B.P.R.D., Vol. 5: The Black Flame [Paperback]

Mike Mignola (Author), John Arcudi (Author), Guy Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2006

The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense faces its worst tragedy ever as the war against the plague of frogs reaches a devastating new level. Heralded by a bizarre villain from the B.P.R.D.'s past, an ancient monster-god marches across the American heartland portending an end to the reign of men, and leaving a permanent mark on the Bureau. Hellboy-creator Mike Mignola continues his collaboration with artist Guy Davis and co-writer John Arcudi to unravel a tale that will leave the earth shaken and the B.P.R.D. shattered. This collection includes a sketchbook section chronicling Guy Davis's creation of the abominations unleashed in The Black Flame.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The long story, begun in Plague of Frogs (2005) and continued in The Dead (2005), of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense's battle with an ongoing eruption of frog monsters now goes ballistic. The catalyst for the scale to which the onslaught eventually balloons is a Nazi-philic CEO who believes he'll control not just the froggies but their leader, a humongous critter called Katha-Hem, after he dons an armored suit that terminates in a skull that bursts into black flame. He's rolling over everything the ace B.P.R.D. team throws at him for quite some time, even succeeding in offing, it seems, new team point-man Roger, the golemlike homunculus. Then Katha-Hem shows up. In the end, team member Liz, who can start fires psychically, holds what's needed to fight off Katha-Hem, but does she know how to use it? The saga attains to a climax, if not necessarily a conclusion, before the last page of Mignola and cowriter John Arcudi's Hollywoodish, Lovecraftian script and of Guy Davis' jaggedy art is turned. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593075502
• ISBN-13: 978-1593075507
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,066 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, amazing artwork, June 6, 2007

By 

R. Carreiro (Dumfries, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: B.P.R.D., Vol. 5: The Black Flame (Paperback)

This is easily one of the best if not the best BRPD book out to date. Lets get over the whole deal with Mignola and Hellboy and stop acting like this book isnt good enough on its own. To be honest the stories here are better than any of the Hellboy tales and Guy Davis is a wonderful artist who has taken over the reigns on these characters and made them his own. Im honestly amazed to see 2 bad reviews from people who claim to be fans of these characters. Stunned in fact since this a great book and I cant see how anyone who liked the other BRPD books didnt think this was great, its a great effort.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent entry into the BPRD storyline, October 9, 2007

By 

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

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This review is from: B.P.R.D., Vol. 5: The Black Flame (Paperback)

Though these BPRD collections may seem to be stand-alone (they each collect a 6-issue mini-series of the same name), they really must be read in order starting with Volume 3 for the entire Plague of Frogs storyline. I started with Volume 4 because I found it cheap and wanted to give Guy Davis a chance, quickly fell in love, and have now just ordered Volume 6 (after having bought and read through Vol. 3 and 5).

Guy Davis' art really adds a lot to this story. He designs these nightmarish creatures very well, and really nails the scale necessary for these terrors. The colorist, Dave Stewart, cannot be overlooked for his contribution, either; his palette serves Davis' style very comfortably.

Story-wise, I'm hooked. This is an epic story in terms of scale and impact on our heroes, and it's a good sign when I keep finding excuses to spend money on the next trade ASAP after finishing the last. The Black Flame in particular adds some interesting stuff to the overall. First off, I was unaware of the deeper connection shared by Roger and Liz up to this point. Sure, I knew that they had both swapped "life-force" in the pages of Hellboy, but I didn't know that that meant they had some sort of constant psychic link. This link is revealed when Liz senses something is wrong with Roger when he's off hunting frogs.

Also of interest is Roger's sudden gung-ho (and surprisingly effective!) leadership, modeled after team leader Ben Daimio. Why does Roger suddenly adapt his attitude and demeanor, and how does it make him an actual leader? Liz notes that Roger took after Hellboy when he was still around, so now in Hellboy's absence Roger has adapted Daimio's character instead.

Which, of course, again makes me wish Hellboy would make an appearance (or even stay a while!). I miss Hellboy's presence just as much as the actual BPRD team does; he is one of the strongest characters in that universe and he added a totally unique dynamic to the decision-making and outlook of the team. There are no rules that say Hellboy can't be in the BPRD book, so let's have him visit, yeah? If he can guest-star in all sorts of other books (Savage Dragon, Ghost, Goon, etc.) surely he can guest star with his own ex-team. You'd think with such an epic event going on, he'd be drawn to it anyhow, especially since it involves his history and destiny.

Back to The Black Flame. Another interesting aspect of the story is Daimio's reaction to Roger's situation at the end. I'm itching to hear more of his back-story, because you know there's some good stuff to tell. He's not quite the mystery that Lobster Johnson is (since we've seen more of his personality), but still: the scar, his "death," his military history. We don't know anything yet!

I recommend this trade only if you're planning on picking up Vol. 3-7 to get the entire story. It's great stuff, and you gotta get the whole picture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World War Frog begins, March 20, 2008

By 

J. A. Farber (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: B.P.R.D., Vol. 5: The Black Flame (Paperback)

If you've come this far, you know what Hellboy and BPRD is all about, so onto Black Flame. It's probably the most action intense Hellboy story of all time, with oodles of pages of our heroes blowing frog demons to tiny pieces with very large guns. The scale of the story is impressive, and by the end of it the whole world realizes they are in some deep, deep trouble, hammered home by the death of a favorite character. It's got all the snappy dialog, character development, and 'feel' of prior stories turned up to 11. Some may say this story is too militaristic, but I disagree. Is the battle of Armageddon any less of a story than the ones Mike Mignola usually draws on? Plus, it's cool to see normal human BPRD agents carrying on the good fight which is rare indeed. Mankind makes its stand against the frogs here and now! So what are you waiting for? Read it!