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MIKE MIGNOLA: I read so much fantasy back in the day (’70s and ’80s) that I guess it was only a matter of time before I created my own fantasy world — pure fantasy — rather than inserting fantasy into the \u201creal\u201d world as I do with Hellboy.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
How did folklore inspire these stories?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u00a0<\/b> I\u2019ve always wanted to adapt folktales — I worked several into Hellboy — but over the years I realized that I wanted to play fast and loose with them, not be tied at all to the real places they are from. I love the idea of adapting a Japanese story but don\u2019t necessarily want to draw the REAL Japan where that story takes place. I\u2019d rather do a very loose adaptation of that story and set it in a SORT OF Japan — turn it into a fantasy story that still has the character, the FEEL of a Japanese story. That kind of thing. The story “Bowling with Corpses” started out as a traditional Italian folktale but I chewed it over a bit, knocked it around enough to make it feel like my own, and set it in my new world. In fact I created that entire world just as a place to set that story. That\u2019s how it all started. Other stories in the collection are INSPIRED by bits and pieces of old folk and fairytales but are mostly original. In the future I plan to go back to drawing on folklore more directly. There is so much great stuff there — wonderfully odd stories, fantastic creatures — just too much fun.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
What\u2019s it like working on short comic stories as opposed to longer stories?<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n\n
I love working on shorter stories. It\u2019s fun to do a big story where you have the room to sort of wander around, but I think I prefer a tight little story, something where you can clearly see the whole thing as you put it together, if that makes sense. It like you can mentally block it out simply — this plus this adds up to that. A little room here and there for it to breathe, but you clearly know where it’s going and see how to get there.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
What is your creative process like working with Dave Stewart?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\u00a0<\/b>Dave and I have worked together for more than 20 years now so it\u2019s easy and comfortable — at least for me. I do still talk him through the art page by page and usually panel by panel — not specifying exact colors but mostly focusing on storytelling, mood, and atmosphere — this scene here is quiet or spooky. This is meant to be hot and violent. This bit here is quiet until we get to this panel here and then it pops. I think of it very much as laying in a soundtrack. And Dave is so good at it — and after all these years he still tolerates me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
What would you like readers to take away from Bowling with Corpses<\/em>?<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I hope they like the world and want more of it — because there is so much more I want to do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Enjoy this preview of\u00a0Bowling with Corpses<\/em>!<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n![\"preview](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BWLCOST_PR_PG_01.jpg?resize=666%2C1024&ssl=1\")
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Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is ushering in 2025 with a brand-new anthology of folklore-inspired stories,\u00a0Bowling with Corpses.\u00a0Labeled as “weird, wicked and whimsical” by publisher Dark Horse Comics, this collection sees Mignola writing and illustrating stories featuring sorcerers, pirate girls, the undead and more. Mignola is joined on the project by long-time collaborator Dave Stewart on … Continue Reading! “Mike Mignola Goes BOWLING”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[444],"tags":[3332,294,767,307,876,851],"class_list":["post-19493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comics","tag-bowling-with-corpses","tag-columns","tag-danica-davidson","tag-interviews","tag-mike-mignola","tag-the-comic-vault"],"yoast_head":"\nMike Mignola Goes BOWLING - Cemetery Dance Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Danica Davidson chats with Mike Mignola on his new book, Bowling with Corpses. Features a preview of the book.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cemetery Dance Online\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cemetery Dance Online\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\"},\"headline\":\"Mike Mignola Goes BOWLING\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-22T12:00:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":651,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/ComicVault_Banner.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bowling with Corpses\",\"Columns\",\"Danica Davidson\",\"Interviews\",\"Mike Mignola\",\"The Comic Vault\"],\"articleSection\":[\"The Comic Vault\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mike Mignola Goes BOWLING - Cemetery Dance Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/mike-mignola-goes-bowling\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/ComicVault_Banner.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-22T12:00:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.cemeterydance.com\\\/extras\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/30439c850dbb0e44ac4d2ddd09fb2d61\"},\"description\":\"Danica Davidson chats with Mike Mignola on his new book, Bowling with Corpses. 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Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is ushering in 2025 with a brand-new anthology of folklore-inspired stories,\u00a0Bowling with Corpses.\u00a0<\/em>Labeled as “weird, wicked and whimsical” by publisher Dark Horse Comics, this collection sees Mignola writing and illustrating stories featuring sorcerers, pirate girls, the undead and more. Mignola is joined on the project by long-time collaborator Dave Stewart on colors, along with letterer Clem Robins.<\/p>\n