B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know #6 Comic Review
Summary: The B.P.R.D. have Hellboy back... but he doesn't quite seem the same.
4.5
Red's Return
He’s back!… Big Red is back! Following last issues recovery of Hellboy, the B.P.R.D. now have him back on earth… but there is something different, he doesn’t seem to have any interest in pursing the demon threatening to turn Earth into Hell.
Writing
Like having your head upwards in a Guillotine, you can see the end waiting… set to drop at any moment, the tension is high and oblivion seems all but guaranteed… your only chance of saviour is someone who could intervene… but the question is will they? That’s sort of how this episode feels. Hellboy is back but he isn’t himself, the Earth is still on a course of destruction with a demon doing all they can to turn Earth into Hell itself. Will Hellboy regain his sense of self in time to save Earth… does he even want to anymore? There is tension a plenty here and it’s going to have many of us on edge waiting for the next installment.
Artwork
We start with some very Mignola style art… with dirty, earthen muted tones. Then we are back with the B.P.R.D. and the visual style changes to more colourful yet still darkly toned visuals. It’s only through looking over the pages again that I realise how much of an impact the visuals really have. The story certainly pushes that notion of impending doom… but the visuals sell it so well and so pervasively that you can’t help but feel the sense of despair as the final days get closer. Seeing Hellboy look so defeated, at least emotionally, is quite sad. There are some panels near the end of this issue that are bound to just strike straight at your heart strings…. images of Hellboy looking very introspective as if he knows what is ahead… he knows his part in it, but he doesn’t want to have to go through with it.
Final Thoughts
If building a sense of tension was the aim of this issue… it has been well and truly achieved. From everything Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. have been through, to be at this point and knowing that the end of days could be just around the corner… how can you not have your heart in your mouth? If you’ve got the previous issues you simply have to get this issue. If you haven’t got the previous issues I sure hope you are planning on scooping this up when the trade paperback arrives because this is a story that you can’t miss!
Publisher: Darkhorse
Writer: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie
Artist: Sebastian Fiumara
Colourist: Dave Stewart
Cover Artist: Sebastian Fiumara, Max Fiumara
Genre: Horror
Format: 32 pgs, FC, Ongoing
Release Date: 9th May, 2018
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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