The following is an interview with Ben Stenbeck (Our Bones Dust, Baltimore, B.P.R.D.) regarding the release of the comic book mini-series, Lands Unknown: The Skinless Man, in collaboration with Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Stenbeck about his creative process in bringing the Lands Unknown world to life on the page, his experience in bringing this mini-series to a close within the larger expanded universe, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent release of the new 2-issue mini-series, Lands Unknown: The Skinless Man! As a longtime Hellboy collaborator, what were you most excited to tackle with this installation in the Lands Unknown universe?
Ben Stenbeck: Thanks! It’s been a long time coming, so I’m really happy to finally have it out in the world and see people reacting so well to it. My favourite thing I’ve done in the HB universe was Koshchei the Deathless.
At some point while working on that, I remember thinking I would be pretty happy drawing this sort of thing forever. So, for me, Lands Unknown is that: It’s the perfect place to tell weird folktales full of strange creatures and characters.
BD: When tackling a project like The Skinless Man, where you are writing and illustrating the series, is there anything that guides or propels your approach to crafting the world and characters?
BS: I have broad ideas about what sort of characters I want to tell stories about and that usually comes with a handful of visual ideas. I sort of layer things from there. Those elements sort of feed into each other backwards and forwards.
BD: Likewise, what can you tell us about your shared creative process in working with colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Clem Robins to bring life to the spooky creatures within Lands Unknown?
BS: What can I say about those guys that hasn’t already been said. I’d be lost without Dave. He breathes life into everything I do and gives it all a sense of cohesion. I’m not really a ‘fan’ of my own art, but once Dave has coloured it, I get to sort of go ‘oh hey, that’s pretty cool!’ I look forward to seeing his colours more than any other thing i can think of. It’s like Christmas as a kid.
BD: With Issue #2 releasing today, what are you most excited for readers to experiencing with the mini-series’ conclusion?
BS: I think Issue 2 is the most interesting of the two. It’s packed full of fun visuals which, to be honest, when I first came up with this story, I wasn’t planning to condense it down to 2 issues, so there’s all these elements I originally wanted to explore in depth. I wound up not having space to do that, but that’s alright; what’s there gives enough of a sense of this big world.
Also, the conclusion of this story takes place in a part of Lands Unknown that Mike also explores in Uri Tupka and the Gods. We didn’t discuss it, we didn’t see each other’s stories until after they were done. We had only the briefest conversation about what that place is like. But what I love is how well our two versions of this place complement each other. To me it really feels like the same place, so I’m looking forward to people enjoying those small areas of crossover between our stories.
BD: Are there any additional projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
BS: If you’ve enjoyed my writing on The Skinless Man, you might want to try the post-apocalyptic sci-fi book I wrote and drew, Our Bones Dust, published by Image Comics. Coming up in June from Dark Horse is the Koshchei the Deathless Omnibus, collecting three books written by Mike and drawn by me: Koshchei the Deathless, Koshchei in Hell, and The Serpent in the Garden. Also, the Acheron one-shot drawn by Mike. I’m really proud of those books, so I’m looking forward to having them all in one big tome.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Lands Unknown: The Skinless Man and your other work?
BS: This is the most fun I’ve ever had making comics, I think comics are at their best when they’re made by someone doing what they want. Making comics to entertain themselves. And that’s what the Lands Unknown universe is all about.
