Reviews

Abe Sapien, Volume 1: The Drowning by Mike Mignola

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bfab18's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

helpfulsnowman's review

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3.0

Solid, and Abe is in it. Also, there was a funny little fat demon who was always flying around. He was spooky looking, but also silly. That's my speed, baby!

This volume of Abe Sapien is haunting, evocative, and beautiful. I am a person easily scared. I do not enjoy being terrified and I was never that child around the campfire enjoying stories about Bloody Mary. That said, I LOVE the spooks and eeriness in Abe Sapien. This series, along with BPRD, represent comics at their finest.

jameshaus's review

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4.0

The writing was sharp as always from mignola. Not sure why people hate the artwork, but i thought it was suitably atmospheric. At the very least, it never got in my way.

roguemuffin's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

This is where I hopped into the Hellboy universe bc im low key obsessed with Abe Sapien. This is very much Abe-goes-on-an-adventure and not origin story. I suppose Mike Mignola is making me work for it so I shall start from the beginning of the Hellboy universe now 😆🤷🏻‍♀️ This volume was solidly enjoyable tho and the art is gorgeously moody. Looking forward to immersing myself in Hellboy/BPRD land for a solid while 📚

captaincymru's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

crookedtreehouse's review

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3.0

After the disappointment of the last Hellboy trade I read, I debated giving up on Mignola for a while. Instead, I opened up this story of Abe Sapien's first case without Hellboy to see if it would speak to me. And it felt exactly as it was advertised, a Hellboy story without Hellboy.

It's a perfectly fine first volume of a secondary character from a franchise, but there wasn't much heart to it, and the literal Fish Out Of Water aspect annoyed me all the way through.

I don't recommend reading it as part of a Hellboy or BPRD marathon unless this is the first thing you read, and you decide to immediately follow it up with Abe Sapien The Devil Does Not Jest, which I enjoyed more both from an art and storytelling perspective.