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Jenny Finn
Finally collected in one volume for the first time! From the mind of Mike Mignola, creator of HELLBOY, comes this Lovecraftian tale of a mysterious girl who arrives in Victorian England with carnage in her wake. Is she evil incarnate or a misled child?
London’s dockside is threatened by the twin terrors of a plague leaving bodies covered in tentacles and a slasher killing women in the night. Desperate for answers after the wrong man is executed for the murders, a group of Londoners holds a séance to contract the supposed killer, and his story of a girl born of the sea who has brought a terrible curse only brings them more questions.
Collects Jenny Finn #1-#4 and bonus sketchbook material
London’s dockside is threatened by the twin terrors of a plague leaving bodies covered in tentacles and a slasher killing women in the night. Desperate for answers after the wrong man is executed for the murders, a group of Londoners holds a séance to contract the supposed killer, and his story of a girl born of the sea who has brought a terrible curse only brings them more questions.
Collects Jenny Finn #1-#4 and bonus sketchbook material
128 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 2006
10 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Mike Mignola
1,865 books2,527 followersMike Mignola was born September 16, 1960 in Berkeley, California and grew up in nearby Oakland. His fascination with ghosts and monsters began at an early age (he doesn't remember why) and reading Dracula at age 13 introduced him to Victorian literature and folklore from which he has never recovered.
In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.
In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.
Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.
Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.
In 1982, hoping to find a way to draw monsters for a living, he moved to New York City and began working for Marvel Comics, first as a (very terrible) inker and then as an artist on comics like Rocket Raccoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk. By the late 80s he had begun to develop his signature style (thin lines, clunky shapes and lots of black) and moved onto higher profile commercial projects like Cosmic Odyssey (1988) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989) for DC Comics, and the not-so-commercial Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (1990) for Marvel. In 1992, he drew the comic book adaptation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics.
In 1993, Mike moved to Dark Horse comics and created Hellboy, a half-demon occult detective who may or may not be the Beast of the Apocalypse. While the first story line (Seed of Destruction, 1994) was co-written by John Byrne, Mike has continued writing the series himself. There are, at this moment, 13 Hellboy graphic novel collections (with more on the way), several spin-off titles (B.P.R.D., Lobster Johnson, Abe Sapien and Witchfinder), three anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and two live-action films staring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in a great many countries.
Mike also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw-on Head and has co-written two novels (Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City) with best-selling author Christopher Golden.
Mike worked (very briefly) with Francis Ford Coppola on his film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), was a production designer on the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and was visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). He lives somewhere in Southern California with his wife, daughter, a lot of books and a cat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
May 9, 2019
"Jenny Finn" was a very strange story. It certainly has a great deal of the hallmarks of a Lovecraftian tale, yet it was penned by Mike Mignola and Troy Nixey. This edition of mine was colored by Dave Stewart.
The story begins with a not terribly bright dockworker named Joe. Joe spots a young looking girl walking around the area and decides to accost her to warn her away from the rough area. He meets Jenny Finn who is not at all what she seems. From here a strange story develops of a murderer and his connection to this mysterious girl.
Yet the girl is also very strange and bizarre monster hybrids are appearing in her wake. This all leads to Joe getting involved in a mystery that could portend doom for London. More than that I shall not spoil. It is a very odd story and deserves to be read. It is a very strange and unnerving story. The artwork, which is quite good for the first three chapters but drops off for chapter 4, conveys none of the people in a flattering form. Everybody is a bit "off" and look like the detritus of the human race, half-corrupted already before Jenny Finn's coming. The dark back alleys of Victorian London are grim places, made even stranger by Mignola's strange tale.
Thus enjoy this one for the horror, the art and the strange tale of "Jenny Finn". I rather liked it and I think so will any Mignola fan. If you also have a desire for a Lovecraftian motif, then this is for you.
The story begins with a not terribly bright dockworker named Joe. Joe spots a young looking girl walking around the area and decides to accost her to warn her away from the rough area. He meets Jenny Finn who is not at all what she seems. From here a strange story develops of a murderer and his connection to this mysterious girl.
Yet the girl is also very strange and bizarre monster hybrids are appearing in her wake. This all leads to Joe getting involved in a mystery that could portend doom for London. More than that I shall not spoil. It is a very odd story and deserves to be read. It is a very strange and unnerving story. The artwork, which is quite good for the first three chapters but drops off for chapter 4, conveys none of the people in a flattering form. Everybody is a bit "off" and look like the detritus of the human race, half-corrupted already before Jenny Finn's coming. The dark back alleys of Victorian London are grim places, made even stranger by Mignola's strange tale.
Thus enjoy this one for the horror, the art and the strange tale of "Jenny Finn". I rather liked it and I think so will any Mignola fan. If you also have a desire for a Lovecraftian motif, then this is for you.
Read
February 26, 2018Did not finish σελ. 50
Early Μινιόλα, αλλά δεν μπόρεσα να συνεχίσω. Όταν το πιο ενδιαφέρον πράγμα είναι τα ψάρια στο background που λένε συνέχεια "doom", τότε δε μπορείς παρά να το παρατήσεις, ακόμα κι αν το έγραψε ο αγαπημένος σου.
Early Μινιόλα, αλλά δεν μπόρεσα να συνεχίσω. Όταν το πιο ενδιαφέρον πράγμα είναι τα ψάρια στο background που λένε συνέχεια "doom", τότε δε μπορείς παρά να το παρατήσεις, ακόμα κι αν το έγραψε ο αγαπημένος σου.
June 14, 2018
This was a weird fast paced story. If there had been more of a backstory to some of the characters, I would have given it 5 stars.
April 5, 2020
If someone told me what Mike Mignola's stories are about, I would be sure to not read them. Supernatural, superheroes and alternate-history narratives with nazis. That's like putting all the things I hate in one receipe. But Mike Mignola can play with genre really well and his drawings have an ugly-beautiful appeal and a distilled simplicity of form that makes them irresistible. This, like others, have a similar atmosphere of the Hellboy and Abe Sapien world. Sea monsters, ghosts, occult, conspiracies, skulls and detective work. It's great fun, like using the everyday ingredients you have at home to do a gourmet meal.
October 12, 2018
An amusing little Lovecraftian tale from Mignola that’s high on the tone but low in the depth.
World: The art is great, it sets the tone perfectly for the book, it looks slightly off and especially the humans and the creatures giving the book a very solid feel to work off of. The world building here is basic, it’s a monster tale and there’s not a lot of lore or background to the tale, only what the sailor tells you. There is also not a lot of detail on the secret society so yeah the stage is set but it’s basic and is there for the story but nothing as deep as Mignola’s other works.
Story: The pacing is good, the tale is simple and interesting and feels like a good Lovecraftian short story. It’s about a man and a monster and that’s about it. There is little depth here to be found in terms of the motivations and the machinations, good is good, bad is bad and that’s about it. It’s a good nice little unsettling horror tale.
Characters: Well there’s the main guy which I’ve already forgotten his name and Jenny which the book is named after. There is not a lot of depth to be found here, it’s very basic, they are archetypes to horror stories and they play their roles out to a T. Nothing special or unique here but solid.
I enjoyed this little tale, it would have been interesting if this had been a part of the Mignolaverse, maybe have the society be the Oannes Society, but oh well.
Onward to the next booK!
World: The art is great, it sets the tone perfectly for the book, it looks slightly off and especially the humans and the creatures giving the book a very solid feel to work off of. The world building here is basic, it’s a monster tale and there’s not a lot of lore or background to the tale, only what the sailor tells you. There is also not a lot of detail on the secret society so yeah the stage is set but it’s basic and is there for the story but nothing as deep as Mignola’s other works.
Story: The pacing is good, the tale is simple and interesting and feels like a good Lovecraftian short story. It’s about a man and a monster and that’s about it. There is little depth here to be found in terms of the motivations and the machinations, good is good, bad is bad and that’s about it. It’s a good nice little unsettling horror tale.
Characters: Well there’s the main guy which I’ve already forgotten his name and Jenny which the book is named after. There is not a lot of depth to be found here, it’s very basic, they are archetypes to horror stories and they play their roles out to a T. Nothing special or unique here but solid.
I enjoyed this little tale, it would have been interesting if this had been a part of the Mignolaverse, maybe have the society be the Oannes Society, but oh well.
Onward to the next booK!
October 24, 2017
Jenny Finn is beyond terrible and easily Mike Mignolas worst comic. There is little to no characterization whatsoever, it’s boring as hell, the artwork is good but not great and the ending is a whole new kind of anticlimactic. Do yourself a favor and read “The Doom that Came to Gotham “ if you want to read a somewhat decent comic from this writer and artist, but otherwise just skip this piece of boring crap. I love Mike Mignola and he is a brilliant writer and my personal favorite artist, so I don’t know what went wrong here. Even the best cant win em all I suppose.
May 11, 2021
A bit drawn out, but still entertaining.
February 20, 2018
This book presents a lot of questions but few answers. It seems to go for tone and concept over story and plot. There's all these interesting ideas that are just that, ideas, because the tale that tries to tie them all together is too threadbare to really merit more than one cursory read. All things considered, it was a bit of disappointment for me, but if you dig Lovecraftian weirdness, or Cronenberg body horror, or Juni Ito's Gyo - then you'll probably find something to like here.
October 21, 2019
I know a lot of people didn't like this one, but I thought it wasn't bad. It's not the best thing Mignola has done by any means, but I thought it was entertaining in its own way. Very heavy Lovecraft vibe. It was a little haphazard and could have used more character development, but I'm thinking this was done in the vein of penny dreadful type novels which probably weren't known for deep characters. If you're a fan of Lovecraft "Innsmouth" type stories you might dig the vibe.
May 2, 2018
Love Lovecraft's style, even Mike Mignola, but this issue is awful and disgusting. Even, I shouldn't read it.
September 30, 2018
В 1999 году отец «Хеллбоя» Майк Миньола и молодой канадский художник Трой Никси издали в издательстве Oni Press небольшой черно-белый комикс под названием «Дженни Финн». В этом комиксе кроткая девочка-мессия поднималась из морских пучин на улицы порочного викторианского Лондона, чтобы сообщить живущей в трущобах пастве с тентаклями о приходе новых времен.
Прошло почти 20 лет. За это время Миньола и Никси прочно подружились с Гильермо дель Торо, а Никси даже сам превратился в режиссера, после чего поставил для нового собрата-ктулхианца симпатичный фильм про злых зубных фей - «Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark». В какой-то момент участники старой концессии поняли, что комикс про Дженни Финн в магазинах давно закончился, и фанаты с издателями этим не особо довольны. Выход был найден самый предсказуемый. Миньола позвал колориста Дэйва Стюарта, который красит ему все работы из мира BPRD, и тот превратил в прошлом году лаконичную мессианскую историю в привычный для большинства спин-офф к саге про Хеллбоя. Ну, окей. Теперь с чистой совестью можно будет купить её на бумаге и еще раз перечитать.
Прошло почти 20 лет. За это время Миньола и Никси прочно подружились с Гильермо дель Торо, а Никси даже сам превратился в режиссера, после чего поставил для нового собрата-ктулхианца симпатичный фильм про злых зубных фей - «Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark». В какой-то момент участники старой концессии поняли, что комикс про Дженни Финн в магазинах давно закончился, и фанаты с издателями этим не особо довольны. Выход был найден самый предсказуемый. Миньола позвал колориста Дэйва Стюарта, который красит ему все работы из мира BPRD, и тот превратил в прошлом году лаконичную мессианскую историю в привычный для большинства спин-офф к саге про Хеллбоя. Ну, окей. Теперь с чистой совестью можно будет купить её на бумаге и еще раз перечитать.
February 12, 2019
Es un un cómic gótico victoriano que homenajea a las grandes figuras de Jack el Destripador y H.P. Lovecraft y viene de la mano del famoso creador de Hellboy. Con esta intuitiva carta de presentación, Jenny Finn se mueve entre aguas tenebrosas con una estética sombría y un argumento terrorífico que logra inquietar al lector. En general, me ha gustado muchísimo la ambientación tan oscura pero la trama se me ha quedado algo corta y, al igual que ocurre con la mayoría de cómics, considero que tiene una buena base pero me ha dado la sensación de estar inconcluso.
Reseña: https://laestanteriadecho.blogspot.co...
Reseña: https://laestanteriadecho.blogspot.co...
May 11, 2019
I liked this a lot, a lot more than I even expected to. It took me a little time to warm to the art style, and again when Farel Dalrymple took over in the last issue (in a way I think it would've been better if Dalrymple had gone with his own style, instead of emulating it).
The story has a nice creepiness to it, and went down some pretty surprising lanes.
Read as 4 seperate issues.
The story has a nice creepiness to it, and went down some pretty surprising lanes.
Read as 4 seperate issues.
September 20, 2018
Another tired mash-up of Victorian England, Lovecraftian monsters, royal conspiracies, and Jack the Ripper. The artists draws people so misshapen that you can't tell the adults from the children or normal folk from monsters.
November 27, 2020
This is one weird, dark tale. Set on the London dock sides in Victorian times, it tells the story of a Lovecraftian being bringing a plague of sorts from the sea. I would have enjoyed it more with more background. From its start, it rushed hell bent to its crazy conclusion.
June 21, 2023
It's time for me to admit the sad fact that I just don't like Mike Mignola. I've tried several Hellboy/ BPRD comics (though I'm now seeing that I've only marked the first HB volume here on Goodreads, oh well), and now this, and none have really worked for me beyond "This was (shrug) fine". Oh well.
April 24, 2020
With nearly 600 comic book reviews under my belt I can confidently say I’m quite familiar with the Mignola-verse. Yet within and without the confines of the beloved Hellboy universe, I’m far more steeped in the former than the latter. Case in point was my discovery of this curiously extra-Hellboy-verse offering titled Jenny Finn.
Surprisingly dressed in mere pencil-work, devoid of colours I felt unsure of what to expect from an otherwise highly coloured, both literally and figuratively, style developed over the years by Mignola and his crew. Tepidly approaching the turn of the century this yarn becomes bathed in as much the saline liquidations of the realm of Neptune as more modern-revision-isms of a fantastical steam-punk styled retrofit. With both of these strands Mignola and team pack a hay-making-wallop of the spooky and the Victorian.
Congealed and coagulated, what starts with a crisply laden entanglement becomes turgidly undertaken by its own morass of internalized muck. Deeply disheveled and disorientendly disconnected the relationship between orthodox horror and more creative elements find themselves in a solution-like relationship akin to that of oil and water, only capable intrinsic apartheid only an unpleasant level of brain-work can shake these disparate elements together.
Much like its non-existent relationship to the over-arching Mignola-verse overall Jenny Finn deserves its distance as a disconnected piece of unusual horror. Love it. Hate it. Or somewhere in between. Take refuge with the fact this yarn to is be enjoyed unto itself and compared first and enjoyed second alone.
Surprisingly dressed in mere pencil-work, devoid of colours I felt unsure of what to expect from an otherwise highly coloured, both literally and figuratively, style developed over the years by Mignola and his crew. Tepidly approaching the turn of the century this yarn becomes bathed in as much the saline liquidations of the realm of Neptune as more modern-revision-isms of a fantastical steam-punk styled retrofit. With both of these strands Mignola and team pack a hay-making-wallop of the spooky and the Victorian.
Congealed and coagulated, what starts with a crisply laden entanglement becomes turgidly undertaken by its own morass of internalized muck. Deeply disheveled and disorientendly disconnected the relationship between orthodox horror and more creative elements find themselves in a solution-like relationship akin to that of oil and water, only capable intrinsic apartheid only an unpleasant level of brain-work can shake these disparate elements together.
Much like its non-existent relationship to the over-arching Mignola-verse overall Jenny Finn deserves its distance as a disconnected piece of unusual horror. Love it. Hate it. Or somewhere in between. Take refuge with the fact this yarn to is be enjoyed unto itself and compared first and enjoyed second alone.
September 2, 2018
2.5 stars.
A common complaint that I have about many graphic novels is that they stretch the story out far too long just to fill pages. Jenny Finn, however, has the opposite problem. The story moves way too fast to really build up any kind of suspense. The art was ok, and I liked the general theme of everything being nautical and almost a tiny bit steampunk.
The biggest problem with this book, however, is the text. It is so small you will be squinting your way through this story.
A common complaint that I have about many graphic novels is that they stretch the story out far too long just to fill pages. Jenny Finn, however, has the opposite problem. The story moves way too fast to really build up any kind of suspense. The art was ok, and I liked the general theme of everything being nautical and almost a tiny bit steampunk.
The biggest problem with this book, however, is the text. It is so small you will be squinting your way through this story.
September 1, 2018
Had to abandon this halfway through. Not Mike Mignola's best work.
April 16, 2019
While i felt like this could've been longer (like a 6-8 issue miniseries) it was alright. And damn that ending was quite depressing (in a good way)
August 16, 2025
Fajne taki lepszy Lovecraft bo Mignola nie jest rasistom xD
July 15, 2018
The new edition with colors by Dave Stewart is so beautiful. And, I never realized when I read the previous edition that Farel Dalrymple drew the last issue. He matched Nixey's style wonderfully.
I liked the story, I really didn't recall much of it from my previous read, but it was quick, quirky, and satisfying.
The guest family from another famous tale in the last panel was the cherry on top. It means nothing I suppose but it was a fun treat.
Get the color edition and reread it if you have not already, this book explodes with doom in it's finalized presentation.
I liked the story, I really didn't recall much of it from my previous read, but it was quick, quirky, and satisfying.
The guest family from another famous tale in the last panel was the cherry on top. It means nothing I suppose but it was a fun treat.
Get the color edition and reread it if you have not already, this book explodes with doom in it's finalized presentation.
September 11, 2018
A dark graphic novel set in Victorian England, the illustrations and storyline in Jenny Finn: Doom Messiah grab the reader immediately. Something evil is spreading throughout the city like a plague. Jenny Finn and the strange story behind her discovery, existence and connection to the spread of this strange affliction upon the residents of the city will leave the reader wondering and wanting to continue reading this unique series.
January 21, 2020
It’s a 2.7, but I am rounding up out of an enduring love for Mike Mignola. This is a squiddy, fishy story that is devoid of any loveable or memorable characters. The story is also a bit thin. it mashes up Jack the Ripper, Lovecraftian horror, and some campy Dickensian London. It wasn’t quite funny, and also wasn’t scary, and if there another book featuring the same cast I would probably skip it.
March 12, 2009
This was an interesting read, but it would've been more compelling if Mignola had delved further into the mythology of Jenny Finn. As it stands, the story feels incomplete because he only skims the surface of what Jenny truly is and what she represents. On the positive side, Mignola's illustration is superb and easily makes up for what is lacking in the story.
June 6, 2012
Didn't love this one. A lot of promise here - a weird plague on the streets of London, ghosts and ancient creatures from the deep... But the art was only okay - the amount of detail (which I would like to love) became cluttered and confusing without color. The story felt very glossed over, leaving me wanting to know more about the origins and motivations of the characters.
September 24, 2020
Very old school horror styling, Very Lovecraft. Who is Jenny Fin? Who is killing the working women of Victorian England. What is this weird fish-scale plague that many on the streets suffer.
Eerie and bizarre, this is a great but short tale.
Eerie and bizarre, this is a great but short tale.
July 17, 2018
The art was cool but I really disliked the story.
May 15, 2019
Esta novela gráfica no me la esperaba para nada, sinceramente me ha gustado pero a la vez me ha dado mucha grima jejej, no se
December 5, 2020
Just finished reading Jenny Finn, and what better way to spend a rainy Saturday evening than with a short little sliver of Victorian, Lovecraftian horror. I knew nothing about this story when I picked it up, but the simple yet enchanting cover art, and the fact that it was written by Mike Mignola was more than enough to inspire a purchase and a read. It is with great disappointment that I have to say, Jenny Finn was a story of great idea's and promise, although one that falls well short of what could have been. Something I have been saying in my reviews quite a lot lately. A cause of significant disappointment for your humble reviewer.
The art, which is by the far the strongest aspect of the story, is for the most part, really good. The panels which feature the creatures, or the people afflicted with the (curse?) or what have you, were obviously the most fun for the artist to draw, and as a result, he put the most work into them. They exude a genuinely unsettling quality as you gaze upon their grotesquery, and had me lingering on certain panels for some time, even though they may make those with weaker constitutions a little squeamish.
The story is a short and sharp four issues, which presents a great number of the problems which keep this from being anything more than average. It was clearly never the intention to create a epic horror tome, although the premise certainly could have justified it had the author had the will, but the 90 minute horror movie feel of the story rushes to its conclusion to the sentiment of anything closely resembling detailed lore, world building and character development. in the end, you are left with far more questions than answers, and the deflating feeling that it could have oh so easily been done much better had there been even the slightest interest in doing so. Protagonists, of which there are few, are barely one dimensional caricatures of much better creations in other, more worthy tales. The Victorian era setting is endlessly interesting, although nothing beyond a few set pieces are shown, and nothing of any note is mentioned about the world itself. Likewise, nothing beyond the absolute bare minimum is done in relation to the lore of these creatures, and their place in the world itself. This could have been fantastic, but instead, leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth at what might have been. No one would have expected any "From Hell" levels of scholarly accuracy in the story, although Mignola's Victorian dialogue is contrived and, quite frankly, rather bad at times. it is also rather sparse, with characters having little to say to each other, and surrounding crowds (which would have made for excellent expository props) shouting meaningless nouns at passers by and frequently giving the book a very disorientating and disjointed narrative flow.
In closing, this was a book that promised much, and delivered little. Beyond the mostly very strong artwork, characters models aside, the story falls flat and leaves on wishing for so much more. If you are a fan of Lovecraftian type horror tales, than this is something you may wish to seek out and read for yourself. Just don't go expecting any in depth character studies or litanies of compelling lore to lose yourself in. Its little more than pretty (disgusting) pictures here folks. 2.75/5
OmniBen.
I wrote another review before this one, although goodreads decided to crash when I posted it with out saving it. The first one was better. My apologies.
The art, which is by the far the strongest aspect of the story, is for the most part, really good. The panels which feature the creatures, or the people afflicted with the (curse?) or what have you, were obviously the most fun for the artist to draw, and as a result, he put the most work into them. They exude a genuinely unsettling quality as you gaze upon their grotesquery, and had me lingering on certain panels for some time, even though they may make those with weaker constitutions a little squeamish.
The story is a short and sharp four issues, which presents a great number of the problems which keep this from being anything more than average. It was clearly never the intention to create a epic horror tome, although the premise certainly could have justified it had the author had the will, but the 90 minute horror movie feel of the story rushes to its conclusion to the sentiment of anything closely resembling detailed lore, world building and character development. in the end, you are left with far more questions than answers, and the deflating feeling that it could have oh so easily been done much better had there been even the slightest interest in doing so. Protagonists, of which there are few, are barely one dimensional caricatures of much better creations in other, more worthy tales. The Victorian era setting is endlessly interesting, although nothing beyond a few set pieces are shown, and nothing of any note is mentioned about the world itself. Likewise, nothing beyond the absolute bare minimum is done in relation to the lore of these creatures, and their place in the world itself. This could have been fantastic, but instead, leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth at what might have been. No one would have expected any "From Hell" levels of scholarly accuracy in the story, although Mignola's Victorian dialogue is contrived and, quite frankly, rather bad at times. it is also rather sparse, with characters having little to say to each other, and surrounding crowds (which would have made for excellent expository props) shouting meaningless nouns at passers by and frequently giving the book a very disorientating and disjointed narrative flow.
In closing, this was a book that promised much, and delivered little. Beyond the mostly very strong artwork, characters models aside, the story falls flat and leaves on wishing for so much more. If you are a fan of Lovecraftian type horror tales, than this is something you may wish to seek out and read for yourself. Just don't go expecting any in depth character studies or litanies of compelling lore to lose yourself in. Its little more than pretty (disgusting) pictures here folks. 2.75/5
OmniBen.
I wrote another review before this one, although goodreads decided to crash when I posted it with out saving it. The first one was better. My apologies.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews