as the story progresses, but this is the first big moment that hits right in the feels.


First read: November 11, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Second read: October 24, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not that he wasn’t doing it already, but John Arcudi really begins to earn his paycheck here. The emotional depth and deeper characterization that he brings to this book pays off in a big way. Roger’s entire arc in this book, and the dynamic between Liz and Daimio (her total and utter despising of him vs his grudging professional respect for her power but complete personal disdain for her) are the emotional highlights of this volume. Even beyond his handle on BPRD’s emotional themes, Arcudi excels at teasing out subplots. We get more hints of Ben Daimio’s backstory, and what we see is so off the wall that you can’t help but want to know more about the guy. Just rock solid character work all around.

This is the point in BPRD where the scope of the series begins to broaden substantially, going from hunting down a monster or two to “oh my god things are much worse than we thought, and the world is probably going to end.” Guy Davis steps his game up in response to the greater stakes, and while I realize his style isn’t for everybody at the same time I genuinely don’t know how you look at his work on The Black Flame and come away unimpressed. His monster designs are so fucking disgusting looking in the very best way. But even beyond that he’s great at conveying the sheer scale of what our heroes are facing. The way he frames shots and positions his camera so he can show how unbelievably huge in size and overwhelming in numbers all these things are is so clever. Add to that how much attention to detail he puts in to smaller moments and environments (just look at how much work he puts in to Roger’s sad but weirdly charming quarters) and it’s clear he really is one of those artists who can do it all.

Outstanding work all around, this is BPRD at its peak, and it’s another easy five stars.

[Otherwyrld · Rating 3 out of 5]

The war on the frogs reaches a climax in this volume, as one of the old gods is resurrected and begins to destroy whole chunks of the USA. However, before this happens, Roger and his team seem to be making headway with the frogs, slaughtering them wholesale. This comes to a dramatic end as the Black Flame, who is a corporate CEO who has been training the frogs to do his bidding for power reasons, sets an ambush that Roger falls straight into. This results in him being blown apart

Abe, who has been hiding in B.P.R.D headquarters since the truth about his origins was revealed (which I'm still not buying, there must be something more to this story) is forced back onto active duty. Captain Daimo, feeling guilty about Roger, tries and fails to resign. But it is Liz Sherman, with help from a mystery figure that appears in her dreams, who saves the day and kills the monster. This she does with the aid of a mysterious widget that Roger had collected some time ago, and left in his room along with hundreds of other objects he had picked up.

With the frogs seemingly destroyed and the old god vanquished brings the story to a close. It remains to be seen what happens next in this series.

So action-packed, exciting and tragic in equal parts. 3 1/2 stars

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Black Flame" continues the Frog War saga the BPRD are waging against these Lovecraftian horrors and adds a new character. A wealthy industrialist who collects Nazi memorabilia fashions himself a suit that he believes will allow him to control the hordes of frogs and bring about the resurrection of a god like creature called "Sadu Hem". He calls himself the Black Flame and brings about a near Armageddon on a major city with his recklessness, and a major character in the series dies.

The book continues the ongoing battle of the ever growing hordes of frog monsters versus the increasingly beleaguered and desperate BPRD. Well written by Mike Mignola and illustrated by series staple Guy Davis, the book is interesting by turns and is a great addition to the expanding storyline of this fantastic series. A good read.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katha Hem! *drops mic*

Man what an arc! Everything I love about this series can be experienced in this arc. It's bloody amazing and here's why:

World: Guy Davis art is amazing, his monsters are just the best in the Industry and seeing Katha Hem is proof of that. I won't go into details but man the art is stunning. The world building for this arc is insane. The Black Flame story and more important the Katha Hem story in the grand world building scheme is amazing. Not to mention the further development for the BPRD, the Plague of Frogs...so much world building...so much awesomeness.

Story: Man this arc is insane. This is exactly why I love this series so much. The pacing and dialog was fantastic. Arcudi is simply amazing, he injects humour in this series when if you look at the story is pretty much all doom and gloom. I don't want to go into spoilers but man things change in this world and things will never be the same after this arc. Just trust me and experience this story, it's simply stunning. It answers many questions and just like any good comic, poses many more that will keep you coming back. Plague of Frogs so far has been amazing and this just made it even so much more so.

Characters: I can't spoil anything so I will say that this arc is intimate and also heartbreaking. Sure, a lot of stuff happens in this arc, but Mignola and Arcudi don't forget the character aspect of the book. We've been spending time with the team for a while now and so with even more character development I think we have gone from characters to real fully fleshed of characters now with the BPRD. No spoilers so I will keep it short, it's amazing!

This arc is stunningly good and a perfect example of why I adore this series so much. I can't wait for the next arc.

Onward to the next book!

[Willow Redd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is absolutely heartbreaking.

The war on the frog monsters has reached a boil. Roger and Captain Daimio are running full military invasions into frog nests and cleaning house. Unfortunately, dark forces are at work and the new head of Zinco (no brighter than the last guy) is planning to take control of the beasts. But, there is more to the frogs than meets the eye, especially for those blinded by power and glory.

The Black Flame just flows from Lovecraftian horror to Kirbyesque supervillians to Godzilla-style kaiju versus military action. Guns blaze, monsters roar, and not everyone will come out unscathed.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fitting and solid ending to the plague of frogs story arc, the story was exciting, eventful and action packed. I'd also like to acknowledge the brilliant art of Guy Davis, I've been a fan of his for a while now and it was awesome to see him get such a great story to show off his skills.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Black Flame" continues the Frog War saga the BPRD are waging against these Lovecraftian horrors and adds a new character. A wealthy industrialist who collects Nazi memorabilia fashions himself a suit that he believes will allow him to control the hordes of frogs and bring about the resurrection of a god like creature called "Sadu Hem". He calls himself the Black Flame and brings about a near Armageddon on a major city with his recklessness, and a major character in the series dies.

The book continues the ongoing battle of the ever growing hordes of frog monsters versus the increasingly beleaguered and desperate BPRD. Well written by Mike Mignola and illustrated by series staple Guy Davis, the book is interesting by turns and is a great addition to the expanding storyline of this fantastic series. A good read.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be the best volume in the series so far.

The events from The Plague of Frogs saga continues as our beloved characters learn to work together and discover new secrets, while also dealing with their personal issues.

The book gives a range of emotions; from humorous hearty chuckles to heartbreaking moments, the book has it all.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worst happens- the frogs lead to a large worm like creature to earth (led by the Black flame, a nazi businessman who is luckily brutally destroyed by his own frogs).

Roger follows Captain D and becomes a cartoonish version of him until he’s destroyed by frogs, Liz has dreams that lead her to the power to kill the worm and Abe feels funny.

The BPRD stories are very important to the Hellboy mythos but feel secondary. They’re always enjoyable but they don’t feel as iconic, which isn’t bad because the Hellboy main series is legendary. These are just a tad less than legendary.

[Jonathan Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger the homunculus has become quite the pistol-packin, cigar-chompin ass kicker. Since Hellboy left the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Roger has adopted Capt. Ben Daimio as a role model and thrown himself into the war on frogs with a militaristic fervor, much to Liz's disquiet. Her misgivings are bolstered by dream visitations from a mysterious mandarin-type figure who warns that things are about to get REALLY bad. He's right. While the B.P.R.D. works to exterminate the frog plague, the Nazi fetishist CEO of Zinco has his research and development department working to exploit the batrachian beasts for his own evil purposes. Well, everybody knows what happens when hubristic humans start screwing around with the Old Ones. "The Black Flame" is a series that profoundly changed the B.P.R.D. in ways fans are still upset about. This ain't no Death of Captain America. As in the previous volume, the only weakness here (and it's not such a detriment) is the art by Guy Davis, who draws every face like a potato and occasionally adds an extra digit to a character's hand.

[Geoff Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been half-heartedly following BPRD, because Hellboy's alright, nothing special to me but solid entertainment. But now they've got my strictest attention. This story is AMAZING. Guy Davis nicely balances everything that Mignola doesn't do (like backgrounds). The story has taken on an epic sweep. They're doing a very good job of convincing me that the group, indeed the world, is in serious trouble. And the Black Flame is one of the funniest supervillains I've ever seen.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this re-read of Hellboy & related stories, but knowing how very bleak they’re going to get is daunting. But this volume is thrilling.

[Martin Hassman · Rating 4 out of 5]

První díly byly slabší, ale tahle série dobře zraje, přibližně od třetí knihy to s ní jde nahoru.

[Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, this is THE best single written arc I've read in the Hellboy series. Filled with spectacular action, deep emotional moments and the saddest moment in the series so far, I wish I could give this more than 5 stars because I "felt" it reading this TPB. The action and plot aside, this one hit me in the feels.

Roger the homunculus is growing to be more and more like a real person. Liz doesn't think it is good for him to imitate Ben so much because "It will be easy for Roger to confuse what he does with who he is". Johann tells Liz that just because she and Roger share the spark of life doesn't mean she KNOWS Roger, who is happy because he has become more completely a man, engaged in the group as a peer and accepts that he is their equal. He advises Liz to be Roger's friend, not his guardian.

A few pages later and after making the reader feel for Roger as a human being capable of emotions, it happens. Noooo! Not Roger!!! The impact of his death had me in tears. Now, I cry at movies all the time but I've never cried reading a comic book until this issue. It was just, very well done. Everything was aright. And I didn't just cry once, but several times even at the last panel. Liz goes to sleep in Roger's room and Johann has a meltdown. Ben resigns (but is denied and sent back to work).

Johann almost has a meltdown when they bring Roger's remains to the base "The others you put in body bags but not Roger? You think he is just garbage you can throw anywhere? This is wrong, he was a person!" Abe is jolted back to reality when he realizes Liz didn't even tell him she moved to Roger's Old room, but Johann as usual gets it "You are her friend but they have a connection we don't understand" (from when they both gave each other their lives back).

Ben tells Abe if there was a seance for Roger's spirit he would like to apologize to Roger. Abe says it's not necessary, when Hellboy left, Roger was a blank slate that lost his identity, he then imprinted on Ben and it gave his life direction. Roger says that's what he wanted to apologize for.

Later on we find out Johann is adamant Roger is not dead. Liz goes full on super saiyan and takes out the big bad guy. When the Black Flame begs for forgiveness after admitting he killed Roger, Liz just lets his get dragged into the abyss by frogs. Apt. I was somewhat satisfied, although still sad.

The aftermath, they get back to the BPRD HQ and Johann wants to see Roger. He comes upon a team of scientists about to saw through Roger's remaining left arm and Johann gets so angry he accuses Kate of knowing about it after yelling at the scientists to stop and kicking the "monsters" out of the room. The last panel is Johann sitting next to the remains of Roger, with his left hand on Roger's right shoulder. More tears.

I am hoping against hope that Johann is right, that Roger isn't "dead" and that he can somehow be brought back to life. Please. Don't give us such a great character only to take him away from us. It's not fair.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Black Flame is a cool character, but I got the impression that somebody, writer, artists, characters, didn't understand just how big the implications of what was going on were. There are major events going on here, but it feels much smaller than it really does. Still some great moments, but it could have been better.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which we consider whether, when we try to bind Lovecraftian horrors to serve us, whether those Lovecraftian horrors bind us to serve them too. Also whether it's a good idea to turn nuclear bombs on Lovecraftian horrors. I think there might be something about Project Paperclip fruiting here.

Still no Hellboy.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

To say what I liked would spoil the book.

[Adam Rodgers · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Hellboy currently out of the picture the rest of the BPRD must combat the latest supernatural threat of armageddon that began with the plague of frogs!

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi the storyline slots perfectly into the established Hellboy canon with enough eldritch horror and strange goings on to satisfy the most ardent paranormal devotee. The art is handled by Guy Davis here, whose pencilling is reminisent of Mignola's, and though more detailed, lacks some of the style of the creator of this world.

Mignola and Arcudi cover a lot here, outside the main narrative, as we get an insight into the key BPRD members motivations and the toll their work is taking on them - human and supernatural alike. The idea of applying cold science to this occult world (by the antagonists here) is an interesting one, and while only loosely touched on will hopefully be continued to be explored. Can science trump the supernatural - surely that is what the BPRD was created for? In any case this a gripping read, let down only slighly in its somewhat convenient conculsion, but still more than making up for it in the character progression of the core team and their evolving working and personal relationships.

[Oliver Hodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the villain reveal here of the 'black flame'- villain or sort of servant of the mega frog, it is hard to tell, but it is nice to move the story on with something other than just frogs attacking. The threat of the frogs is grotesque and interesting, and it is cool how there is quite a wide range of possibilities for their powers and motives, while the BPRD team is slowly learning about how to stop them. The development of captain daimio as a character and his relationships with roger and liz are awesome. I also like it jow these super powerful characters can be drawn into the unknown and can diffuse a threat with empathy- johan trying to return some frog monsters souls to hell is the kind of patient understanding of villainy (and effective dealing with it) that you just couldn't get in a Superman story!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation of the frog monster plague from B.P.R.D., Vol. 3: Plague of FrogsB.P.R.D., Vol. 3: Plague of Frogs and B.P.R.D., Vol. 4: The Dead. In this one, Liz Sherman gets to shine, not just as an agent and as an exceptional destructive force, but also as a concerned colleague. Johann Kraus has good moments between Volumes 4 and 5 too.

These last two volumes have introduced a new BPRD member, Captain Daimio. While not too much has been given away about him, there seems to be a bit more depth to him than just being a no-nonsense Army tough guy. It'll be curious how they reveal more about him.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume that takes all the characters we know and love and creates an utterly twisted tale. I had no idea where this story would go and only a comic book could accomplish something so intricate. I expected interesting things with a villain that fans give high praise but this exceeded anything I could've expected. There are some solid moments in the panel work and the black flame is carefully portrayed on the pagr. This spinoff has surpassed Hellboy and grown into the core franchise of the series.

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Лише було жалівся після завершення минулого волуму на відсутність триклятих жабиськ, як - ось вам! Багато різних тварюк, із новими пласкими антагоністами і слабкою драмою через смерть персонажа вкупі.

Якщо провести паралель із MCU, серія БПРО вже дуже нагадує "Агентів ЩИТа": на глобальний сюжет навряд коли-небудь вплине, хоча сам глобальний сюжет при тому впливає на внутрішній сюжет серії; ну, і через те, що награної драми персонажів, яка повторюватиметься від номера до номера, все ж, більше, ніж у великих кросоверних подіях.

[Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estou um pouco desapontado com essa série do BPRD. Não que seja ruim. Tem ideias e partes muito boas, mas sinto o ritmo um pouco arrastado, como se enrolassem propositalmente o andamento da história para vender mais revistas. Muita coisa que tem aqui dava pra ser resolvido com muito menos capítulos. Isso faz eu sentir falta do Mignola no comando do roteiro e não somente dando pitacos para o Arcudi seguir com isso. Não sei se o que vem a seguir vai manter assim, mas espero que o Arcudi se espelhe no que o Mike Mignola faz na série principal do Hellboy, que é muito melhor.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nodoprdele! Tak tohle bylo zatraceně strhující. Ta kniha má všechno, co má mít, a ještě i něco navíc. Jsou tam nečekané zvraty, je tam prohlubování postav, je tam skvělá akce a je tam i Kata Hem! Tahle série si mě brutálně zaháčkovala a já se jí nechávám ochotně vláčet. Epická akce příběhům Ú.P.V.O. sluší a tady je jí vrchovatě. Děj se rozjel, jako kdyby měla série v příští knize definitivně skončit. Navíc je tato kniha i silně emocionální. Hned se musím pustit do dalšího dílu.

[Greg Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The larger universe has come into its own and Mignola is really to start with the gut punches. I honestly did not see it coming. That said if there's one thing all Hellboy stories suffer from it's letting things breathe a moment. It has plenty of character moments and moves at a breakneck speed, but even the minor characters could use some breathing room. That said how comprehensive this comic universe feels is delightful.

Spoiler free: MY BOOOOOOOOOOOY! THEY TOOK MY BOY!

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much missing backstory to be a completely compelling read, and the mysteries of the villains are left unresolved, which was a bit disappointing - too many open issues at the beginning and the end.
Still, very nice art and some decent bits along the way, but BPRD reads more like an ongoing series than a miniseries.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the characters in this series so much. The main Hellboy series is great and all, but his sidekicks are much more compelling. The series feels like Indiana Jones by way of HP Lovecraft, which is a winning combination. I love the old-timey diving suit flaming skull costume, what a great design.

[Frida Hultgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel has been on my shelf for years and years. Bought it way back when I wanted to get into superheroes and avoid Marvel. I knew Gerard Way that wrote Umbrella Academy and sings in MCR loved Hellboy and this is in the same universe. The drawings are amazing, but I wouldn't reread it. I read it for the pictures and not the story because I found it lacking.