This month brings us the concluding half of ‘The Broken Equation’, a story being advertised by Dark Horse as a great jumping on point for new readers. Is it good?
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth #123 (Dark Horse Comics)
After the giant monster he’d been drawing bursts through the portal, Dr. Kukyo has also begun to speak again. Unfortunately, the B.P.R.D have much more important things to worry about….namely the three way monster battle rampaging around them.
As they try to get Kukyo to safety, he exhibits signs which indicate that he’s connected to the beast from his drawings. That same monster also happens to be kicking the ass of the other two hostile beasts, giving him a very unlikely cheering section.
By the end of the fight, both Kukyo and the beast that came through the portal are dead, leaving us with umm…an ending I guess.
Is It Good?
The first comic I ever bought was Amazing Spider-Man #352. It was the second issue of a two part story, but I didn’t have much trouble figuring out what was happening.
The reason I bring this up is that for a story arc advertised as a great starting point for new readers (which includes me), this issue and the one before it fail spectacularly.
It’s fine if I don’t know any of the characters. In fact, that’s to be expected with a “new era” issue like this. But by the end of part two, I still felt like I barely knew anything about them.
The plot and action, on the other hand, was a bit of a mixed bag. It was simultaneously exhilarating and confusing, like a rollercoaster ride that seems to end as soon as it begins.
The artwork by Joe Querio is great. The monster designs are awesome. The fight scenes are incredibly well choreographed. The plot, though very confusing, left enough threads that I’m intrigued with the tone and material B.P.R.D. seems to spin its stories from.
Even the previously mentioned (and underdeveloped) characters had some great moments of humor and heroism. It all makes for an issue that I’m sure was pretty cool for long time readers, but was not really ‘new reader friendly’ at all.
But all that being said…I liked what I saw enough to stay onboard and try to catch up.
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