Lovecraft

I was hooked on Lovecraft comics after picking up Fall of Cthulhu on a whim. I loved every frame.

That prompted me to hunt down other Cthulhu comics that, rather than retelling the same stories (which I'd much rather read in text form), added to the canon with their own bizarre tales. I discovered Yuggoth Cultures by Alan Moore; still reading through it, but really enjoying the stories.

So it was with no small measure of glee when I picked up Lovecraft, the Vertigo comic. Lovecraft details the life story of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, a sad tale of a child prodigy who struggled with his potential. The comic merely adds a layer of the supernatural and bizarre over Lovecraft's own, which is a lot easier to do than one might think given that Lovecraft's father and mother were both committed and died in mental hospitals. By giving Lovecraft a dual life in the Dreamlands as Randolph Carter (a fact, as Lovecraft's "The Statement of Randolph Carter" was based on a transcription of one of his vivid dreams) and possession of the Necronomicon, we have a tale of one man against the unknown. Poor Lovecraft transforms from a struggling, brilliant author to a lone hero against the dark.

There are two components that are critical in bringing any Lovecraftian work to life. The first is, obviously, the depiction of the horrible things that gibber and meep in the darkness. Lovecraft's descriptions were always vague and alien, bordering on the indescribable, so artists must be willing to exercise their imaginations in what despicable things lurk beyond our perception. Artist Enrique Breccia does an admirable job with his watercolor-type panels. When grotesque monstrosities appear, they are blurry and smeared, as if difficult to perceive even by the reader. They are also suitably disturbing - tentacles appear from nether-regions, monsters violate Lovecraft's family in horrible ways, and overall one gets the sense that the gloves are off - in this modern day, it's possible to depict horror in all its ugly details in a fashion Lovecraft never dared.

The other important part of a Lovecraft comic is the depiction of terror. Lovecraft's stories are as much about contact with the alien as they are about the inability for the human mind to cope. Depicting madness and shrieking horror can be challenging for artists. Again, Breccia is more than capable, with grinning, vacant stares, bloody mouths, and lips peeled back in sheer revulsion.

There are elements that don't always work. I've been spoiled by Fall of Cthulhu, which uses vivid colors for the Dreamlands and cleaner artwork for the waking world. In Lovecraft, with Breccia's style throughout, the transition is sometimes unclear. And because all the artwork blurs, male characters sometimes look alike, making it difficult to distinguish who is who.

But those are minor quibbles. As a horrific retelling of Lovecraft's life, the graphic novel does an excellent job. Unfortunately, reality made it all too easy: insanity, depression, and death haunted the Lovecraft family.

And so the circle is complete; Lovecraft has become the horror he created. It makes for an entertaining and tragic read. Now that I know Lovecraft's background (both faux and real), all his stories are tinged with a bit of sadness.