Abe Sapien #31: The Black School

[middenway]

Coming in February.

[horror-of-sorts]

It looks like this series is starting to come to a conclusion too, probably timed with the beginning of the third cycle of BPRD

[Abe]

The fly...

[thwhtGuardian]

That's an awesome cover!

[middenway]

...aaaaand it's out now.

[Kees_L]

Aha!! (I think...)

Abe and Edward Grey? From Unland now going back to school? Brrrrr. And Strobl too?

A Black School? Like onto The House of the Fly or be it the Right Hand of the Devil?! Gotta read that.

[middenway]

Aha!! (I think...)

Abe and Edward Grey? From Unland now going back to school? Brrrrr. And Strobl too?

A Black School? Like onto The House of the Fly or be it the Right Hand of the Devil?! Gotta read that.

Yeah, I really enjoyed this one.

[Black Tear]

Very good issue of Abe. Very dark and moody and I always feel like more questions are asked than answered. Can't wait to see where this goes from here.

[thwhtGuardian]

I wish we had seen more Abe, even if it was a B-plot but other than that it was pretty solid.

[middenway]

I wish we had seen more Abe, even if it was a B-plot but other than that it was pretty solid.

This was almost like a Gustav Strobl one-shot.

5 more issues to go! I'm really enjoying this series at the moment.

[thwhtGuardian]

This was almost like a Gustav Strobl one-shot.

5 more issues to go! I'm really enjoying this series at the moment.

It definitely did, as did the last issue which I suppose was needed as he was rather underdeveloped befor then.

[Shargor]

Okey, can someone explain Abe Sapien chronology to me? I know, that this issue is nightmare for Mike and Scott, but it's important relative to second parallel ongoing (B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth). So, what do we have?

— Zero ground is Plague of Frogs ending, which was approx in January, 2007.
— Then, somewhere in the Spring Abe was shot and fall into coma (Gods storyarc).
— The Return of the Master was in March, 2008. Abe awakened, and his journey began.
— The Dark and Terrible was one week after Black Flame awakening, so March or April.
— The New Race of Men is late Spring, early Summer, but not later, because of Fenix actions in Lake of Fire.
— Future arcs are harder to place. The Shape of Things to Come is approx Summer.
— To the Last Man looks like late Summer, early Autumn.
— From The Garden (I) to A Darkness So Great only a couple of weeks passed. And it looks like mid/late Autumn.
— It's hard to say, how long Abe (and Strobl) were swimming/sailing, but if I guess, a couple of months, no less.
— Approx at that time (early 2009) The Reign of the Black Flame happened.
— But in The Shadow over Suwanee it was mentioned, that Ogdru Hem awakening happened about three years ago (so "now" it's early 2010).
— In the same arc it was mentioned that Abe investigated Mona incident eight years ago, which is impossible, because, according to The Mysteries of Unland epilogue, it was in 2006 (and new "now" is 2014). Though, here is a double mustake, because it couldn't happened in November, 2006 - it's high point of Scorched Earth Trilogy.
— Then in The Garden (II) everything came back in place, when it was chronologicaly placed right after The Broken Equation (Spring, 2009).

So, is timeline mentioned in The Shadow over Suwanee misleading, or I am missing something? If it's former, then it's interesting, how do Mike and Scott plan to advance Abe Sapien timeline to level it up with B.P.R.D. timelime? Now the former (by the end of last issues) is in Spring, 2009, while the latter (by the end of End of Days) is in Spring, 2010. Will Abe fall in another slumber for a year to be found in New York at the end of Hell on Earth cycle?

[Kees_L]

Okey, can someone explain Abe Sapien chronology to me? I know, that this issue is nightmare for Mike and Scott, but it's important relative to second parallel ongoing (B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth). So, what do we have?

A problem with your question would for me seem how within the Mignolaverse it won't be necessarily true that any continuity or chronology is put forward onto merely clearing things up or toward having stuff become but coherent and logical.

So if you or I as readers feel to stumble upon certain things as seeming misleading, or 'lapse-heavy' or diverse at all, this wouldn't neededly be making anything prove "wrong" or "faulty" I'd think.

For me it just isn't so that anything within the tales can be taken simply as "fact" since the stories more often appear to be about perspectives as potentially not adding up or at least as perspectives needing constant change and repositioning. For the characters and so likely for the reader as well.

I believe Abe's personal journey is pointed out as being to explore or expand on his personal perspectives on things, away from the Bureau necessarily, as being way different from any shared Bureau's perspective, because of Abe being to come out of a tube a long time ago, at a point of having had a whole life and career behind him already - albeit one he would only hardly be proving aware of, as from for instance "Abe: the Garden of Souls".

It's extraordinary to note how different Abe's position or perspective within the Bureau would be from other agents, even Hellboy's, because Abe'd be from a different time both as he'd pivotally be not who he'd be taking himself for altogether.

I'd wanna add that usually incidents are dated, which does not automatically mean that any story parts or stories as a whole are automatically equating to any of those dates.

But aside of any of that I basically I read things onto having stuff becoming to make sense, instead of punching holes through it.

I wouldn't subscribe to the idea that dates or continuity would be put forward merely for making stuff seem coherent, but I believe the stories are about perspectives needing to shift as much as they'd do in any everyday-reality.

To me the Mignolaverse stories are mainly about how things are NEVER what they seem. Good isn't necessarily good and evil isn't necessarily evil, hope isn't necessarily hope, and fighting for life won't be what it might appear to be as neither. Any seeming inconsistency couldn't change or blemish any of that I'd suppose.

I believe the characters are diverse and different and particular, as the mysteries or wonderment to the stories are particular by proving not merely easy to follow, because otherwise reading wouldn't be as good.
Any tiny new bit of info from any added story could potentially have any perspectives be to shift, for any story matter in its entirety - for me that seems to weigh in more than any deemable bit of inconsistency.

I'd feel positive that literally all characters or foes within the Mignolaverse wouldn't be feeling that everything would be turning out as expected, so why would any readers have reason to feel like that?
Even Hellboy or his father and sister and also any ultimate Ogdru Jahad would have to be feeling like "Huh?" at any point in time, so Abe and the reader will come to be needing to as well. It won't pay to stick to one's guns over anything, since that wouldn't make sense, I'd be to think. Not for the characters so logically not for readers neither.

[Shargor]

To be clear, I agree, that chronology issues are far from being important in Hellboyverse, and usually don't pay attention to them. But in this case it's interesting to see, how both series (Abe and BPRD) relate to each other. Especially, when they are expected to collide at the end of the Hell on Earth cycle. So to be frank, the whole post was made just for the last paragraph.

Another thing, that is not clear to me from this particular issue, is revelation about Abe from the Black School book. Was it revealed that Abe is one of the shamans (the most noble of them), that used hyperborean knowledge to transform himself into vessel, that contains both Vril and seed of next race, that will be made in the image of Oannes?

[Kees_L]

To be clear, I agree, that chronology issues are far from being important in Hellboyverse, and usually don't pay attention to them. But in this case it's interesting to see, how both series (Abe and BPRD) relate to each other. Especially, when they are expected to collide at the end of the Hell on Earth cycle. So to be frank, the whole post was made just for the last paragraph.

Another thing, that is not clear to me from this particular issue, is revelation about Abe from the Black School book. Was it revealed that Abe is one of the shamans (the most noble of them), that used hyperborean knowledge to transform himself into vessel, that contains both Vril and seed of next race, that will be made in the image of Oannes?

I cannot comment in relation to this actual story, because I'm only at the point of starting to read up on Abe's personal journey, with reserving to read up on the BPRD's dealing with the Ogdru Jahad's awakening but only as soon as I can see it being most opportune for my reading opportunity-wise.

I'm not necessarily expecting stories to seem leading up to Hellboy's end all-too "leadingly" neither all of a sudden. Some or a lot of it may prove revealing or all-conclusive in a linear sense, but I'm not betting money on that nothing would need further explanation.

Because of how any perspectives would be diverse or personally particular moreso than shared at all. The BPRD aren't all of one mind nor would any factions be and have been. Life on earth isn't of similar allegiance as neither Hell or underground powers could be. No allegiance could be claimed or it would neededly be onto any living more rather than not. Heroics or destinies would merely lie in the eye of the beholder, for anyone and anything.

Or at least I would think it possible that Hellboy in Hell ends on its own as with proving poignant in ways, with also enough potential for resolve to become apparent even with some stuff as hanging still in the balance notwithstanding. Despite how any "Apocalypse" would have to be meaning quite the abrupt ending to any life entirely.

Like it may be the case that with Hellboy's end the Apocalypse would not neededly come full circle just yet? Like the BPRD could also be meeting its world ending all the same, as with nothing to be done against it? How long would the apocalypse take to come full cicle, as even with Hellboy gone to never be returning, or either the BPRD?
If the apolalypse couldn't be averted or inverted, interrupted, or diverted at all. As all stuff needing to be coming full circle still.

It could all be proving concise and revealant both as conclusive enough, for resolve to be coming full circle I'd expect, no matter come what may!

Sjeesh. It's all gonna be something now isn't it?