The wake of the mysterious tales signed by Mike Mignola continues with Falconspearecomic made in collaboration with Warwick Johnson-Cadwell to the drawings, in which the yellow and the horror mix briefly but intensely. Falconspeare is in fact a little horror adventure published by Sandwiches Comics which narrates the exploits of a group of monster hunters in what could be called the literary “natural habitat” for this type of enterprise: the Victorian era. Headed by James Falconspearethe adventurers will have to find out what happened to their leader in the fifteen years he disappeared, but as we complete the investigation with them this new work by Mignola fails to leave us fully satisfied.
Mike Mignola strikes again, but…
Falconspeare of Mignola and Johnson-Cadwell fits within the ambit of a series of short stories in a Victorian setting dealing with mystery, adventure and horror. As it had been for Jenny Finnwhich we told you about some time ago, or for Mr. Higgins Comes Home and Our Encounters with Evil (from which some characters are taken), too Falconspeare therefore makes his own not only i mice of Gothic literature par excellence, but also places, characters, styles and language of the late nineteenth century. And it does not disappoint from a creative point of view, as it bears the unmistakable imprint of that typical way of narrating of Mignola which has become so famous through Hellboy and that unites investigation, mystery, grotesque, gloom. Falconspeare it is therefore certainly interesting, but has several gray areas.
The story is that of a group of friends, professional monster hunters, united in the fight against the evil creatures that infest the world. Briefly introduced through their exploits against a frightening vampire, we jump to fifteen years later when the Professor Meinhardt, Mr. Knox and Ms. Mary Van Sloan they see a letter delivered by a missing companion: James Falconspeare, leader of the group vanished into thin air for a long time. The letters are at least enigmatic and lead them far away, but thanks to them the adventurers are able to find Falconspeare, now guardian of a sinister secret that changed him forever.
It’s got it all, here, and it’s also pretty intense: dangerous undertakings and heroic, suspense, cursed creatures and frightening, a secret to bring to light. The monster hunter group also consists of interesting characters, a company in which everyone has their own specific skills and distinctive traits. If that weren’t all of that it runs out within a few pagesdoes not have time to mature and grow: the story contained in Falconspeare ends by remaining in what it seems an embryonic form or an egg that has just hatched from which just a beak and a wing have had time to come out. A short story indeed very short: we are caught off guard by this dark and horror-tinged Victorian-style thriller, we say to ourselves “Hey, there’s so much potential here!”, but we don’t have time to formulate this thought that it’s all over. And what could have been, remains suspended in the “ifs” and “maybe”.
Mike Mignola’s hand is there and it shows and it is necessary to break a spear precisely in favor of its protagonist, James Falconspeare, whose high-sounding name reflects the noble and heroic soul while configuring itself as a damned anti-hero, effective and impactful. But we ask ourselves why devising a narrative that could still have so much to say, show and make people feel and then feed it to the public in such a form short and “incomplete”? In short, the interest aroused by James Falconspeare and his fellow adventurers is real and sincere and in a parallel universe they would represent tempting material even for a film or serial production. But precisely: in a parallel universe, where Falconspeare it has been expanded, developed, deepened.
Falconspeare: the graphic aspects
Generally the comic works written by Mike Mignola and drawn by other authors leave a bitter taste in the mouth because, let’s face it, the style of Mignola’s father Hellboyhowever stylized and dark, it really is unique and suitable for macabre narratives who signs. In this case the stretch of Warwick Johnson-Cadwell lends itself well to adventurous dynamics in which the protagonists of Falconspeare and, despite its strong stylization, it knows how to capture the personality of each in gestures and expressions (with ironic notes here and there that transpire from the characters). Again, though, we find ourselves wondering what this comic would have been like if Mignola had made it fully his even on an illustrative level, without relegating one’s art to mere cover, as also happened in the previous works of the same Victorian line. An art that, let us remember, is made of shadows and grotesque features and that would fit perfectly on this type of story with a Victorian and mysterious soul: an aspect that is lost in this Falconspearethrough Johnson-Cadwell’s illustrations which are brighter, much less gloomy.
Maybe it’s just the cover of Falconspeare to increase the expectations: hardcover, with glossy elements, very dark and with a dark character, as only Mike Mignola’s illustrations can be. Too bad that it acts as a sad frame for a few pages, yes of excellent workmanship, but still small and unsatisfactory for the reason we were talking about earlier: the story really doesn’t last long! On the other hand it was what happened a bit with Mr. Higgins Comes Home and Our Encounters with Evil: 56 pages one, 88 the other and again 56 for Falconspeare. In short, one wonders if it hadn’t been perhaps the case to enclose the narratives dedicated to these protagonists in one volumewith larger dimensions and a semblance of continuity which, probably, would have made the perception of a sort of incompleteness feel less.
With similar stories and characters the desire to read more is great and the hope that Mignola continues on his Victorian path is strong, provided that the protagonists mentioned so quickly and their daring adventures with the evil one are deepened and receive the development they deserve.
