Review - B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror #2

There's some strange goings on in Pickens County. There's a horror and it's remains to be seen whether that horror is the fog, recently appeared mushrooms or vampires. Or maybe all three. That would be quite the horror indeed.

Published by Dark Horse Comics, B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror #2 completes the brief foray into Pickens County. It's written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie, illustrated by Jason Latour, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Clem Robins.

Agent Vaughn continues to recover from his strange encounter in the cave. He's learning much about the vampire Cole, the fog and the area in general from Dr. Thomas. Of course, none of it is really anything he wants to know. Agent Vaughn knows something is going on but can't quite figure it out.

The initial expository quickly unravels and becomes sheer chaos. Agent Vaughn's partner Agent Peters succumbs to her infection, the vampires get a little frisky and everything just flat out falls apart.

Two issue series are rare and this issue is probably a reason why that's the case. The story by Mignola and Allie isn't bad, but it just feels hurried. The first issue sort of took it's time to get to a certain point. The second issue was almost a sprint to completion for the sake of completion.

It's definitely an action-packed issue that offers some resolution. The resolution isn't exactly the most satisfying though, which is a little unfortunate. It's possible (and likely) that Agent Vaughn will no doubt rely on this experience to survive future B.P.R.D. missions and maybe will become a recurring character in that universe.

The art maintains the gritty, depressed feel. Latour and Stewart successfully manage to immerse the reader in the world full of fog and vampires through the cutting illustrations and darker color palette. There were one or two panels where it was a little difficult to discern what was happening, but overall the art matched the story well.

The final issue of the brief series is a rushed conclusion to what seemed to be setting up for more. It's not a bad two issues; rather, the story just feels slightly incomplete. The second issue is worth checking out to get closure for Agent Vaughn's latest mission.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror #2 is available in stores now. Interiors are below.






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