Mike Mignola’s first project in his shared universe with Ben Stenbeck has won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel. Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, which was published by Dark Horse in January of 2025, took home the award Saturday night at StokerCon in Pittsburgh.
“It all started with an Italian Folktale about a boy who goes bowling with corpses,” Mignola said about the story back when it was announced. “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.”
The anthology of folklore-inspired fantasy stories is written and illustrated by Mignola, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Clem Robins, and was the first publication from Curious Objects, Mignola’s imprint at Dark Horse. The stories range 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.
Other nominees in the category included Cullen Bunn and Danny Luckert’s Jumpscare, Sandy King’s John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight, Volume 11, Daniel Kraus and Dani’s Athanasia, and James Tynion IV, Steve Foxe and Piotr Kowalski’s Let This One Be a Devil.
You can see the full list of winners across all categories on the awards’ website.