The Hellboy Project: B.P.R.D. Vol.5: The Black Flame

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Guy Davis

With this volume, Mignola and Arcudi make it clear that they are willing to really shake things up in the BPRD.  They kill off a pretty central character in their war on the Frogs, and then give another central character an expanded role and new importance, as Liz starts having strange dreams and visions involving an old Asian man who seems to have a lot of hints, clues, and cryptic suggestions for how to deal with the Frogs.

Meanwhile, the Frogs get a potential new boss in the form of the Black Flame. The Zinco Corporation CEO, in a very cool looking bad guy suit, helps bring about the coming of Katha-Hem, another gigantic Lovecraftian monster.

While the action goes pretty wide-screen here, the best parts of this book involve the different reactions to the aforementioned characters death from the other members of the team.  It is Johann's stubborn optimism that the character is not actually dead that I found most endearing.