Abe Sapien: Dark And Terrible #3 – Review

By: Mike Mignola, Scott Allie (Writers), Sebastian Fiurama (Artist), Dave Stewart (Colorist)

The Story: Something hits the fan as the truth behind what is happening in the village Abe Sapien is in reveals itself.

The Review: Just who and what is Abe Sapien? That is the question that has plagued him ever since his birth and it has been a plot point that followed him throughout his development in B.P.R.D and that has been compelling enough to provide him with a title of his own. While we had part of the solution, we still had no idea just why Abe Sapien exists and neither does he, which makes for a rather interesting main motivation for our titular character.

However, this has not exactly been the focus of this three-issue arc, which has made us see just how the regular folks of the Mignolaverse had to adapt to the end of the world as they know it. It was a pretty intriguing and well thought-out idea that was presented in great fashion, yet it did not exactly seem like a story that could be only presented via Abe Sapien. It was much more akin to a traditional B.P.R.D story, which made the point of a series focusing on the rather popular character still a questionable matter.

As much as the story is questionably about just Abe Sapien and his journey, it was still a good story that focused a lot on action and the choices made by several characters, including Abe Sapien. As we see him deal with the villagers and we discover the truth behind the preacher that tried to make people accept their monstrous changes as acts of God, we are treated to some absurdly great action scenes that show just how Abe can now deal with threats such as these. The action, however, is not only shown by Abe’s point-of-view, as we also see the B.P.R.D team trying to tackle the huge monstrosity as well.

However, as great as the action is, there is some small plot as well; with very important choices being made that propels the character and the story forward. Many of these centers around the fact that Abe has to live with the fact that he is becoming a bit more monstrous, yet has still a good bit of humanity as he clings on to it. There are also some key development concerning the B.P.R.D which is quite nice, as they add gravitas to some of the main twists in the story and just where this title may go. From what we can see, this arc was much more about setting up the character and showing us who he is and what he may be in the future. In the long-term, it is tantalizing to say the least.

What works very well toward enticing me to read this, beside the story, would be Sebastian Fiurama. In this, he is a beast of an artist, bringing in his A-game that makes every monster seems even more weird and ferocious, the action seems more intense and some of the emotions even bigger. There is a certain panel in which Abe lifts a big chunk of debris in which you can see the monster in him, yet you can also see his majesty and nobility. It is subtle, yet it shows just how many emotions Fiurama can convey in every panels, as the issue is full of panels just like this one in intensity and it provides us with a visual feast of high-caliber. There is a reason why there is very little dialogue here, as the script allows us to see him unleashed with monsters, Abe Sapien and a destroyed city and it is glorious to see.

Dave Stewart also does a nice job in complementing Fiurama with his color, providing us with a sober and somber color that only adds to the horrific proportions and appearances of the monsters. Such a contrast between the humans and the creatures is enhanced by his color work, as the palette he has chosen for the monstrous being is much different than those used for the regular folks and the backgrounds.

The Conclusion: While the story could have focused a little bit more on its main character in its presentation, the actual plot and the art are just out of this world. What this team has given us is a title that will no doubt stand up on its own and I cannot wait to see where this is going.

Grade: B+

Hugo Robberts Larivière