Mark Ellis (1)

The Miskatonic Project is a (as it is called) Perfect Paperback from Transfuzion Publishing. This enterprising comics company is compiling old classic series in nicely bound and presented omnibus editions. They are not doing it cheaply, however, as this book lists $16.99, undiscounted on Amazon, for 128 pages of material. As much as anything else, they are trying to put these comics into context, so there is a very good forward from noted mythos author Don Burleson (I never could get an inexpensive copy of Beyond the Lamplight), a chronology of the events in Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos with the characters of the Miskatonic Project placed in the timeline, minibios of the creators, and an interview with Mark Ellis and an 1991 interview with Don Heck (unfortunately deceased in 1995). The interview with Mark Ellis may be the best thing about the book; it explains the entire premise behind The Miskatonic Project and its creation, as well as the downfall of the team. As a bonus, Transfuzion Publishing provides the all too few pages of the adaptation that never happened, The Hounds of Tindalos. The dimensions of the book are 10 x 7", and the panels are black and white, allowing a full appreciation of the skills of the artists.

The Miskatonic Project was a series of three comics from 1993. The concept was that The Miskatonic Project was a small group of paranormal investigators from the special documents wing of the Miskatonic University library in Arkham. Per Mr. Ellis, the concept predated the X Files. Like Delta Green they strive to prevent the ascendency of the Cthulhu cultists. Rather uniquely, these comics take stories and characters from Lovecraft, and interweave the characters of the Miskatonic Project. In The Whisperer in Darkness they rescue Professor Wilmarth from the cult, and he recounts to them the events that took place in Lovecraft's story in flashback. They meet Inspector Legrasse, who is grievously wounded in an assault by the cultists. The Miskatonic Project decides to investigate the Akeley estate to stop the Mi-Go.

For its kind of book, this is an excellent compilation. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the art, and the last few extra pages of The Hounds of Tindalos made me wistful for what will never be. The book holds up very well in comparison to my contemporary favorites from Boom Studios. Certainly this is a better buy than Graphic Classics Volume 4 from Eureka Publications, which has excellent production qualities but very poor contents. I am enthusiastically ordering Transfuzion Publishing's the Worlds of HP Lovecraft. Anyone who likes Lovecraftian comics will not be disappointed.… (más)

The Miskatonic Project: The Bride of Dagon is the latest compilation in graphic novel form by the enterprising Transfuzion Publishing. It lists for $15.99, undiscounted by Amazon, for a 100 page issue, pretty much standard value for the money for a graphic novel. I believe the original comics dated from the early 1990s, but there was no note on the origins of the comics so I am guessing. I actually think Transfuzion missed an opportunity to help collectors here. Maybe someone can enlighten me about the publication history. Production qualities are good. Art was by Jim Mooney, Don Heck and Melissa Martin-Ellis. It was OK, but perhaps not as inspired as that for The Whisperer in Darkness by Heck, Hutchinson, Martin and Banks. My favorite panels were perhaps those of a rampaging statue of Cthulhu. I was not enamored of Deep Ones who looked like mermen or of Dagon. After the reprinted comics, we get brief bios of the creators, a few pages of text from The Festival (attributed to Randolph Carter), a few pages about Herbert West and a reprint of the story Dagon. Alas, none of these were illustrated to any extent and they served as mediocre filler for me. The best part was the catalogue of Miskatonic Project gear, which I will probably shop for!

There may be minor spoilers that follow, for those who care.

This issue stands or falls on the quality of the comic, and I found it to be a mixed bag. For someone not well versed in Lovecraft it would likely be better than for an assiduous Lovecraftian. As a comic it was a bit pulpy, rescue a damsel in distress sort of story with OK art. Certainly Cthulhu mythos comic fans need to take a look, as the originals are hard to come by. The characters are a real hodge-podge, lifted with plot bits from many disparate works of HPL, perhaps not to best effect. First of all, the original characters Lord Sabbath and Professor Augustus Grant are absent, more's the pity. Fleur Averoigne (with last name lifted from a creation of Clark Ashton Smith) is back. We also meet, more or less in order, Henry Anthony Wilcox, the sculptor from The Call of Cthulhu who made the bas relief that figures prominently in the first part of the story. He is in the nut house and escapes to serve as a villain who steals a famous book from the MU library, with help from his statue. Actually I found this early part of the book very effective. Now as part of the Miskatonic Project we meet Randolph Carter, relating his adventures, not from the Dreamlands as you might expect but from the story The Festival where he takes the part of the protagonist. We also meet Thomas Malone, fresh out of Red Hook, with plenty Irish brogue-isms. The book is tracked to Kingsport where another Festival is interrupted and Wilmarth meets his end...but not so fast because enter...Herbert West, helpfully reanimated himself and ready to lend a hand or two or three to the Miskatonic Project. After a zombie fight, they set to interrogating the remains of Wilmarth but alas, a very (typically comic book) voluptuous, in a very human way, Deepish One, Ph'Ragn' Thtul, lures away Fleur. She is taken away to a world below the sea but fortunately, enter a new character, Robert Olmsted (remember the protagonist from The Shadow Over Innsmouth?). At least I think that's who it must be but I don't recall seeing the name in the text; also he has not felt the Innsmouth taint yet and he has contacts in the government who let him borrow a submarine. Meanwhile, it turns out Fleur is of the lineage of the count from the story the Alchemist, who's heirs always die at age 32, and it just so happens it is Fleur's birthday! Oh no! The ultimate bad guy of the story is revealed, and it is...Karl Heinrich!! Yep, it is the U-boat officer from HPL's The Temple, who plans to use Fleur's death to release Dagon and ground him in our dimension. Much mayhem ensues, where mermen like Deep Ones are out-swum and out-fought by scuba divers, and Ph'Ragn' Thtul realizes Heinrich is a bad guy.

Oh well, for me there were too many threads from too many HPL stories, none of them well presented and some inserted deus ex machina, and the Deep Ones did not come across as much of a threat. The art was only so-so. The original plot threads strained Lovecraftian credibility. I guess collectors will want this but for those idly curious about The Miskatonic Project, I think The Whisperer in Darkness is a better bet.… (más)