I must profusely thank the publicity department at Dark Horse for sending literary treats such as B.P.R.D. 1946 for us to review, as they make for a wonderful reading experience!
Imagine that like Stross’ The Laundry universe where Bob Howard, our very reluctant warrior against Really Nasty Beings from Elsewhere, becomes involved in a plot involving Nazis, secret societies, terrorists and those Really Nasty Beings from Elsewhere bent on destroying the Earth, Hellboy and his fellow Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense agents are not really all that interested in kicking the ass of beings with nasty powers and even nastier tempers, but they will if need be. The twist here is that Hellboy is not one of the characters in this series, as he left the Bureau after it tried to kill his friend and fellow agent Roger the Homunculus. So The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D. for short) is the organization charged with protecting America and the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural.
But this B.P.R.D graphic novel’s rather different as it is, as the title notes, set in 1946. In 1946 Berlin to be precise. Now keep in mind that the well-funded Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense with agents, technology, and so forth doesn’t exist! As the cover art for this trade edition suggests this is the story is focused on Trevor Bruttenholm. It is the story of how in the aftermath of the World War II, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, occult investigator and guardian of the still young if fast growing Hellboy, founded the B.P.R.D. to investigate what had become of the Nazi occult warfare projects and potential Soviet threats as they had shown a great interest in what the Nazis had been up to.
The gist of the story here is that while Bruttenholm tries to find out what the occult end of the Nazi war effort was up to he unravels the mystery of their greatest and most dangerous initiatives — Project Vampir Sturm. Now remember that the good Professor has no back-up so he must recruit a small band of war-weary Allied soldiers to help him out. If you’re a DC Universe fan, you’ll likely remember Sargent Rock and Easy Company — I don’t know if this small company of soldiers is a homage to Easy Company but it feels like it is.
Mignola, with the aid of artist Paul Azaceta and colorist Nick Filardi, has created a believable look at what post-war Berlin was like. This makes the occult elements plausible as something that might have happened in a universe where the occult is real. That this universe is a fantasy is a good thing, as it’s a scary world indeed — Project Vampir Sturm was Hitler’s last effort to plunge the world in darkness by creating an army of Vampires that would quite literally feast on humanity. Shortly before he committed suicide, Hitler ordered Project Vampir Sturm to be executed, but the General in charge refused, sparing the world of the last Nazi horror. Unfortunately the vampires themselves were left in cryogenic suspension until now…
But enough of the plot — I won’t spoil this fascinating story for you by going into any more detail. Suffice it to say that this is a splendid starting spot for anyone who has not yet read any of the eight B.P.R.D graphic novels now out there as it introduces the reader to Bruttenholm and his vision of what B.P.R.D will be someday. And it requires no knowledge of what happens later in the B.P.R.D series — a difference from, say, reading the Darkness Calls graphic novel in the Hellboy series where knowing what has happened is de rigueur.
Mignola is following up B.P.R.D. 1946 with, not at all surprisingly, B.P.R.D. 1947 — I, for one, am very interested in seeing how he develops the early years of Bruttenholm and his associates!
(Dark Horse, 2008)
