B.P.R.D. Volume 3: Plague of Frogs [Paperback]

Mike Mignola (Author), Guy Davis (Illustrator), Dave Stewart (Colorist)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2011

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola finally reveals Abe Sapien's bizarre history. Introduced in the first Hellboy book and featured prominently in the film, Abe Sapien has remained one of the most intriguing mysteries of Mignola's celebrated work. The recent Hellboy film steered clear of any origin story for Abe so that the tale could be told in Plague of Frogs. The story of Abe's origins unfolds as the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense try to stop the monstrous frog men from the first Hellboy graphic novel, Seed of Destruction. The plague begins its spread across America, lending an apocalyptic new direction to Mignola's stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Hellboy spinoff B.P.R.D. finally comes into its own in the long story constituting the third collection of the comic book. Plague of Frogs explains where B.P.R.D. regular Abe Sapiens, who is amphibious, came from. It's what's known in the superhero biz as an origins story, and it implies that Abe is an emanation in a time loop. He has a -nineteenth-century manifestation that he accesses from the present via something like the astral plane. No birth-equivalent is suggested, so whether Abe exists in other periods, too, is an open question. The revelation about Abe arises from a series-typical spooky caper involving highly evolved fungi escaping from a secret lab with the aid of a possessed professor, an outbreak of frog-monsters traceable to a cult that has taken over a small New England town, a fiery showdown of cult-and-monsters versus Abe and his Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense colleagues, and Abe's near-death. Writer-artist Mignola surrenders drawing duties to Davis, whose broader palette, suppler line, and more intricate backgrounds serve an often-dialogueless scenario superbly. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

www boomunch.co.uk : " BPRD Plague of Frogs is nigh on essential!"; www sci-fi-online.com February 2005, review by Pete Boomer: " Plague of Frogs is another impressive collection from the BPD vaults." Lincolnshire Echo 12 July 2005: " Guy Davis' artwork is excellent and Mike MIgnola has thrown together a great HP Lovecraft-style horror-fest." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (June 7, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593072880
• ISBN-13: 978-1593072889
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Mignola is best known as the multiple award-winning creator, writer, and artist of "B.P.R.D." and "Hellboy", but has fostered several other projects like "The Amazing Screw-On Head" and "Baltimore" with Christopher Golden. Although he began working as a professional cartoonist in the early 1980s, drawing 'a little bit of everything for just about everybody' - including characters like Batman and Wolverine - he was also a production designer on the Disney film "Atlantis: The Lost Empire". Mignola also acted as a visual consultant to Guillermo del Toro on "Blade 2" and the film versions of Hellboy, which were broadly adapted by del Toro from the original comic series. Mike Mignola currently lives in southern California with his wife, daughter, and cat.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Origin of Abraham Sapien, June 11, 2006

By 

Steve Fuson "comics geek" (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: B.P.R.D. Volume 3: Plague of Frogs (Paperback)

This is the third outing for the BPRD without Hellboy. This is the first collection with one long story arc rather than a grouping of short stories. As creator Mike Mignola describes in the afterword, he and his editor at Dark Horse Comics were considering doing a regular line of comics, similar to the Hellboy series.

In order to achieve this, Mignola used this series to tie off loose ends. The return of Sadu-Hem and the frog monsters from Hellboy: Seed of Destruction. Rasputin's threat of vengeance and the fulfillment of the prophecy in Hellboy: Wake the Devil. And most importantly the origin of Abe Sapien.

The artwork by Guy Davis. His figure drawing immitates Mignola's, but there are almost no solid blacks. The backgrounds and colors are significantly more detailed than Mignola's, so it's a bit different of an esthetic. But when taken on its own it's still very good. His action is fluid, his characters are easily distinguished from each other. There's a background in alomst every panel (just figures with no background is a personal pet peeve of mine).

The only thing that holds this book back is the dialogue. They're too self-aware of the surreality of the frog monsters, the Sadu-Hem fungus creature. There are moments where it feels like the characters don't take their own world seriously. It breaks the fantasy of the story.

Aside from that it's a very good story. The characters are all used well. The artwork is very good. The monsters are all creepy. And, though we find out more about Abraham Sapien, the answers we get just lead to more questions. Exactly what a good comics' story should be.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: B.P.R.D. Volume 3: Plague of Frogs (Paperback)

The third collection has the team in a lot of trouble. Those nasty frog monsters are back, and spreading all around the world. The team finally traces them back to a cult in New England. Rasputin also lurks.

This volume also gives up the origin of Abe Sapien, and it is somewhat stranger than you think.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one's a keeper!, December 15, 2010

By 

Brent Hill "jbrenth" (Spanish Fork, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: B.P.R.D. Volume 3: Plague of Frogs (Paperback)

This is the first B.P.R.D. trade paperback containing one long story, rather than a collection of stories. These are the issues that got B.P.R.D. its own continuing series, much like the Hellboy collections. It is also a great story with some important revelations for the Hellboy universe and its characters.

Be aware that although Mike Mignola drew the cover and wrote the story, the pencils were done by Guy Davis. In my opinion, if Mignola wasn't able to draw it, Guy Davis would be my next choice for anything Hellboy-related. However, Davis's art style is fairly different from Mignola's, so keep that in mind.

The Highlights: Great story, great art, and lots of tie-ins to the Hellboy storyline. The origin of Abraham Sapien is revealed! (though of course it raises many more questions). This story features the frog monsters and Rasputin from the first Hellboy story (Seed of Destruction). It also has an afterword by Mike Mignola and an eight page sketchbook of Davis's work and some of Mignola's notes.

Things to Consider: The story comes to a close, but it doesn't tie all of the loose ends up. This is because the story of the B.P.R.D. continues in other volumes. It left me wanting more, but not disappointed. There is also a little bit of recapping Hellboy stories that relate to this story. It didn't bother me in the slightest, but some people are bugged by that sort of thing. I felt like those parts added context to the story and didn't take up much space.

This is my favorite B.P.R.D. collection so far (out of 1-3), and it left me excited to read more! If you are worried about prior knowledge, this one takes care of that for you, and whether or not you know a lot about the B.P.R.D. it is a fun read! There should be more comics with giant fungus creatures and evil frog men!