Good collection of stories following BPRD agents without Hellboy in sight (at this time Hellboy already left the BPRD).

First (and largest) story is Hollow Earth - saving Liz from King of Fear that dwells in the pits of the earth seems to be a thing to keep BPRD team together. In this story we follow Abe Sapien and Roger together with Johann (new team member) as they enter the mysterious monastery (gateway to Agartha?) and finally go into the earth to save their comrade Liz.

Everything that transpires around them is only explained to the reader but team remains in dark - I liked that way of story telling a lot.

Other stories are single chapter stories but nevertheless also very good (I enjoyed one where BPRD tries to "sell" Abe instead of Hellboy (already left the team) to the client that needs help with weird occurrences on their transport ships - that conversation was hilarious).

Art is excellent, every artist left his own mark so to say but nevertheless collection was very balanced art-wise.

Recommended to all Hellboy-universe fans out there. ( )

Pretty darn good fun. ( )

More of a mixed bag than past collections - the title story and the Lobster Johnson story are very good, but the rest is just kind of average Mignola-verse fare. There's definitely a lot of potential here, though. ( )

I was a bit worried about the art of this book before I read it. I'd gotten so use to Mignola's art for these characters I wasn't sure I'd be open to other artist's interpretation. But for the most part I didn't find it too jarring.

Like the art, some stories in here were better than others. Hollow Earth was what earned this book it's stars, although I'm hoping we get more from Liz Sherman soon, other than brooding angst and comatose near death experiences.

I wasn't a fan of Lobster Johnson's story The Killer in My Skull which I found cheesy as hell. Of all the Hellboy characters that go on to have a spin off series, Lobster Johnson is the one I'm least enthused about.

Abe Sapien versus Science gave us some nice character moments, but felt like a rehash of what had come before, and Abe Sapien: Drums of the Dead was a nice little story, although it didn't really add anything of substance to the world. ( )

Good first volume, like the early Hellboy stuff it's a combination of backups, one-shots and the like. So some of them are better than others. Also, its continuity ties into the Hellboy story arc immediately preceding it, which I am not sure if I have actually read. ( )