Mike Mignola Gets Seasonally Spooky for Not One, But 2 Holidays

Is there a comic book author who probably loves spooky season as a lot as Hellboy’s Mike Mignola? Perhaps not, which is why the beloved inventive is teaming up with artist Rachele Aragno to introduce a complete new spooky delight—and giving them terrifying tales not only for Halloween, however for Christmas too.

io9 has your first look inside Dark Horse Comics’ Leonide the Vampyr: Miracle on the Crow’s Head, written by Mignola and that includes artwork from Aragno, alongside colours from Dave Stewart and letters Clem Robins. The one-shot follows the titular Leonide, a brand new character crafted by Mignola and Aragno because of an opportunity social media encounter final 12 months.

“Last October I was publishing daily sketches on social media. Mike Mignola had seen the first one, a portrait of a vampire girl, and he loved it,” Aragno mentioned in a press launch offered to io9. “From there we started talking about the idea of a collaboration between us, and that my vampire portrait could be the basis of a story. When Mike sent me the outline, I went crazy with joy. It was perfect, and I was delighted to be able to draw and put those words on paper. Mignola has always been in the pantheon of my favorite authors, and I was honored to be able to work with him.”

Miracle on the Crow’s Head is about in a small coastal village that finds the lives of its quiet denizens upended when a shipwreck brings a mysterious, small coffin to its shores—containing what’s first believed to be a miracle, however turns into something however. But Crow’s Head isn’t the one time we’re going to be seeing Leonide this 12 months. io9 can completely reveal that the vampire will return in A Christmas for Crows, a vacation one-shot set to launch in December, which sees Leonide and her small coffin found by a bunch of mountainfolk simply in time for a chilling Christmas carol. Maybe of us ought to simply cease opening any small caskets they discover, truthfully. Check out the variant cowl, by Mignola and Dave Stewart, beneath!

“Leonide’s first story gave me the opportunity to start creating a very aesthetically strong main character along with many supporting actors or antagonists that I wanted to bring to light,” Aragno mentioned in a press release offered to io9 over e-mail. “I like the fact that an innocent-looking little girl steals souls and a mummy priest wants to exorcise her. In my opinion the stories that might be told about them could be very creepy!”

“The second story Mike wrote totally captivated me. I loved it from the first moment because it allowed me to expand the universe of Leonide with both new characters and new settings,” she continued. “I think the air you breathe is special at Christmas. Together with ghosts and a girl vampire, it’s a dream for all lovers of the genre. But, above all, this story allows us to understand how vast and articulated the world of Leonide can be.”

“About two seconds after I came up with the first Leonide story, A Christmas for Crows popped into my head. I wasn’t trying to come up with a story––it just appeared. Sometimes that happens,” Mignola added. “And as the first part was timed for Halloween, it just made perfect sense for this one to be about Christmas. I always associate ghost stories with Christmas, and so I tried to do something very old-school—even to allow a dose of good old-fashioned religion into the story. It’s not often I let that stuff in but, hey, it’s Christmas.”

Leonide the Vampyr: Miracle on the Crow’s Head hits retailer cabinets October 5—learn on to see our unique preview. In the meantime, Leonide the Vampyr: A Christmas for Crows is due for launch December 7.

Want extra io9 information? Check out when to count on the most recent Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on movie and TV, and every thing that you must find out about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.