5 out of 5

I was already on board with reading Hellboy and B.P.R.D. (…and Witchfinder, and LoJo, and Baltimore…) by the time the Russia arc came out, but I distinctly remember feeling like this was when the HoE era ‘clicked’ for me – that I wasn’t just reading in order to stay caught up – and that feeling is still present on my reread.  While I now know the future, and that things will eventually taper off into what I considered a wandering direction when Arcudi left, the chunk of stories under John, starting with this one, finally amped up the demon-roaming anarchy into a way that felt actually anarchic.  In Russia, it’s as much the brief sidesteps as it is the main story: touching base with Kate’s long-distance boyfirend; checking in on a comatose Abe Sapien; Kate’s and Johan’s meeting with Russia’s B.P.R.D. (the SSS) going sideways when Wikileaks articles on their pre-UN days are brought up… this all sells the general disarray, and how much of what’s going on is damage control as it is trying to get ahead of that damage.  There’s so much we don’t know, but instead of that feeling like plot-baiting by our creators, it’s an emotion we share with our leads.

And that’s just tone setting.  The bulk of Russia concerns a sudden zombie uprising in the titular land that the SSS has asked for B.P.R.D. to come check out.  The SSS’ psychic has fallen prey (i.e. dead but resurrected…) to something nefarious ‘neath the Earth, and a surprising reveal of the SSS head as Iosif (even if you don’t remember him, Arcudi and artist Tyler Crook make his presence impactful) ends up sending Kate into a spiral of distrust, while Johan is coerced into sympathizing with a fellow living-in-a-bubble fella, leading up to a tense and frightening assault on the underground threat.

Tyler Crook slays on this, and Dave Stewart’s colors feel more homey and relevant than they did in the last arc; the character moments hit emotional and humorous beats, and Crook’s limber linework is perfect for both large scale creeps and corridor-tight shootouts.

Even the final issue, which B.P.R.D.’s five part arcs have typically used as a wind-down setup of follow plot threads, remains effective, as the wind-down is both coda and setup.

All packed behind some striking Dave Johnson covers.  Truly a perfect package.