Mike Mignola has been telling fantasy and horror stories in comics for more than 40 years now. In 1993 he launched Hellboy, which quickly spawned an entire entire universe of supporting characters and comics. His latest project, however, is something quite different – though still unmistakably Mignola.
Lands Unknown is a new shared universe created by Mignola and Our Bones Dust creator Ben Stenbeck that will tell stories heavily inspired by folklore – and the first instalment is in comic shops today! Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is a collection of short stories inspired by folklore. The 114-page anthology (presented as a handsome hardcover book from Dark Horse) is written and drawn by Mignola, with coloring from Dave Stewart and lettering by Clem Robins – and it's as visually stunning and eerily evocative as you would expect from that creative team.
Newsarama: Mike, you've said that the starting point for Bowling With Corpses was an old Italian folk tale. What was it about that story that spoke to you and how did you make it your own?
Mike Mignola: How can you NOT love a story where a kid runs into some walking corpses who invite him to go bowling? It's just everything I love about old folktales. It's been years now since I read the original story but the biggest change I remember making was the ending – what I did with the mayor's daughter [you'll have to read the book to find out what Mike is referring to here! - Ed.].
Yeb is the protagonist in the opening story, and almost the key to the Lands Unknown universe. What can you tell our readers about him and the world he inhabits?
Yeb is very much the classic folklore character – the simple guy who goes out to make his fortune and sort of stumbles into an adventure. I didn't want to over complicate his story, tried to keep the simple charm of it, but did want to at least establish the FEEL of the world. The beauty of doing the story as the lead in a collection was that I was able to build on the world we introduce in 'Bowling.' The entire collection is very much just a teaser for the world. I just wanted to establish a few new characters, bring them to life and see where they go from here.
Which of your tales from the new comic is your favorite, and why?
Hard for me to say as I look at the book so much as a BOOK, rather than individual stories. I love the simple charm of 'Bowling' and want to do more with Yeb – I love the pirate girl turned vampire, Una, and have big plans for her. And I LOVE the whole underground world of the Kobolds and Oblins whatever the hell else is down there. Overall It was just so much fun to create these characters and frustrating as I've just hinted at this whole world that they inhabit.
This comic is the start of the new shared Lands Unknown universe created with Ben Stenbeck. What do you admire about Ben's work?
Ben is great – great artist, great imagination and enthusiasm. He is fairly new to writing but clearly just needs a place to cut loose and run wild. We have worked together for so long now – he was just the perfect guy to bounce ideas back and forth with. It's such a big new world – I'm so excited to have somebody like Ben to play in it with.
How does your collaboration on this project work?
As Ben has been busy with other things, so far I've done most of the world building – but all my actual stories have focused on a couple locations. When Ben jumps in he will be concentrating on a location that I've done almost nothing with. Everything I've come up with so far I've run past Ben for his approval and as we go forward the idea will be for us to play with the world and expand on it without stepping on each other's toes. There is a lot of world – more than enough room for the two of us.
What is the core idea of the Lands Unknown universe? What sort of stories will you be telling there?
My original idea was a place where I could do very loose adaptations of folktales from all over the world – and I would still like to do some of that but so far, other than Bowling, all the stories have been original – but the fantasy world of old folktales and legends is still the main inspiration – to take inspiration from old stories and make them our own – and use them to create a whole world.
Folklore and mythology is at the heart of so much of your work. What is it about this sort of storytelling that still appeals to you?
Hard question to answer – or an easy one – basically EVERYTHING about those old stories inspires me – the strange logic of the stories – the magic and the fantastic creatures. A weird combination of horror and humor which is just my favorite sort of thing. I feel very at home in this kind of world and feel like THIS is the perfect place for me. 40 years of doing comics was preparation for creating this world.
Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is out now from Dark Horse Comics.
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