Joe Golem and the Drowning City: An Illustrated Novel (34 page)

“He knows who he is,” Molly said.

He knows what he was. You need to help him remember what he
can
be.

“Me?” Molly asked, incredulous, shaking her head. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

Church’s ghost stared down at the withered husk of his own mortal remains.
You have to help him recapture his humanity, so that one day he can truly, finally, die as a man.

A hundred thoughts filled her head, a hundred reasons why she could not possibly do as Church had asked. But before she could summon a word in reply, the ghost faded from the world, leaving Molly McHugh alive but alone in the Drowning City.

Outside, the water had calmed, as if New York was holding its breath. But soon the current would strengthen again, the river churning toward the sea. The tide had shifted, and it was headed out.

A
LSO BY
M
IKE
M
IGNOLA

Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
(with Christopher Golden)

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects
(
graphic novel
)

Hellboy graphic novel series

B.P.R.D. graphic novel series

Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels
(
graphic novel
)

Lobster Johnson Volume 1: Iron Prometheus
(
graphic novel
)

Abe Sapien: The Drowning
(
graphic novel
)

Jenny Finn
(
graphic novel
)

Zombieworld: Champion of the Worms
(
graphic novel
)

A
LSO BY
C
HRISTOPHER
G
OLDEN

Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
(with Mike Mignola)

The New Dead
(
editor
)

The Myth Hunters

The Borderkind

The Lost Ones

The Monster’s Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes
(
editor
)

Wildwood Road

The Boys Are Back in Town

Of Saints and Shadows

Angel Souls and Devil Hearts

Of Masques and Martyrs

The Gathering Dark

Waking Nightmares

The Ocean Dark
(as Jack Rogan)

The Collective
(as Jack Rogan)

About the Authors

Mike Mignola is best known as the
New York Times
bestselling, award-winning creator/writer/artist of the Hellboy series. Mignola lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and cat. Visit his Web site at
www.theartofmikemignola.com
.

Christopher Golden is the award-winning,
New York Times
bestselling author of such novels as
The Myth Hunters, The Boys Are Back in Town, Strangerwood,
and
Of Saints and Shadows
. He cowrote the lavishly illustrated novel
Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
with Mike Mignola, and the comic book series featuring the same character. Visit his Web site at
www.christophergolden.com
.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

JOE GOLEM AND THE DROWNING CITY.
Copyright © 2012 by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Mignola, Michael.

    Joe Golem and the drowning city : an illustrated novel / Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden.

ISBN 978-0-312-64473-4 (hardback)

ISBN 978-1-4299-4079-5 (e-book)

  1.  Teenage girls—Fiction.   2.  Private investigators—Fiction.   3.  Paranormal fiction.   4.  Steampunk fiction.   I.  Golden, Christopher.   II.  Title.

PS3613.I38J64 2012

813'.6—dc23

2011045605

First Edition: April 2012