B.P.R.D. The Long Death #3
Story: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art: James Harren
Colors: Dave Stewart
Sure, comics are a great medium for things like plot, pacing
and character development. Good comics excel in these areas. But comics are
also a great medium for bloody, knock-down-drag-out brawls between vicious, kick-ass monsters.
The thing that makes B.P.R.D. The Long Death #3 special is
it shows that these things are not mutually exclusive.
When was the last time you saw two crazy monsters tear each other apart while completely understanding and empathizing with where
they’re coming from?
The Wendigo is the soul of a good, family man who’s wrongly
locked in a prison meant for the souls of murderers. Captain Daimo/Werejaguar
is unable to come to terms with a horrible act he committed in the past.
They’ve both been tortured and tormented and have finally
reached the point where they have nothing left to lose.
When they collide in this comic, the fight is one for the
ages.
Artist James Harren’s pacing is perfect. Each panel is a
critical beat in the rhythm of this brawl. In poorly drawn comic book fights, muddled panels
and bad pacing make it hard to follow exactly what’s going on. Here, the
clean panels show you every bite, rip and drop (in this case more like gush)
of blood.
But it’s the beats between those moments we’re shown
that really make a difference. The gathering of strength before the strike. The
exhale of breath after the jaws let go. Colorist Dave Stewart alternates
between backgrounds of a deep blue night sky during these quieter moments
and a bright, fiery orange when the beasts collide.
You feel every punch, throat bite and neck stab. I found
myself imagining the sounds of the battle (and not only during the well
placed “ROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRR” from the Werejaguar to break the silence toward the end of the fight).
When all the dust settles, the outcome hits home for Johann, who's been growing on me more and more since B.P.R.D. Russia, which makes the somber end to this comic that much harder to swallow.
Great characters. Better fight. Comics!
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