B.P.R.D. The Plague of Frogs # 1 2004 NM

B.P.R.D. The Plague of Frogs # 1, released on March 3, 2004, is the debut issue of the first ongoing B.P.R.D. miniseries. It follows the team's first major mission after Hellboy's departure and sets in motion the "war on frogs" saga that defined much of the series' early run. 

In 2001, Hellboy quit the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.), leaving Abe Sapien to lead a bizarre roster of special agents, including Liz Sherman, Roger the Homunculus, and Johann Krauss. The team is called to investigate a seemingly mundane incident in a maximum-security laboratory in New Jersey. 

• The Incident: A giant fungus in containment at the lab is shattered by gunfire. Surveillance footage shows the fungus infecting the body of a professor, who then shoots a researcher and escapes as the power is cut.
• The Investigation: Abe, Liz, Roger, and Johann investigate the facility. They find the doctor's body, which has an unusual mark on its forehead.
• Return of the Frog Monsters: The team is attacked by security guards who have transformed into "frog monsters," creatures first encountered by Hellboy in the Seed of Destruction series a decade prior. Abe kills one of the monsters, while Roger manages to kill another that rises from the doctor's body.
• The Stakes: The issue establishes that the B.P.R.D. is facing a growing menace connected to the entity Sadu-Hem, and the team must deal with the threat on their own without Hellboy's help. 
• Writer: Mike Mignola.
• Artist: Guy Davis.
• Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.