Hans Rodionoff

I typically approach any Lovecraft-related graphic novels with a healthy dose of trepidation. Often, the art simply does not live up to Lovecraft's terror, and ends up looking bland, childish, and cartoonish.

And, equally often, the writer either sticks slavishly to Lovecraft's original words, or veers so wildly that it doesn't even resemble a Lovecraft story anymore.

So, there's a fine line to be tread, hewing close enough to keep the spirit of Lovecraft, while also making it interesting enough for a more modern audience.

I will say, of the hundreds of Lovecraft graphic novels I've read, this one, hands down, is the best. The art moves with the horror, yet strikes a perfect tone each time. And the writing? I'm surprised, as I'm not a big fan of Keith Giffen's writing overall, but here, he does a great job. Yes, he takes some liberties, seemingly making Howard Lovecraft a lot less awkward than is typically portrayed, but overall, just a great story.

I loved this.… (más)

I have often thought about reading H. P. Lovecraft. Not knowing if I would be repulsed or intrigued, I have yet to cross the line. Recently, however, some facsimile of him appeared before my eyes. Late last Halloween evening I was looking for something to read before sleeping. Too lazy to rustle up my glasses, I grabbed this book blindly off the shelf. I wrinkled my brow at the chance and fell into bed reading. I was immediately drawn in. Origin stories always intrigue—the origin of madness even more so. Lovecraft as a person appears to have run the gamut from unseemly to unsavory to unforgivable. This story offers how he sympathetically might have reached that place—and where the worlds he “created” might have sprung from. Childhood trauma germinates into adult horror obliterating the life he might have had. The story kind of slithers along—events happen or may not happen—Lovecraft ages but may not mature. Is anything real. The story is well paced and inventive and smothers when you almost catch your breath. The art work has a nice contrast. The presentation of Lovecraft manages an almost endearing caricature that is then set upon by the wildly imaginative art of Lovecraft’s worst fears. The art managing to be both indistinct and ominous, billowing as if the laws of this world don’t apply—instead answering to the demands of another. It all ends in devastation. A nice late night ride. I picked the book randomly but in the middle of reading, I remembered someone earlier in the day asked me out of nowhere if I had heard of Providence. It was odd then…stranger later when I began reading about possibly it's most famous scion.… (más)

Kaley's got amnesia, Mike's on the sauce again, and something black and slimy with a lot of tentacles and eyes is coming up the drain at the nursing home. And it wants to feed on your memories. Pretty much everybody is screwed. But Kaley isn't giving up. She has an axe, some caulk, and a roll of duct tape and that's about all you get to battle your worst nightmares.

I liked this book a lot. The artwork was great and the parallel story lines really captured my interest. I liked the innovative use of white spaces for the fading in and out of reality/memory. It made it hard to fill in the blanks sometimes, but was overall effective. The open endedness of the story seemed unusual for a graphic novel. And it wasn't about zombies, werewolves, vampires or Lovecraftian horrors, although the monster was pretty tentacley.

This is also a beautiful hardcover book well printed on heavier than average stock.… (más)