A review by mrswhiteinthelibrary
B.P.R.D., Vol. 1: Hollow Earth and Other Stories by Mike Mignola

3.0

So the idea is simple: Hellboy left a bunch of interesting characters behind and other writers, with good reason, wanted to explore how they were faring without him. This is a really fun addition to the series and greater mythology of Hellboy's world. This is an anthology volume filled with folklore-based mysteries and mayhem of varying quality. The title piece is probably the best offering in this anthology, with a fun adventure that also expounds on the subtle but very present romantic tension between Hellboy's former sidekicks Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman as well as introducing the fascinatingly... ectoplasmic... character, Johann Krauss and expanding the personality of Roger the homunculus, who was central to a handful of Hellboy stories before dropping out of the title (with the rest of the BPRD), but never fully developed. Another interesting addition to this collection is that it presents a fun flashback story, "The Killer in my Skull" introducing the active days of pulp vigilante Lobster Johnson, which alone is worth the price of admission as he is, admittedly, one of the coolest characters Mignola created. The artwork, as the writing, varies, notable in the last piece, "Drums of the Dead" with it's harsh line work and color, while the title piece "Hollow Earth" harkens to Mignola's own use of shadow and minimalism.
While Mignola himself is not present in these pages, his influence is clearly obvious, and each offering here is respectful to his world and a must-read for fans of his work.