Comic book horror is thriving and there's no shortage of great storytelling in sight, especially with the announcement of a brand-new fictional universe from Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck. Starting this December, Dark Horse Comics will publish Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, the first release from Curious Objects, Mike Mignola’s new imprint at Dark Horse Comics that will "set the stage for more weird, wicked, and whimsical stories in the 'Lands Unknown' universe."
"In Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, the stories are fantastical, odd and charming — from a search for the beating heart of a long-dead sorcerer, to a pirate girl who makes a deal with the devil, to the titular boy who wins a grim prize in a game with undead interlopers." The anthology of folklore-inspired fantasy stories is written and illustrated by Mike Mignola, with colors by Dave Stewart, and letters from Clem Robins.
“It all started with an Italian Folktale about a boy who goes bowling with corpses,” said Mignola. “I fell in love with the story as soon as I discovered it but I wanted to play fast and loose when adapting it, so I created a whole new world. Not TOO different than our world a few centuries ago, but with a lot more gods and monsters. Once I created that world new characters and stories just started pouring out of it. There is a whole lot to play with here and I expect to be at it for a very long time.”
“For a few years now Mike has been emailing me designs and pages and ideas and maps and lists of place names for this world, and his enthusiasm for this project is indomitable and infectious,” said Stenbeck, who will be writing and drawing other, unannounced future Lands Unknown comics. “So often my reaction to these emails is ‘that's great Mike! But I still have two books to draw before I can even move on to this work!’ and then I find myself taking three days off to write a new story. Luckily Mike likes my stories. My first project is set far off in a distant corner of this world. That way I can't bump into anything Mike is doing and make a mess. Spoiler...it will have monsters in it.”
Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is a 112-page hardcover that will be released in bookstores on December 3rd and in comic shops on December 4th.