222 FOLKLORE IN COMICS
incorporate traditional characters and have them interact with other folklore characters
in totally diff erent environments and situations from their familiar haunts. Publications
as diverse as Neil Gaiman ’s Sandman , Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting , and Bill Willing-
ham’s Fables and Jack of Fables exemplify this pattern. In all of these titles, archetypes and
characters from nursery rhymes, folk and fairytales, and classical mythology intermingle
on the same stage. Two very recent series that integrate traditional characters in contem-
porary settings are Greek Street by Peter Milligan, and Davide Gianfelice and Nathan
Edmondson and Christian Ward’s Olympus.
Th ere are also plentiful examples of reworked folklore as part of ongoing storylines.
Th is is particularly evident in Mike Mignola’s Hellboy ; Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai,
with traditional Japanese characters such as Kitsune and the Kappa; and in less notice-
able samples such as Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece’s Incognegro. In this latter story,
the main character escapes captivity by emulating the traditional actions of the trickster
Brer Rabbit in the briar patch. Mignola has continuous references to folklore motifs
and tales throughout the entire series, embracing folklore from all parts of the globe.
Numerous folklore characters have found themselves in a multiplicity of comic books,
particularly Baba Yaga, who manifests herself in Hellboy , Fables , and Th e Books of Magic
while the lesser-known Russian character, Koshchei the Deathless, can be found in Hell-
boy and DC’s Suicide Squad. Th e world and characters of faerie also fi nd themselves in
the comic book worlds of Sandman and Th e Books of Magic , as well as in Mike Carey and
John Bolton’s God Save the Queen. Th e Monkey King of Chinese mythology plays an
important role in Gene Yang’s award winning American Born Chinese and also in Xin:
Legend of the Monkey King and Xin: Journey of the Monkey King. Other characters, usually
less familiar ones, play singular roles in the comic book world. Th e archaic Gibborium,
mighty beings from the Bible, are the infamous enemies of the Runaways series; urban
legends, Bigfoot and the Golem coexist in Grecian & Rossmo’s Proof series; and urban
legends and legendary monsters are the underpinning for both Gilbert Hernandez’s
Sloth , and Jeremy Love’s Bayou. Th ese types of appearances are too numerous to list but
provide hours of entertainment for readers of comic books and folklore.
Historically, in the world of comics, “what adventure comics get from mythology is
a ready-made pool from which to select stories about gods and heroes, who, like many
epic heroes in the Western tradition, may be divinely empowered. It is the act of selec-
tion that is the key, for, lacking the subtlety of most familiar mythologies, traditional
comic narrative is based on the confl ict between Good and Evil, both understood
in absolute terms” (Robinson 2004, 5). Th is is the most evident change in the use
of folklore by comic book creators as the stories, motifs, themes, and issues are now
exploring and illuminating a wider base of confl icts and arguments than in previous
decades. Th e intersection between the world of folklore and the world of comic books
has never been stronger. However, the productive use of material from folklore in com-
ics may in the future be limited by the fact that many in modern society are no longer
conversant with traditional folklore and may not recognize the allusions, reworkings,
and adaptations.
