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Lovecraft
The Necronomicon. Cthulu, The Unnamable. The cursed town of Arkham. These icons of horror sprang from the imagination of H. P. Lovecraft. But consider this: what if the imaginary terrors that Lovecraft wrote about were not imaginary at all?
In the original graphic novel LOVECRAFT (Vertigo; Publication Date: March 1, 2004), screenwriter Hans Rodionoff (The Hollow), comics legend Keith Giffen, and acclaimed Argentinean artist Enrique Breccia follow the life of Howard Phillips Lovecraft from his bizarre childhood (where his mother dressed him as a girl) to the dissolution of his marriage. Lovecraft comes to believe that he is the guardian of the Necronomicon, the accursed book that is the doorway to the beyond. Was he insane? Or was he a hero?
LOVECRAFT is a 144-page VERTIGO original hardcover graphic novel and is suggested for mature readers.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Keith Giffen
1,872 books209 followersKeith Ian Giffen was an American comic book illustrator and writer. He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International (1987-1992). He also plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
December 4, 2010
I am usually pretty skeptical of fictionalized comic book autobiographies; not because I am disinterested in a writer's personal, fantastical projections onto the life of his subject matter, but because I am wary of cheesy, cardboard-y dialogue and exposition. Well, Lovecraft, although a pleasant enough diversion,confirmed my fears of the comic book-biography. I think the book suffered due to its short length- there is no room for the story (Lovecraft finds his father's copy of the Necronomicon, opens the gate for eldritch beings to seep into our world, is tormented by said beings throughout his life and must keep them in check via the pen,etc etc) to elegantly unfold and allow us a richer experience of Lovecraft's world. The storytelling is distractingly two-dimensional; there is a lot of awkward dialogue and exposition that seems randomly plucked from the academic pages of a Lovecraft biography and thrust into the story. There are two confusing panels where an editor of Weird Tales tries to convince Lovecraft to ghost-write for Houdini and persuades Lovecraft to hear his pitch through an ice-cream bribery. It comes out of left field and seems like an in-joke for fans of the writer perhaps more steeped in his life story than myself. Lovecraft is a fantasy story that reads more like a fan boy's high school English project.
The art for this book is beautiful, however. Contemporary interpretations of Lovecraft's world tend to leave me cold, but the muted watercolors and careful, tight pen lines of Enrique Breccia suited the story well. Breccia's caricature of Lovecraft's long mug is pretty dead on, although his depictions of Rhode Island are not. His drawings of New York are highly detailed, but when he gets to Providence the backgrounds become cluttered, ambiguous clusters of 18th Century houses. Butler Hospital does not look like Butler Hospital, and Swan Point Cemetery does not look like Swan Point Cemetery. Just sayin. I would love to see what comic book artists and writers more steeped in pulp could do with Lovecraft's story. My first picks are Charles Burns and Richard Sala. They seem more suited to the task than these guys.
For anyone interested in a Lovecraft fan's projections onto the weird writer's life story, check out punk band Rudimentary Peni's album Cacophony . Like the pages of a Lovecraft story, the music and lyrics are ghoulish and rambling. It's an amazing album and one of the only intentionally Lovecraftian works I have found that successfully captures the spirit of Lovecraft's world.
The art for this book is beautiful, however. Contemporary interpretations of Lovecraft's world tend to leave me cold, but the muted watercolors and careful, tight pen lines of Enrique Breccia suited the story well. Breccia's caricature of Lovecraft's long mug is pretty dead on, although his depictions of Rhode Island are not. His drawings of New York are highly detailed, but when he gets to Providence the backgrounds become cluttered, ambiguous clusters of 18th Century houses. Butler Hospital does not look like Butler Hospital, and Swan Point Cemetery does not look like Swan Point Cemetery. Just sayin. I would love to see what comic book artists and writers more steeped in pulp could do with Lovecraft's story. My first picks are Charles Burns and Richard Sala. They seem more suited to the task than these guys.
For anyone interested in a Lovecraft fan's projections onto the weird writer's life story, check out punk band Rudimentary Peni's album Cacophony . Like the pages of a Lovecraft story, the music and lyrics are ghoulish and rambling. It's an amazing album and one of the only intentionally Lovecraftian works I have found that successfully captures the spirit of Lovecraft's world.
November 14, 2019
Los fans de Lovecraft estamos de enhorabuena con esta... biografía imaginaria en la que descubrimos qué había detrás de la poderosa inspiración del autor estadounidense.
Precioso, con una edición esmerada, pues lo merece. Ilustraciones a todo color, espeluznantes y deliciosas a partes iguales.
Muy bien todo.
Precioso, con una edición esmerada, pues lo merece. Ilustraciones a todo color, espeluznantes y deliciosas a partes iguales.
Muy bien todo.
June 29, 2011
So this sounded a lot better than it ended up being. The best thing about it is the artwork by Enrique Breccia, whose ominous crosshatched shadows and delirious use of color make the story a visual treat. Unfortunately, what little there is of a plot felt formulaic and superficial.
There are plenty of nods to Lovecraft's fiction to keep a reader familiar with it entertained, but it was nothing more than an extended, and fairly average homage, rather than the inspired re-imagining one might expect from the blurbs. Yeah, probably another case of my expectations getting the better of me. Anyway.
Long story short: even though there isn't a single gambrel roof in sight, the artwork is spectacular, and it totally carries the threadbare plot.
And it's Jenkin. No s. Rodionoff might have lost some Arkham street cred with that one.
There are plenty of nods to Lovecraft's fiction to keep a reader familiar with it entertained, but it was nothing more than an extended, and fairly average homage, rather than the inspired re-imagining one might expect from the blurbs. Yeah, probably another case of my expectations getting the better of me. Anyway.
Long story short: even though there isn't a single gambrel roof in sight, the artwork is spectacular, and it totally carries the threadbare plot.
And it's Jenkin. No s. Rodionoff might have lost some Arkham street cred with that one.
October 31, 2013
Stuff I Read - Lovecraft Review
I got this because, at least in part, I really do like Lovecraft's stories and his ideas about horror. And I like comics, so this seemed like something that would be right up my alley. I should have known something was a little off, though, when the foreword, written by horror filmmaker John Carpenter, was about evil. Sure, he tries to make a point about the word Lovecraftian, but I couldn't really take that seriously when he then went on to talk about evil. Because, in my mind, there are few things as far away from Lovecraft's writing than depictions of good and evil.
It's a trap the graphic novel explores in a rather interesting way, though, building a fictional biography for Lovecraft around his obsession with the weird. And while I can appreciate that the graphic novel is basically a way to try and make Lovecraft's life mirror his prose, there are some serious problems with the final product. Not that the book isn't good, because it is. The art is fitting for the rather surreal story, and the monsters are rendered well and the story flows from beginning to end. Really if this was about anyone else I probably would have less to say about it. It's a fine story.
My main issue comes from the way the story flows, the way it posits the Old Ones as a force of evil trying to force their way into our world. Which is really not how Lovecraft presented them, not where the horror is supposed to arise from to, in my opinion, be Lovecraftian. In Lovecraft's work the Old Ones weren't evil. Not in the sense that they had grand plans on invading Earth. They were so far above and beyond humans that their mere presence was enough to drive people insane. It was with facing humanity's insignificance that the true horror came from, not from the fact that monsters were after us but that they existed, they existed and were so foreign that we couldn't even begin to understand them or really perceive them.
And my main disappointment was that all the monsters in this graphic novel were mundane in comparison, just evil monsters that can be fought against and defeated. And that doesn't seem quite right to me, doesn't seem Lovecraftian. The characters in Lovecraft's stories cannot often, if ever, fight back against the darkness. Sometimes they are overlooked, or escape, but to say that Lovecraft's work is the binding on the door that keeps the Old Ones locked away seems to fly wholly in the face of what Lovecraft did with his prose.
So while this is a fine book, I had my fair share of problems with it. Again, if it wasn't about Lovecraft this works great. It's dark and disturbing in places, and the art is appropriate and visceral. The plot is fine, if a little strange, but it's not a strageness that was difficult to follow. I just expected more from something called Lovecraft, more than just a story about good versus evil. And without that, I can only give the book a 6/10.
I got this because, at least in part, I really do like Lovecraft's stories and his ideas about horror. And I like comics, so this seemed like something that would be right up my alley. I should have known something was a little off, though, when the foreword, written by horror filmmaker John Carpenter, was about evil. Sure, he tries to make a point about the word Lovecraftian, but I couldn't really take that seriously when he then went on to talk about evil. Because, in my mind, there are few things as far away from Lovecraft's writing than depictions of good and evil.
It's a trap the graphic novel explores in a rather interesting way, though, building a fictional biography for Lovecraft around his obsession with the weird. And while I can appreciate that the graphic novel is basically a way to try and make Lovecraft's life mirror his prose, there are some serious problems with the final product. Not that the book isn't good, because it is. The art is fitting for the rather surreal story, and the monsters are rendered well and the story flows from beginning to end. Really if this was about anyone else I probably would have less to say about it. It's a fine story.
My main issue comes from the way the story flows, the way it posits the Old Ones as a force of evil trying to force their way into our world. Which is really not how Lovecraft presented them, not where the horror is supposed to arise from to, in my opinion, be Lovecraftian. In Lovecraft's work the Old Ones weren't evil. Not in the sense that they had grand plans on invading Earth. They were so far above and beyond humans that their mere presence was enough to drive people insane. It was with facing humanity's insignificance that the true horror came from, not from the fact that monsters were after us but that they existed, they existed and were so foreign that we couldn't even begin to understand them or really perceive them.
And my main disappointment was that all the monsters in this graphic novel were mundane in comparison, just evil monsters that can be fought against and defeated. And that doesn't seem quite right to me, doesn't seem Lovecraftian. The characters in Lovecraft's stories cannot often, if ever, fight back against the darkness. Sometimes they are overlooked, or escape, but to say that Lovecraft's work is the binding on the door that keeps the Old Ones locked away seems to fly wholly in the face of what Lovecraft did with his prose.
So while this is a fine book, I had my fair share of problems with it. Again, if it wasn't about Lovecraft this works great. It's dark and disturbing in places, and the art is appropriate and visceral. The plot is fine, if a little strange, but it's not a strageness that was difficult to follow. I just expected more from something called Lovecraft, more than just a story about good versus evil. And without that, I can only give the book a 6/10.
November 24, 2018
Este tipo de livros que misturam o horror e o fantástico com a nossa realidade não fazem nada o meu género. No entanto, até gostei deste livro, julgo que por causa da forma como o argumento foi pensado, assim como os desenhos e as diversas técnicas de coloração que se nota terem sido usadas.
July 15, 2015
Dark and twisted with beautiful beautiful illustration, this was a teensy bit more cohesive than many of Lovecraft's own stories.
Loved it!
Loved it!
May 4, 2018
Uma quase-biografia em formato de romance gráfico que tenta explicar de onde veio a inspiração para os contos e toda a mitologia que H.P. Lovecraft criou - nesta abordagem tudo é real, incluindo o temido livro Al Azif/Necronomicon
A arte é adequadamente grotesca, com uma palete de cores a alternar entre o depressivo do "mundo normal" e o sufocante da dimensão de Arkham onde o terror cósmico domina a realidade. A narrativa poderia estar mais bem desenvolvida, dando um livro maior, e o ritmo de leitura é demasiado rápido para a minha preferência no que toca a histórias destas, e achei as referências à obra simultaneamente empolgantes e desorganizadas, mas tudo isso é facilmente aceitável da minha parte enquanto fã; o que me causou mais confusão foi a explicação de como se pronuncia o nome Cthulhu (completamente errada), mas não é claro se o problema é desta obra ou da tradução que li.
No geral, foi uma boa experiência, mas não causou os mesmos arrepios que ler os contos originais do Mythos causa, provavelmente devido à elevada rapidez da narrativa que deixa uma sensação de ter sido feita à pressa ou de falta de ideias e referências para um maior desenvolvimento. Penso que um projecto destes deveria ser mais ambicioso e marcante, ainda que as sensações de opressão e de desamparo (tão associado ao terror cósmico) tenham sido bem conseguidas.
A arte é adequadamente grotesca, com uma palete de cores a alternar entre o depressivo do "mundo normal" e o sufocante da dimensão de Arkham onde o terror cósmico domina a realidade. A narrativa poderia estar mais bem desenvolvida, dando um livro maior, e o ritmo de leitura é demasiado rápido para a minha preferência no que toca a histórias destas, e achei as referências à obra simultaneamente empolgantes e desorganizadas, mas tudo isso é facilmente aceitável da minha parte enquanto fã; o que me causou mais confusão foi a explicação de como se pronuncia o nome Cthulhu (completamente errada), mas não é claro se o problema é desta obra ou da tradução que li.
No geral, foi uma boa experiência, mas não causou os mesmos arrepios que ler os contos originais do Mythos causa, provavelmente devido à elevada rapidez da narrativa que deixa uma sensação de ter sido feita à pressa ou de falta de ideias e referências para um maior desenvolvimento. Penso que um projecto destes deveria ser mais ambicioso e marcante, ainda que as sensações de opressão e de desamparo (tão associado ao terror cósmico) tenham sido bem conseguidas.
January 18, 2016
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 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.
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 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.
June 29, 2023
Olen alkanut olla huolissani muististani. Elämä on ollut viime aikoina toki aika stressaavaa, mutta tuntuu, että unohdan kertoneeni ystävälleni saman tarinan jo aikaisemmin, tai että minulla ei ole minkäänlaista mielikuvaa lukemastani työsähköpostiviestistä.
Niin, tai sarjakuvasta, kuten tästä Hans Rodionoffin käsikirjoittamasta ja Enrique Breccian kuvittamasta "Lovecraftista" (Vertigo, 2004). Sarjakuva-albumi oli näemmä tullut luettua loppuvuodesta 2019, mutta minkäänlaista mielikuvaa se ei ollut jättänyt. Olen kyllä edelleen samaa mieltä kuin silloinkin: ihan kohtalaisen hyvä tämä kirjailija H.P. Lovecraftin todellisiin elämänvaiheisiin pohjaava kauhistelu on, eikä kuvituksessakaan ole moittimista.
Mitähän mieltä mahdan olla, kun luen tämän kolmannen kerran ihan uutena albumina?
Niin, tai sarjakuvasta, kuten tästä Hans Rodionoffin käsikirjoittamasta ja Enrique Breccian kuvittamasta "Lovecraftista" (Vertigo, 2004). Sarjakuva-albumi oli näemmä tullut luettua loppuvuodesta 2019, mutta minkäänlaista mielikuvaa se ei ollut jättänyt. Olen kyllä edelleen samaa mieltä kuin silloinkin: ihan kohtalaisen hyvä tämä kirjailija H.P. Lovecraftin todellisiin elämänvaiheisiin pohjaava kauhistelu on, eikä kuvituksessakaan ole moittimista.
Mitähän mieltä mahdan olla, kun luen tämän kolmannen kerran ihan uutena albumina?
October 26, 2013
A fan's re-imagining of their hero's life. What if the horrors Lovecraft wrote about are true, and he was the only one who could see and react to them?
The story: It's good, but not great. I feel they wrote this intending to present it as a storyboard for a potential movie - and I'd watch this movie! But in that regard it was haphazard and sort of flat? People and ideas get tossed in - Harry Houdini is one notable tangent - that don't really build the plot and aren't developed much. All in all this was kind of a jumble.
The artwork: Very beautiful. Sometimes a little more abstract than I like, as it distracts from following the story, but beautiful nonetheless. Excepting Lovecraft's face, that is, as he has a significant underbite (true to life).
The story: It's good, but not great. I feel they wrote this intending to present it as a storyboard for a potential movie - and I'd watch this movie! But in that regard it was haphazard and sort of flat? People and ideas get tossed in - Harry Houdini is one notable tangent - that don't really build the plot and aren't developed much. All in all this was kind of a jumble.
The artwork: Very beautiful. Sometimes a little more abstract than I like, as it distracts from following the story, but beautiful nonetheless. Excepting Lovecraft's face, that is, as he has a significant underbite (true to life).
January 18, 2015
En fin...
1.5
Una adaptación muy libre de su vida mezclando partes de ella y cosas del Necronomicrón.
El dibujo no me ha gustado nada y no me ha transmitido nada. Lovecraft, Sonia, y demás personas memorables de su vida no se parecen nada a los reales y cuanto más avanza la novela más larga le hace la cara a a Lovecraft, exagerados en serio con lo de la cara xD.
Ya sabía que me decepcionaría pero soy cabezota de nacimiento.
Una adaptación muy libre de su vida mezclando partes de ella y cosas del Necronomicrón.
El dibujo no me ha gustado nada y no me ha transmitido nada. Lovecraft, Sonia, y demás personas memorables de su vida no se parecen nada a los reales y cuanto más avanza la novela más larga le hace la cara a a Lovecraft, exagerados en serio con lo de la cara xD.
Ya sabía que me decepcionaría pero soy cabezota de nacimiento.
June 5, 2017
Howard Phillips Lovecraft era doido pelas trevas e o inexplicável. Dizem que tinha o mesmo dom de percepção que enlouqueceu seu pai. Seria ele realmente o guardião do Necronomicon? O que é realidade? E horror? H. P. Lovecraft mostra um pouco disto neste livro, horrivelmente materializado (ou plasmado) por Hans Rodionoff, Keith Giffen, Enrique Breccia com introdução do cineasta John Carpenter. Valeu muito a leitura!
September 16, 2023
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.
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.
October 25, 2018
There was a time when I read a lot of Lovecraft. He is one of my favorite writers and I enjoy everything that has a lovecraftian vibe. Here we have a version of Lovecraft's life, inspiration and work from his childhood when he finds one of his father's books: the Necronomicon, to his grownup days where he writes about Arkham and Cthulhu and the Ancient Ones.
My favorite part: The illustration was good but what I really loved was the coloring.
What I didn't like: I feel the book should have been longer, that way the story could have been more developed.
There's only one word to describe this book: ominous.
My favorite part: The illustration was good but what I really loved was the coloring.
What I didn't like: I feel the book should have been longer, that way the story could have been more developed.
There's only one word to describe this book: ominous.
October 4, 2020
Hermoso homenaje a Lovecraft.
September 25, 2020
This is a semi fictional tale of the life of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, a young awkward boy brought up by his mother, aunt and grandfather after his father finds the necronomicon and goes mad.
In a comic filled with drama it hits on the world's H.P. created with some stunning art as the normal world meets the other, much darker world.
A sad tale of madness, feeling alienated and trying to make a living as a story teller.
If only he knew now how much influence he has on the horror genre.
In a comic filled with drama it hits on the world's H.P. created with some stunning art as the normal world meets the other, much darker world.
A sad tale of madness, feeling alienated and trying to make a living as a story teller.
If only he knew now how much influence he has on the horror genre.
May 12, 2017
A semi-fictional biography of H.P. Lovecraft. An amazing blend of reality and fiction, drama and horror, captivating writing and haunting art.
This is the ultimate treat for any Lovecraft fan, especially those who know the horrible and beautiful details of his life.
This is the ultimate treat for any Lovecraft fan, especially those who know the horrible and beautiful details of his life.
August 26, 2017
HQ bonita, mas a ideia de contar a história do autor por trás das histórias não foi tão bem trabalhada, o neonomicon faz isso muito melhor.
October 30, 2017
Meh. A silly story that plots Lovecraft's stories as true and an incantation against the monsters in his mythos.
August 9, 2023
Biografía de un Lovecraft que sí que tiene un ejemplar del Necronomicon. Bien dibujada por Enrique Breccia, que hace honor a los pinceles de su padre.
January 11, 2020
Lovecraft is a semi-biographical graphic novel written by the team of Hans Rodionoff and Keith Giffen and illustrated by Enrique Breccia with an introduction by John Carpenter, and traces the life of H.P. Lovecraft with the postulation that the monsters he invented were real.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American writer of weird fiction and horror fiction. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he spent most of his life there, and his fiction was primarily set against a New England backdrop. Lovecraft was never able to support himself from earnings as an author and editor, and he subsisted in progressively strained circumstances in his last years.
The graphic novel focuses on the graphics, notably lurid, dialogue-free sequences depicting Cthulhu and his tentacled kin assaulting helpless humans, starting with Winfield Scott Lovecraft, his father, shown in bed with a woman not his wife in a Chicago hotel. Like the actual philandering father, who contracted syphilis, this Winfield dies in an insane asylum in Lovecraft's native Providence, Rhodes Island, though not before passing on the family copy of Abdul Alhazred's Necronomicon to his young son. The remainder of the narrative concerns Lovecraft's repetitive attempts, in childhood and adulthood, to ward off a series of repellent creatures.
Lovecraft is written and constructed rather well. Breccia choice in using caricatures for the protagonists and monsters is an interesting choice. The child Lovecraft has the pronounced lantern jaw that he developed only in maturity. However, it is the shading that made the graphic novel rather spooky. Lovecraftian fans will enjoy the way the book blends bits of biographical detail with Lovecraft's frightening fictional concepts to create a grotesque and disturbing visual experience, if they overlook the art.
All in all, Lovecraft is a wonderful semi-biographical horror graphic novel about H.P. Lovecraft, which blends his life and the monsters he created rather well.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American writer of weird fiction and horror fiction. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he spent most of his life there, and his fiction was primarily set against a New England backdrop. Lovecraft was never able to support himself from earnings as an author and editor, and he subsisted in progressively strained circumstances in his last years.
The graphic novel focuses on the graphics, notably lurid, dialogue-free sequences depicting Cthulhu and his tentacled kin assaulting helpless humans, starting with Winfield Scott Lovecraft, his father, shown in bed with a woman not his wife in a Chicago hotel. Like the actual philandering father, who contracted syphilis, this Winfield dies in an insane asylum in Lovecraft's native Providence, Rhodes Island, though not before passing on the family copy of Abdul Alhazred's Necronomicon to his young son. The remainder of the narrative concerns Lovecraft's repetitive attempts, in childhood and adulthood, to ward off a series of repellent creatures.
Lovecraft is written and constructed rather well. Breccia choice in using caricatures for the protagonists and monsters is an interesting choice. The child Lovecraft has the pronounced lantern jaw that he developed only in maturity. However, it is the shading that made the graphic novel rather spooky. Lovecraftian fans will enjoy the way the book blends bits of biographical detail with Lovecraft's frightening fictional concepts to create a grotesque and disturbing visual experience, if they overlook the art.
All in all, Lovecraft is a wonderful semi-biographical horror graphic novel about H.P. Lovecraft, which blends his life and the monsters he created rather well.
November 23, 2022
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.
September 7, 2020
Como grande fã de H. P. Lovecraft, devo dizer que esperava um bocadinho mais deste livro. A forma como os "monstros" surgem na vida real, roçando a insanidade e a loucura do próprio Lovecraft, seria uma premissa mais que perfeita para um livro de Banda Desenhada. No entanto, estas criaturas pouco ou nada têm de Lovecraftiano. A existência de um portal que as segura, a possibilidade de as combater através de encantamentos e a obsessão inexplicável que elas têm com a perseguição de seres humanos apontam para influências de outros autores. Esta oposição tão notória entre bem e mal talvez estivesse à altura de uma biografia ficcionada de Poe ou do próprio Stephen King, na qual os monstros destes escritores os assombrassem realmente. Porém, o que mais fascina e aterroriza em Lovecraft é a incapacidade que a humanidade tem em reagir perante aquilo que desconhece, os monstros que existem além da sua lógica, além da sua catalogação do mundo. A visão de Lovecraft é a de um terror que aniquila totalmente a compreensão e ação humanas. E, neste livro, isso é ignorado por completo, deixando um sabor amargo na boca de um verdadeiro fã. É, de facto, um bom livro, a arte é fenomenal e a originalidade absolutamente perfeita... Não fosse o simples facto de não representar, de todo, Howard Philips Lovecraft como o conhecemos.
April 19, 2023
Perdí este cómic en su tiempo y me ha costado trabajo volver a conseguir un ejemplar en buen estado. Leído en inglés originario. Un biopic imaginativo de concepto muy original en el que se introduce la mitología de la obra de Lovecraft en su propia vida reimaginando las motivaciones de su autor como guardián ante las amenazas sobrenaturales reales de la compleja mitología que plasmaba en sus obras, siempre abriendo la puerta de culpar a la demencia heredada. La obra sabe navegar con delicia ese océano entre lo real e imaginario mediante la metaliteratura y la cooperación de ambos ilustradores: dos titanes canónicos que logran plasmar tanto la intimidad y costumbrismo de la época como el mundo onírico, pesadillesco y retorcido de la amenaza cósmica, jugando con el detallismo preciso, las tonalidades plásticas y la caricatura. Una absoluta delicia de cómic aunque quizá no sea para cualquier paladar y disfrutarlo al máximo requiere cierto conocimiento previo de la vida del maestro de Providence.
February 18, 2019
I have never read anything Lovecraft, and I think this graphic novel was a really good introduction to who Lovecraft is. I knew he was a creepy guy but this....was crreeppyyy. The graphics were so strong and interesting, and the fact that this graphic novel is based in fact is even more disturbing.
I might have to read the Necronomicon now, because if the monsters in this graphic novel are littered in Lovecraft's writing....I need to read it now.
really good. It was short, but it left quite an impact
I might have to read the Necronomicon now, because if the monsters in this graphic novel are littered in Lovecraft's writing....I need to read it now.
really good. It was short, but it left quite an impact
January 11, 2022
Everything horror related is right up my alley and since H. P. Lovecraft is one of the iconic writers of horror stories, I was intrigued by this graphic novel that promised to weave together real autobiographical facts from Lovecraft’s life with ideas from his scary tales of horrors and monsters.
To my surprise it actually works quite well and I enjoyed the story - albeit it is a bit short and seems a bit rushed at places.
The art style is not what I usually go for but I really liked how the style shifts between the ‘real world’ and the world of the Necronomicon in colour and brush strokes.
To my surprise it actually works quite well and I enjoyed the story - albeit it is a bit short and seems a bit rushed at places.
The art style is not what I usually go for but I really liked how the style shifts between the ‘real world’ and the world of the Necronomicon in colour and brush strokes.
August 24, 2018
I read this book mostly out of idle curiosity. Although I don't think it was really bad, my overall feeling for it is rather meh. The art isn't quite to my taste; there are some images which are well done, but most of it is sort of indifferent. I generally enjoy Lovecraft's work, but know little about the author himself, so I can't judge how well this work stuck to historical truth in the parts intended as such.
November 28, 2021
The idea that Lovecraft actually saw or experienced his monsters is so unoriginal it almost physically hurts.
I liked the art style and the change between them, but it was too obscure and confusing at times. I also don't recall Arkham ever described in anything even close to the disturbing imagery here invoked.
It did grip me and I did enjoy it a lot, but it was too short and the ending felt rushed.
I liked the art style and the change between them, but it was too obscure and confusing at times. I also don't recall Arkham ever described in anything even close to the disturbing imagery here invoked.
It did grip me and I did enjoy it a lot, but it was too short and the ending felt rushed.
April 19, 2024
I wanted to see more of Lovecraft's actual life, but the fictional aspect of this comic takes way too much space. I guess they wanted to do a mix between reality and his works by using his mental ilness as a background but in the end it feels like the comic explores just a bit of both instead of going deeper into one or the other. The comic should be either longer of focused on just one aspect.
The art is beautiful though.
The art is beautiful though.
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