COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK – “B.P.R.D.: The Dead” #5 (March 2005)

'B.P.R.D.: The Dead' #5 (March 2005)

This week’s “Comic Book of the Week” is “B.P.R.D.: The Dead” #5, which was published by Dark Horse Comics in March 2005. This issue was the final installment in a five-issue miniseries that featured the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. The miniseries began in November 2004.

This issue’s creative team included writers Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, artist Guy Davis, colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Clem Robins. Jon Nortz did the German translations, and Raymond Leslie also contributed to the issue, which sold for $2.99 at newsstands. Davis was the cover artist.

This 28-page issue begins with BPRD agents Ben Daimio, Roger the Homunculus and Liz Sherman surrounded by a host of downed BPRD agents and facing some weird, flying, angelic, insect thing from another world. Daimio’s searching for a gun that will work but none of the many firearms lying around seem to be functioning. Although armed with some type of flaming spear, the creature isn’t attacking, so Daimio, Roger and Sherman discuss removing their unconscious colleague’s from the area.

No sooner do they begin to drag out their friends, the creature uses his fire spear to ignite pretty much the entire room, which appears to be some kind of basement laboratory. Roger grabs a couple of bodies and flees with Daimio and Sherman, who appears to be injured. They make for an elevator, but its doors won’t open. Like the guns, it’s not working for some reason. Disgusted, Daimio leaves Sherman and Roger at the elevator, along with the two unconscious BPRD agents, so that he can find something to fight the creature.

In the next scene, we see the arrival of BPRD agent Johann Kraus, who’s wearing some type of Ghostbuster-style backpack rigged to a gun-like device in his hands. He appears to be making his way to the elevator, so that he can get down to the basement to help his friends.

Back in the basement, Daimio is hiding and watching the creature as it uses the tip of its fire spear to carve an unusual looking symbol into what looks like a large slab of concrete. Daimio doesn’t know what the symbol means but he’s got a feeling it can’t be good.

Back at the elevator, Roger and Sherman are discussing the best way to kill the creature. Just then, the elevator doors open and out steps Kraus. In the other room, the creature knows something’s up as he seems to sense the presence of Kraus. In the next instant, the creature fires a bolt of fire at Kraus, who along with Roger and Sherman, manages to jump out of the way. The two unfortunate, unconscious BPRD agents by the elevator, however, are totally fried.

Elsewhere in the basement, Daimio continues to search for a usable weapon. Instead, while looking in a box on the floor, he finds something very unexpected. We don’t see what it is until the next page. At the same time, Roger and Sherman are trying to figure out what to do as Kraus plugs into a large electrical outlet.

On the next page, we see that Daimio has found a specimen jar that contains a dead creature that looks some weird mix of a human, a monkey and a rat. As Daimio is inspecting this weird animal, Roger, armed with a metal rod, is climbing on top of a piece of equipment that allows him to jump off and hit the creature in the side of the head. The creature appears stunned by the blow but only for a moment.

Kraus is now at a keyboard and appears to be preparing for some type of final assault on the creature. Kraus is talking to himself in German, and he draws the creature’s attention away from Roger and Sherman, who watch as the creature flies away from them and towards Kraus. Whatever Kraus has been up to seems to work because in the next panel the creature starts to hiss and smoke before finally exploding into nothing.

Daimio (who’s still holding the specimen jar), Sherman and Roger survive the horrendous explosion only thanks to cover provided by the basement’s large computer consoles. The sprinklers come on as Roger and Sherman begin trying to figure out what happened. A moment later, they watch as Dr. Gunter Eis, a former Nazi and American scientist, comes stumbling out of the wreckage, naked and burned to a crisp. He makes his way toward a knocked out Kraus before he collapses in the wreckage.

Roger and Sherman begin to check on Kraus and watch as what looks like five ghosts in lab coats float up out of Kraus’ body. They all float away, and Kraus sits up and explains that they were dead German engineers and physicists who worked at the facility before Eis killed them. Kraus learned from these spirits that Eis had become a living gateway into another dimension, which had allowed the creature to come into our world.

Eis is still alive on the floor, begging for help. Daimio puts him out of his misery with three pistol shots to the head, which also assures that the “living gateway” to the other dimension is closed for good.

The issue ends with a scene that takes place in a ruined, Victorian house in Littleport, Rhode Island. Abe Sapien’s having a daydream in which he’s still human and his wife, Edith, is still alive. Abe appears to awake on the couch in his book-lined study, where he’s being cared for by his wife. He arises to notice a mirror that’s been covered with a gray cloth.

His wife begs him not to remove the covering, but he does anyway and sees the truth – that he’s Abe Sapien, the house is in ruins and his wife is nothing but a rotten, spirit-animated skeleton. When Edith looks in the mirror, she sees the truth as well and disappears with a ghostly “goodbye.” The story ends with Sapien standing alone, looking out at the sea from a window of the dilapidated house.

This comic (unless I’ve sold it) and others are available for purchase through Peacock’s Books on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in buying it, search for it there by title, issue number and date of publication.