4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Amazing Art for a wonderful comic!, Aug 20 2009
By Luke R. Zwanziger - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Abe Sapien Volume 1: The Drowning (Paperback)
The story is a five issue arc following Abe Sapien's first solo mission after long being assigned on many cases with Hellboy.
This story is inked by my now favorite comic book artist, Jason Shawn Alexander. His wonderful art style is created by inking straight away with little or no pencils. His art drips, and oozes with an edge, giving a clear sense of emotion, relying heavily on the dark shadowing to convey the images. The art gives a sense of foreboding, exhilaration and excitement. I was completely taken, absorbed in the pages, soaking in the images, and when I was done, I went back to page one. Alexander's art tells the story just as well as Mignola's words, which often are sparse letting just the images tell the story. In the end it is beautiful.
The coloring by Dave Stewart was amazing too, winning the 2009 Eisner Award for Coloring on this run.
Whether you are a Hellboy fanboy/girl, or just want some of the best comic book reading, I definitely recommend you pick up this book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never Trust a Priest on Fire - No Matter How Good His Sermon Is., Nov 30 2008
By TastyBabySyndrome "T(to the)B(to the)S" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Abe Sapien Volume 1: The Drowning (Paperback)
Abe Sapien, the lexicon of knowledge and the dispatcher of Rasputins the world over, has not always been the way we know him. In 1981 he was, in fact, a field rookie and nobody knew how he would perform. His first mission carried him to a little island called Saint-Sebastian (not to be confused with the one off the coast of Spain), to recover a ritualistic dagger from the body of a warlock named Vrooman because the BPRD thought the dagger could be inherently valuable to them. The thing they didn't count on was the fact that Vrooman had secrets of his own, they the island had a horrid past, and that Abe would be walking into something that would ultimately hit the island like a plague and consume souls like moths in flame.
Personally, I was happy to see a little more Abe out there to look at because I have long wondered what the Ictho-Sapien's past was like. In Drums of the Dead we saw a little piece of what he was, and in the Hellboy Companion it talks about Abe in a bit more detail. Still, Abe is an enigma and enigmas are fun to watch unravel - and especially so when Mike Mignola is doing the frame-by-frame. As the mission comes to a head and Abe finds himself confronted with a few oddities, we see the "thing" from his past and are reminded again of the name he had for a time. This is what I like about Mignola's presence - first, anything that he wants to happen can happen and, secondly, he makes great pieces of literature. Mignola actually said that he never considered himself a great writer because he tells his stories with pieces. If only he could see the thing in the mirror.
One thing I was a little torn by was the guest artwork. I liked Jason Alexander and thought some of his characterizations were quite good, but I did not like the things he did with Abe. When he constructed the body profile, for instance, it looked too gaunt and too - I hate to use this word - normal for my tastes. This happens when you have quests, however, and when you get accustomed to a specific way of doing things. Since Mignola is the mind that brought us Hellboy and the others, it is hard to shake the people he gave life in his way. Still, Alexander did good work and did not disappoint by making things too cartoony or too bland.
Anyone reading along with Hellboy might like this, anyone taking in BPRD will like this, and anyone that is interested in adding on will enjoy it as well. A newcomer's book this may not be - I'm not sure because of the movies and all plus the story is about Abe and maybe you like Abe. I recommend it highly, enjoyed the read, and say "buy it but know it as well."
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story, Great Art, Oct 13 2008
By Uthor - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Abe Sapien Volume 1: The Drowning (Paperback)
Another great story from Mignola, but not drawn by him. He abandoned drawing BPRD a long time ago, brought on a new artist for Lobster Johnson, and finally gave up drawing Hellboy itself.
The story follows Abe on his first solo mission and, of course, things get FUBAR. Ancient wizards, demons, witches, and sea monsters all appear. The story shows Abe resolve to get the job done right even when he is given an easy way out. It shows the tough job the BPRD crew has keeping the world safe paranormal foces.
With Abe Sapien, Mignola brings aboard another great artist to help him out with telling stories. Alexander has a very loose style (straight inking with no pencils) that almost looks painted in black before being expertly colored by Dave Stewart. If Mignola continues to use amazing artists, I'm fine with him giving up art duties in favor of fleshing out the Hellboy universe.
It is a little more wrapped up in its own mythologies than the looser and more action oriented Lobster Johnson and the latest Hellboy and BPRD stories. A little more action and cutting the back story down a bit (almost an entire chapter, alone) would have quickened the pacing a bit.