The Follow-up to the Critically Acclaimed BOWLING WITH CORPSES Graphic Novel Arrives February 2026
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“This is some of the most fun I’ve ever had drawing comics.” — Mike Mignola
MILWAUKIE, Ore., (June 17, 2025)—Just months after releasing one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of 2025, legendary Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is expanding the Lands Unknown universe with a brand new graphic novel from Dark Horse Books. Fans first encountered the shared universe co-created by Mignola and his longtime collaborator Ben Stenbeck (Our Bones Dust) earlier this year in Mignola’s critically acclaimed anthology of folklore-inspired fantasy stories Bowling With Corpses and other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown, which sold out immediately and is already in its third printing with a fourth being prepared. Now, Dark Horse Comics is preparing to release Uri Tupka and The Gods, a new graphic novel written and drawn by Mike Mignola with colors by Dave Stewart, coming in February 2026.
Uri Tupka and The Gods: Another Story from Lands Unknown follows the titular wayward theologian across the Lands Unknown on a quest to prove that ancient powerful gods shaped the world. Uri’s journey puts him face to face with mythical creatures, thieves, dragons, and a tomb of unspeakable horror. But nothing can prepare the unlikely adventurer for what he learns about the universe or his role in it.
“This is the first of two books tracing the life of Uri Tupka, former Doctor of Theology but now heretic, on the run as he looks for the truth about the gods,” explains Mignola. “See Uri barely escape one disaster after another—pirates, bandits, witches and demons, giants and monsters. There is also a talking cat and a queen of the vegetables because, of course, why wouldn’t there be? This one covers a whole lot of ground, and we get to see more of the world that was introduced in Bowling with Corpses. As with Bowling, this is some of the most fun I’ve ever had drawing comics. The more I wander around in this world, the more I want to see, the more I want to explore. I’m already well into the follow up book to this one (Uri Tupka and the Devils) with plans to do many more stories about this world. I feel that so far I’m still just scratching at the surface of this thing.”
Here’s what people are saying about
Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown:
“Mignola is justly celebrated as a visual stylist, not just of horror comics but of comics writ large. While another artist might rely on grotesque specifics to frighten the reader, Mignola’s insinuating expanses of black ink conceal all but the most necessary details of a rich and malevolent world, filled with monstrosities, yes, but also oddities, many of them delightful…. This book is a good reminder that the history of imaginative literature is also the history of illustrated literature.” — NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“Bowling with Corpses and Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown is a delightful anthology that showcases Mignola’s storytelling and artistic brilliance while introducing a strange and compelling new universe.” — AIPT COMICS
“Deliciously macabre.” — FORBES
“Creepy.” — THE NERDIST
“Mike Mignola carved out his space in comics history in the 1990s with the creation of the iconic Hellboy series. Dozens of novels and hundreds of projects later, he has created a new world as epic and expansive as his breakthrough touchstone. Lands Unknown, a world built on folktales from across the globe, finds new life in the dark, strange corners of Mignola’s imagination, created with frequent collaborator Ben Stenbeck.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Visually stunning and eerily evocative.” — GAME RADAR
“The stories contained within Bowling with Corpses present masterful designs, distinctive style, and an assured appreciation for storytelling in forms new and old… Wherever these lands may lead readers, they can rest assured that wonders await them on each new page.” — CBR
“Mignola’s style lends itself well to the concept of creepy folk tales, and there are some really stunning visuals that bring it all to life: a woman rising from a blood-filled casket; a man following a floating dagger through a forest bathed in red; a newly transformed creature of the night spreading her wings for the first time. The book contains eight stories across its 112 pages (and a promise for more to come!), so there’s plenty of good stuff to sink your teeth into.” — ENGADGET
“A stunning book that begs multiple readings, perhaps as soon as you’ve set it down.” — COMICS BEAT
“Mike Mignola is back, and this time, the Hellboy creator is inviting us into a wholly new universe of eerie, whimsical, and darkly enchanting folktales. Mignola’s Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown introduces a fantasy world bursting with gods, monsters, unfortunates, and much mischief…. With gorgeous artwork by Mignola, colors by the incomparable Dave Stewart, and letters by Clem Robins, Bowling With Corpses feels like a culmination of everything that makes Mignola’s work so unique and enchanting…. For those of us who’ve marveled at Mignola’s ability to create mythic worlds from a few inked lines and pregnant, ominous shadows, Bowling With Corpses is more than a new book—it’s a portal into a realm where the strange turns familiar and the familiar seems strange.” — BOING BOING
“Mike Mignola redefined how comics can be made, what they should look like and what they can be with Hellboy. Now, 30 years on the artist’s new shared universe, Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, is set to shake things up all over again.” — CREATIVE BLOQ
“Fans of the grim and macabre (and Hellboy, obviously) will eat this collection right up.” — BOOK RIOT
“Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown is yet another stellar entry in the Mignola library.” — MONKEYS FIGHTING ROBOTS
“Folktales from all over the globe are presented here in Mignola’s signature style.” — GEEK DAD
“This book is raw and visceral… If you were already a Mignola fan, you’re in for a treat, and if you’re new, there’s something in this anthology that will either raise the hairs on the back of your neck or put a smile on your face. Or both.” — COMIC BUZZ
“Mike Mignola is a veritable fountain of ideas that inevitably find their way into great comics.” – GEEK VIBES NATION
“Sorcerers, pirates, and devils, oh my!” — COMIC BOOK COUPLES COUNSELING
“These stories have the aura of fairy tales and, in many ways, this is Mignola’s Grimms’ Fairy Tales… This is some of Mignola’s best work, and it reminds me of the excitement I felt when I discovered Hellboy for the first time. … All fans of Mignola and dark fantasy should pick this up.”— FANBASE PRESS
“Unlike someone like Walt Disney (the man, and eventually the company), Mignola isn’t looking to modernize these old pieces of folklore and fairy tales – he wants to peel back the layers closer to the roots:” — POPVERSE
“Mike Mignola is a name that shouldn’t need much of an introduction. The creator of the household name, “Hellboy” and someone whose work has been seen across other such properties like “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” Mignola has long been one of the most exciting creators working in comics today. Mignola could easily rest on the laurels of his previous hits, but that’s no fun now is it? Instead, Mignola is teaming up with acclaimed artist Ben Stenbeck to craft an all-new fictional universe for readers” — MACABRE DAILY
“…It’s knowing wit, sense of time and place, characterisation and beguiling evocation of time-honoured (yet subverted) folklore a winning formula…” — TRIPWIRE
“Mignola builds a brand-new world filled with the weird, wicked and whimsical in this volume that will delight longtime Hellboy fans and new readers alike.”— UN COMIC MAS
“The artwork, alien and disturbing as it is at times, is wonderfully weird.” — KABOOOOOM
“This is a world I’m terrified to live in, mostly because I know I’d never want to leave.” — Patton Oswalt (Minor Threats)
“I wish I could write a love letter to this dark enchantment of a book, whose pages are filled with all that I adore most: the human and the supernatural, colliding in tales of wisdom, humor, and quiet longing — as well as the most sumptuous art that a heart could hope to feast on.” — Marjorie Liu (Monstress)
“Gorgeous and mysterious art. Fantastic and funny storytelling. Delightfully dark and whimsical. Mignola has done it again. Behold the glorious glory in this magical book of tales!!!” — Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life)
“This new folklore from Mike Mignola is somehow human, wild, brilliant, dark, delightful and terrifying all at once!”— Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe)
“What a treasure trove! When it comes to folktales, there are quests within quests and worlds beyond worlds, and some artists’ palettes are vast enough to find them all. When Mike Mignola says “Come with me. Let me show you the world…” you follow.” — Glen David Gold, (Carter Beats The Devil)
“This isn’t just a new story by Mike Mignola. We’re being presented to an entire new World, a charming, complex, magical world, where from every corner comes a handful of inspiring new characters. If you weren’t there the moment Mignola revolutionized comics creating Hellboy, this is your chance to get onboard, because he’s about to start a brand new revolution.” — Fábio Moon (Daytripper)
“How is it that Mike Mignola just gets better and better? Well he’s always been great, but damn if he doesn’t just go and bring more incredible tales to life (or death in some cases.) Mike’s stories are those that you want to read over and over, and this subtle and seductive collection is yet another triumph by this modern master. I really want to taste the tiny cow’s cheese, know more of Una the pirate and fear long dead Rooski and his still beating blood filled heart! So buy your own copy, I’m not loaning out mine. I’m really not!” — Kelley Jones (Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler)
“Genuinely, reading this was such a gift. There is a richness of line and depth of story to Mignola’s work that transforms it from pictures and words into something almost mythical. Even the wicked are treated with an understanding and empathy in the work, which makes them both more beautiful and more tragic. Reading this felt like being a kid again and discovering fairy tales for the first time. Truly, Mignola is a trailblazer of his own subgenre of weird fiction, and we the readers are lucky to witness him reveal the wonder and terror of his imagination.”— Vita Ayala (Submerged, New Mutants, Static)
“Mignola makes the magical craft of creating worlds and strange creatures look effortless and visually stunning. These short stories offer a glimpse into the boundless creativity of an artist who passionately understands and harnesses the storytelling power of the medium. It’s impossible to read these tales without feeling a deep longing for more.” — Gabriel Bá (Umbrella Academy)
“I’m a huge fan of all things Mignola, so when a new project by him surfaces, it’s a must-have. His latest graphic novel is delightfully quirky magic. I read it from cover to cover and the smile never left my face. As a matter of fact, it’s still there.”— Bill Sienkiewicz (Elektra: Assassin)
“Minimum detail for maximum intensity. That’s what I’ve always admired in Mike Mignola’s work, and with this new mesmerizing series of tales, he’s taken another huge step on his road to pure and powerful minimalism.”—Elsa Charretier (Love Everlasting)
“With Bowling with Corpses, Mike Mignola reminds us once more of his storytelling genius. A boy’s adventure, told with an understated humour, dripping with a sense of the macabre. It is immediately magnetic in the way that only Mignola’s comics are.” — Ram V (The Many Deaths of Laila Starr)
“This is Mignola at his very best! From start to finish it had me by the throat!”— Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia)
“This world, these stories, this art — I want to live in these pages.”— Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians)
Uri Tupka and the Gods: Another Story from Lands Unknown is a 104-page hardcover that will be released in bookstores and comic shops on February 24, 2026.
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