B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs

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B.P.R.D.:
Plague of Frogs
BPRD Plague of Frogs.jpg
Trade Paperback Cover by Mike Mignola
Publication information
Publisher Dark Horse Comics
Format Trade paperback
Genre
Publication dateFebruary 23, 2005
Main character(s)
Creative team
Created byMike Mignola
Written by Mike Mignola
Artist(s) Guy Davis
Letterer(s) Clem Robins
Colorist(s) Dave Stewart
Editor(s) Scott Allie
Collected editions
'B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs' ISBN   978-1-59307-288-9

B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs is the third trade paperback collection in the B.P.R.D. series.

Contents

Publication history

B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs was originally published from March 2004 through to July 2004 as a five-issue B.P.R.D. comic book miniseries, written by Mike Mignola with art by Guy Davis and published by Dark Horse comics. [1] Each issue featured a cover by Guy Davis.

Editor Scott Allie stated that this series goes back to the roots of the Hellboy series concept, which Mignola originally conceived of as a team book until the character of Hellboy took over and dominated the book, and although previous B.P.R.D. stories had been told this was the first to be written solely by Mignola himself.

Allie also added that whilst this story and subsequent mini-series would see the title develop more along the lines of a standard ongoing series, albeit one with regular breaks, it would go against the conventions of the comic book industry to profoundly change the fictionalised world in which it is set forever.

Plot synopsis

Chapter 1

The B.P.R.D.'s enhanced talents taskforce are called in to investigate when Professor Derby infiltrates a classified research facility in New Jersey and shoots dead Dr. Platt who has been working on scientific research into fungi and has grown a giant specimen in the lab. [2]

Chapter 2

Abe, Kate, Liz, Roger, and Johann have returned to B.P.R.D. headquarters with a captured frog monster and Director Manning reveals that the spore Dr. Platt had based his experiments on had recently been recovered from the ruins of Cavendish Hall and belong to the monstrous Sadu-Hem. [3]

Chapter 3

The team crash at Crab Point, Michigan. Roger is strung up by a frog monster and Johann is dispersed leaving Kate to search for help whilst Abe and Liz face the demonic priest of Sadu-Hem who has summoned forth the frog monsters. [4]

Chapter 4

The entire town of Crab Point, Michigan has been converted into frog monsters and it is left to Liz to rescue Kate from a graveyard of revenants whilst Sapien faces execution at the behest of Rasputin who seeks revenge for Abe Sapien’s involvement in his own death at Cavendish Hall years before. [5]

Chapter 5

Kate, Liz, and Johann (temporarily inhabiting the rotting corpse of a dead dog) rush to save Abe whilst he hovers between life and death experiencing a mystical vision in which he witnesses his own origins as an undersea explorer called Caul caught up in the assassination of Abe Lincoln. [6]

Collected Editions

Trade Paperback

The trade paperback includes an eight-page sketchbook with art from Davis and one page of thumbnails and scripts by Mignola:

B.P.R.D Omnibus Edition

The trade was later collected as a part of the Plague of Frogs cycle in the B.P.R.D. Omnibus format, along with Hollow Earth & Other Stories and The Soul of Venice & Other Stories . This format is available in both hardcover and paperback editions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellboy</span> Comic book superhero

Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2, and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers. The character has been adapted into three live-action feature films. Two starring Ron Perlman in 2004 and 2008 in the title role, and one in 2019 which starred David Harbour, as well as two straight-to-DVD animated films, and three video games – Asylum Seeker, The Science of Evil, and as a playable character in Injustice 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense</span> Fictional government agency

The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola, founded by the United States and United Kingdom governments, charged with researching the occult, paranormal and supernatural, and defending against their dangers. The B.P.R.D. originally appeared in the Hellboy comics and has since been a major part of its expanded universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abe Sapien</span> Fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy

Abraham Sapien, born Langdon Everett Caul, is a fictional character introduced in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He takes his name from "Ichthyo sapien", the fanciful species designation chosen for him by his colleagues in the 19th-century Oannes Club, and from Abraham "Abe" Lincoln, on whose assassination date the Oannes Club abandoned Abe's body, leaving only a cryptic note as explanation, in a suspended animation tank beneath a Washington D.C. hospital. He is occasionally referred to as an "amphibious man."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Mignola</span> American comic artist and writer

Mike Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer best known for creating Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics, part of a shared universe of titles including B.P.R.D., Abe Sapien, Lobster Johnson, and various spin-offs. He has also created other supernatural and paranormal themed titles for Dark Horse including Baltimore, Joe Golem, and The Amazing Screw-On Head.

The Ogdru Hem are fictional supervillains in the Hellboy universe. After awakening, the demonic Ogdru Jahad gave birth to the 369 Ogdru Hem. The Ogdru Hem are essentially weaker versions of their parents, but even so they wield unimaginable power. All of the Ogdru Hem were imprisoned by the Watchers, but many are now re-emerging, with the aid of Rasputin and other agents of the Ogdru Jahad.

Roger the Homunculus is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He is an unusually large homunculus, a humanoid being said to be created by means of alchemy. Initially revived by Liz Sherman, Roger is one of the early supporting characters of the "Mignola-verse", appearing alongside other "enhanced" B.P.R.D. agents including Sherman, Abe Sapien and Johann Kraus under Dr. Kate Corrigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Kraus</span> Hellboy character

Johann Kraus is a fictional character in the comic book series Hellboy, created by Mike Mignola. He is featured in the comic book B.P.R.D., published by Dark Horse Comics. Kraus is a disembodied ectoplasmic spirit with psychic abilities, who inhabits a containment suit, without which his form would eventually dissipate and be lost forever.

Katherine Corrigan is a fictional character from the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics and created by Mike Mignola. Her appearance is based on Mignola's wife, Christine. Within the world of the comics, dubbed the "Mignola-verse", Corrigan acts as B.P.R.D. field leader to "enhanced" agents including Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Roger the Homunculus, Liz Sherman and Johann Kraus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Allie</span> American comics writer and editor

Scott Allie is an American comics writer and editor, best known as an editor and executive at Dark Horse Comics from 1994 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobster Johnson</span> Comic book character

Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grigori Rasputin (Hellboy)</span> Comics character

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, and was based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name. Rasputin serves as the second archenemy of Hellboy after the Ogdru Jahad.

<i>Hellboy: Seed of Destruction</i>

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction is the first Hellboy comic book mini-series, published by Dark Horse Comics. It was conceived and illustrated by Mike Mignola and scripted by John Byrne.

<i>B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth and Other Stories</i>

B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth & Other Stories is the first trade paperback collection in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.) series.

<i>Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom</i> Fourth trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series

The Right Hand of Doom is the fourth trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series created by Mike Mignola published by Dark Horse Comics on February 4, 2004 which collects various mini-series, one-shots and back-up features featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy.

<i>B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice and Other Stories</i>

B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice & Other Stories is the second trade paperback collection in the B.P.R.D. series.

<i>Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others</i>

Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others is the seventh trade paperback collection in the Hellboy series and published by Dark Horse Comics on October 3, 2007. It collects various mini-series, one-shots and back-up features featuring fictional paranormal detective Hellboy.

<i>B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls</i>

B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls is the seventh trade paperback collection in the B.P.R.D. series.

The Hellboy Universe is the fictional universe of the Hellboy comic and its various spinoffs, created by Mike Mignola. Its first appearance was in a black-and-white, four-page promotional comic by Mike Mignola with a script by John Byrne published by Dark Horse Comics in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2, distributed at the San Diego Comic-Con. The Hellboy Universe currently spans over eighty trade paperbacks. It is also sometimes informally called the "Mignolaverse".

<i>B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame</i>

B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame is the fifth trade paperback collection in the B.P.R.D. series.

References

  1. "B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  2. "B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs #1". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  3. "B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs #2". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  4. "B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs #3". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  5. "B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs #4". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  6. "B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs #5". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  7. "B.P.R.D. Plague of Frogs - Volume 1". DarkHorse.com.