Daily Archives: 30 January 2010

The cartography of this issue is simple. It opens in this secret Nazi asylum, then they go to a bar, then they go to a house, then they go back to the asylum. However, a whole lot happens at the bar, even though it’s all in conversation (the army guys come to respect the Professor), a whole lot happens at the house (the series’s hook, Nazi vampires, is revealed) and then a lot happens on the way back to the asylum (the history of the Nazi vampires, the history of the “little girl” who runs the Russian investigation team).

It’s a full and rich experience and completely unlike not just other mainstream books, but it’s unlike almost every comic book. The plotting seems more based on television than comic books. It’s not an issue, it’s an episode.

Here’s where I, on my first read, decided it was a great comic.

CREDITS

Writers, Mike Mignola and Joshua Dysart; penciller, Paul Azaceta; inker, Peter Krause; colorist, Nick Filardi; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Rachel Edidin and Scott Allie; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

I’ve read this series before and mostly remember it (no, I don’t), but I’m shocked how little reaction there is from the Professor over his Russian counterpart, Varvara (who’s apparently a little girl).

It’s a strange scene, the most striking before the last one and the last one is a lead-in to a cliffhanger. Seeing as how 1946 is the only B.P.R.D. series I’ve read, it makes me wonder if this kind of strangeness is common in the franchise.

The issue’s incredibly solid–I love Azaceta; it’s really traditional too. It’s a first act, an introduction. The cliffhanger comes as a surprise even, since there’s so little action or hint at action until that point. Instead, the comic’s a lot of history. It really appeals to the historian in me, I suppose.

There’s also a particular way the writers deal with groups. It’s very three dimensional, very well done.

CREDITS

Writers, Mike Mignola and Joshua Dysart; penciller, Paul Azaceta; inker, Peter Krause; colorist, Nick Filardi; letterer, Clem Robins; editors, Rachel Edidin and Scott Allie; publisher, Dark Horse Comics.