Posted in: Comics, Dark Horse Comics | Tagged: B.P.R.D., dark horse comics, hellboy, mike mignola

Mignola Says Goodbye (and Thanks) After 15 years of B.P.R.D. (SPOILERS)

B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know #15 hit comics retailers today, marking the very last issue of the series, and in a way, the entire Hellboy universe.

Mike Mignola took to Twitter to commemorate the occasion, thanking the many writers, illustrators, colorists, letterers, and editors that have contributed to the series over the last 15 years:

That's a whole lot of people! Ultimately, B.P.R.D: The Devil You Know wraps up the entire history of the Hellboy Universe, with the forces of the Ogdru Jahad certain to overrun the earth:

The Osiris Club has harnessed a dragon to destroy the Ogdru Jahad, planning to evolve into gods afterward. Hellboy will have none of that- ultimately taking possession of their instrument of ascension, and ultimately bringing about the end of the world.

Sure, humanity lives on, in caves scattered about the earth. And then some frog people show up to worship the body of Liz Sherman, but that's beside the point.

Hellboy, and the B.P.R.D., have had their last battle. The story has been told, the myth has run its course.

Mike Mignola takes a moment at the end of The Devil You Know to dwell on this landmark in the franchise:

Over the years I have rolled out any number of hints and prophecies that this was coming. I actually stepped in to draw two pages of B.P.R.D.: King of Fear to tease this ending. So, yes, I've known where things were headed pretty much from the beginning but . . . I guess I just never thought we'd get here. It's been twenty- ve years now since the beginning of Hellboy, since the creation of this world—who could have guessed we'd get that much time to play this thing out? But we did. I have to thank all the writers, artists, letterers, colorists, and editors who have, for years, been making this thing a reality—so many of them that they get their own page. There really are no words to express my gratitude for all their hard work. My hand might have been the one guiding things, but they were the ones doing the real work. I might have created this world but I never could have made it live and breathe as it has all by myself.

Does that mean the absolute end of stories from the Hellboy universe? I wouldn't hold my breath for anything soon, but Mignola says there are more stories to tell:

And now I realize this is starting to sound like a funeral. It's really not. Sure the earth just
burned, started over, and is now frog-world, but there are a zillion stories still to tell about
the good old days, when humans were still running (or thought they were running) the
place. And even a couple things we are thinking of that continue to take us into the future.
It might be a little late in the game to say we are just getting started, but at least I can
assure you we are far from finished.

That's a pretty impressive body of work to look back on, and we'll let you know as soon as we hear about any new adventures in the Hellboy universe!

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