B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth vol. 11 — Flesh & Stone

Everyone likes Howards, right?  In case you’ve forgotten, he’s the B.P.R.D. member who fell into a coma after touching an ancient sword and started living out the life of a Stone Age warrior fighting against the forces of darkness.  When he woke up, Howards wasn’t the same man anymore but he brought enough fighting skill to make him a one-man army and a portable “win” button for the title organization.  This latest arc centers around him as his standing in the B.P.R.D. undergoes a significant change.  Yet it’s one that succeeds not by making the character more interesting, but the world around him.

Howards follows Johann, the smartassed Agent Enos, and a whole bunch of redshirts take two trips to a deserted town to scout it out for the Air Force in exchange for supplies.  It seems like a simple enough mission, until Agent Enos’ team stumbles upon the monster that made the town deserted in the first place.  Apparently immune to conventional attack, it comes down to Howards and an old memory of stones of power to turn the tide.  Meanwhile, we get to see how Kate and Fenix are adjusting to life back at the base, what the Black Flame and the rest of ZinCo are up to on their end, and how Iosif and Varvarra are getting on.  That would be “Amusing banter that builds character” for the first bunch  “Nothing good at all” for the middle people, and “I hope that Iosif finally gives that smug little vampire girl what’s coming to her, though my gut tells me that’s not going to happen,” with the last.

While that opening paragraph may have indicated otherwise, I do like Howards.  It’s just that this arc has made me realize that appreciation only comes from his status as a portable “win” button for the B.P.R.D.  Beyond that, he’s pretty much a blank slate as a character.  Even the Stone Age flashbacks, interesting as they show primitive man dealing with a force he’s ill-equipped to combat, don’t do much beyond reiterate the fact that he’s a stone cold badass.  There’s also the storytelling decision on the part of Mike Mignola and John Arcudi to make him a near-silent character.  While that worked in the beginning to give him the impression that he was still processing the memories of that other life, it now feels like a roadblock preventing the man from becoming more interesting.  Particularly in light of the one scene here which lets us know that he can speak and there is something going on in his head.

While the volume sets up a credible arc that takes the character from outsider to hero, we really don’t know all that much more about Howards by the end of it.  If anything, it’s more interesting to observe the changing attitudes towards this character from the other members of the B.P.R.D.  Even if we don’t get to learn more about what makes him tick, I’m still glad he’s around.  Compared to the uber-powerful and frustratingly blank slate that is the Black Flame on the opposing side, the good guys need all of the “win” buttons they can get.  Particularly with the implications that the final battle will soon be at hand here.

I’m much less conflicted about seeing James Harren return for art duties on this volume.  While his previous work in vol. 9 wasn’t his best moment on the series, “Flesh and Stone” finds him in much better form.  The man has a genuine gift for drawing imaginatively creepy monsters (see also his work on “Rumble” with Arcudi) and that’s seen again here with the Stone Age nasties and his evolving design for the Black Flame.  Harren also serves up some impressive action scenes in the past and present, channeling fear in the reader when Agent Enos is running for his life, and then adrenalin when Howards gets a chance to show his stuff.

This actually counts as a more sedate volume of the series than usual, though it’s clear that the pieces of the plot are being put in place for its upcoming end.  Even if Howards as a character ends the volume having not changed all that much, it’s cool to see him become a rallying force for the B.P.R.D.  “Flesh and Stone” counts as another satisfying volume in the series, and shows its quality to be on an upward swing once again.