When a Lobster ghost and some ancient spirit dude predict mechanical, frog-raining Armaggedon, you know it’s bad.
B.P.R.D. Vol. 10: The Warning TPB
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writers: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Artist: Guy Davis
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Cover Artist: Mike Mignola
Summary: The team tracks down the mysterious gentleman who’s been appearing in Liz’s visions, but soon find themselves in over their heads when old enemies — from the frog creatures, to the Black Flame, to the last denizens of Hyperborea — descend to lay waste to the world.
Review: You’d think the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense would be pretty anti-amphibian by now (no offense to Mr. Sapien). I mean, who could blame them? But in the five collected issues of “The Warning,” the B.P.R.D. face a whole new hatchling of problems.
Captain Daimio has disappeared into the blizzard, and their search proves a waste of man-power and time. Meanwhile, with Panya’s help the fire-starter Liz Sherman, Dr. Kate Corrigan, and the ectoplasmic Johann Kraus reach out to the ghost of Lobster Johnson, who has been seeking their attention of late. Johnson provides the name of Martin Gilfryd, who possesses a recent connection to Ms. Sherman and an old tie to Panya. But tracking down their fresh lead incites an unforeseen complication when the now-powerful Gilfryd wields their visit entirely to his advantage. The secrets waiting for them underground in Munich, Germany, bring a new order of chaos into their lives—and threaten the fate of the world, of course, with the likes of something that easily trashes Munich like a tin can.
So what’s the real warning here? Caution: Frog guts await you. And all kinds of hellfire and apocalyptic visions that are only just the beginning of something worse. There are some nice character moments in The Warning—especially with Johann—and even the prelude to the big, prophesized event in-the-making doesn’t hold back. On the down side, the storyline pushes readers into the middle of the action without really giving them a road map, so certain things can be confusing for those unfamiliar with BPRD.
Rating: 4/5
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:03 am
Lobster Johnson, the most hilarious and tastiest name I;ve ever heard for a ghost.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I love Lobster Johnson.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Pretty nice post. I just came by your site and wanted to say
that I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
June 24th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Ooh thanks, Sara!
You just made my day!