B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Return of the Master by Mike Mignola and othersB.P.R.D. Hell on Earth (Vol. 6): The Return of the Master by Mike Mignola (writer), John Arcudi (writer), Tyler Crook (art), Dave Stewart (colors), and Clem Robins (letters)

In Colorado, Fenix, the young girl who shot Abe Sapien, confesses to Kate at the B.P.R.D., and she also offers her services since she can tell when certain events are going to happen, though she doesn’t have a lot of control over her power. So far, she’s been able to lead a group of young people safely during the apocalyptic evens of B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth. But now she has made her way to the B.P.R.D. and will join forces with them. Devon takes Fenix to Panya, who will help her hone her mystical skills. But that training is hard on Fenix, and she’s not sure she wants to continue with it. Fenix’s journey in this book will take her beyond the B.P.R.D.

Kate sends an agent to Scotland to investigate new supernatural threats, and we witness the B.P.R.D. in Scotland as they work together to defeat a spectral monster by employing a mystical charm once given to the agent by Hellboy. But when they get close to Master Lazar, the monsters starting filling the pages of the comic as the B.P.R.D. is attacked again and again. Master Lazar is a powerful force of evil.

Meanwhile, Kraus is working with a man, Peter, at the B.P.R.D. to heal the body that Kraus wants to inhabit. Peter has found that Zinco has some drugs that may develop the body so that it doesn’t need life support, and with that information, the B.P.R.D. has reached out to Zinco, a shady firm with a dark side to it (which we’ve seen in previous volumes). Zinco is certainly a company that the B.P.R.D. should not be working with or trusting at all. They want to get their hands on the body, stealing it from the B.P.R.D. by agreeing to use it in their drug trials. They want to bring back Rasputin’s soul in this preserved body. They certainly bring to life something.

We also get a glimpse at what’s going on in Russia. Really, we see glimpses from around the world as monsters rise up and earthquakes shake things up everywhere. The apocalyptic future is now here, and things are not looking good for the world much less for the B.P.R.D. They have their hands full and seem to be failing in Scotland, failing with Zinco, and failing in saving Fenix. In other words, from the smallest detail to the larger events, B.P.R.D. is taking a beating. This is a book of failures and catastrophes. It’s a dark volume, but a necessary one in the larger Hellboy/B.P.R.D. story. It’s certainly another five-star volume in this continuing series.

Author

  • Brad Hawley

    BRAD HAWLEY, who's been with us since April 2012, earned his PhD in English from the University of Oregon with areas of specialty in the ethics of literature and rhetoric. Since 1993, he has taught courses on The Beat Generation, 20th-Century Poetry, 20th-Century British Novel, Introduction to Literature, Shakespeare, and Public Speaking, as well as various survey courses in British, American, and World Literature. He currently teaches Crime Fiction, Comics, and academic writing at Oxford College of Emory University where his wife, Dr. Adriane Ivey, also teaches English. They live with their two young children outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

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