B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Exorcism #1 (of 2)
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writers: Mike Mignola & Cameron Stewart
Artist: Cameron Stewart (cover by Viktor Kalvachev)
Colors: Dave Stewart
Lets be honest, exorcisms are scary, and two are scarier than one. That’s what you get in the latest chapter of the B.P.R.D.! We first witness part of an exorcism from East Africa in the year 1890. It involves a young girl that has been possessed by an evil spirit, but soon finds out that the priest is more than up to the task of ripping it out of the girl. One thing about that, though; the priest is using his own body as a prison for the spirit. Back in the present day, Agent Strode is helping a priest with an exorcism on a young boy. This demon seems to be much more of a problem than the other, though, and Agent Strode gets a little rattled. The priest gets angry with her, but the demon tells her to contact a former friend of the bureau about a demon that needs to be released. If they release it, according to the demon, all will be well between Earth and Hell…but can they trust a demon?
As usual, Dark Horse just keeps on pushing forward with this title, and not only pushes forward, but also keeps the populace interested from issue to issue. One can only hope that the mainstays will be making appearances during this “Year of Monsters,” but even if that doesn’t happen for a while yet, the others (Agent Devon, Agent Corrigan, etc.) will surely provide us with great entertainment. Mignola and Stewart do a great job using Agent Strode (A nod to Halloween perhaps?) instead of Corrigan or Johann. Speaking of Johann, we can almost be sure from solicits that he’ll be back very soon in one capacity or another.
Artwork is always a bright spot with BPRD books, because of a few names like Crook, Stewart, and well, Stewart, as in Cameron and Dave in this book. We get a tough looking priest in the flashback scene, and believe me, he needed to look tough to handle that demon. Agent Strode looks like the part she plays, that of a rookie. The final scene where Strode and the priest are ready to confront the demon living in his soul is absolutely incredible. The “cave” in which they are about to enter (a section of the soul or brain) looks really creepy, and perfect. Rating 4/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
