I’ve gone from knowing a bit about Hellboy and knowing nothing about BPRD to being a big fan in the past few weeks. Nothing better than being plunked down into the middle of eerie story! With all this new age vampire garbage like Twilight (puke) it’s tough to take anything vampire related seriously, whether it be a novel, a comic, or film. Thankfully, Dark Horse Comics didn’t get the “pop culture” memo! Vampires are back and they will take the world by storm, or so they hope, thanks to Mike Mignola and Scott Allie’s newest installment of Hell on Earth. Not like I expected anything else, but it’s another great issue in the Mignola world.

WRITTEN BY: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie
ART BY: Jason Latour and Dave Stewart
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
RELEASE: Out Now

My first experience with BPRD had me dazzled by fast pace, blood spurting mayhem, and vivid colour that mesmerized the eye. This book takes a different approach to the world of paranormal activity and investigation. I got the sense right off the bat that this story is going to be creepy, Jason Latour’s art style is very sketchy which immerses the reader in a dark and twisted world. This art style is not usually my cup of tea, as I enjoy straight lines and more of a new age artistic style, but I must say that I wouldn’t have this story drawn any other way. Like the pencil work, Dave Stewart’s colouring captures the essence of what this story is all about with lots of dark shading mixed with a stellar colour spotting theme that goes on throughout the issue.

Though the pace of this book is somewhat slow, it’s deliberate, offering up a little background info on the main BPRD agent. Plus, it’s slow pace that allows the eerie atmosphere of the story to come to the surface. As this book comes to a close it gives the sense that there is far more to this story than what the plot is letting on. Suspense is a key factor with the way this story is playing out so far, and although it’s only a two-issue tale, the second issue looks like it will be full of creepy goodness.

I enjoyed the brief encounter with the family of vampires in the book and look forward to a more in depth meeting with the characters in the final issue of this two-parter. Not knowing much about BPRD, I was unfamiliar with some of the topics the agents spoke of, but a flash back to the infamous Hellboy enlightened me on how many stories BPRD is involved in, and has me itching to learn more! Being only two parts I know something crazy is in store for the readers and I can not wait to find out exactly is going down in Pickens County.