Welcome to a Mignolaversity Exclusive Forecast, looking at the Mignola titles on their way in February 2016. Maybe you’ll get done costume ideas for Halloween, tomorrow.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth #140

The Exorcist (Part 1)

Written by Mike Mignola and Cameron Stewart

Illustrated by Cameron Stewart

Colored by Dave Stewart

Cover by Duncan Fegredo

Variant Cover by David Mack On sale February 17, 2016 Cameron Stewart (Fight Club 2, Batgirl) returns to the character he developed in BPRD Hell on Earth: Exorcism. Last time we saw Ashley Strode she’d learned only the most basic aspects of exorcism, as the world started to fall apart around her. Now that Hell’s closed its doors and civilization has ground to a halt in the face of the apocalypse, Ashley’s using what she knows to delay the end. A crumbling house in a small town holds bizarre secrets that make Ashley wish she’d stayed with the Liz and Kate—because it might take the whole BPRD to handle this.

Mark: We can finally talk about this! “Exorcism” is one of my favourite “B.P.R.D.” stories. It started Ashley Strode’s journey towards becoming an exorcist. She was very unsure of herself and rather naïve to begin with, so I want to see how she’s changed since then. Plus, now that Liz is back at the Bureau, I want to see these two interact …

Brian: Now this… this is the shit right here. “Exorcism” is one of the best “B.P.R.D.” series ever, and Cameron Stewart is the rare Mignola co-writer who I don’t mind seeing instead of ‘John Arcudi’ next to Mike’s name. Ashley Strode, in just a few pages, became one of the more complete and intriguing Bureau agents—I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.

Mike: It’s exciting to see Stewart back on the book and returning to Strode, but knowing that its conclusion will lead right into Arcudi’s sprint towards the end of his run bums me out a little. But that aside, I like that, in a small way, the series is flirting with side stories again. I don’t think I’d mind a return to the series of mini-series format post-HoE.

Joe Golem, Occult Detective #4

The Sunken Dead (Part 1)

Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

Illustrated by Patric Reynolds

Colored by Dave Stewart

Cover by Dave Palumbo On sale February 3, 2016 A search for the source of a signal picked up on Simon Church’s paranormal detector leads Church and Joe Golem to a mansion in submerged Greenwich Village, where a millionaire is going to supernatural lengths to recover what the Drowning City has taken from him.

Mark: So “Joe Golem” kicks off next week, and there’s already another story on the way. I’m looking forward to this series. I liked the original novel, “Joe Golem and the Drowning City”, but there was also a short story, “Joe Golem and the Copper Girl”, that I actually liked more. I’ve read the first issue already, and it definitely feels like that short story. Plus I love these covers by Dave Palumbo!

Brian: I have no real relationship with this character—I didn’t read the novel, but I am as big of a Patric Reynolds fan as you can find, so I am all over this.

Mark: The comic is actually set a decade before the novel. It’s a great place to start.

Mike: I second the affection for these Palumbo covers. They’re clearly intended to feel like pulp covers, which sets the perfect tone for these types of stories. Plus, it’s good to see Reynolds settling in for an extended stay on a book.

Abe Sapien #31

The Black School

Written by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie

Illustrated by Sebastián Fiumara

Colored by Dave Stewart

Cover by Max Fiumara

Variant Cover by David Mack On sale February 10, 2016 Our villain reaches his goal—the mythic Black School, where his training began over two hundred years ago. Here he’ll find the answers Abe Sapien himself has sought for years. Strobl may also find the shortcut he needs to restore his place at the end of the world: tyrannizing mankind at the right hand of the devil.

Continued below

Mark: As always, Max Fiumara’s cover is amazing. Those creatures have shown up before in “B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Transformation of J.H. O’Donnell”. And do I even need to point out what a big deal that glowing egg is? The fly is likely a link to the House of the Fly in Hell (in which Hellboy’s father, Azzael, was a Prince).

It’ll be nice to see what Gustav Strobl is up to at last.

Brian: To be perfectly honest, I haven’t been keeping up with “Abe Sapien” too much lately, which is something I would have never expected when the series launched. It has been very meandering, but with beautiful art, and I’m due for a catch up. That said, it isn’t a good sign when it looks, via the solicit, that almost nothing has changed in the year plus since I’ve stopped reading the book.

Mark: I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’m enjoying the series more now than I ever have.

Mike: For sure. It seemed like forever, but the book finally feels like it’s gotten to where it was going. I had the same thought about the fly, Mark, especially set against the egg. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like it’s supposed to remind us of that ring Hellboy’s old man left behind for him, which is exciting. And perhaps even more exciting is the little teaser about Strobl.

Mark: I’d also like to point out that one of Strobl’s patrons in Hell is Amdusias, from the House of the Fly, the demon that dragged Sir Edward Grey into Hell, made him immortal, and tore him to bits. So, you know, there’s lots of stuff in play here.

Mike: ::heavy breathing::

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 #3

Beyond the Fences (Part 1)

Written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson

Illustrated by Paolo and Joe Rivera

Colored by Dave Stewart

Cover by Paolo Rivera

Variant Cover by David Mack On sale February 24, 2016 A mysterious creature hunts the children of an idyllic suburban town, and the BPRD get more than they bargained for when their investigation begins to seem strangely familiar.

Mark: The final arc of “1953”. This should be really interesting, because Hellboy’s a celebrity now (after Archie’s picture from “1952” went public). I imagine he’ll be quite popular with the kids.

Brian: I’m really interested to see how the Mignola/Roberson pairing goes. Plus, I’ve been loving these flashback stories, and ’53 is a super interesting year in Hellboy’s history. Overall, this is a pretty interesting month for Mignola books—I’m excited to see what these books have in store.

Mike: That cover! It’s nice to see Rivera taking the painterly approach again, and he’s really crushed it with this one.

I really dig the idea of this series, and it’s been good so far, but I can’t say that I love it. I’m curious to see what Robinson’s contribution is and how he approaches things. Will he try to mimic Mike or John? Try and bring in something completely different? Whatever he decides, it’s got to be a hell of a lot of pressure.

Mark: I like “1952”, but I love “1953” #1 and #2. I’ve got high hopes. February looks like it’s going to be a great month.