B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, Vol. 3

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth #7-9

by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Laurence Campbell (illustrator)

The B.P.R.D. fight to protect the world from the monstrous Ogdru Hem, as teams hit a blizzard-torn Russia and the ruins of both Chicago and New York City. Meanwhile, Liz Sherman fights a deranged doctor in Utah, and the young psychic Fenix must go head to head with a monster-worshiping cult.

This deluxe hardcover edition collects:
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – Volume 7: A Cold Day in Hell
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – Volume 8: Lake of Fire
B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth – Volume 9: The Reign of the Black Flame

Additional Material:
Introduction by Scott Allie
Expanded Sketchbook

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

422 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

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 4 out of 5]

Things have gotten really bad for humanity. Most major cities have been destroyed. Thankfully, Liz finally gets her groove back. I was really tired of her moping around in the rare times she appeared. Fenix finally grows up along the way as well. Some of my friends find these middle volumes a mixed bag. I like though how drawn out it is and how we see humanity lose again and again. It's a different kind of book where you really wonder if the BPRD and humanity itself is going to survive this.

[Maksym Karpovets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Достатньо сильний том, який продовжує апокаліптичну тему попередніх. Усі міста в руїнах, лавркафтівські монстри сновигають вулицями й підвалами, а деякі просто нерухомо перебувають в різних локаціях. Деякі міста взагалі ізольовані, зокрема Нью-Йорк, тому виникає потреба відправити туди експедицію на чолі з Ліз, яка просто ефектно повертається до команди. Іншу відправляють у Нью-Джерсі, яку, своєю чергою, очолює Йосиф (він відомий нам із попередньої арки "Росія"). Усе динамічно, жваво, не позбавлено як цікавих відкриттів, так і водночас нових розгалуджень історії. Серія стає повноцінним бойовиком, але не втрачає свого магнетизму, хоча мені більше імпонує все ж містична складова, яка завжди вирізняла найкращі роботи Міньйоли.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn.

I have no words.

Everyone that loves comics, Horror, action...hell, just....EVERYONE should be reading this.

[Ross Alon · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the last volume, it seemed like the situation couldn't get any worse. Well, it did, and it is great.
This book doesn't have a status quo, and no character is safe, so you'll find yourself actually afraid for the characters.
New characters have joined the book, and they are awesome, even better than some of the old ones.

[Arlomisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again.. another action packed Mike Mignola book... continuing the series...

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was REEEAAALLY good. I almost wish I hadn't been giving all of these 5's, so this one could stand out a little more, but whatever.

The plot is progressing now at a breakneck speed. Plot threads are being tied up, characters we haven't seen in awhile are back, and if they're story isn't finished they're propelled much further.

Really good to see Liz again, and being a badass to boot. Howard's is a really interesting addition to the group and I'm very excited to see what happens with him. Iosef and Johann are best friends and Iosefs slight revenge for Johann was supremely satisfying.

After the rest of the series its really nice seeing the Russians play nice and be friends with the BPRD, I just hope they don't divorce. Zinco is into some shit right now, I want to see what happens there, or if their work camps are dead along with New York now.

Also hello to the return of the decapitated head.

[Luke Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

BPRD has really come into its own at this point. I'm consistently impressed by how much this series continues to make me care about new characters or former b-listers. The back half of this is a Iosif/Panya/Fenix adventure, mostly! They're having a great time doing lots of different angles on disaster/apocalyptic/postapocalyptic. Feels like it's own thing, finally, rather than a procedural military angle on hellboy stuff that I liked less than hellboy.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
Although to be honest, this entire series resembles something already spoiled and rotten, because it stinks like shit, and should be scooped up in a bag and tossed in the bin.
The Laurence Campbell illustrated opening story was a momentary respite from the rest of this dreck, although as it was up first, filled me with a sense of optimism that not only didn't last, but I should have been far more cautious of at this stag. The story was average at best, but finally we had an artist whose style suited the themes, rather than the overly stylised, cartoonish shlock that would follow. Snejberg and whoever the ma was on the final arc are fine artists, but it just doesn't suit the aesthetic. But then again, with writing this bland, far more accomplished artists are gonna struggle to keep a readers attention.
I read the first two arcs, then seeing which characters were appearing in the final two, started flicking through pages so as to make the pain go away quicker. This entire series has been about as appealing as a cancer diagnosis. Avoid. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The apocalypse is ramping up and this is one of the best collections of the Mignolaverse. Strong character development, horrifying art. Every major character except for Abe (who has a spinoff series) gets their moments. The standout character for me was Iosif, the Russian zombie director of the S.S.S. who has been an enigmatic figure so far, but I felt we got some understanding of him here. I also appreciated his effect on Johan since they are the only characters who can truly understand each other. Iosif has manipulated Johann, but it looks like they're actually friends.

Wasteland continues the story of Johann's team as they trek to Chicago to find the team that went missing from The Abyss of Time.

A Cold Day in Hell happens concurrently to Wasteland. Builds on the story behind Iosif and Varvara. Also gives us a glimpse of Hell after everything Hellboy has been up to.

Lake of Fire follows Fenix on the road while Liz recovers in the hospital. Both characters find answers through a lot of soul searching. Fenix has been an insufferable teenager for most of the apocalypse, but this is when she matures a little. Shout out to that terrifying mutant cat and the hospital monsters that seemed to channel John Carpenter's The Thing.

The Reign of the Black Flame follows...everyone as they investigate what happened to New York with the help of psychic intuition and lots of weapons. Post-apocalyptic Chicago was cool, but New York takes the cake with how otherworldly it has become. Every page is packed with unique, evocative monsters. We get to see the Black Flame and how it has changed since it's last iteration. Liz takes on the Black Flame. Howard the caveman is not a complex character but he is fun. Iosif shows how well he knows Johan and goes out of his way to redress grievances for his ectoplasmic friend.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are four main stories in this volume, so I'll write a bit about each of them.
Wasteland: Laurence Campbell's art here is really good. The story is somewhat standard post-apocalypse rescue mission stuff. I don't generally like this kind of thing that much, but this is good, for what it is. I'm starting to wonder if I should really have bought all of the Hell on Earth hardcovers. The stories are just getting grimmer and grimmer, and that's not really my cup of tea.
A Cold Day in Hell: I liked this one. Peter Snejbjerg's art is different from what we usually see on BPRD, but it's very good. And I liked the character interactions here.
Lake of Fire: Lots of good stuff in this one, including the return of Liz Sherman. Well-written and well-drawn. This feels more like "classic" BPRD than some of the stuff in the last volume. It seems like the overall story is finally moving forward, and some key players are moving into place.
The Reign of the Black Flame: This arc is pretty epic. On one hand, it's (again) a fairly typical post-apocalypse story. On the other hand, it's got some great stuff from the cast of characters that have been built up over the last several stories.
Overall: I liked this volume more than the previous one. There's more progress with the main story. The previous volume had a bunch of side-stories that were well-executed, but didn't really advance anything.

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series just keeps getting better and better as things get worse and worse for the team. This volume manages to raise the stakes as well as keep things moving forward character wise despite all the characters being in constant motion. Looking forward to seeing how all this stuff develops.

[Etain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This (reign of the black flame) feels very much like the mid-season finale of a tv show. With the stories before it setting it up and continuing to set up the next 3 books. I cannot wait to see the climax

[Matt Maielli · Rating 4 out of 5]

strong middle entry for this series. Some of it feels very similar to 'The Walking Dead,' especially "Wasteland."

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easily the worst of the omnibus volumes in the series so far; if not for the final story "Rise of the Black Flame", this would be a two star volume.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, this is so hard to rate. On the one hand, there is some writing in here that represents some of the worst this series has ever had, tarnishing what has become one of my favorite series with a detached laziness and lack of foresight that trods on everything that has made BPRD so incredible.

And then, on the other hand, there’s the final storyline, which is a fantastic return to form that feels like what this series has always been, and gives me hope for the rest of it.

But the first 2/3 of this? Woof city. My main complaint is simply character complacency. For the previous 2 volumes of the Hell on Earth saga, we’ve had Abe and Liz essentially gone from the story, sitting on the sidelines doing nothing at all. We’ve spent a lot more time with random, indistinguishable humans and Johann, whose plotlines have been less than enthralling and whose character has barely seemed to change. We’re also introduced to Fenix, a character who hates everyone, refuses to help, and always just runs away from everything. She’s a stick in the mud who has spent 2 entire massive books repeating the same annoying behavior over and over again. The status quo has been frustrating at its best and boring at its worst.

Then we get here. At this point Abe is gone, off doing stuff in his own series, so we’re left with the others. Liz, whose defining character “arc” (she’s in like 3 issues) throughout this saga has been the loss of her powers. Well, without really any explanation other than “she wants to have them again,” her powers come back. And not only do they come back, she’s better with them than she’s ever been, fully transforming into The Human Torch. Like, why did we watch her sitting around for this long if there’s nothing she has to do to get her powers back besides “wish for them?” It feels like Mignola and co. just gave up on figuring out what to do with a powerless Liz and put her right back to where she was on a dime.

Fenix at least gets a small redemptive story that explains her powers a bit more, but it’s honestly not all that revelatory. And then she just… decides to finally be a good person. For again, no reason she shouldn’t have had 2 books ago. Everything up to this point has felt like stalling with her, and this storyline only proves that it was. It’s all such a weird waste of time.

Throw on top of this the fact that the monsters are so pervasive and constant and undefined that all sense of urgency and terror around them has vanished. The plague of frogs felt like a real, building emergency. But now it’s just a million things that *aren’t technically* the frogs but might as well be, all over the world. The scope is too hard to hold in your head, and the danger becomes background noise.

But then, the finale of this book really sings. It’s tons of action and stakes and all the characters finally back together, fighting cool supernatural shit and actually speaking to each other and working together, warts and all. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect (see Liz = Human Torch), but I still thought it had enough spectacle and immediacy to make up for a lot of the problems I’ve had for the past 2 omnibuses. I’m not totally convinced the ship is righted just yet, but I’m much more hopeful that it will be.

[Nate]

There’s some good stuff here, but I think the series is treading water at times. A few story arcs are flat out uninteresting. Barring character development from Liz and Fenix, the global Ogdru Hem plot moves at a snail’s pace, while all the fighting blurs together after a while. At times the series feels more like The Walking Dead or Starship Troopers than B.P.R.D. I do like the stuff with Liz, as she’s one of my favorite characters – it’s great seeing her again. I’m getting tired of Iosef though, and the new agents don’t really stand out. The sense of helplessness is prominent in this collection, to the point where it’s a dreary and even depressing read. Those aren’t adjectives that I typically associate with B.P.R.D. Dark and apocalyptic, yes, but also emotional and hopeful. Things will probably turn around at some point, but I have to say I wasn’t very invested or interested in the stories here.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me forever to get around to reading this volume, but it was enjoyable enough once I got through it. Also, slightly lighter than others in the series, so not as hard on the wrists.

This volume contains several stories each a few chapters long, but each story having wildly different art styles. Since the mere mortal characters are being given a bit more prominence, I find this a bit annoying since it is harder to keep track of them across different styles. The sketchbook pages at the end provide amble evidence of attempts to coordinate design elements, but a normal person can be hard to track when depicted in one story as cartoonish and brightly colored, and in another more realistic and dark; not so much a problem with a fish-person or a character who frequently conjures flames.

[GooglyEye Superman · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY SOME GOOD FCKIN FOOD, LADIES AND GENTS. WE ARE SO BACK BABY.
Im loving this mid apocalypse stories of bprd agents and people around the world, reacting to the slow burn to the end of everything. Always, ALWAYS, love these monster designs. These writer's and artist's Horror Creative Juice flowing strong even in chapter number 500 or something, it needs to milked, extracted and pumped directly into my veins and mutate me into a spider/bat hybrid horror cuz this is too fricking awesome!!!!!
Also, just wanna note. The writers are too good at introducing new characters, keeping old characters exciting, and removing them with dignity once their story is over. I can say i love every single characters in this story.

[Binni Erlingsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've lost connection with this series. Hellboy is amazing in my opinion and this series started well the first few books. But I just realised reading this that this just isn't even near Hellboy in the world it creates nor the stories it is telling. The scale of the horror is grand, but nothing else is. Feels by now like a lesser Walking Dead with no character or nuance. Just horror without anything that makes it interesting. This is where I leave the series I am sad to say and will sell my collection of these books so far. Still love and recommend Hellboy 100% to anyone. That series is pure art.

[Václav · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4,5 of 5 for this apocalyptic vision goes nice dark and gloomy)
I never appreciated the B.P.R.D. series as much as the Hellboy ones. Same world, different atmosphere. But with stories in this omnibus, culminated in something more ominous, apocalyptic, gloomy and desolating. Even Fenix starts finally make sense and I even never hoped for that. The art is exclusively good, as most on Mignolaverse. As usual, there are like sixty filler pages of sketches, which I do not appreciate as someone else might.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.3]
Like in vol 6, this one has gorier and better art than earlier BPRDs. James Harren in particular is brilliant. The stories are like a bunch of uninteresting side quests, with a bunch of uninteresting dialogues that you just want to press “skip” on. The characters are not for me. Another problem is that I hardly know what the main quest is anymore either. The monsters are here, I guess. That’s about it for the main story. I have a hard time believing Mignola wrote much of this. I hoped this series would continue being better after vol 6, but vol 7 is probably the worst of them all

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The serialised story continues to progress satisfyingly, with the first and last stories being particularly 'important' in the grand scheme.

The fact that I didn't especially like the finale and yet I'm going back and reading the rest tells you that the individual points are more than worthwhile.

[Cadillac Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of a thought on these Omnibuses as a whole than this individual volume, but Dark Horse has done a fantastic job with these Omnibuses. Stitch bound, decent paper quality and fantastic back matter in a paperback? Love to see it! Plus, B.P.R.D is great. I really appreciate the quality of the book lives up to the quality of the story on the page. Good stuff.

[Sean Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not that the new crew is bad but I was beginning to miss some of the original members so seeing Liz get heavily featured again was welcome in this book. Iosef continues to be a great addition. It’s really a very military feeling series at this point, all big dramatic battles and fewer smaller spooky and creepy stories.

[Nick Howlad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the elements in this book felt just a bit over the top and unrealistic, even in the world of the B.P.R.D. But the continuation of the character’s storylines is what keeps me coming back. Also the artists in this volume are absolutely wonderful.

[Héctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed and well paced

Another great entry.
Iosif is becoming one of my favorite characters in the series.

The main antagonist wasn't very good though.

All in all, I recommend this volume.

[Jack Reickel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was my favorite of the BPRD omnibuses... omnibii? Tyler Crook and James Harren art is spectacular, just wow again. Wow! Also, the story -- really, really, really good! I loved it. So psyched to continue.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

When they say Hell on Earth, they mean it. Liz versus a mad doctor, bossing around the cops, that was great. There's an Abe Sapien series running paralell to this somewhere, too, and Hellboy In Hell.

[Leif · Rating 5 out of 5]

An almost perfect collection and one of the strongest Mignolaverse sets you can get.

James Harren is the standout artist again.

I love Tyler Crook's work but I wish it was colored by his own watercolors.

Highly recommended.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Great continueing of this monster comic franchise, led by the great Mike Mignola. I like the different short stories with different artwork and different writers at times.