Now we're getting somewhere. Gone are the warm up acts and the bit players, here Mike Mignola returns to the stage, directing the feature debut of his new star, Guy Davis, an apprentice worthy of the spotlight. I could sing their praises all day (though the lyrics might get redundant), but I've already covered that song.
So, with the diversions and false starts out of the way, here's a B.P.R.D. story worth discussing. "Plague of Frogs" sees our paranormal investigators (our paranormal paranormal investigators) following up on an attack inside a remote B.P.R.D. facility, where they pick up the trail of an enemy with links back to the very first Hellboy series, and the death of his adoptive father, Professor Broom. From the first scene, the plot absorbs the reader. An interaction between two unfamiliar characters, it draws you in not only with shocking turns and gore, but right from the interpersonal interactions that lead into them.
A typical horror story might start with generic, unrelated dialogue between two teenagers or a group of construction workers, some annoying or offensive conversation that would make the audience feel okay about them inevitably being horrifically slaughtered, an appetizer before the beast turns its attention toward our protagonists. Mignola's script tries a different tack, having a B.P.R.D. scientist attend to a surprise visit from an impressive but unfamiliar contemporary, working in a logical place for some exposition while exploring an interesting, if short-lived, relationship. I find it significant that the author bothered to give even such a fleeting interaction some human intrigue. Our temporary guide, Dr. Platt, has a name, a personality, a motivation. It sets a precedent that invites us to care about this world and its people, instead of only caring what happens next, next, next. It gets us invested. It favors drama over spectacle.
But there's plenty of spectacle, too. If you can't get excited about a golem fighting off a horde of frogmen while a fishman faces vengeance by the ghost of Rasputin, I don't think I can relate to you as a human being. If that's something that interests you, do yourself a favor and choose the version of that old trope as told by Mike Mignola and Guy Davis. All those other monster/fishman/wizard yarns may look flashy, but these guys know how to deliver in the execution. I'll leave it at that.