B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth #135–139: End of Days

[middenway]

I got to interview Laurence Campbell about this upcoming arc. It's just a short interview... we didn't want to say too much.

[middenway]

Oh, and here's some covers...

[middenway]

And some inks:

[topfueluhl]

Great stuff!

[highlandhellboy]

I can't wait, So much threads that could be picked up and come into play here. It's too exciting for words.

[jeremypowell]

Didn't Mike say recently in an interview that there was only one more "Hell on Earth" cover he was planning to draw himself? We all assumed he meant the final issue. The fact that he's drawn a cover for issue 1 of "End of Days" would appear to suggest that not only the arc as a whole but even just the first issue of the arc is extremely important. I'm guessing that once that Ogdru Jahad pops out, the Earth of "Hell on Earth" will no longer be just a dangerous place where some people manage to get by, and become a place where absolutely everyone constantly fights to survive and very few succeed . . .

[awalk1227]

Okay, so here's a speculation/question dump:

There's some common thread between a lot of the major players here, specifically concerning the Vril power. Liz and the Sledgehammer suit have the obvious connection. Is there a further link between the fact that Liz was able to "jump start" Roger, and the Homonculus that the guys in suits made in Indonesia? There's also the Hyperborean artifact Liz used to defeat Katha-Hem. Was it significant that it amplified her powers?

Are we done as far as information is concerned with Japan? I feel like that story left a lot of questions on the table.

Still no clue where Abe fits into all this, and I've read up to issue 23 or so in his series.

Although the Ogdru-Hem come from within the earth, they're not from Hell proper, correct? All the lieutenants and rulers of Hell fled when Hellboy got there, right? I'm asking because it seems like more of an "Earth and space" story now (with where the Ogdru-Jahad are) than a "heaven and hell" story.

An idea on a future series, especially with Mignola mentioning that he's working with a new writer on "multiple series" assuming they're still in the Mignolaverse, I could see a second volume of Sledgehammer start up if Johann is in the suit. Perhaps once the events of Hell on Earth are over, he takes jobs eliminating stray Ogdru-Hem and doing some detective work. It'd make for great fight scenes. Also since the first batch is called "Sledgehammer '44" the new one could be "Sledgehammer '16 or 2016" or something.

[middenway]

Are we done as far as information is concerned with Japan? I feel like that story left a lot of questions on the table.

That's definitely still on the table. The alternate reality stuff was introduced in B.P.R.D.: 1948 with Project Enkelados. It's worth noting too that Fenix has an Enkeladite necklace. What this means... no idea. (I wrote about Fenix here. It's quite outdated now though.)

Still no clue where Abe fits into all this, and I've read up to issue 23 or so in his series.

That's coming still. But I recommend rereading Abe Sapien: The Drowning. It raises a lot of questions about Abe and it the context of what we know now, it's even more compelling.

Although the Ogdru-Hem come from within the earth, they're not from Hell proper, correct? All the lieutenants and rulers of Hell fled when Hellboy got there, right? I'm asking because it seems like more of an "Earth and space" story now (with where the Ogdru-Jahad are) than a "heaven and hell" story.

No, they're not from Hell. Hell is not a place physically underground. It's another plane of existance altogether. The title "Hell on Earth" refers to a non-literal hell, a hellish transformation of the Earth, whereas "Hellboy in Hell" is most definitely Hell the place. Just like there is earth (lowercase) meaning dirt and Earth (uppercase) meaning the planet we live on, there is also hell and Hell, heaven and Heaven. Capitalisation matters when talking about these things.

Terms like "space" and "abyss" also have this problem, where it is a single term but it refers to more than one distinct thing, so the context of its use becomes the way we define its meaning.

I spoke about this in a Hell Notes about Hell.

[middenway]

Here's the trade cover again with its titles, and (presumably) its solicitation blurb.



The Hell on Earth as we know it comes to an end. In a drastic change, one of the most terrifying creatures in existence has been released. Can the BPRD defend the world—and humanity—or is this finally the end? This volume collects B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth issues #135–#139.

From SF Signal.

[Kees_L]

Cool. It looks like the remaining Ogdru Jahad cosmically hanging candybars will sort of serve as like a giant graphic clock, as counting it all down from 7 to 1.

I still feel pretty convinced that 'in case of' an Apocalypse everyone is gonna be intent on not surviving any such, especially any those remotely tied to the B.P.R.D. at all, since who would want to survive if the rest of the world wouldn't?

It could be Abe is to have some special fate concerning a New Race, but I sort of envision such like he'd be needed to be some kind of guardian or 'front runner' to just the weirdest froggy mongrel type of monsters, like for getting them started but as without surviving anything all too realistically. Sort of equating to how I'd be regarding Hellboy in his plight(s), like if a destiny would be anything as final as that with coming full circle, I can't really see them be to just 'push on' beyond any such.

Pretty bleak but yeah, I'm feeling stoked for it all. Bring it on!...

[LobsterJohnson]

Preview!
http://www.comicvine.com/articles/ex...5/1100-153575/

[middenway]

It's out now.

[highlandhellboy]

Freaking great book. Things are not looking good and it's only the first issue of the arc. So bloody good.

[Joker]

Is this the last Arcudi arc? I can't recall how long he said he was remaining on the book.

[Joker]

This issue felt really similar (almost identical) to the first issue of, I think it was the last Herran arc? So many of the scenes felt the same. That's not really a criticism, but that issue, like this one, spent a short amount of time on a lot of different scenes, all set up, not much else.

It's the first issue of an arc, so I get why it is what it is, but sometimes I want a little more meat, I guess.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this arc, but I feel like I'll need to sit down and re read a big chunk of issues to get the most out of this arc.