B.P.R.D. Volume 11: The Black Goddess [Paperback]

When looking at the world and trying to see who is right and who is wrong, it isn't always so cut and dry. sometimes the person who seems the worst is operating under the best of intentions, and sometimes the "good guys" come blundering in withou tunderstanding what is what. This is the case in the Black Goddess, with Hellboy and the gang wandering into a place that seems like it could be the proverbial palace of evil. The only problem with that is that the evil is standing against something even worse and, even in the case of Liz (who disappeared earlier, there is more at stake than just her.

That's what i liked about the tale - the complexity here - but I also found myself questioning if i liked the book itself. There is a lot of time devoted to fight scenes, a lot of it in fact, and some of that time seems like it would have been better spent explaining other things. I suppose that is the problem with books working as story arcs - sometimes the arc is just a filler arc and sometimes it holds all the keys to the kingdom. This is even more true when it comes to the BPRD stories because some of them are convoluted and some of them are filled with little monsters, clogging the potential of the story. This happens in this book, allowing a lot of explanation in some places but a lot of struggle in others. The one thing I did like here was the harnessing of Liz and the showcase of her true potential, some clues as to what Liz may or may not be, a look into the eternity the "bad guy" here has spent, and an explanation as to what the monsters in this saga might possibly be up to. There is also a clash between the modern and the ancient, showing just how cocky people can be. And perhaps we sometimes need reminders of that - even if it is an Abraham's tank kicking it against a monstrous beastie with claws the size of a keep.

Should someone buy this? Well, not out of order and not without wanting some BPRD. This is not the best thing I have read from the BPRD camp, and i can't say I was impressed by what has come so far. I am also not saying that this arc will not finish beautifully because it may. Only time will tell about this. I just know that you should not buy this without the first portion of the arc to help you decide because, frankly, it will confuse you out-of-order. and we don't need that - not when you are trying to read about something that has lived through Atlantis and beyond.

Dr. Kate Corrigan learns a possible location for Memnan Saa and the sad fate of Lobster Johnson's crew from its sole surviving member. Mignola at the same time gets another chance to show his affection for the Greatest Generation.

The B.P.R.D. regulars and a Special Forces unit end up at his evil Shangri-La on the Sakhan-Chinese border. They find themselves between a rock and a hard place: Memnan Saa and followers on one side, the frog/subterraneans on the other. The soldiers end up fighting with the followers - with their Yeti general - against the invaders.

The B.P.R.D. argues with Memnan Saa over the fate of Liz. There is usually one thing about each book in this series that makes them worth the price of purchase. Their philosophical argument over the fate of Liz and the course of the war, oddly for an action series, makes this one special. The agents are no more interested in a debate than the typical comic book geek. They want Liz back, period. Like true Americans, they want the upcoming war to have as few casualties as possible. Memnan tries to reason with the angry, rude Abe and the curious Kate Corrigan. He tells them his very interesting origin story. He tells them what Liz the fire starter truly is - a reincarnation of Heca-Emen-Ra, the fire bringer, the female Prometheus of Hyperborea. An entity who can, among other things, create dragons to fight frogs, just in the nick of time. Memnan doesn't want to work with the B.P.R.D. They aren't cruel enough. "What are you willing to lose to win?" Memnan is willing to sacrifice most of humanity to save the remnant. He doubts that less stern measures will have any effect.

This ends predictably. Memnan sighs over their refusal to accept his wisdom. They are get in a fight. One B.P.R.D. member - the demoralized Johann Kraus - is killed, the balloon that held his ectoplasm being popped. And, as you would expect, Liz, who all this time has been floating in a lotus position, turns on Memnan when he begins to hurt her friends, then wakes up without remembering anything. What a disappointment. It would be more interesting if she woke up changed, as Martin Gilfyrd was changed to Memnan Saa.

I will give Mignola, etc., credit for one thing. I don't know what will happen next, but I am very interested in seeing/reading it.

Okay I am aware there is a spoiler in the title of my review but in my defence his signature claw is on the front cover. Also if you are reading this review before buying the product might I recommend you first purchase the earlier volumes in this series as "The Black Goddess" is mostly about tying up loose ends. For that reason this is the most satisfying of the BPRD sries so far. I love the Liz/Memnan Saa conclusion and it has been a while comming. More importantly though a war with yetis, dragons and men facing down the frogs at last. Hellboy and BPRD are first and foremost action stories where we get to cheer for the monsters and "The Black Goddess" does not dissapoint and the artwork is beautiful. This has the best battle since "The Black Flame".

Lobster Johnson is my favourite Mignola character and I was very excited to see him back and doing what he does best - killing the bad guy.