Creative Staff:
Story: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie
Art: Sebastián Fiumara, Guy Davis
Color: Dave Stewart
Letters: Clem Robins
What They Say:
Haunted by guilt over the staggering death toll in Arizona, Abe vows to never let such horrors happen again—until a crazed healer and a frog-possessed teen block his path!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Where it once tried to keep the forces of the supernatural hidden from the rest of the world, the B.P.R.D. finds itself dealing with a war that has changed the face of the planet. To make matters worse, two of its top agents: Hellboy and Abe Sapien, are missing. Abe underwent a change that made him even more amphibian than he previously was. Thankfully the transformation also gave him greater strength and endurance, which he needs now that he’s on the run, traveling through the blasted ruins of the United States in an attempt to prove he has nothing to do with the invasion of the Frogs. Now traveling with Grace—a young woman he rescued—he makes his way through New Mexico, not sure of where to go or what to do.
The two meet a mother and father whose teenage son is in mid-transformation: half human/half frog. They hope that a healer they heard about will be able to change him back and Abe, following instincts he barely understands, joins them, much to Grace’s dismay.
This issue serves as a somewhat solid jumping on point for new readers except that it could have offered just a bit more backstory on what is happening. We know that the Frogs are taking over human beings and that the infrastructure of the United States has collapsed, making for rough, demon-infested country, but the true lengths of this apocalypse and what started it are not known. It could be that the reason hasn’t been revealed yet (it’s been a while since I’ve been able to keep up with Hellboy and his related titles) but that could be mentioned, too. In addition to that there is a backup story (beautifully drawn by one of my favorite artists, Guy Davis) that seems to be included just as filler. It could be that this is an incident that Abe is remembering, and it informs us about his character a little bit, but that’s a bit muddy and might just me trying to connect dots that don’t actually exist.
Those issues aside, this was a fun issue. The story was solid and drawn well. Mignola and Allie’s story was told beautifully through Fiumara’s, art and Stewart’s colors were dark, moody, and added just the right tone to the tale. This certainly holds true for the backup story as well. Even though I’m not quite sure if it serves as filler or something more, it was a good story drawn well (it is Guy Davis, after all), and two good stories for the price of one sure isn’t a bad deal.
In Summary:
Abe Sapien 13 is billed as a “Starting Point for New Readers,” and while it is a strong tale that starts a new story line, it’s not quite as new reader friendly as it could have been. It requires a certain amount of foreknowledge of Hellboy and B.P.R.D. to really be understandable to new readers. Despite that issue, this was a solid story with great art and a solid backup tale drawn by Guy Davis. Recommended.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: June 11, 2014
MSRP: $3.50
