B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth vol. 10 — The Devil’s Wings

After “The Reign of the Black Flame” brought the ongoing story of this series to its latest climax point, it should be expected that these stories which followed it would be of a more low-key variety.  So we have the title story, a three-issue arc where Kate Corrigan winds up getting possessed by a necromancer who once tussled with Prof. Bruttenholm and Hellboy.  It’s pretty standard-issue for a “B.P.R.D.” tale, though it’s not without its merits.  Laurence Campbell provides some appropriately moody art, and there’s some nice fanservice in the presence of the aforementioned characters and a nod to “Sledgehammer 44.”  The best moment in this arc is a relatively minor one that underlines what co-writer John Arcudi brings to this series and how well he complements Mignola.  Only Arcudi would have the necromancer in the flashback sequences be such a good ol’ boy that after reciting some cthonic incantation he would then tell Bruttenholm and company to “Git!”  It’s a minor thing, but I was deeply amused by it.

This volume is rounded out by two single-issue stories which have enough to recommend them as well.  “The Broken Equation” follows Johann’s current team in Japan as they come under attack from the local monsters and find their way to an underground shelter where a man has been drawing pictures of a monster from a portal to another world for several decades.  It’s weird, heady stuff in the best tradition of the series, and while the art from newcomer Joe Querio is a bit thin in its linework he still manages to capture the action quite well.  Even as things degenerate into “Kaiju Big Battle” because we are in Japan after all.  As for the final story, “Grind,” Tyler Crook provides stronger visuals in this grounded look at daily life in a small town menaced by monsters and weirdness.  Seeing the efforts of one man to find out what is up with the giant mushroom growing out of his friend outside comes off as a more focused and affecting look at how regular people deal with this stuff than anything we’ve seen in “Abe Sapien” so far.  Both books are co-written by Mignola, yet it’s clear that Arcudi provides the spark which makes “B.P.R.D.” the better of the two.