Review: LOVECRAFT, by Hans Rodionoff, Keith Giffen, and Enrique Breccia

September 16, 2023 Tobin Elliott All the posts, BOOK REVIEWS, Tobin Elliott 0

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.

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. Of course, the enjoyment I got from this could also be laid at the feet of the original scriptwriter, Hans Rodionoff. Regardless, either through the talents of Rodionoff or Giffen, or both, this graphic novel works, and works well. Yes, they take some liberties, seemingly making Howard Lovecraft a lot less awkward than is typically portrayed, but overall, just a great story.

I loved this.

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Tobin has been writing so long, there was very likely some graffiti to be found in his mother's womb. He's tried writing a few things, but his diseased little mind always came around to horror, despite all the sour looks he got when he revealed that. Somewhere along the way, he also found a woman that has put up with his crap for over thirty years, and two kids (who somehow survived to adulthood, despite having him as a parent) who are mostly not that embarrassed by him. Mostly. For quite a while, he held a respectable job with a respectable corporation where he was a communications specialist, but now he's just an old retired guy who swears a lot. Tobin writes ugly stories about bad people doing horrible things. You can pick up his six-book horror series, The Aphotic, wherever you buy your books. He'd really like it if you did.