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 show more 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. show less

A cheesy pseudo-sequel to James Cameron's Aliens film has cameos from the main cast in the opening scenes but then focuses on Paul Reiser's Carter Burke character, showing us what might have happened if he didn't die on LV-426.

Well, he sets into motion the events of Alien³ then peels off into corporate exile and thirty-five boring years of managing a remote asteroid mining colony. Even though he is a nearly broken man, he still has ambition and a scheme to retrieve and exploit a new alien show more egg.

The book does a real good job of capturing the character and voice of Burke -- I could hear Reiser delivering all his lines in my head -- but this hypothetical tale never quite makes him charming enough to redeem him or even offset a portion of the evil that he does and the havoc that his plans wreak. It never quite hits the balance between madcap humor and horror thriller that it is aiming for. And the story sort of ends on a cliffhanger, showing the creative team must be hoping for another go-round in the future, but leaving a reader frustrated if it never comes about. show less

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 show more 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. show less

A fascinating look at what if Lovecraft didn't make it all up.

The story was a bit hard to follow at times though for me some of that was becuase I was so distracted by the images. I felt fairly invested in the characters though, even the ones that weren't in the story for very long or given much background and the confusion I felt in the story actually helped with the story in the end since part of the concept seem to be, was this truly real or was he just insane?

I loved the use of the art show more and color to tell the story and differentiate between the "real" world and the world of Arkham, how the real world was mostly sepia toned, neutral and passive while Arkham was vibrant and colorful, chaotic and fantastic. I could spend forever studying the pages looking for hidden images and allusions.

For me this was a very successful adaptation of the Lovecraftian mythos, not an easy thing to do. show less