Rediscovering The Joy Of Comics With Dark Horse Comics’ ‘B.P.R.D. Omnibus’ Vol.1

Welcome to the table,

Do you remember the days of visiting a local comic shop, where the owner was a quirky character who slept on the couch, listened to Jethro Tull on repeat, and had a drawing desk in the center of the store? Was that experience uniquely mine? Well, regardless those were the days when comics fuels me as much as TTRPGs and day-old pizza.

For me, that time was spent delving into horror and supernatural-themed comics like Hellblazer and Ghost Rider which fueled my tabletop role-playing games and kept me excited for what was coming next.

Cape-books* felt like they were trying too hard. I could not get behind a narrative where the guy in spandex who punched a god was somehow supposed to be worried about the bank robber with a laser gun. Somewhere between Superman coming back and the towers falling I had just stopped believing in heroes with big smiles and bulging muscles.

So, being a fan of horror books, and collecting Mike Mignola covers as I could find them, B.P.R.D. for sure caught my eye. Hellboy: Conqueror Worm was about to hit the shelves, and being a completionist I asked said sitcom-esq comic shop owner if I could purchase the run of books.

He sold it to me at cover price, a fact that when he realized the value of the older books he was not too happy about, and from that point forward I was hooked. Little did I know that it would lead me to discover one of my all-time favorite titles in B.P.R.D.

Fast forward 15 years, and my weekly comic purchases have dwindled to almost nothing, except for occasional review copies or research material for my own work. It’s not that my love for comics has waned, but rather that nothing seems to capture the vibe I once enjoyed.

The stacks of books I used to bring home regularly use to fuel me. I would spend sleepless nights pooling over pages over and over again looking at the written words, the lettering choices, the layout the lines… but that all feels like a thing of the past. Something I hung up somewhere toward the end of the New 52. I love comics… but I don’t LOVE comics… not like I used to. That feeling they gave me of joy and wonder has kinda died.

That is until I stumbled upon the re-release of B.P.R.D. Omnibus from Dark Horse Comics.

Nostalgia hit me hard as I ordered Volume 1 on Amazon. It was like ordering a meal you know you like at a restaurant you have eaten at for years. Comfort food. I knew I would enjoy what was inside.

Mignola’s world is a near-perfect blend of storytelling and art, with Christopher Golden‘s contributions adding depth to the narrative, and it also has pages by Guy Davis, one of my all-time favorite comic artists. I knew this purchase would be like comfort food, a return to something familiar. And it was.

B.P.R.D. Volume 1 collects Hollow Earth & Other Stories, B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice & Other Stories, and B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs, and it’s a phenomenal read. The art is breathtaking, the story is sprawling and heartfelt, and the core of the protagonists trying to navigate a world without their most powerful ally, Hellboy, is both bleak and overwhelming.

But here’s the thing… you probably already know all of this. I’m not here to tell you something new about the quality of B.P.R.D.

What surprised me the most was the effect it had on me beyond the pages of the comic. As I sat in bed, under the soft golden glow of a reading lamp, with my wife sleeping beside me and my cat curled up at the foot of the bed, I found myself putting my phone down and immersing myself in the world of B.P.R.D.

In those quiet moments, with my phone on Do not disturb, I experienced a strange kind of peace that I wasn’t expecting to find in a story about frog monsters and deep earth-dwelling humanoids.

B.P.R.D. Volume 1 reminded me of the power of comics to captivate our imaginations and provide a much-needed escape from screens and distractions. It transported me back to a time when comics were a source of joy and excitement and reignited my passion for the medium. So here’s to revisiting old favorites and finding unexpected solace in the pages of a well-crafted comic.

So this is a special “Welcome back to the table” for B.P.R.D.

It’s good to have you here again.

Until next time, find your joy.

*Cape-books – Books about traditional Superheroes