AIDP 31. El Infierno en la Tierra 14: La exorcista

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth

by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Peter Snejbjerg

CUANDO EL INFIERNO ESTÁ EN LA TIERRA ALGUIEN DEBE LUCHAR CONTRA LAS POSESIONES DEMONÍACAS

Las posesiones demoníacas han aumentado con el Infierno en la Tierra y la AIDP anda escasa de exorcistas. La joven agente Ashley Strode deberá aprender rápido a lidiar con demonios y aprovechar las lecciones que un antiguo exorcista de la agencia le enseñará para continuar con su legado.

Mike Mignola, Cameron Stewart, Chris Roberson y Mike Norton nos presentan un nuevo personaje importante en la lucha contra las fuerzas del Infierno.

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

136 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2016

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]

Cameron Stewart fleshes out a minor character not seen since Plague of Frogs. Ashley Strode gets pulled into an exorcism leading to her going into the field, exorcising demons. These smaller stories were nice in the midst of all the chaos of Hell on Earth. I didn't even think there were still pockets of normality in America at this point. Everywhere Strode visits just looks like typical middle America. It's about time one of these BPRD agents learned magic. At this point, you'd think they'd all become sorcerers in order to battle all the Ogdru Hem and demons on earth. Cameron Stewart and Mike Norton are both talented artists. However, they felt a bit out of place in the Mignolaverse.

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say, I wasn't expecting to get a small, contained, completely standalone story starring a relatively new character in the second to last volume of the series. But I enjoyed it! Ashley Strode was introduced a long time ago during Plague of Frogs, but she hasn't been seen anywhere since then. I now realise that's a shame, because I really like her — she's a young and inexperienced agent who is still a very strong and competent person with a cool set of powers. I already like her more than agent Howards! I hope she becomes a more prominent character later on. Cameron Stewart, Mike Norton and Chris Roberson created a very enjoyable and spooky story that looks beautiful and is a great fit for the Mignolaverse, and it was a welcome change of pace after the world-threatening gigantic monsters of the past few volumes.

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Exorcist is really about BPRD Agent Ashley Strode. Ashley worships Liz Sherman. This volume is taking place during the Hell on Earth storyline.

I do not know anything about Agent Strode, but I did like her character. She is someone who wants to be like her idol-Liz. She is fearless and intelligent. Both the stories (in which she fights two different demons) are well done. The first story with the old priest is really good. The second is decent.

For me it was nice to read about a BPRD agent not named Abe, Hellboy, Liz, etc. Now I may be mistaken, as I am not a BPRD expert, but Agent Strode is not famous. But the stories follow Agent Strode as she deals with two different exorcisms. I really enjoyed the first story where she has to work next to the priest. It has a great premise and Mignola delivers faultlessly on the plot. The second story, I did not like as much but it is not a bad one. The concept behind the lost children was actually very well done-and that demon's story is superbly creepy. I can't really say exactly what I didn't like about the second story as much-the start and finish are truly good. The middle, where Ashley is investigating, just didn't strike my fancy.

The artwork is excellent. There are some very interesting panels here and some beautiful scenes. The myths underpinning the story are cool as well. This was a good and fun volume, but the lack of any prominent BPRD members kept this from being a 5 star volume. Still, all things considered, any BPRD/Hellboy fan will enjoy this volume.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this is how to do a character piece!

World: The art is Cameron Stewart, that's all I need to say, he's amazing. The world building here is fantastic! After the huge even that was End of Days we pull in close and focus on a single character and it's great. The pieces that Stewart used was intimate and character driven. He's taken a one shot character called Ashley and made her fully formed and wonderful. The stuff with the demons on earth also ties in wonderfully the BPRD world and the Hellboy world. Fantastic.

Story: Simple and small in scope but brilliant in execution. The story was basic and the ideas done before but Stewart with his dept hands and art made it so much more. Ashley is a great character and it's all because of Stewart. The art really informs the tone and I can't see the story being done by anyone else. What else can I say, these couple of issues has made me fall in love with a small one issue single name BPRD agent, that's how good the writing is.

Characters: Ashley is fantastic, she's flawed, fully formed and her arc is great. This is simply good writing. The rest of the cast of characters you see her interact with are also solid and serves the story well, but this is her show and she's fantastic.

A great little intimate tale right after the huge event that was the Black Flame fight is perfect.

Onward to the next book!

[Orrin Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very pleased to see Ashley Strode getting some more screen time, and happy with some of the developments of her character that we see here, but the problem with exorcisms as a narrative device is that they tend to get really repetitive really fast, especially when your lead has to say the same bunch of words every time.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will it ever end? How will it end? Probably someone will punch someone.

[Marc Pastor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per fi. Després d'uns quants números repetitius i en els que la sèrie havia perdut el nord (i encara pitjor: l'interés), sembla que es redreça per tornar als orígens. "La exorcista" ens serveix d'introducció a un personatge relativament nou de l'AIDP, però també per recuperar els dimonis i la bruixeria, els casalots del Bible Belt i una senzillesa (que no simplicitat) narrativa que enyorava.

[Siona Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really different story for B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, but it was really interesting! I hope Agent Strode shows up for in following volumes. I can even see her with her own miniseries.

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Історія, звісно, хороша, але настільки стороння та філлерна саме для "Пекла на Землі", що трохи збиває темп. Утім, попереду грандіозне за передчуття завершення, то може "монстр тижня" із вигна��ням привидів і демонів у стилі "Надприроднього" стоїть саме на своєму місці.

[Chloe A-L · Rating 2 out of 5]

the individual issues weren't that bad, the stories were alright, but it was literally just a totally different comic pretending to be a bprd comic. it had nothing to do with the WHOLE WORLD EVENT happening in the REST of hell on earth? and it was boring. but she was gay so that's nice.

[Seizure Romero · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume is devoted to B.P.R.D. Agent Ashley Strode, for reasons that I dearly hope become obvious in the near future. It is almost completely disconnected to the rest of the Hell on Earth story arc, and since I know there's only one more volume to go, I'm really puzzled about why. The first arc, Exorcism, is more interesting and sets up the second arc, surprisingly titled The Exorcist, where our newly fleshed-out character spends quite a bit of time talking to herself. Seriously, when she's not having ridiculous conversations with ghosts or demons, she's narrating aloud what she's doing (because, y'know, this is a comic book and we can't see for ourselves). One two-page spread is made up of 13 panels of Ashley going in to a well-house, her flashlight failing, finding a lantern, starting down the conveniently placed ladder... and TWELVE dialogue balloons of her talking to herself.

I like the character; I even like how they're trying to show her as a rising power, but THIS IS CRAP STORYTELLING. It's a visual medium, for fucks' sake. Use it.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

The Exorcist was an impressive one-shot style of storytelling and I enjoyed the break from the core storyline. I had been expecting this volume to jump straight back into the current arc, but this was a pleasant surprise. The storylines have been very impressive during this arc and I've enjoyed the method at which they've closed out existing storylines. It's nice how the support characters receive backstories and this has to be right at the top.

Why the 4.5?

Volume 14 delivers again. It's impressive they shift the focus from the core storyline for a beat. Volume 15 really has its work cut out for it. This was a fun and interesting side story. Hellboy has been doing this from the very beginning and it's a showcase of the depth Mignola has to play with. I'll be interested to see if this connects to the next volume or in the future, but for now I was happy to read this volume. Interesting direction change and worth the ride.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now like all true epics we need our heroes and this is the story of one of them - however reluctant they may be. As the tales say - in the hour of need a hero will arise and seeing what is happening (and how things are escalating) there is no greater time like now - but will it be enough

I think there has to be respect where it due - in any armageddon story there is always that question of where will they pull it back as ultimately we want to survive and see our heroes win - but in this series from one book to the next seeing your way clear of when and how that will happen gets more and more impossible to predict

and for me that is part of what I enjoy about this series - it does become a question of how much more of the US is there left to destroy - quite a bit it would seem

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised this got a lower than average score for a B.P.R.D. book. I liked it as a kind of straightforward supernatural story that Hellboy and B.P.R.D. generally deliver. I've read this series off and on and kind of forgot about the protagonist in this volume but I thought the atmosphere and eeriness of the story really worked. With ghosts and demons and exorcisms, this volume was a return to what I love about the "Mignola-verse". The art was a lot different than the previous volume but looked great once again. This definitely helped me get excited about B.P.R.D. again even if it is a one-off story that anyone can pick up and read.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cool to see Ashley Strode given the spotlight and more of a role within the BPRD, however the story was pretty weak and repetitive. Whilst it was somewhat enjoyable, it was also forgettable and the art wasn't up to the usual high standards.

[Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Exorcism

This is the origin story of how Ashley Strobe (Liz's BPRD fangirl "do you think she noticed me?") became the BPRD's prime Exorcist. She is first sent to accompany a priest doing an exorcism and messes up big time. From there she has to try to fix her mistake, and this is when the story goes into an interesting flash back before coming back to the present day. Overall, just an average story with a lead character that feels generic, except for the Liz fangirl part, which was done MUCH better in previous issues. I don't know, it just didn't connect.

The Exorcist

Ashley Strobe is kicking ass as the BPRD's primary Exorcist. She comes across a case in a small town, where children keep going missing. Who, or what, could be responsible for that? It is worse than you think. Unfortunately it didn't really "move" me and it should have because the human cost was very high. Somehow the way the story played out there was no emotional connection or resonance. This is probably the fault of the writer.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always a strange thing when the BPRD storyline goes to 11, and then abruptly steps back to cool things off or explore a tangent of its own making. Such is the case here, as we get to know a (very) late addition to the BPRD heavy hitters roster, Agent Ashley Strode, a BPRD redshirt of bygone issues who stumbles into a new role of great significance as a supernatural warrior of the first order. It may seem that Strode’s speciality is misplaced in a world beset by the giant menace of otherworldly kaiju, but it all works itself out. I think what works best here is that this entire volume is a proof point that in the Mignolaverse, things happen on their own time. In the arc of the meta-plot, this might seem late in the game to introduce a new character. But this is the Mignolaverse, where anything can happen at any time. And you know what? That’s one of the biggest reasons to love it.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason another filler book (which was a bit of a surprise considering how previous book ended).

We are introduced to BPRD agent Ashley Strode, agent who unwittingly (Kate Corrigan knows how to motivate people, devious, man, absolutely devious) gets involved into pretty nasty case of exorcism.

Very soon she will become an expert in the field and stories in this volume seem to be aimed at establishing her as a true daemon hunter [very like W40K inquisition, weapons and all :)].

Interesting story but absolute detour from the main story-line. If Ashley does not play an important role down the lane, I gotta admit I dont see the point. But from the merit of the story itself it is pretty well written and drawn.

Recommended to fans of BPRD and Hellboy universe.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to the volumes around it, this series is very focused and personal. Ashley makes an good protagonist, especially as the story takes her from being over her head in the first series to a very competent investigator in the second. The stories focus on demons and ghosts and small towns, and the scope works well. There are some surprising twists and finding out that the second story is based on a real house gives it an extra dimension. The art is in line with all of BPRD, and works for the story. I can understand why the collected volumes don't put this in chronological order, as it is a very different beast than the main series, but it's one still worth tracking down to read.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fine story about a new agent, Ashley Strode. The story itself was fine (small town with a history of missing kids and strange runes) but it falls amidst the finale of one of the greatest comics of all time. It’s like the end of the season and they decide to do a side character story, not the time!

If this was a separate story or earlier I would’ve rated it higher but NYC is fallen, the Russians are planning a new attack, satan is dead and now we’re back to small ghost stories. If this goes somewhere I’ll take it back but right now it felt a little too simple for one of the final BPRD stories EVER.

[Frédéric Bonin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun story! In between all the chaos facing the BPRD, this volume had a really nice character arc for a character we met once ages ago in one of the earlier volumes. Some character growth, creepy demons, an old character’s return and nice development this was a breath of fresh air. The art was fun and « light » compared to the main series but yet it didn’t feel cartoonish. Really good.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small characters become big stories. It does seem the way of this universe. We meet, again, a person who was a small story and who looks poised to become something else. A woman who battles the demons of hell. We already know that Hell is in a mess and a power struggle is under way. Somehow, this person is important to that story. And boy, has this first arc been fun.

[Koen Claeys · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first story, 'Exorcism', is good. A B.P.R.D. agent helps out an exorcist. The second story, 'The Exorcist', falls short. Did they really need 3 writers like Mignola, Stewart and Roberson to come up with such a mediocre comic ?
The artwork by Mike Norton is also better in the first story but an excellent artist like Norton never really disappoints.

[Kevin Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rare "almost-cheerful" BPRD: Hell on Earth story. This is the story of BPRD Field Agent Ashley Strode as she wanders the county as a freelance exorcist.

[Lord Humungus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun demon-hunting diversion from the main Hell On Earth storyline, with some excellent art by Cameron Stewart.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good story and I enjoyed it very much.
It is nice to read a story with a strong powerful woman as the lead character.
Very cool.

[Jacob Betts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing particularly awful about this volume, but it was considerably lackluster when compared to the last few trades of Hell On Earth.

[Solomon's · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically a BPRD tribute to The Exorcist, not really my thing and not really an engaging side-story.

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Strode’s abilities are pretty unique

[Justin Labelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid stand alone diptych cantered on exorcism.
Great art, wonderful demons.
What’s more to ask for?