Available to purchase on Amazon USA
Not every reader of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy may be aware of how important the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence is. When Red isn’t out on his own, he’s also an agent of this organisation, and they’ve done a lot to help keep Earth safe. The BPRD Omnibus is a terrific book to see what else they’ve done throughout the run, if one considers the decades of books released like a living world ever expanding as new comic book series comes out.
Collectors and newcomers can also easily lose track on where each mini-series fits in. Thus, the BPRD Ominus is the tome to read rather than to go digging through comic book bins for what to examine for the night. I’m still taking my time reading this big 400-page compilation. It’s huge, and going through this book shouldn’t be rushed. The work put into this collection has a lot of material to appreciate. Since it focuses on all the field agents, we’re not going to be seeing Hellboy all the time.
Also, this book brings together other stories I don’t have about secret society’s many operations. To be very specific, it delivers:
- Hollow Earth
- Hollow Earth Dark Horse Extra
- Abe Sapien vs Science
- Drums of the Dead
- The Soul of Venice
- Dark Waters
- Night Train
- There’s Something Under My Bed
- Another Day at the Office
- Plague of Frogs
- … and it features a Sketchbook!
And as for what’s next, one book isn’t enough! The BPRD Omnibus Volume Two is in October. It’s best not to wait on these huge collections, as they tend to sell out and won’t be reprinted. I made the mistake in the past regarding other Dark Horse Comics titles and have regretted it. This time, I’m going to stay on the ball and pick these trade paperback omnibus collections as they’re released.
In the second volume are deeper explorations of Abe Sapien’s origins, the Black Flame, and the introduction of more key characters. To be specific, the BPRD Omnibus Volume 2 (Amazon link) will collect Born Again, Revival, The Dead, War on Frogs and The Black Frame. It’s scheduled for release on October 19, 2022.
And if that’s not enough, there’ll be a volume 3, which is scheduled for release December 21, 2022. It promises to include the Bureau’s catastrophic encounter with the monster-god Katha-Hem, Kate heads to France with hopes of bringing Roger back to life, and Captain Daimio reveals the truth about his death in the jungles of Bolivia. Abe meets a secret society of Victorian cyborgs with ties to his origins as the frog apocalypse heats up, and Liz’s visions of the end of the world grow increasingly dire!
That is, readers will find The Universal Machine, Garden of Souls and Killing Ground reprinted.
Thankfully Amazon has saved newcomers the hassle, and has provided a purchase link for all three books if you visit the any of these webpages.
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