B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know

[Kirby101]

I did read the Abe series in the beginning. But it was so grim and depressing that I gave it up.

[Joker]

That's the reason Dark Horse got those Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible omnibuses out there as quickly as possible, so people could catch up easily. That's why the second volume came out just prior to the release of the first B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know trade.

Sure, but that's still asking me to go out and spend the money on those 30+ issues to be able to read another series. And that's frankly, some real Marvel/DC **** right there.

A lot of what's great about the Mignola books is you can read them, but it's never felt like you had to. This is the first time it really feels like you have to read one to get the other.

[middenway]

Sure, but that's still asking me to go out and spend the money on those 30+ issues to be able to read another series. And that's frankly, some real Marvel/DC **** right there.

A lot of what's great about the Mignola books is you can read them, but it's never felt like you had to. This is the first time it really feels like you have to read one to get the other.

Yeah, Abe Sapien is an oddity in that regard. In part, I think it was because his story was originally meant to be told within B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth before they decided to branch off the series, so it has a fundamentally different structure to the other Mignola books. It is heavily dependant on Hell on Earth, and especially in the latter half, it's laying a lot of groundwork for stuff in The Devil You Know.

[Joker]

Yeah, and I'm not mad about it, but I think it does a disservice to the line as a whole, and the fans to some extent.

There could be efforts made to make Abe less required reading in BPRD, but they don't seem to be doing that.

In fairness, I suppose this also requires you to have read Hellboy in Hell, as well. That feels less like an ask, and more like a given, though.

[Kees_L]

It is heavily dependant on Hell on Earth, and especially in the latter half, it's laying a lot of groundwork for stuff in The Devil You Know.

Okay, but does that dependency work both ways? My problem with "new Abe the title" is I'm failing to approach it in my reading as it means to tie into Hellboy and the whole of the B.P.R.D. in order to ascertain it as groundwork for wrapping up The Devil You Know.

Like I feel to understand most if not all the characters their plights or struggles including old Abe - but new Abe, not so much.

I'm not meaning to ask you or anyone here to just solve my problem for me, since if I can't figure it out I will just wait until The Devil You Know fully comes together in completion.
Like Hellboy and Abe have already pretty much completed and then read from there. But advice or tips in regards of Abe as a title I would greatly appreciate.

[middenway]

Okay, but does that dependency work both ways? My problem with "new Abe the title" is I'm failing to approach it in my reading as it means to tie into Hellboy and the whole of the B.P.R.D. in order to ascertain it as groundwork for wrapping up The Devil You Know.

Like I feel to understand most if not all the characters their plights or struggles including old Abe - but new Abe, not so much.

I'm not meaning to ask you or anyone here to just solve my problem for me, since if I can't figure it out I will just wait until The Devil You Know fully comes together in completion.
Like Hellboy and Abe have already pretty much completed and then read from there. But advice or tips in regards of Abe as a title I would greatly appreciate.

You need to read Hell on Earth to get into Dark and Terrible. Fenix shooting Abe pretty much drives that whole series, but a lot of the time the Abe series avoids talking about it directly, often relying entirely on visual cues it assumes you will recognise. I can't speak so much for The Devil You Know as it isn't finished yet, but Dark and Terrible left a lot of threads hanging, and it appears as though The Devil You Know is picking those up. Is it necessary to have read Dark and Terrible? I can't really say until everything's done. I will say I think it adds a lot to The Devil You Know though. Really, The Devil You Know is an ending for Hellboy, B.P.R.D., and Abe Sapien all at once.

[Kees_L]

You need to read Hell on Earth to get into Dark and Terrible. Fenix shooting Abe pretty much drives that whole series, but a lot of the time the Abe series avoids talking about it directly, often relying entirely on visual cues it assumes you will recognise. I can't speak so much for The Devil You Know as it isn't finished yet, but Dark and Terrible left a lot of threads hanging, and it appears as though The Devil You Know is picking those up. Is it necessary to have read Dark and Terrible? I can't really say until everything's done. I will say I think it adds a lot to The Devil You Know though. Really, The Devil You Know is an ending for Hellboy, B.P.R.D., and Abe Sapien all at once.

That sounds great! It will give me a chance to read up on the meandering plot points of connecting with Panya and Fenix, Ashley and Russia and Howards - boy, there's a lot I need to (re-)read to get truely caught up B.P.R.D.-wise, which I'm looking forward to already.
Thanks a lot for your answering, Middenway.

[middenway]

That sounds great! It will give me a chance to read up on the meandering plot points of connecting with Panya and Fenix, Ashley and Russia and Howards - boy, there's a lot I need to (re-)read to get truely caught up B.P.R.D.-wise, which I'm looking forward to already.
Thanks a lot for your answering, Middenway.

No worries. I'm overdue for a reread myself.

[LobsterJohnson]

These days I get physical copies of my comics from an online store - I just prefer those to digital editions - so I'm usually a week or more behind the release schedule, which is why I didn't read this until today.

spoilers:

HOLY CRAP, I was not expecting Mignola pages. Wow. That 3-page sequence alone was totally worth the price of the book. Damn.

end of spoilers

I don't have much to add beyond what's already been said here, but this issue does raise a lot of interesting questions. I'm glad the letter column is back, too.

In the Mignolaversity Review, I love the idea of another Mignola/Stenbeck book chronicling Sir Edward's adventures in Hell. As much as I've enjoyed Chris Roberson's work on Witchfinder so far, I can't imagine anybody but Mike writing that story, and Ben Stenbeck is the perfect artist for it.

[timbolton]

Still waiting for this in my UK shop, something went very wrong with Diamond getting it to my shop

[Shargor]

Well, surprise returns keep coming and coming (although I'm not sure, that many remember who are these "guys").

TDYK is unlike any other comics in Hellboyverse. It's like a 60-issue event, that's tying ALL seeded storylines and loose ends from previous several hundred issues.
Yeah, with ragged flow, but the ambitiousness of the task beats any flaws. Amazing.

[GetEveryone]

The editing in this book has left a huge amount to be desired. I read Abe only up to a point, which may be part of the problem in feeling that this is borderline incomprehensible, but there are so many elements that aren't working for me.

I like your interpretation that it's an event book, which makes the direction slightly more understandable, but I just wish they would let some moments breathe. The exorcism scene in #7 was great, but I was pretty disappointed in the Hellboy and Abe reunion. Will need to re-read this.

I'm not sure whether this has been discussed yet, but is the consensus that Hellboy's soul is currently occupying Roger's body? This seems to be strongly implied from the handshake, Hellboy's reflection and his comment that he's "still there in Hell. That said, I'm not sure Roger's body was exactly in one piece at his end.

[thwhtGuardian]

I've said since the start of this arc that the plot seems pretty disjointed and that the individual moments though often interesting aren't given the space they need to really resonate but with this issue at least and the discovery of Varvara's plot it looks like things are going to get more cohesive.

[sirmarkus]

I've said since the start of this arc that the plot seems pretty disjointed and that the individual moments though often interesting aren't given the space they need to really resonate but with this issue at least and the discovery of Varvara's plot it looks like things are going to get more cohesive.

I really enjoyed issue #7, but felt that story wise it was a little disjointed. Still a good read, but could have used some streamlining.

[middenway]

A spoiler-filled interview with Mike Mignola. Obviously, make sure you're up to date with all the latest books.