B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know vol. 2 — Pandemonium

Well, here we are.  After *goes to check* thirty previous “B.P.R.D.” volumes, plus a volume or two of spinoffs, we’re at what looks to be the penultimate one for the series as a whole.  It even begins with a surprise: Three pages of Mike Mignola illustrating how Hellboy came back out of hell after the end of his story. That’s right, the big red guy’s appearance at the end of vol. 1 wasn’t any kind of misdirection or fake-out.  After a decade-plus away from the organization, he’s finally back with Abe, Liz, and the few who have managed to survive to this point.  You’d think a party would be in order, but the team is facing its biggest threat yet in the form of Varvara. Not only is she gathering followers by appearing in the dreams of ordinary humans, she’s also going around and freeing imprisoned demons on Earth to add to her army.  The B.P.R.D. has its own heavy-hitters to fight back with, though they’ve got their own suspicions and misgivings to work past first before they can begin.

Considering the utterly dire straits this series started its protagonists off in, the return of Hellboy should’ve come across as a more hopeful experience than it does here.  I get that he’s got his own issues after the events of “Hellboy in Hell,” but it just feels wrong to see him as morose as he is here. “Morose” is actually a good way to describe this volume as a whole.  While it’s clear that writers Scott Allie and Mignola want to sell the idea that things are really bad for everyone before the big finale, they did a pretty good job doing that in the previous volume. Doing it here just feels redundant and that’s where an actually joyful Hellboy reunion could’ve added some needed balance to the story.  While the art from Sebastian Fiumara and Laurence Campbell is good as always, the story doesn’t really kick into gear until the very final pages. It’s a development that goes a long way towards explaining why Varvara has been such a big deal and brings one of the series’ central conflicts full circle just in time for the finale.