Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser

Writer Howard Chaykin
Penciller Mike Mignola
Inker Al Williamson
Colourist Sheryl van Valkenburgh
Letterer Michael Heisler
Publisher Dark Horse

Since their first appearance in 1939, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have ranked among the most beloved characters in fantasy. Their rollicking adventures in the fantastic land of Nehwon have influenced the work of some of the best in modern fantasy, including Michael Moorcock, Terry Pratchett, and countless others. First published in 1991, comics legends Howard Chaykin, Mike Mignola, and Al Williamson's long out of print four issue graphic adaptation of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is collected here for the first time.

Mike Mignola is of course most famous for his Hellboy creation. His artwork here took me a little by surprise especially the faces of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser which seem a little ill defined [The cover is not indicative of how their faces are illustrated inside. I think the cover image was a new one for this trade]. The overall quality is excellent but the faces surprised me. I guess that's why he prefers to draw monsters and chose a non-human design for Hellboy.
Prior to getting this trade I was not familiar at all with Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It's an adaptation of seven Leiber short stories [which are Sword and Sorcery] and the first 16 pages from The First Book of Lankhmar, the first of the authors series of novels. I read The Lord of the Rings about 20 years ago and all the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard a few years back so I love this kind of stuff although it's more jokey than those. It's very good although the stories don't gell together to form a greater whole and have a disjointed feel.