B.P.R.D Hell On Earth Volume 12 : Metamorphosis

It was awesome.

BPRD is one of the most exciting graphic novels series ever.You should not miss this masterpiece.

This penultimate book of the Hell on Earth cycle gives us a brace of stories centered on the BPRD's resident ectoplasmic man Johann Kraus.The first is a three-parter scripted, as always, by John Arcudi with nput from Mignola, and art by sometime BPRD collaborator Peter Snjerberg. A seemingly routine mission for a small BPRD squad gives Johann cause to wonder at his increasing isolation from his colleagues and desensitivity to death. It's an introspective little piece that's all the better for taking some time out of monster-bashing to explore the psyche of one of the BPRD's best characters (although there's the usual action-heavy explodey panels, too).The second story is a two-parter with fantastic art by BPRD newcomer Julian Totino Tedesco. It's a direct sequel to the last story, and an equally direct sequel to the two Sledgehammer '44 stories (published in their own standalone TPB). Johann wonders if the WWII occult project Sledgehammer suit may not be the answer to his problems, and delves into the history of the suit as an army of monsters masses on the BPRD's doorstep. It's a less successful story if only because, to get the most from it, you absolutely have to have read the Sledgehammer stories - a fairly good job is done of recapping those events for new readers, but all emotional impact here would be lost unless you're completely up to speed. It's as much the conclusion of the story of Patrick Redding, former occupant of the Sledgehammer, as it is a story about Johann, who feels a little shortchanged here - but the ending sets things up to take a very cool direction from this point forward...A steady if not amazing volume, overall, that neverthless marks quite a turning point in one of the BPRD's main characters.