Pipeline #1082: Remember "B.P.R.D."?
The Curious Case of B.P.R.D., Guy Davis, Dave Stewart, and Clem Robins are some of the prettiest [...]
The Curious Case of B.P.R.D.
There's one book from the aughts that I liked an awful lot, that critics generally enjoyed, but that never got the acclaim and ridiculously high sales it deserved: "B.P.R.D."
I don't think "B.P.R.D." was a sales failure by any means. If it was, we wouldn't have nearly as many volumes of it available as we do today. Depending on how you count them, there's more than 15 books in total from the series.
But the books from John Arcudi (with Mike Mignola), Guy Davis, Dave Stewart, and Clem Robins are some of the prettiest comics of the decade, for me, and it's a shame that they don't come to mind more often for more people when we think back to that era of comics.
Is it because the "Hellboy" series, proper, overshadowed it? Perhaps.
It deserves greater due, though,
This weekend, just for fun, I picked a trade at random and read through it for the first time in a decade. The good news is, it holds up. It's just as good as I remember. In fact, based on what I recall from the events before and after this particular volume, I think I like it even more. It just fits in the overall arc of the series so nicely.
It Shouldn't Work for Me, But It Does
It's a series that isn't in my wheelhouse. I'm not a horror guy. I'm not much of a monster guy, either, unless there's an artist who draws really interesting monsters. That gives us Art Adams and Guy Davis that I can think of off the top of my head.
I'm not captivated by the magic systems in place or the mythology of it all. It all seems made up to fit whatever plot the author needs, to me. I've never studied that stuff, so it's all out of left field for me. That may not be fair, but it's my preference. Maybe that's why I didn't like "Hellboy" or "Sandman" as much as most people seemed to, either?
Yes, I enjoyed "B.P.R.D." more than "Hellboy." C'est la vie.
Once you strip that mythology away, what's left in "B.P.R.D." that makes it so good?
It's not so much the plots. It's for the characters and the art. As I recall, a lot of the on-going plots stretched out for awhile and never got settled during Davis' run. But the characters were certainly interesting and often had strong moments.
But it's Davis' art that makes this series a must-read.
Guy Davis Wins It All
Everything he draws is magical. He can draw frogs in the sewer getting blown up by a grenade -- which, yes, really does happen in this book -- and it's a thing of beauty.
His style combines realism with cartooning to create a vibrant book every time. Characters are unique individuals with expressive faces and interesting body language. They stand in realistic environments with all the details.
Davis pays special attention to the lighting in his work. If you look carefully at his panels, you'll see from the black shadow work just how much he thinks about that.
He's also strong with his panel compositions. Every panel is well thought out, with all the elements carefully arranged to draw your eyes exactly to where Davis wants them. He varies his angles a lot, never loses the storytelling, and knows how and where to place background elements. Namely, small background props can fill the background, but Davis also knows where to let those drop out to make sure the reader can clearly see what's going on without overwhelming the eye.
All of that combines to give colorist Dave Stewart strong guidance for everything he adds to the book. Stewart deserves every coloring Eisner he's won in his life for this book, alone. The stuff he pulls off here is the kind of thing people should write textbooks about. Look carefully about how he separates characters in the foreground from the background with offsetting color choices.
His textures are subtle, but add a lot to the pages. Even flat areas you might assume are solid colors, really aren't. They have a texture to them. The brush Stewart uses is shaped more like a sponge than a traditional brush. It lets him make such colorful effects without looking too busy. He never overpowers the lines of the artwork. He doesn't need to show off like that. His natural color sense is just too strong.
Just look at that simple panel above of the frogs in a dark cave. Too many colorists would turn that into a muddy mess. Stewart separates the bright blue background out from the dark green frogs to make sure the two levels don't flatten out. He also keeps the frogs separated, usually with a little extra bright shine on the tops of their heads against the darker lower part fo the face behind them. And the textures he adds with the colors differentiate things, too. The cave walls are spottier, while the frogs are shinier and smoother, reflecting more light.
That combination of artist and writer gave "B.P.R.D." a unique look and feel that stood out from most everything else on the stands.
Flames and You're Fired
I read volume 5, "The Black Flame." Hellboy is gone, the frogs are running rampant, Abe Sapien is coming back from an injury but is mostly still desk-bound, and Roger the Homunculus is imitating his new father figure, Captain Daimio.
It's quite the colorful cast.
The book starts off strong, with the BPRD leading a military-style assault on a stronghold of the frog population. It's a well-drawn and exciting battle that feels a bit like it's coming out of a video game first person shooter, just better told and with more interesting graphics.
The fallout from the battle inevitably leads to the creation of the short-lived Super Bad Guy, the Black Flame, who later walks into the board room in his full costume and black flaming head to fire everyone in a scene that's both tense and hilarious. That's the kind of quirky charm the series had at times.
The strength of the series is in its characters. This ragtag assortment of people and creatures are interesting. They're fun to watch work together. It's really the horror genre's take on a superhero team like the X-Men. They live in a secluded lair up in the mountains, they have unique powers, they wear different costumes, and they fight bad guys who threaten all of humanity. And Liz Sherman goes full Phoenix here, too.
Same set of tropes, different set dressing. The format works.
Want More
I have the full set of the Guy Davis era of "B.R.P.D." lined up on a bookshelf here at Pipeline World Headquarters. It was hard to read this one trade without wanting to go back and read through them all next. They're so good and I've ignored them for too long. I don't know if that'll happen or not, but I have to think it's a good testimonial that I want to.
Davis doesn't do enough (or any) comics work anymore, sadly. He's busy making a living in Hollywood these days. This and "Sandman Mystery Theater" are his legacy in comics, but I have to think that "B.P.R.D." will stand the test of time better. It's a beautiful book.
You can see some of his recent non-comics work at his website, GuyDavisArtworks.com.
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