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bfab18's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
If you're putting together a super team, you need a fish man. Take note.
You might THINK you don't, you might think your Aquamen are unnecessary, but you'd be wrong.
Somehow, Abe Sapien manages to be pretty cool, even though he's totally the Aquaman of the BPRD. I'm not sure how he managed that. Maybe because he doesn't dress in green and gold. I even Googled to see if there is fan art of Abe Sapien dressed as Aquaman, maybe for Halloween, and no dice. Not once, not even in a fan's imagination has Abe dressed as Aquaman. Probably a key to his success.
You might THINK you don't, you might think your Aquamen are unnecessary, but you'd be wrong.
Somehow, Abe Sapien manages to be pretty cool, even though he's totally the Aquaman of the BPRD. I'm not sure how he managed that. Maybe because he doesn't dress in green and gold. I even Googled to see if there is fan art of Abe Sapien dressed as Aquaman, maybe for Halloween, and no dice. Not once, not even in a fan's imagination has Abe dressed as Aquaman. Probably a key to his success.
jexjthomas's review
3.0
Kind of a mixed bag, especially compared to The Drowning. Entertaining enough, but definitely second tier Mignolaverse.
matt4hire's review
4.0
Such creepy, fun stuff. I especially loved...oh, wait, all of it. It was all so wonderfully weird, and the art really helped to sell it.
crookedtreehouse's review
4.0
After several disappointing Mignolaverse books in a row, I considered giving up my marathon. I saw that this collection fell into the And Other Stories category, and the pangs of [b:Hellboy, Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others|11253748|Hellboy, Vol. 11 The Bride of Hell and Others (Hellboy, #11)|Mike Mignola|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486039384s/11253748.jpg|16180366] started twitching my peepers.
But the first story, The Haunted Boy, co-written by [a:John Arcudi|197005|John Arcudi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1476454119p2/197005.jpg], felt more like a finished story than Mignola's usual Weird Set Up, Fight Scene, Okay We're Done style of narrative. All the characters felt real and fleshed out, and had conversations and motives that seemed more than just devices to push the story to its conclusion.
This is followed up with The Abyssal Plain, which twisted tropes like some of the better episodes of Venture Brothers but without winking at the reader, hoping they're impressed with the trope twisting.
The Devil Does Not Jest was the weakest of the stories, for me, but it didn't at all make me regret continuing on with reading a ton of Mignola books to start off this snowy year.
But the first story, The Haunted Boy, co-written by [a:John Arcudi|197005|John Arcudi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1476454119p2/197005.jpg], felt more like a finished story than Mignola's usual Weird Set Up, Fight Scene, Okay We're Done style of narrative. All the characters felt real and fleshed out, and had conversations and motives that seemed more than just devices to push the story to its conclusion.
This is followed up with The Abyssal Plain, which twisted tropes like some of the better episodes of Venture Brothers but without winking at the reader, hoping they're impressed with the trope twisting.
The Devil Does Not Jest was the weakest of the stories, for me, but it didn't at all make me regret continuing on with reading a ton of Mignola books to start off this snowy year.
iggnaseous's review
4.0
Three creepy, dark short adventures featuring the capabilities of Agent Sapien. Very much in keeping with the tone and style of Mignola's other HB stories.
ldyliberty's review
I like Abe Sapien as a character, and I've always enjoyed his stories in the main Hellboy and BPRD books, but so far I've been disappointed in the Abe Sapien series. This has three short stories of Abe investigating typical BPRD cases. There was nothing wrong with them, but the book still really didn't impress my much.
venerablemonster's review
4.0
Two more great solo adventures as we learn a bit more about who Abe is and what he's about. Framed in some interesting investigations that seemed to be more reminiscent of the Xfiles more than anything else, Abe shows off the way he handles these kinds of things that seem to include an altogether fewer instances of punching things in the face as Hellboy is apt to do. Two sides of the coin, nice to see a character take damage from being slapped around as well.
Will prolly check out future Abe solo tpb's.
Will prolly check out future Abe solo tpb's.
cynt's review
3.0
Worth getting just for James Harren's story and art (well, art. He didn't write the story. But the story he provided the art for was great). Magnificent. Sadly the other stories pale in comparison.
kateofmind's review
4.0
I like Abe. A lot. I think he could be cooler than Hellboy. But his solo stories haven't quite wowed me yet. Good, but not great.