I'm noticing a fantastic development. Mike Mignola scholarship is a thing. Every day I seem to see more and more comic creators and commentators discussing Mike’s work. If you've ever watched any behind-the-scenes content of the Lord of the Rings you'll notice quite a few people who have the title "Tolkien scholar" as part of their introduction. I believe Mignola's work is worthy of the same sort of scrutiny, at least within the comic book industry, as any equivalent professional in their respective industry. And the excavation of Mignola's work is only possible because there's so much of it and all of it yields rewards when put under the microscope. But don't take my word for it, let’s look at an example.
Does the name Abu Gung ring any bells? It was a short story in the Amazing Screw-on Head collection. This is a purchase you won’t regret, seriously, go buy it, and every time you want to look at Instagram for inspiration open up that book instead.
Beautiful, right?! A fantastic and fun adventure. That was my first reading of it at least. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this original version while flipping through the $1 comic boxes at a used bookstore.
A 5-page story expanded to 9-pages, totally redrawn and rewritten, a fascinating and rewarding find! Scroll through and notice how the color differences affect how you perceive the mood and atmosphere of the story. Take a closer look below at the panels, comparing the old and new. I’ve placed the old either above or to the left of the new versions. There are many fantastic one-to-one comparisons, very useful when considering the character and background design improvements with the same composition.
The flies here have grown in size and now overlap the edges of the women’s hair. Anytime you can overlap small objects on top of big ones you’ll start to get a feeling of three dimensional space.
The simple latticework in the later version is a beautiful background improvement allowing negative and positive space to contrast, and it’s the simplest of shapes.
While some panels expanded to two or more.
The change above allows us to better view character expressions as they deliver their lines. The pause between the panels and his smile is the reason the newer version is funnier when Abu Gung says, “no thanks”.
A personal favorite of mine is Mike’s choice to change the hawk to a giant bat. It gives it a weirder, more fantastic atmosphere.
Also, take a close look at the small prologue and epilogue of the new version. The introduction by the archeologist of the Gung River Valley, professor E.E. Stoop who translated this story for us. I won’t say this is effortless world-building, but its success and implications are huge when compared to these two simple panels. Imagine with me the ongoing adventures of Abu Gung The Magnificent in the land of Mu, a Gung man from the Gung River Valley. I like the character already, and it’s easy to imagine a Conan-type character striding through a campy fantasy world full of giant animals and magic, sign me up for that one!
This is a brilliant example of a small story with big implications. Anyone wanting to dip into comics could follow this kind of model with great results in my opinion. Lastly, take a look at this Dark Horse logo. It perfectly fits the tone of the book, Scatterbrains, a collection of wacky tales. This type of thing is wonderful when allowed and championed by publishers, the minor details conforming to the tone of the book. The brand expands when necessary. These minor things matter to the true fan and practitioner.
Check out my Youtube channel and watch my Karen, my wife, and I flip through the pages of both versions and talk about it. If you’ve enjoyed this and thing others would as well please share and subscribe to my Youtube channel and weekly newsletter, Ole' Noggin’. Ciao!
