B.P.R.D., Vol. 4: The Dead [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2005

The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and their new team leader, a former corpse himself, moves into their new headquarters only to unearth a gigantic long-buried secret involving United States government covert experiments and Nazi scientists. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams with artist Guy Davis and co-writer John Arcudi to carve out a bold new direction for the B.P.R.D., while Abe Sapien, still reeling from the revelation of his former life as a Victorian scientist, meets his long-dead wife in their crumbling home by the sea. The strangest team book in comics gets weirder with this tale of the walking dead, madness, the Spear of Destiny, and a monstrous gateway to heaven.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Perhaps Mignola is weaning himself from Hellboy spin-off B.P.R.D. For Plague of Frogs (2005), he replaced himself with artist Guy Davis, and now he has a coauthor, John Arcudi, taking on a lot of the writing, according to the afterword. Davis' craggy, line-y style replaces Mignola's high-contrast, volumetric manner with no loss of creepy atmospherics, and Arcudi's dialogue fits the mise-en-scene as well as Mignola's ever did. The plot is double--stranded. While fire-starter Liz Sherman, Roger the homunculus, and permanently disembodied medium Johann Kraus gain a new partner in risen-from-death special-ops captain Ben Daimio and investigate an abandoned weapons lab in the mountains of Colorado, their Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense teammates Dr. Kate Corrigan and amphibious Abe Sapien delve further into the New England cult of Plague of Frogs. The Colorado quartet unearths an erstwhile Nazi researcher and a doorway to what he thinks is paradise, and Abe is wooed by a figure out of his past. Just as good and betimes as piquantly subdued as superior X-Files episodes. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593073801
• ISBN-13: 978-1593073800
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable addition to my Hellboy library, September 4, 2007

By 

Ryan Agadoni (Whittier, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: B.P.R.D., Vol. 4: The Dead (Paperback)

I have actually been avoiding these BPRD books for a while now, because initially I had been turned off by the lack of Mignola art. I also remember looking through one of the books and not caring for Guy Davis' style. I recently flipped through a BPRD book at a Borders, though, and realized that I've been depriving myself of something I'd actually really enjoy.

I like this book quite a bit. Guy Davis' art has really grown on me. In fact, I think it's great stuff. It serves the story very well. His renditions of Mignola's characters and stories achieve just the right feeling, that of horror mixed with humor mixed with pulp. The writing, too, holds that balance at the same level as the art.

The story concerns the BPRD moving their headquarters to an abandoned military research facility in Colorado. Once there, they encounter crazy Nazi/ghostly/paranormal weirdness, of course. There are some great moments of humor and horror as the story unfolds. One such moment involves Ben, the new team leader, ordering Roger to put on some pants, then changing his mind when he sees the result of his order. Roger is also mystified throughout by everyone's insistence that he should have a gun. Johann, at one point, finds this awesome looking 40's style machine/weapon that he straps to his back to fight an "angel," and the image is one of my favorite illustrations from the book.

There is also a secondary story about Abe Sapien's past. It's ok, but it is sort of distracting from the main story. It takes a long time to get where it's going, which is not that climactic once it's there. It feels like it should have been a standalone section in one of Mignola's Hellboy books rather than a back-up in a BPRD book.

I love the new characters Johann and Ben. Johann adds more good weirdness and Ben's personality hits off the other characters in interesting ways. I'm looking forward to finding more out about each of them.

Another reviewer mentioned that Roger's personality seems a bit different from his outings in the pages of Hellboy. I agree with that, but I don't think the change is a bad one. It actually adds another layer to the team dynamic, and it's not so far off from Roger's previous depictions so as to be jarring.

I will definitely be picking up more of these books, provided that this creative team is still involved. I'm partial to consistent creative teams, and since book 3 on is all Davis, Arcudi, and Mignola, it looks like those will be the ones I collect.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun, albeit with some reservations, November 28, 2005

By 

Robert Walker-Smith (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: B.P.R.D., Vol. 4: The Dead (Paperback)

This was one of those "oh my goodness, I didn't know this was out" moments in the store. I hardly ever do impulse buying of _anything_, but well - I'm glad I brought this one home.

The art style is noticeably different from Mignola's classic work, but still quite eyeworthy. Spoilers ahoy!
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The views of the long-abandoned home of Langdon Caul were fascinating, from a purely draftsmanship point of view. Something about it reminded me powerfully of parts of "In the Mouth of Madness", which was both disquieting and very satisfying. The paralleling of the storylines - Abe's quest and the team's difficulties in the sub-basement - was very well handled. The characterization of the unfortunate Gunter was
enjoyable. Having all this brouhaha happening, not in some remote fastness, but under the BPRD's new headquarters, was
an inspired choice.

Another thing I liked is how the new character - 'Captain Zombie'- is introduced. We don't get a whole bellyful of exposition and flashback - just quick and to the point,
leaving the tantalizing possibility of finding out more about this guy in future stories.

My only real quibble is the characterization of Roger in this story. He's something of a _naif_, yes, and unfamiliar with the ways of the world (five centuries dormant in a cellar can do that to you) but in this he's portrayed as essentially childlike - which is NOT how I'm used to seeing him.

All in all, a great addition to my growing library of Hellboyiana.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 2, 2007

By 

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

This review is from: B.P.R.D., Vol. 4: The Dead (Paperback)

The B.P.R.D. team is sans Hellboy, but the result is still pretty good. They have a new member, a disembodied ghost type, in a suit to designed to give him some corporeal functions.

Other than that, they have problems within their own location, and must journey to the site of an old case.