Campbell has been amazing. Easily my favorite of the latter BPRD artists.
Campbell has been amazing. Easily my favorite of the latter BPRD artists.
Thoughts on #14
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So I was a little confused on the sizing. Did Hellboy grow huge to match Rasputin or did Rasputin shrink? A little hard to keep track of. I like the fight, though it coming down to just punch punch punch felt a little bit like the ending to Dark and Terrible, where it all just builds to a short fist fight. Also not sure what exactly happened with Abe yet (though it looks like maybe seeding the new race of man... somehow), but he contributed pretty much nothing to that fight, and that's a shame of a way to go out. Liz is still there though, so I have a feeling she'll be scorching the Earth so Abe's eggs can have a better world. And Frankenstein made an appearance as we've all suspected he would. The loss of Howards was disappointing, was really hoping he'd have a leadership role in the new world underground
Overall felt epic, but still a little wobbly, pretty much like this whole arc has. Though I'm still thinking it'll read a lot better as one 15 issue collection rather than issue by issue
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Anybody else find Liz’s mid issue statement that Hellboy would be dead if it wasn’t for her, and his response to her “that name” unusual?
I’m kinda thinking that ain’t Liz.
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It’s the line “You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me, Hellboy...” and him saying “That name,” that gets me. It’s Liz’s odd behaviour since the start of Devil You Know that makes me think things are a bit off with her, but it’s inconsistent, so I pushed it aside. It’s the sudden departure of Eris last issue and the Hecate’s promise that she’ll be there at the last and the fact that Liz is ostensibly (although it is never specifically stated) a vessel for the Black Goddess.
According to Ed Grey, Hellboy still had two more things to do because Ed take care of Rasputin for him. This story isn’t over, and we still need our high tower surprise if this is to fit the heroes journey perfectly. I think Hellboy has realised something about Liz but it hasn’t been shown to us yet.
Of course, I do love to theorize.
Have we seen the last of Roger? I wonder...
Happy Hellboy day guys
Wow.
One issue to go.
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It feels so strange, at the edge of the pit. So many beloved characters seem to have gone, I count Liz, HB (Hell ghost with ghost Edward Grey), Fenix as the last ones standing now. And a whole clump of humans underground with Frankenstein and Maggie.
Thoughts on character arcs and (possible) completions.
Abe
Not sure any other conclusion for Abe would be forthcoming. If we see HB past issue 15 it would have been nice for Abe to be with him.
Oh well.
Mother Abe.
Liz
Zerodemon, think you are definitely on to something. That exchange between HB and Liz was bizarre and totally unexplainable with previous knowledge – unless Liz is Hecate.
I still don’t get what name HB was referring to, “Hellboy” itself? Another thought – Hellboy and Roger are combined at this point. Was that Roger talking to Liz? Maybe it was just the writing and we are reading more into it – maybe it was Liz being cocky, she has become so much bolder after cracking the Earth and appears to be goddess level now – she got knocked down, got back up. She’s the only one standing at the end of that battle. HB, Abe, Rasputin – all down, HB in ghost form.
Howards
This one makes me sad but not surprised. Since he linked with captain caveman, he’s thrown himself into combat with a reckless abandon and total lack of self-preservation to point of suicide. I honestly expected him to die a lot earlier. I’m sad because I liked that Liz had found someone to connect to and now he’s gone. Having said that, Liz may be gone by Issue 15 too.
Fenix
Waiting to see how this one plays out. I’m still not sure about her. She seems genuine, but she had Eris attached for a long time. And Abe made that comment last issue…
Abe: “Hey, so when we were, uh, running from him…”
Rasputin: “…Master over the fall of Mankind…”
Abe: “Did it seem like he was focused on Fenix?”
She’s just arrived in Frankenstein’s underground home where we know some of humanity has retreated to.
Worried?
Another thought on Frakenstein’s underground – just how did it survive Liz’s burning of the Hollow Earth?
Osiris Club
Sneaky bar stewards. What are they up to?
Eris
Only today did I google Eris and Hecate together. Hadn’t realised Eris was a Greek Goddess and one who could be trouble.
Hecate
Pretty much everything hinted at over 25 years, in one way or another, has come to pass. So where is she, at the end? Or is that appearance reserved for issue 15? Grey said himself it wasn’t the end quite yet.
Still keeping an eye on Liz…
Duality
So many characters with duality, or body sharing, at the end there – Hellboy/Roger, Fenix/Eris, Howards/Gall Dennar.
Liz/Hectate?
Abe?
Last few days, with it being Hellboy Day, there have been a smattering of interviews with Mike Mignola. What I think are significant replies from Mignola about post-BPRD: The Devil you know are below.
io9: You’ve had an incredible journey with Hellboy so far. Where do you see it going in the future—not just in the immediate future, but do you have hopes you’ll be doing interviews like this all over again for Hellboy 50?
Mignola: I don’t know about hitting the 50-year mark, but I do have a whole lot of plans for the next few years at least!
https://io9.gizmodo.com/mike-mignola...hel-1833494236
Food for thought."Even though Hellboy is dead and now the B.P.R.D. series is reaching its conclusion, there are still any number of stories to tell about the old days — all those years Hellboy and the other characters spent roaming around, fighting monsters, before the world got to be such a complicated place," Mignola said.
He's even got some ideas that take place following the ending of B.P.R.D., but he said those will have to stay under wraps for now.
https://laist.com/2019/03/22/manhatt...of_hellboy.php
Oh and never forget the wool they tried to pull over our eyes with the Hellboy in Hell ending. I was never fooled
Edit/Postnote: Also forgot this great thread on Eris - https://community.cbr.com/showthread...-does-she-want
Last edited by timbolton; 03-23-2019 at 04:08 AM.
“Don't mess with me, lady. I've been drinking with skeletons.” -- Hellboy.
“Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the Wizards.” -- Tony Stark.
spoilers:end of spoilers
Some passing thoughts "That Name." Maybe once he grew large with the full horns, he was no longer Hellboy but the Beast of the Apocalypse, as he was meant to be before Bruttenholm changed him.
I guess Howards is dead, though we only have a blank red panel. They have not been shy about showing gruesome deaths before.
So Abe may be dead, but he is sporing I guess.
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
zerodemon, I think you're right. I think the last close up panel on her face seals the deal for me. It's all rather strange.
Like a lot of Mignola's recent "endings" I was a little disappointed by this. I always expected it to end with Hellboy and the "Dragon" perishing in the final battle, in fact we saw that it was going to happen way back in Makoma, but the real battle felt rushed and very unsatisfying.
Epic and sad at the same time, lots of emotions to weed through with these last issues hitting...poor Abe!
Has there been any reference to "Sledgehammer 44" in these last few issues yet?
(We seem to be having many other past limited/on-going series showing up so far . . . )
Nah, I think they very much wrapped up the Sledgehammer arc at the end of Hell on Earth with Metamorphosis through End of Days. Would be a waste of real estate to bring that back up now.