Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible Volume 1 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Scott Allie, art by Sebastián Fiumara and Max Fiumara

Dark Horse Comics, 2022

ISBN-13: 9781506733784

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, Comixology. (  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Abe, a humanoid amphibious man and member of the B.P.R.D, after awakening from a coma and mutated, leaves the B.P.R.D. to search for his connection to the mutated monsters threatening to wipe out humanity. He just doesn’t know where to look, let alone if he is even asking the right questions.

Necromancer Gustav Strobl searches for his own answers when his deal with the Devil ends up falling apart after Hell collapsed in Hellboy in Hell. He is convinced that Abe has the answers to making a contract with the masters of the impending apocalypse.

In the first chapter, Abe finds himself in a small town hiding in a church for sanctuary, after fleeing an ordeal in a railway car. The priest is surprisingly welcoming, but Abe’s presence becomes known after a contentious sermon. The priest and a number of the congregants are among those who have mutated. The priest is dragged out for a lynching, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.

The B.P.R.D are in close range to help Abe, but they do not forget their mission to bring him back to headquarters.

In chapter 2, “The New Race of Man,” Agent Vaughn, killed by the creature the priest became in the previous chapter,  has been somewhat resurrected at the hands of necromancer Gustav Strobl. Abe flees to the Salton Sea and meets Judy, Barry, and Gene camping near giant eggs laid by enormous monsters. Judy and Gene, believing a newly hatched creature is the key to humankind’s next step in evolution, are met with frustration from Barry, and he threatens and injures Abe in the process.

The next day, Barry is found dead on the beach. Abe offers to investigate. As he digs deeper, he discovers what happened to the creature that emerged out of one of the giant eggs on the beach, as well as the truth behind Barry’s death. Meanwhile, Vaughn tells all he knows to Strobl about Abe and is offered a choice: to remain a traveling companion and be restored to full life, or be left as he was before Strobl found him.  

Abe makes it to Arizona in chapter 3, “The Shape of Things to Come,” and befriends a Mexican family along the way. He wonders why they aren’t afraid of him. Elena tells him the monsters they are used to coming across are all too human. Elena tires of being teased by those around her after telling Abe of her father being convinced he is a shapeshifter and fleeing to the desert. A mysterious goat saves them from being murdered at the hands of a white trigger-happy militia member.

In chapter 4, “To the Last Man,” Abe reports a car accident to the local police chief, J.J., who invites him to take part in the investigation of pustules found on the corpses of Sutton Ranch’s horses  that may cause more mutations if they aren’t taken care of. Zombie-like creatures are terrorizing the small town.

J.J. questions the recent squatters, and acts as though Suzy Alexander and Abe are putting too much pressure on him about further investigating them. He doesn’t know how right their instincts are. Strobl finds an old “friend” has returned.

Chapter 5, “The Garden (I),” is told from two angles, one from the Man who saved a Woman and another from the terrorized Woman being held captive by the Man. He stands guard on the roof, and shoots when he sees Abe coming. There is an interesting intertwining of the tales of the two people, previously unknown to each other, and Abe coming to the rescue. The last panel of the comic is simply an olive branch, which is a lovely touch.

After saving the Woman, Grace, from her imprisonment in the crooked house, Abe welcomes her as a traveling partner in chapter 6, “The Healer.” They meet up with a couple whose son is succumbing to the effects of mutation. The find a faith healer who says he has been surviving on the water from a creek and clay and reveals an old Jesus statue, who tells Abe he cannot be healed.

In chapter 7, “Visions, Dreams, and Fishin’,” Grace and Abe come upon an old woman in their travels. They find a place to camp, Abe dives for fish. He meets up with that old woman again to find something he wasn’t expecting, her own mutation. Abe and Grace come to some uncomfortable conclusions after dreaming their own nightmares.

In chapter 8, “Sacred Place,” Strobl continues his search for answers about the fish man and woman who creates fire. Abe and Grace travel to Rosario, TX, where Abe was shot. Reunited with Judy and Gene, they find B.P.R.D agents to take him home.

This volume includes a sketchbook of character designs, covers, and storyboards with notes by Sebastián Fiumara and Max Fiumara, and collects Abe Sapien paperback volumes 3-5.

The opening image of Abe crouched in a confessional is reminiscent of one of Bernie Wrightson’s illustrations of Frankenstein’s creature hiding in a shed. It really sets the tone for the entire book. Abe feels lost in his own skin, especially when he is confronted with those who see him as a monster. Reading Abe’s storyline is much different from Hellboy’s, since Abe is more subdued and just a different personality. The artwork provided by Sebastián Fiumara and Max Fiumara is well executed, especially regarding high tension and action panels. I recommend this for fans of the Mignola universe, not just Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Abe is front and center, and his journey may not suit everyone’s storytelling tastes. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker