The artwork and design system used for the board game published by Project Raygun and the larger Sideshow Collectibles universe that the game is based on is called Court of the Dead: Mourners Call. The artwork on the game’s cards is hand-drawn and penciled and has garnered a lot of critical acclaim from tabletop reviewers. The game board is a custom illustrated board in UV spot gloss 24″ x 36″. The miniatures are made to Sideshow’s collectible standards. All of this combined creates Mourners Call one of the most visually unique games in the dark fantasy strategy game genre.
Key Takeaways
- Court of the Dead: Mourners Call is a 2-5 player competitive board game published by Project Raygun, with artwork and figures from Sideshow Collectibles‘ original property, Court of the Dead.
- The game features hand drawn, penciled artwork, which was noted by reviewers as simply gorgeous and one of the best in the table top gaming category.
- Tom Gilliland, Chief Creative Officer at Sideshow Collectibles, created the visual universe which centers on three factions of the Underworld, Bone, Flesh, and Spirit.
- The game board is a special 24″ x 36″ illustrated game board with UV spot gloss, and is one of the most illustrated game boards in the mid-weight strategy game category.
- The Court of the Dead universe has been extended to Premium Format figures, a 200 page full colour art book (The Chronicle of the Underworld), jewellery and now tabletop games.
- The central design principle is the juxtaposition of beauty and horror; sympathetic characters are represented in the visual language of decay, masks, and skeletal form.
- The key faction leaders in the artwork are Xiall (Bone), Gethsemoni (Flesh) and Kier (Spirit).
What is Court of the Dead: Mourners Call
Court of the Dead: Mourners Call is a 2-5 player competitive strategy board game by Patrick Marino and published by Project Raygun. It’s a dark strategy game about the Court of the Dead, the leading original game from the award-winning conceptual art and design studio Sideshow, according to the product listing on Amazon.
The game’s story idea is straight from the universe of the Court of the Dead. The Amazon description of the book states that everyone in all of creation is caught up in a constant struggle between the equally corrupt Heaven and Hell. The dead have been enslaved to gather the souls of the dead to power their war. The players become the mourners of the gods, the followers of Death, who are dedicated to making his noble dream a reality: to come up and put an end to the celestial battle. There are three factions in the Underworld: Bone, Flesh, and Spirit. Players will need to carefully manage their power in these factions, their bases and guilds, and within the Court of the Dead to bring the Underworld together for battle.
Big Bad Toy Store’s product listing is rife with various means of bringing the Underworld together, but only one mourners will see his or her dreams come true. Players are also warned about the dreadsgrip, a dark energy which corrupts a mourner’s power once their etherea has become tainted with thoughts of power, destruction, greed, malice, or other negative thoughts.
Game Components
The standard version of Mourners Call contains:
- 57 highly detailed mini figures
- Over 90 premium cards
- Custom-illustrated gameboard, 24″ x 36″, UV spot gloss.
- 4 player boards (double-sided) with custom indents.
- 50 etherea tokens
- Extra game pieces and parts
According to Sideshow’s own product listing, the Kickstarter exclusive edition upped these numbers to 70 figures, 115 premium cards, 5 player boards and 60 etherea pieces.
The Artwork of Court of the Dead: Mourners Call
The Penciled Aesthetic is the name given to the card artwork
Mourners Call’s card art is the most popular visual aspect of the game. The artwork is simply gorgeous, and each card has a hand-drawn penciled look, according to Spikey Bits’ review of the game. The reviewer called it one of the best card art for its genre and said it was a big selling point for the game.
The Mourners Call card art is penciled and hand-drawn, which is in stark contrast to the many modern tabletop cards that are fully rendered digitally. The penciled style adds texture and artisanal quality to the piece, reflecting the Sideshow brand’s dedication to meticulous handcrafted detail in collectibles. A card that is similar to a carefully rendered drawing as opposed to a digital render has a different aesthetic authority, especially in the dark fantasy genre where atmosphere and craft imply seriousness of artistic intent.
The Game Board
This 24″ x 36″ illustrated game board is one of the largest and most detailed in the mid weight strategy game category. The spot gloss treatment is a tactile element that enhances the visual effect: the light reflected on the spot gloss areas is different from the light reflected on the matte areas, giving a subtle sense of depth and increasing the atmosphere of the Underworld.
The board represents the geography of the Underworld, which includes the strongholds and guild locations belonging to each faction. As the game goes on, Sideshow’s product description says players will be able to monitor their influence from the Bone, Flesh, and Spirit factions. It is visually designed to show the territories of each of the factions by colour coding, and by environmental illustration, the strategic information is visible through the artwork itself without the need for the players to refer to other reference material.
Miniature Figure Sculpts
The 57 mini-figures that are part of the standard game are sculpted to a standard that is consistent with Sideshow’s collectibles lines. The figure sculpts are pretty good, according to Spikey Bits, although the reviewer said they were not as detailed as Sideshow’s Premium Format collectible statues, which are one of the most detailed in the collectibles industry. The sculpt quality is called serviceable and above average for a board game.
The numbers refer to characters from the entire Court of the Dead roster, mourner types by faction, special characters from the lore, and units based on the different visual identities of the Bone, Flesh and Spirit factions.
The Visual Universe: Court of the Dead Design Philosophy
The founding of the Court by Tom Gilliland
Tom Gilliland, Chief Creative Officer of Sideshow Collectibles, is the creator of the universe of the Court of the Dead. Dread Central reports that the property was approached from two design directions, in an interview with Gilliland.
Gilliland told Dread Central that the beauty that stood in contrast to the horror was very central to the Court of the Dead, and we wanted to flip that knee-jerk reaction upside down: “We wanted to challenge the notion that scary creatures are bad and beautiful creatures are good and noble. We purposely turned that on its head.”
This design philosophy gives rise to artworks that are beautiful, sympathetic, and frequently heroic, while characters are depicted using the visual language of death and decay, bones, entrails, masks and decay. The Underworld’s denizens are not monsters. They are characters that have selected their appearance as a way of expressing themselves in the logic of the Court.
Bleeding Cool’s San Diego Comic Con coverage reveals that the characters in the Court of the Dead were “carefully selecting their own look and what they wore to express their personality.” The logic of the Court after a viewer enters the world is to choose a mask of bones because it is beautiful, or to be wreathed in entrails because it is nostalgic.
The Three Factions and their Visual Identities
In Mourners Call, the Court of the Dead universe revolves around three factions of the Underworld, each with their own unique visual style, aesthetic appeal and gameplay nuances.
Bone (Xiall — Osteomancer’s Vision)
The Bone faction is related to logic, order and their visual identity highlights the skeletal structure, mineral precision and the clean geometry of stripped down form. The faction leader, Xiall, was released as a 9-inch Prestige Statuette, in collaboration with Pure Arts. Dread Central’s coverage of SDCC 2017 stated that the initial Prestige Statuette set included Xiall, Gethsemoni and Kier as the leaders of the three factions.
Flesh (Gethsemoni — Queen’s Conjuring)
The Flesh faction is related to adaptability and its look features organic textures, preserved forms and the physicality of bodies in different states of transformation. The image Gethsemani has created is a nod to the faction’s physicality, infused with the organic complexity that is integral to the faction’s aesthetic.
Spirit (Kier — Valkyrie’s Revenge)
The Spirit faction embodies experience and spiritual power, and its visual identity is based on ethereal effects, luminosity and shapes that evoke martial strength and transcendence. Bleeding Cool says that Bone has the useful traits of logic and order, Flesh has the useful traits of adaptability, and Spirit has the useful traits of experience.
Death: The Alltaker and His Masks
Death is the central character in all the Court of the Dead art, and is known as the Alltaker in the universe. Death has many faces, and a mask for each of them, according to Sideshow’s own blog post about the designing of the faces of Death. His face is said to be constantly changing to show who he is and what difficulties he faces.
The faces of the Alltaker can be seen in many mediums: in the realm of 2D, you’ll find Death’s masks in concept art throughout the Chronicle of the Underworld book; in our art print program, it’s the Alltaker’s faces in traditional paintings, digital renderings and even letterpress; and in 3D, you’ll discover the Alltaker’s faces in our Premium Format figure line.
According to Sideshow’s product description, the standard version of the Death: Master of the Underworld Premium Format figure is equipped with the Face of the Alltaker mask, the one Death wears when he rules the Court. The exclusive version also comes with the mask of the Shepherd of Souls, which represents his respect for the practice of collecting souls and his pledge to stop the war that consumes them. Both masks are magnetized and keyed for a proper fit.
The Dreadsgrip: A Visual Concept in Mourners Call Artwork
One of the most visually unique ideas in the Court of the Dead universe, and a direct gameplay element in Mourners Call, is the dreadsgrip. The dreadsgrip is an energy, like etherea, but when a mourner’s etherea is contaminated with thoughts of power, destruction, greed, or malice, the dreadsgrip seizes it, and it has a purple stain to it, indicating that it is a tainted power, not as pure as the blue of etherea. – Tom Gilliland, Sideshow’s product description for the Oathbreaker Strÿfe figure.
The color coding of etherea (blue, pure) and dreadsgrip (purple, corrupted) gives a visual system which is meaningful in both the art and gameplay. The concept is embodied in the physical form of the Oathbreaker Strÿfe Premium Format Figure, which is a 23” tall figure in which the energy of the dreadsgrip is literally everywhere.
One of the best design features in the Court of the Dead universe is the visual representation of the moral corruption of the colors. It enables the artwork to convey a moral state of a character without the use of words or explanation, which is exactly what good visual design should do: it encodes information into the image itself.
The Chronicle of the Underworld: The Art Book
The Chronicle of the Underworld is a 200-page full color art book authored by Tom Gilliland and Landry Walker and contributed to by Corrina Bechko, which is the main reference for Court of the Dead artwork. Goodreads reviews say the book is like an almanac of the Underworld, detailing everything from the Alltaker to the various cities, the three factions, the clothes they wear, and even their pets.
One Goodreads reviewer said this: “I’m just as fascinated by the incredible artwork as I am by the plot, which is so rich and dark that it reminds me of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series.”
The Chronicle is the visual and narrative bible of all Court of the Dead media, such as the Mourners Call board game. The 200 pages of concept art, character illustration, faction maps and lore set the visual grammar for all subsequent products, including the game’s card art and miniatures.
Court of the Dead in Multiple Media
Mourners Call is part of a multi-media creative universe. In Heavy Metal Comics’ report on the announcement, co-CEO Jeff Krelitz said that Court of the Dead is “a masterwork” and that Heavy Metal is “proud to help launch Sideshow’s beautiful and ambitious epic.
The Court of the Dead universe now spans:
- Premium Format collectible statues (up to life-size busts and figures)
- The 9-inch figures are made by Prestige Statuettes, developed by Pure Arts.
- Traditional paintings or digital renderings or letterpress editions.
- The Chronicle of the Underworld art book (200 pages, in full color)
- Heavy Metal Comics series (written by Corrina Bechko, drawn by Nat Jones)
- Mourners Call board game is a game designed by Patrick Marino to help you mourn.
- Jewelry and wearable collectibles (Badali and Han Cholo)
- Miniature figures (for tabletop gaming)
Tom Gilliland told Daily Dead that gaming was a huge part of his life and a major part of the strategy for the Court of the Dead: “It’s cool to read about weird places, but much more fun and rewarding to go there yourself.
Mourners Call Artwork Compared to Other Dark Fantasy Game Art
The artwork in Mourners Call is unique in the tabletop dark fantasy market, being created from an existing collectible art universe instead of being commissioned for Mourners Call. This adds depth and consistency to the Mourners Call’s visual design, which most game-original art cannot provide. The characters, factions, and visual language were created over several years of collectibles production prior to the game.
Mourners Call’s hand-drawn penciled card art style sets it apart from digitally rendered contemporary dark fantasy games. It’s an aesthetic bond to hand-rendered illustration, and it’s in a tradition that has included some of the most celebrated fantasy art of the last 40 years, where the visible craftsmanship of the drawn line holds as much meaning as the content it portrays.
The Court of the Dead’s visual approach, that death and decay are beautiful and sympathetic, rather than frightening, is part of a wider tradition of underworld themed art, in which death is used as a point of departure for aesthetic investigation. The traditions studied in the guide to Day of the Dead art are evident in the sugar skulls, the image of La Catrina, and the ofrenda altar, which are all ways of reimagining the visual language of death into celebrations of life, beauty, and community over thousands of years of cultural evolution.
The artwork to Court of the Dead: Mourners Call is located where?
The Board Game
Court of the Dead: Mourners Call can be found at:
- Sideshow Collectibles (sideshow.com): The main retail outlet, including Kickstarter exclusive editions.
- Amazon (USOHB121527): Standard, 57 figures, more than 90 cards.
- Big Bad Toy Store: Standard and variant editions.
This is a great collection of art prints and collectibles
Visit sideshow.com for Art prints, Premium Format figures, Prestige Statuettes and wearable collectibles from the Court of the Dead universe. Art print program consists of traditional paintings, digital renderings and letterpress editions of Death and other important characters.
The Chronicle of the Underworld
The 200-page full-color art book is available at major book retailers and directly from Sideshow Collectibles, and is the most comprehensive single reference on Court of the Dead artwork available.
A key principle of collecting in all disciplines is careful selection and archival quality of materials used to preserve valuable artwork and collectibles over time. It’s explored practically in the American Crafts album Grape Soda, which presents archival grade materials as the basis of any collection meant to endure.
Court of the Dead: Mourners Call Quick Reference
| Detail | Information |
| Property creator | Tom Gilliland (Sideshow Collectibles CCO) |
| Game designer | Patrick Marino |
| Publisher | Project Raygun |
| Player count | 2 to 5 players |
| Play time | Approximately 90 minutes |
| Figures (standard) | 57 highly detailed miniatures |
| Cards (standard) | 90+ premium cards |
| Game board | 24 x 36 inches, UV spot gloss |
| Factions | Bone (Xiall), Flesh (Gethsemoni), Spirit (Kier) |
| Card art style | Hand-drawn, penciled illustration |
| Art book | The Chronicle of the Underworld (200 pages) |
| Comics publisher | Heavy Metal |
| Available from | Sideshow, Amazon, Big Bad Toy Store |
Conclusion
The artwork of Court of the Dead: Mourners Call is the tabletop manifestation of a visual universe that has been created over years at Sideshow Collectibles. Beautiful and terrible, kind and evil, good and bad are all elements of its design philosophy, as are the hand-drawn penciled card art, the 24 x 36 inch UV gloss game board, and the system of colors that communicate moral states through the artwork itself.
Tom Gilliland’s universe behind the artwork extends from Premium Format statues to a 200-page art book, Heavy Metal comics and a board game released by Project Raygun. That universe comes to life in the Mourners Call board game without sacrificing the visual standards that have been set since the game’s introduction at San Diego Comic Con.
Mourners Call is a visually immersive introduction to a universe that will be explored in greater detail in other media, making it a great place for anyone with an interest in dark fantasy art with craft.
For more guides on game art, visual design, and creative universes check out all of the content at Shani Levni.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the meaning of Court of the Dead: Mourners Call?
Court of the Dead: Mourners Call is a 2-5 player competitive strategy board game published by Project Raygun and designed by Patrick Marino. It takes place in the Court of the Dead universe developed by Sideshow Collectibles’ Tom Gilliland, where players are mourners who must join the three factions of the Underworld—Bone, Flesh and Spirit—to fight against the celestial forces of Heaven and Hell.
What is the art in Mourners Call about?
The card art is hand-drawn and penciled, and has been described by reviewers as gorgeous and one of the best in the tabletop dark fantasy category. Game board is a custom 24 x 36″ UV spot gloss illustrated board. These 57 mini figures are cast uniformly with Sideshow’s collectibles lines.
Who is the creator of the universe of the Court of the Dead?
Tom Gilliland, Chief Creative Officer of Sideshow Collectibles, designed the Court of the Dead. Premium Format collectible statues, the Chronicle of the Underworld art book, comics released by Heavy Metal, jewelry, miniature figures and the Mourners Call board game are all part of the universe.
In Court of the Dead: Mourners Call, what are the three factions?
Bone, Flesh, and Spirit are the three factions. Bone is the element of logic and order, and is under the leadership of Xiall. The flesh is linked to flexibility and is guided by Gethsemoni. Spirit is experience and led by Kier. The game’s artwork and the miniature design each have a different look for each faction.
What is the fear that the dead are afraid of in Court of the Dead?
The dreadsgrip is a corrupted version of the Underworld’s energy currency, etherea. It’s when a mourner’s etherea is polluted by thoughts of power, destruction, greed, or malice, according to creator Tom Gilliland. It is visually represented as purple, in contrast to the pure blue of uncorrupted etherea. Too much dreadsgrip in Mourners Call results in punishment from the celestial realms.
Where can I buy Court of the Dead: Mourners Call?
It is sold by Sideshow Collectibles (sideshow.com), Amazon (product code USOHB121527) and Big Bad Toy Store. There may be secondary market sellers for the Kickstarter exclusive edition, which features additional figures and cards.
Does anyone have an art book on Court of the Dead?
Yes. Written by Tom Gilliland and Landry Walker, with Corrina Bechko contributing, The Chronicle of the Underworld is a 200-page full-color art book. It is the visual and narrative bible to the whole Court of the Dead universe and is sold by major book retailers and directly from Sideshow Collectibles.