Review by Woodrow Phoenix
Mike Mignola has spoken many times about his love for the folklore of countries around the world, myths and legends of ancient peoples and their origins, the stranger, older and odder the better. His combination of the unusual structures and weird, funny details from these stories with his monster heroes and some muscular cosmic horror is the blend that makes his work so interesting. There are many moments in his Hellboy adventures where you’d like to read more of the arcane backstory to some dangerous predicament Hellboy finds himself in, but the action moves on. The appeal of Bowling with Corpses and Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown, then, is the opportunity to enjoy Mignola presenting tales of ancient magic and secret revelations without the need to resolve their mysteries with a big fight.
Because Bowling with Corpses is a kind of sampler introducing us to a new selection of places, characters and situations, the tales vary in length from two to twenty pages. The longer stories like ‘Bowling With Corpses’ and ‘Una and the Devil’ have the familiar rhythm of fairy tales where a protagonist is tested by minor and seemingly unrelated problems that turn out to be significant, character is revealed through small choices and punished or rewarded accordingly. The short interludes are often just mood pieces. All of them unroll in a pleasantly eccentric way, with highflown language and archaic behaviours that beguile and amuse. Many of these tales have the character of a shaggy dog story that could go on and on indefinitely, so it doesn’t matter where you stop. Whether the shadowy visuals hold your attention or start to merge into one another toward the end of the book is another question, without Hellboy to shout “BOOM” and punch something with his big stone fist.
At the back of this book there is a lovely selection of Mignola’s pencil sketches for elements of his new worlds; studies of landscapes, kitchen chimneys and fireplaces, staircases and blackmith’s forges. Also included are five unused, inked pages for the first version of ‘In the Beginning’ which was redrawn as a four-page strip. This section makes two things clear; firstly that Dave Stewart is a true partner with Mignola in creating the worlds of his imagining. The black and white inked pages look beautifully austere but are definitely incomplete without the colouring that brings a whole other level to the images. Secondly that Mignola is a storyteller more than he is a wonderful illustrator, and creating great pictures is not enough for him without a narrative to attach them to. Which is good news for anyone who enjoys this book as it means there will be more of these tales.
