B.P.R.D. The Devil You Know #7 Review
Summary: The story is well paced, coming together nicely at the end of the book.
4
Enjoyable issue
Pandemonium
This issue is a bridge between the last story arc and the next. The B.P.R.D. is stretched to the limit in the wake of the defeat of the Ogdru Hem. Three members of the bureau have fallen in the conflict, and the rest are left to pick up the pieces.
The cover of this book is eye catching. A large minotaur-esque demon looms in the background, seemingly rising from the flames or hell itself. In the foreground Ashley Strode stands on top of a broken building holding aloft an impressive looking golden sword. Lastly a young girl is diving towards Strode holding a dagger in two hands over her head, intent on driving it into the central figure’s chest. This cover looks both dynamic and foreboding. There is clearly a massive threat on the horizon for the team, and this cover does a great job of selling that. The cover for this issue is very much designed to draw in your eyes and gives a good idea of what you’ll find inside.
If the art in this book does nothing else, it’s this: it makes for a perfect atmosphere to support and enhance the story. The use of colour is muted throughout a lot of the book, with darker colours and tones taking the priority. The exception is the colour red. Anytime the colour red is used it is vibrant and stands out that much more from the background. The summoned demons, Hellboy, and Liz Sherman’s hair all stand out vividly and draw the eye in.
The book is very well drawn. Personally, I prefer darker themed books to have slightly grainier or dirtier art. As having things look pristine takes away from the atmosphere of the story. This book has that. The characters aren’t always the cleanest looking in terms of how they’re drawn, but they fit the book and the story. The art helps show the strain that the characters are under as you can literally see it on their faces.
This issue begins with a little girl alone in the woods carving symbols in the dirt and summoning the demon from the cover. The scene then shifts to the B.P.R.D. surveying the aftermath of some kind of event. Essentially, they are cleaning up bodies when they discover one that is obviously possessed and quickly come to the conclusion that it presents an amazing opportunity. Namely, that of undertaking an exorcism in a lab setting.
Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien take more of a back seat in this issue. Ashley Strode and her underlings take more of a front and center role in and around the creepy little girl summoning demons. The three storylines come together at the end as Strode confronts the demons during the exorcism. This sets the stage for the new story arc to really get rolling and leaves us wondering just who this sinister little girl is and what her aims are.
This was a really enjoyable issue. The cover sets a good tone for what to expect within, and the art is excellent. The book has a quick description of where the team is in the aftermath of the previous issue. This is something I always appreciate. It doesn’t go into detail but gives just enough to bring a casual reader up to speed. The story is well paced and comes together nicely at the end of the book. We can see that there are clearly some issues within the team. In particular between Hellboy and Liz, but it isn’t expanded on here.
This was a great book overall, if a little disjointed. 4 out of 5 stars.
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