The Hellboy Project: B.P.R.D. Vol. 4: The Dead

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Guy Davis

This is the first of the BPRD trades co-written with John Arcudi, and he brings a very different pacing to the story.  In the wake of the revelation of the Frogs outbreak, the Bureau gets a new field commander and opens up a new office in some ex-military base up high on a mountain.

Captain Daimio is a bit of a jerk, but he's ex-military so it's all good.  He also was dead for a while, but not much is explained about that.  The new base has some secrets, including a sealed-up ex-Nazi scientist who has a plan to bring heavenly bug angel things into our world.

Much of this arc exists to set up Daimio and his relations with the other members of the team.  Roger is written as pretty dumb in this book, which doesn't exactly fit with her earlier characterizations, and felt kind of off.  Other than that, the story works quite well, even if it's a little more decompressed than this title was before.

There is a long sub-plot involving Abe Sapien tracking down the house he'd lived in before his transformation; a house still inhabited by the spirit of his dead wife.  Their scenes together, while short, form a nice juxtaposition to the rest of the story, and are kind of touching in their way.