B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, Vol. 1: New World

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth

by Mike Mignola, Various (Illustrator)

A story that began in the first issue of Hellboy concludes with the B.P.R.D. team set to permanently wipe out the subterranean colony of frog monsters that have been a story-driving plague. With Memnan Saa dead, agents Liz and Abe take on the powerful King of Fear—who ultimately reveals that it is, in fact, the B.P.R.D. members themselves who will lead the world to apocalypse, not the supernatural monsters, demons, or colossal squidbots.

• Collects B.P.R.D.: King of Fear issues #1-#5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Supernatural

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2011

About the author

Mike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.

In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.

In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.

Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.

Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark and chilling tale that leans heavily on the horror elements of this series rather than just monster fighting. There is also a sense of mystery that surrounds a few of the members of the B.R.P.D., which sets up possible future developments in the story.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the end of Plague of Frogs, Mignola and Arcudi focus on a smaller story. Abe heads to the Pacific Northwest to look for Daimlo while people in a small town go missing. There's a lot of world building going on in this volume, playing with the team dynamics. The world has really gone to shit now that the Ogdru Hem are awakening and we see outbreaks and catastrophes happening all over the world, while other places are unaffected. I like how Mignola builds up the fact that the world is changing irrevocably.

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

BPRD: Hell on Earth starts strong with a really creepy image of the world being torn apart by monsters. This volume is not as big and explosive as the finale of Plague of Frogs arc, but I think it’s for the best, and this quieter sense of dread and inevitably makes for a more emotional and impactful story. Happy to see Daimio back, I knew he’d return sooner or later. Overall, a promising start to a new BPRD story cycle.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (BPRD) cycle finished with "Vol 14: King of Fear" and the second one starts anew with "BPRD, Hell on Earth 1: New World". While the first cycle more or less became concentrated on the "Plague of Frogs" storyline, this series purports to be about something else - but what?

From the looks of it, its BPRD business as usual. A Lovecraftian monster is up to no good and the BPRD set out to stop it. Abe Sapien and Johann Kraus are led by Kate Corrigan, acting head of BPRD while Manning's elsewhere, and they're joined by an ancient poltergeist called Panya. Liz Sherman is still missing and Hellboy's off doing his own thing.

So apart from a big scary monster stealing souls of ordinary townfolk in the Pacific North West, there's not much of a storyline going on here nor any hints on where this series is headed. Overall there isn't much here for any long-time fans of the series to sink their teeth into, and at the end I felt kind of bored by a very average effort from the usually great team of Mike Mignola/ John Arcudi/ Guy Davis. It'd be interesting to see where this series is going but don't expect much from this disappointing first book in the new BPRD series.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first volume of the retitled 'BPRD: Hell On Earth'. Despite the new title, not much has changed; same writers, same artists, same characters.

I'm not complaining; if it ain't broke and all that jazz. This volume continues the good quality, creepy as Hell, exciting storytelling I've become accustomed to from this title. The cracks within the BPRD are widening, despite their new status as an official UN task force (or something). A familiar, and badly injured, face returns in the shape of Ben Daimio. While he doesn't return to the fold, he and Abe Sapien seem to bond during their battle in the woods, so I'm hoping he'll be back.

Overall, another good volume of BPRD. Recommended.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acting as transition between the end of the last cycle of B.P.R.D. storylines and the beginning of the next, the story here is deceptively small. Yes, there are huge things going on in the world, which looks like it's getting overrun with kaiju. But the focus is on the core members of B.P.R.D., and what's going on in their lives. As the cover implies, Abe has the focus for much of the book. Some questions left over from the previous story cycle get answered here, and it felt like the plan was to ease readers into a world that's quickly falling apart. The brief glimpses we're given of the greater disasters (like the epilogue, set in a Seattle devastated by a giant monster) are chilling.

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the preceding end of the last arc- the first one of the new is nothing more than filler. Sure, we have an old face reappear and another conflict but, this one has little to do with the new threats facing this world. Making it just a minor proxy conflict on the rim of something much greater, and has really nothing to do with it.

Another displeasing sub-par effort from the Mignola team. Hopefully the rest of the arc will improve. But- if the last few issues are any indication, I have little faith. :/

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even bigger problems have arisen for the B. P. R. D. as turmoil grows within the team as well as the outside. Really interested to see how it turns out.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A toast, "to the new world of gods and monsters."

So, what happens right after 'King of Fear' when Mignola and co. changed the Mignolaverse forever? A small intimate tale that takes the big picture and zooms in to look at what it does to the people that inhabit this new world of gods and monsters. The result? Fanfrakingtastic!

World: The art if Guy Davis does not need to be discussed any further, he is a monster master and one of my favorite comic book artists on the planet, his line work and character designs are all his own and the emotions you feel from them is so very real, he makes me have all the feels. The writing in terms of world this time around is very intimate. We've been seeing huge battles and large world changing consequences from the end of the 'Plague of Frogs' storyline and now that it's ended the first world building we get is in a little town in British Columbia. It's a huge zoom in from the wide scope and it's amazing, the world is real, it's tragic and very frightening while at the same time giving us an even deeper look at the extent of how much things have changed. It's stunningly good.

Story: Frightening and intimate. A close look at what the world and status quo is like now for the people inhabiting this new world. All the rules have changed and all the normal that they lived with is thrown out the window. When Mignola breaks things he does it and it stays, this is not going to reset and reboot itself, this is the new normal. The story is paced well with multiple treads following many different characters at the same time. Many of these stories , like Johann and his body and Panya have been going on for a while now and it's interesting to see how the slow boil of their story is slowly becoming clearer and clearer. But they are not the only characters to get huge chunks of story, I'll talk about that in the section below, but back to the story first. The tale in the little town is intimate and haunting and tragic, it tears at the readers heart and also sets up how messed up things are, add to that the wonderful epilogue with the conversation about the BPRD and it's role in the new world and expectations of 'winning' was great. Things change, and we need to adapt and as readers we are now going into a new world indeed.

Characters; So much development! Abe, Devon, Panya, Johann, Kate and ***** there is so much development here in 120 pages it it's mind boggling. Many of these tales have been boiling underneath the surface now and slowly but surely I see it coming to a head very soon. These characters, looking back at when they were first introduced in 'Hollow Earth', and seeing them now you will be awed by the amount of change and development Mignola and Arcudi has accomplished, these characters are real and alive in their this world. Amazing.

Just read this bloody book, it's amazing!

Onward to the next book!

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mignola & co. have said that they are committed to making a comic-book world in which big changes are permanent, in which character deaths and world-shaking events have real, lasting impacts and everything isn't carefully & cleanly resolved at the end of the day. They want a world in which retcons aren't available.

With the finale of the Plague of Frogs story-line, they succeeded. The people of the B.P.R.D. won the battle, but lost the war; millions have died, whole cities - whole countries! - are in ruins, and things more horrible and powerful than the frogs have emerged. The new Hell on Earth story-line begins with a world that has been irrevocably changed for the worse. Characters thought killed in action return, but they don't "rejoin the team"; things have changed, the world is falling apart, and humanity's best efforts to put things back together don't amount to a hill of beans in this hell on earth. In the epilogue to this volume, two incidental characters wonder whether it's even possible for humanity to win, whether this is our extinction event. One says that humanity's new role might be equivalent to that of the police; the police know full well that they'll never win their war on crime, but they keep working anyway, hoping that they can at least maintain a societal equilibrium. Maybe, that character argues, keeping the world in its new equilibrium is the best humanity can hope for. There's no going back.

Nicely done, Mignola!

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another shift for the B.R.P.D. series. The Plague of Frogs might be over, but the world remains under constant attack from occult and extra-dimensional forces. Some members of the Bureau know they're not doing much more than fighting a holding action, and the organization is now funded by the U.N. (and all the politics that ensues from that). With things literally going to hell some team members are determined to retain their humanity and "family" connections. A trip to Northwest helps fish-man Abe locate the missing Ben and the two of them stop one supernatural threat. Johann keeps hoping that Roger will resurrect from the dead. And, Kate remains missing (for now).

[Iva · Rating 4 out of 5]

БПРО у цьому світі є серією про дуже "домашній" апокаліпсис, де всі між собою сваряться, та все одно витягають з негараздів, поважають та люблять.

Масштаб подій, звісно, лишається на задньому плані.
Та постійні розмірковування про "що це - бути людиною" лишаються. Якщо онґоінг Геллбоя більше про призначення, долю та ролі, БПРО значно моральніше у своїх посилах. Та ж саме від того інколи і провисає. Чого, втім, не можна сказати про перший том "Пекла на Землі": і трохи екшону, і гумору тут було.

[Otherwyrld · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first volume of a new series, and a new direction for the B.P.R.D. Now an agency for the United Nations, they have more and bigger monsters to take on than ever before but as the death toll mounts across the world, the toll being taken on our agents is even higher.

This is a placeholder review until I can fill in some of the gaps in my reading. The review and the rating may change after a reread.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess the curse of any long running story is that each installment has to be bigger, louder and more extreme than the one before - after all how many times have we seen - well how do you top that!

I guess the world of BPRD is no different - although the end of the world (and what comes after) seems pretty final, or is it.

Either way you have the stalwarts of the organisation fighting on trying to make sense of it all and this is the first installment. So as you can imagine not much of it makes sense yet - which I think is not a bad thing as there are plenty more page to go before this arc is over with.

I have to say that its very challenging not to give in and race through them all - but we shall see, this was an impressive bundle of books I was able to get and I am enjoying them all so far

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a followup to the massive events of the previous series, this series starts off pretty small. There are a couple huge disasters, but they happen offscreen (although seeing the ruins of downtown Seattle in the epilogue was a bit disturbing). The main story involves mysterious disappearances in the Pacific Northwest, which Abe goes off reservation to explore, and runs into an old friend or two. Meanwhile, BPRD is getting used to its UN oversight as the full scope of events starts to make itself known.
A lot of character development happens through the book, and there are a few strong action sequences, but this really is just a precursor to bigger and worse things. The sense of oncoming doom is definitely growing, though.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Después de haber visto la muerte a los ojos, y sentir el apocalipsis en la tierra, tenemos un tomo de descanso, en el que se nota que Arcudi esta tomando un respiro e impulso, mientra que Davis sigue siendo un maestro de lo macabro.Se resuelve parte de la incognita del Jaguar y Daimio, Abe se toma las cosas en serio mientras busca a un amigo y Johann...ah, maldito bastardo, ¿la vas a cagar,cierto?, y Kate sigue siendo la fantástica Kate. Esto va a empeorar y no podía alegrarme mas.

[Ondra Král · Rating 3 out of 5]

Začíná nová řada ÚPVO... a mě to nějak přestává bavit. Po světě chodí prastará monstra a my místo toho sledujeme víc úředničiny než akce. Tempo je hodně pomalé. Pak si Abe vyrazí na komorní dobrodružství do lesa, což je klasickej 100x viděnej Mignola.
2,5*

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

New World is a well-executed beginning to this new B.P.R.D. era. It has the solid art and storytelling that readers have come to expect from Mignola and crew. Still, I miss the folklore and mythological roots of Mignola's earlier work, which gave the stories richness and depth. The monsters in this collection feel generic by comparison.

[Arlomisty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another B.P.R.D. graphic novel... checked out from the library... creepy, but actually pretty good story telling... this series takes place after the Plague of Frogs series and continues with the aftermath and introduces a new threat to the world.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was OK but lacked the humor of the Hellboy comics. I like the artwork and the story but not enough to continue with the series. Too serious and too many tentacles.

[Jorge Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

writing great, art great. . .I deduct one star because I personally don't like it when I can tell it has been drawn on a computer.

[Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

✭✭✭

[Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

New World

The BPRD is trying to deal with the aftermath of the Frog War. Conspiracy theories abound. Monsters are out. Terror is everywhere. People are paranoid and afraid, and the BPRD is no different. The team is fractured. Panya is still playing games. Johann is increasingly obsessed with spending time with the last remaining "body" from the events in Balikpapan, Indonesia as that is a chance for him to again have a body. Can't say I blame him Interestingly enough the translation for Balik is Back or Return, and Papan means woods. So Balikpapan literally means Backwoods. I wonder if the authors picked up on that.

Liz is still missing as is Ben Daimyo who ran off after he transformed and rather viciously killed some of his own men. Andrew Devon thinks Abe is the antichrist as kooks have said Abe will become the new king of the frog race. Abe is secretly tracking down Darrel (the Wendigo) and happens to come across Ben. Issue #1 was slow as it was mainly set up but Abe finding that person is when everything starts to gel and it goes from a 3* to a solid 4*s.

BPRD Seattle 5*

A special issue written specifically for Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con. The first few panels feature the Pike Place market and reminded me of when I used to live there. The scale of destruction depicted was off the charts. Carla interestingly defines "Winning" as the monster is dead (despite all the destruction), but the male character (who is never named) reminisces that summertime in Seattle is paradise, but no longer since everything is destroyed. It is really, the rest of the year the Seattle weather (fine misty rain that goes on forever) is kinda depressing. It took 2 pages to realize the writer(s) have depicted Seattle as if they were natives. Impressive.

The male One character is asked why he didn't run and hide in the mountains, but he simply says "this is home". This ... this type of interaction really makes a reader empathize and fall in love with characters. I attribute this to John Arcudi's gift - in making characters real and realizable using small, everyday interactions, simple words and speeches that when you think of it later, have a more profound meaning.

[Daniel Gárgula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um mundo sem o Hellboy
B.P.D.P. – Inferno na Terra – Volume 1 mostra os eventos ocorridos a partir da morte de Hellboy em sua trágica batalha com Ogdru Jahad, o Dragão do Apocalipse apresentado na edição gigante Hellboy – Tormenta e Fúria. Aparentemente, algo no mundo não ficou muito bem. Isso não está acontecendo em um lugar específico, mas em locais variados, trazendo destruição sem precedentes.

Se isso já não bastasse, várias ocorrências sobrenaturais, além do aparecimento de monstros vêm acontecendo. Logo, cabe ao B.P.D.P. dar cabo desse trabalho. Ao menos eles agora possuem apoio da ONU e o orçamento foi largamente reforçado, assim como as responsabilidades táticas e burocráticas.

Para quem fica a vida precisa seguir
Nesse volume, velhos personagens ganham protagonismo como Abe Sapien, um velho amigo de Hellboy, dentre outros. Não é uma história primorosa mas está longe de ser ruim. É na verdade, uma história que sedimenta um enredo maior e por isso, bem importante.

O próprio Mike Mignola alfineta as grandes editoras em seu posfácio, dizendo que em seu universo não tem essa banalização do “morre e volta”, tão comum na Marvel e na DC Comics. Que assim seja, tenhamos uma história sequenciada bem legal.

A arte de Guy Davis não é a mais primorosa mas combina com o estilo de desenho estilizado que vemos normalmente em outros títulos de Hellboy.

Conclusões finais
Ah! Quase me esqueci! Mignola ainda promete que essa fase seja a maior saga de seu universo. Se a morte de Hellboy, que já foi um acontecimento significativo, não foi sua maior saga, podemos esperar grandes eventos por vir.

B.P.D.P. – Inferno na Terra – Volume 1, tem roteiro de Mike Mignola e John Arcudi, arte de Guy Davis, tradução de Jotapê Martins e Fernando Bertacchini, e foi publicado pela Mythos Editora aqui no Brasil.

É leitura obrigatória para quem acompanha os acontecimentos do Mignolaverso!

Boa leitura!

Resenha publicada no site Canto do Gárgula.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this one sitting in my Dark Horse Digital account for several years. I've been a little afraid to read it, since the Hell on Earth story seems like it's going to be pretty dark, and fairly long. This particular mini-series starts off Hell on Earth by setting up some character conflicts within the B.P.R.D and setting up a theme that (I think) will continue through the series. (That's kind of a guess though.)

One complaint I'd make: For the first part of a long story, it really just assumes you already know who the characters are and what came before. If you were reading this as it came out, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I last read BPRD... 7 or 8 years ago? (I read this in single issues. Maybe the collected edition includes some introductory material. They include short character bios for a few of the main characters on the inside cover of each issue, but it's the same characters each issue.)

I continue to love Guy Davis' art on this series. (I know he's close to the end of his run here, and another artist took over not too long after this series. I'll be sad to see him go.)

Overall, I guess this is interesting enough to get me to read the next couple of volumes, at least far enough to see where they're going with it, and to find out if I still like the series without Guy Davis.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu tinha um certo ranço com as HQs do Universo do Hellboy de Mike Mignola, achava as histórias nonsense demais. Mas aquelas que eu havia lido eram protagonizadas pelo Hellboy e eram do começo da sua "carreira" nos quadrinhos. Resolvi me aventurar novamente no universo Mignoleano quando comprei o Frankenstein dele em uma promoção. E eu simplesmente ADOREI todo o pano de fundo do universo. Aí resolvi pegar uma outra HQ dele, mas não do Hellboy, mas do Bureau de Pesquisas e Defesas Paranormais, equipe da qual o Hellboy faz parte. Neste volume o garoto infernal não aparece, quem o protagoniza é Abe Sapiens, o melhor amigo do infernoso. Em meio a desastres naturais, animais híbridos, um homem de gás confinado em um estranho traje, lendas urbanas do pé-grande, Abe se vê envolvido em uma possessão demônica que está transformando os Estados Unidos (sempre lá!) em um Inferno na Terra. Um quadrinho muito bem elaborado e bem aventuresco. Gostei desta nova incursão ao Universo do Hellboy. Só não entendi um coisa: a publicação da Mythos. No quadrinho se refere a uma outra minissérie que se chama Hell on Earth, que veio antes dessa. E essa, se chama, originalmente, Hell on Earth: New World, que veio depois. Mas se essa é o Volume Um, como se chama a anterior e como se chamará o Volume 2, se é que existe? Hellboymaníacos podem me esclarecer isso? Obrigado!

[Brian Rosenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War Frog: The Aftermath
The Plague of Frogs has ended but it’s still Hell on Earth.
British Columbia. Folks are disappearing. Coincidentally (or not) there have been reported Bigfoot sightings in the same area. ”Tall, like ten feet at least.” Everyone’s favorite amphibian, Abe, is off to investigate. In the woods, Abe stumbles on Captain Ben Daimio, a former BPRD ally and also possessed by a Jaguar spirit. Long story. See earlier volumes.
Cut to a two page spread of two guys arguing about “Her.” ”Her’s” identity to be revealed in later volumes.
Abe and Ben discover the whereabouts of the missing people. Their bones are in a supposedly bottomless lake, the water black as tar.
In chapter three, things regarding the missing people are explained. One woman and her twin offspring appear to be the cause. It’s a bit confusing but know that it involves the Ogdru Hem. Villains. Monsters. The Bad Guys. Well known to long time readers.
Meanwhile, a volcanic eruption in Houston, TX kills millions.
Abe and Ben meet Mr. Kihnl. He’s the wife of the woman mentioned above. He tells his story.
More death. More Ogdru Hem. More Wendigo… What? Wendigo?
Johann, Panya, Kate, and Andrew have their own personal dramas that play out too.
Recommended.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume something lurks in Pacific Northwest and epidemic of ghost-towns spreads out.

BPRD sends Abe Sapien to investigate where are all those people and very soon he finds somebody he never expected to see again living in the very wild and hunting the same monster creature.

Again do note this is slow-burner. You wont see any fast paced actin until the very end, majority of story is investigation and exposition of inter-team behavior (Panya seems to be rather naughty old lady). I have to say it I enjoy this pace, makes BPRD look like real investigation agency tracking creatures from the other world in the vast world of ours.

All in all very interesting set of stories. Since I am reading these out of the proper order (or how I like to say I read it as soon I find it :)) some things I leave be and hope they will be explained later through earlier stories. But overall it was not difficult to follow story thread in this volume.

Recommended to all fans of creepy horror and Hellboy universe.

[Augusto Bernardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war has shifted and despite recent victories, the entire world is now involved, the media is airing all perspectives and increasing the hysteria and the enemy is finding new ways to renew their forces. This volume mainly focuses on a isolated case of a woman and her baby in a abandoned town that looks like something out of a Stephen king novel (Maine). Spoiler alert, the baby turned out to be one of the aliens as they are somehow spawning from humans now too into giant creatures.
Kate is under a lot of stress, Klaus is more preoccupied with a new body for him and arguing with Panya, as her monkey bird got into some trouble. The real focus of the volume though was Abe reuniting with Daimio. This was a awesome and very welcome reunion. Daimio has been surviving out in the woods, like wolverine by himself and living with the deep regret of the men the jaguar killed and him facing his reality of not coming back. Abe and Daimio get into some serious action packed adventure to figure out this mystery of the empty town.

[Anchorpete · Rating 5 out of 5]

QUALITY OF ART (Out of 10) Sorry, but it is always going to be a 10 for BPRD or Hellboy Stuff

QUALITY OF DIALOGUE (Out of 10) The Dialogue is strong, but just like in Hellboy, the Dialogue is not the strength in the storytelling. Silent panels tell so much more in this universe, than panels filled with sharp dialogue

STAND OUT ASPECT OF BOOK- It is fun to see how it all goes to hell, after the Plague of Frogs. I started reading the trades of this book, deep into the story, when the world is just a huge wasteland. It is nice to see the transition to that point.

FLAWS- I can't think of one.

WHO TO RECOMMEND THE BOOK TO- If you are a die-hard comic book fan, you really should be reading every single Hellboy book and BPRD book, this is what the medium was created for.