TylerCrook

We didn't realize when we set out to list our favorite comic books of 2012 that it had been such a fun year to be a fan of the medium that we all love so much. The last twelve months offered readers a wide variety of work ranging from the most crowd-pleasing superhero epics to the most idiosyncratic of indies; the return of much missed mangaka and the emergence of exciting new talent; a new crowd-

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi and drawn by Guy Davis, Tyler Crook and a number of similarly excellent artists, B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth follows the adventures of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, a variously freakish team of supernatural investigators on a mission to protect the world from infernal forces of every kind...

For my money, Mike Mignola's BPRD is one of the most consistent comics on the stands. In the past, writer John Arcudi and artist Guy Davis formed the backbone of the creative team for the paranormal investigator series and created some of the best adventure comics of the past few years...

On sale this week is Petrograd, an Oni Press graphic novel that's been long anticipated by those of us who've been following its production. Written by Philip Gelatt with artwork by Tyler Crook, the 250-page book depicts the famously difficult assassination of Gregorii Rasputin from a particularly creative angle: what if the mad monk's death was orchestrated by British spies...

Dark Horse decided to rock a few B.P.R.D. fans' worlds last week when they announced that Tyler Crook would be replacing Guy Davis as the go-to artist on its Hellboy spinoffs. Though you certainly won't find yourself mistaking him for Davis, a few sniffs around Crook's blog and website may reveal some strong hints of inspiration from his predecessor, as well as similarities to Jeff Lemire and Fabi

In what's certainly the most traumatic creative team shakeup we've seen in recent memory, Guy Davis and Dark Horse Comics announced over the weekend that the artist will leave his longtime and hugely acclaimed gig at B.P.R.D. The Hellboy spinoff, which is published as an ongoing series of miniseries, has been illustrated by Davis since 2004, and his superlative work has been instrumental in making