At the Mountains of Madness: A Graphic Novel

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1874607.html

this takes Lovecraft's classic novella and puts it into a stark graphic novel adaptation, beautifully suited to the tale. The original story is a masterpiece of horror, ratcheting up the tension and dread with each sentence; Culbard's adaptation must play with the text a little, but keeps many of the best lines. The drawing style is generally restrained, which makes the one or two moments of horrific revelation (particularly the gruesome fate of the advance party and the first sight of the hidden city) all the more effective. Dyer's increasingly horror is conveyed very economically with subtle changes to the shading of his face, especially the bags under his eyes.

The graphic medium does mean a show more certain attenuation of atmosphere. In Lovecraft's text, we are taken into Dyer's mind, and he admits that he is a slightly unreliable narrator, partly unhinged by the horrors he has witnessed. As a drawn character, even as the narrator, he becomes someone who we readers watch along with the other members of the expedition (and the monsters); he may still be the central character, but his perspective is no longer as privileged as it is in the original text, and that's probably unavoidable. (Dave Sim, for all his many faults, actually had some great moments in Cerebus where we could appreciate the points of view of particular characters, but I think that needs a different kind of story-telling than is really possible here.)

Anyway, a must-have for anyone who is even a mild Lovecraft fan, or indeed for anyone who hasn't yet tried him but is wondering what the fuss is about. show less

Evocative artwork that feels right for the period, without simply imitating it. Culbard has done a good job adapting the story, with minor alterations to better fit the medium, and the slight expansion of the framing device works well. Really enjoyed this.

Lovecraft has been a bit hit or miss for me but this one, despite a fairly predictable climax, was oddly mesmerizing. Not much actually happens, but the slow reveal of the Dreadful Truth is very nicely done, and, well, not only does this offer a generous sampling of classic Lovecraftian gods and monsters, but there are six foot tall monster penguins!

I read several comic adaptations of Lovecraft's stories, manga adaptation of "At the Mountain of Madness" being one of the very good ones, but this series of books by I.N.J. Cullbard are just wonderful.

Presented in the wonderful drawings, this story was truly augmented and presented in the most cinematic way possible. Story itself follows the original Lovecraft's novel but manages to create the pressure of unseen terror, always that something lurking from within shadows without making the visual presentation difficult to the eyes.

Excellent adaptations, highly recommended to all fans of horor and especially Lovecraft.

I bought this on the recommendation of Dave Morris of Fabled Lands. It is a very tight rendition of HP Lovecraft's 'At the Mountains of Madness', with artwork somewhat resembling Hergé's Tintin, though a bit more comic-y. I particularly liked the increasing darkness of the panels as Danforth and the Professor descended deeper into the alien city in the ice. The brevity of the graphic novel form is both a strength and a weakness here. You *see* the Elder Thing in the ice, without the pages of description. There is certainly some creepy buildup, especially during the plane trip over the mountains, but something of the slowly growing horror of the wordy original is lost. This is by no means the fault of the artist, who has done a superb show more job, but is inherent in the adaptation of a novella to graphical form. A very good adaptation of one of Lovecraft's best stories. show less

A graphic novel is perhaps a better format for this particular story then the original. Some of Lovecraft is masterful in its use of inference and suspense, like The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Nut the horror of the Elder things can be truly grasped from illustrations. It would be interesting to see other titles brought to life in the GN genre.

Pretty good graphic novelization. Culbard lets the pictures do their thousand word thing and leaves out most of Lovecraft's purple prose for just the spare dialog. Almost anti-Lovecraft which is refreshing for a Lovecraft novelization. After building the suspense, a little weak on the payoff; I would have liked to have seen more of the chase by the shoggoths. Unless you've read the story by Lovecraft, which I assume almost all readers have, the menace of the shoggoths is a little vague. Why exactly are they so scary? I guess we presume they are the perpetrators for what happened to the others.