Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense
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| Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense | |
|---|---|
 B.P.R.D. by Guy Davis |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| First appearance | Hellboy: Seed of Destruction (1993) |
| Created by | Mike Mignola |
| In-story information | |
| Type of organization | Government intelligence agency |
| Base(s) | Research facility in Colorado (film version) New Jersey |
| Leader(s) | Director Tom Manning Professor Trevor Bruttenholm |
| Agent(s) | Johann Kraus Liz Sherman Abe Sapien Kate Corrigan Captain Ben Daimio Hellboy Roger the Homunculus |
The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (the B.P.R.D. or BPRD) is a fictional organization in the comic book work of Mike Mignola, charged with protecting America and the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural. It maintains the services of several supernatural persons, including Hellboy. The B.P.R.D. originally appeared in the Hellboy comics but has also been featured in many stories under the B.P.R.D. title.
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[edit] Fictional history
The BPRD was founded in late 1944 by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm to combat various occult threats uncovered in operations against Nazi Germany. It initially had strong links to the USAAF and was based at a military airbase in New Mexico, but later relocated to a custom built facility in Fairfield, Connecticut. It maintains strong links to various branches of the United States Armed Forces to this day. It is a private organization that receives funding from several major governments (mostly the United States and United Kingdom, although other countries like Canada, Japan, France, and Italy have been mentioned).
Professor Bruttenholm served as director until the late 1950s when he stepped down to return to field work. The current Director is Dr. Thomas Manning. Under Manning a couple of "advanced skills agents" have been added. The first of which is Elizabeth "Liz" Sherman who reluctantly uses her ability of "fire starting". Liz was born in Kansas City, Kansas, April 15, 1962. Her pyrotechnic ability first manifested at age eleven when she accidentally blew up an entire city block. The incident killed 32 people including three firemen her mother, father, and, Will, her brother. She became a ward of the Bureau in 1974. Abraham "Abe" Sapien was found in a long forgotten chamber while plumbers were working in the basement of St. Trinidad Hospital. There was a piece of paper in his chamber that read "Icthyo Sapien, April 14, 1865." His name derived from two things: Sapien from Icthyo "Sapien" , and Abe because April 14, was the day Abraham Lincoln died, thus the name Abraham Sapien. Abe Has found out many facts about his past life as Everett Langdon Caul. Caul was a wealthy ship captain from Virgina. In 1853, Caul gave up his life at sea and settled down in Little Poet, Rhode Island. He built a mansion and married a local girl, Edith Howard, in 1861. While living in Rhode Island he entertained a curious foreign gentlemen. He went missing on February 22, 1865 (which is when his transformation to Abraham Sapien occurred). Edith went insane and threw herself off a cliff. Abe has since then met his dead wife and the curious foreign gentlemen who were living in Victorian living devices; they plotted to make new bodies for themselves and absorb all of the souls of the people who live in the Caribbean.
The BPRD is a well known and respected organization that has excellent relations with most international governments and United States government agencies, with the exceptions of China and the CIA. The Bureau was the United States' only defense against an onslaught of frog creatures (originally featured in Seed of Destruction). Though the 'frogs' originally began operating on the East Coast, they spread west on both sides of the US-Canadian border. To cut costs, the Bureau moved from its traditional headquarters in Connecticut to an abandoned research facility in Colorado. This facility was last used to house Nazi scientists who defected to America after World War II. As such, the facility contains vast amounts of secret files that the BPRD has yet to explore.
The frog monster invasion reached its peak during the events of The Black Flame. A Nazi madman called the Black Flame insinuated himself as the leader of the frogs, and together they raised Katha-Hem (one of the Ogdru Hem, the 369 spawn of the Ogdru Jahad) from the ground. The mountainous beast ran rampant across the American heartland until Liz Sherman used an ancient artifact to amplify her pyrokinetic powers a thousandfold. After she burned Katha-Hem alive, the frog monsters dragged the Black Flame into a vast pit and the invasion came to an end.
[edit] Agents
[edit] 'Enhanced talents' agents
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[edit] Human agents
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[edit] Publication history
[edit] Comics
The agency was created for the Hellboy comic book series by Mike Mignola and it appears in most of the issues of that series, including the first two mini-series Seed of Destruction (4 issues, March-June 1994), Wake the Devil (5 issues, June-October 1996).
[edit] Hollow Earth
The first B.P.R.D. mini-series was written by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski with art by Ryan Sook and Curtis Arnold.[1]
The story features Dr. Kate Corrigan, Abe Sapien and Roger the Homunculus on a mission to rescue Liz Sherman and features the first appearance of Johann Kraus and flashbacks of Hellboy.[2]
[edit] Collected editions
Most of the B.P.R.D. comics have been collected by Dark Horse as trade paperbacks:
- B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth and Other Stories (by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, et al., ISBN 1-56971-862-8)
- B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice and Other Stories (by Brian Augustyn, Geoff Johns, Mike Mignola, et al., ISBN 1-59307-132-9)
- B.P.R.D.: A Plague of Frogs (collects A Plague of Frogs 5-issue limited series, ISBN 1-59307-288-0)
- B.P.R.D.: The Dead (collects The Dead 5-issue limited series, 2005, ISBN 1-59307-380-1)
- B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame (collects The Black Flame 6-issue limited series, July 2006, ISBN 1-59307-550-2)
- B.P.R.D.: The Universal Machine (collects The Universal Machine 5-issue limited series, January 2007, ISBN 1-59307-710-6)
- B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls (collects Garden of Souls 5-issue limited series, January 2008, ISBN 1-59307-882-X)
- B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground (collects Killing Ground 5-issue limited series, May 2008, ISBN 1-59307-956-7)
- B.P.R.D.: 1946 (collects 1946 5-issue limited series, November 2008, ISBN 1-59582-191-0)
- B.P.R.D.: The Warning (collects The Warning 5-issue limited series, April 29, 2009, ISBN 1-59582-304-2)
- B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess (collects The Black Goddess 5 issue limited series, January 2009)
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Films
The Bureau appeared in the 2004 film Hellboy and its 2008 sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army, both directed by Guillermo del Toro, where it differs from the agency in the comics.
- In the movie it is a secret United States Government agency, created by Roosevelt to combat Hitler's growing mastery of the occult, and strongly affiliated with the FBI.
- Several personnel are federal agents, including Manning and new character Special Agent John Myers whilst the Director is still Professor Bruttenholm, who refers to the bureau as "the ones who bump back", in reference to "things that go bump in the night".
- The BPRD uses the motto "In Absentia Luci, Tenebrae Vincunt", Latin for "In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails"--though it should be noted that this motto is incorrect—Luci should read "Lucis" for the desired meaning.
- In Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the Bureau's existence is confirmed when Hellboy reveals himself to the media.
- The film reveals there is a German branch where Johann was stationed until he became the new director of the US branch.
- It is hinted that the base may be related to the legendary military base Area 51: the number 51 appears on the walls.
[edit] Television
The B.P.R.D. Declassified was a TV special that aired on the FX Network in 2004.
[edit] Roleplaying game
The B.P.R.D. appeared in the Hellboy Sourcebook and Role Playing Game.
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
- In the film Blade II, Blade's young assistant, Scud, wears a shirt bearing the B.P.R.D. logo. Guillermo del Toro, who directed Blade II, is a fan of Hellboy, and later he directed the movie adaptation and its sequel.
- In the Gorillaz music video Dirty Harry, a B.P.R.D. bumper sticker is displayed on 2D's military helmet.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "B.P.R.D. Vol. 1: Hollow Earth and Other Stories TPB". Dark Horse Comics. http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/12-206/B-P-R-D-Vol-1-Hollow-Earth-and-Other-Stories-TPB. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
- ^ Mignola, Mike (2006). B.P.R.D. Vol. 1: Hollow Earth and Other Stories. Dark Horse Comics.
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