Lovecraft online comic.

[supervike]

Stumbled across this:

http://lovecraftismissing.com/

It's an excellently drawn on-line comic book filled with Lovecraftian pulp goodness.

It's best to start back at chapter one though:

http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=379

After a brief hiatus, the author now puts out 1-2 pages every Wed.

It really good!!!

[Hinton]

Not much of archive, so it didn't take very long to get caught up. Pretty interesting comic so far; I'll definitely be checking it out on a regular basis.

[TheBugKing]

Great Find Vikey!

I love Lovecraft. Great stories and the comic is quite a bit of fun. I hope that it really starts going off the deep end soon!

Added to my weekly comic reading library.

[Keltheos]

Not too shabby, bookmarked!

[Brushmistress]

I've bookmarked it and look forward to reading it. My rpg group is currently playing COC 1920's "Horror on the Orient Express". Very fun stuff - Lovecraft is pretty excellent.

[redstripe]

Lovecraft has been a huge influence on me and my terribly amateur writing. I remember reading "Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories" in junior high school and thinking it was the greatest thing ever. I think I've owned about a dozen copies of that book. I always give it away to friends, hoping they'll read it so we can talk about the bleak insignificance of mankind and its fleeting moment in the universe.

[supervike]

I only 'discovered' Lovecraft for myself a few years back. Although, I knew what Cthulhu was, I had never really read anything.

So, I bought several paperbacks, and borrowed a few from the library.

Just the archiac language he uses makes the reading difficult at first, but a few trips to an online dictionary solved that. Plus, you really do get used to the style after a few stories.

His stories makes me think of simpler times. I think you have to keep that mindset when reading it too, as some of the complaints I hear about him is that he 'isn't all that scary'. I suppose decades of over the top horror movies have pretty much desensitized us as a society.

But that message, mankinds complete unimportance in the scope of Eldritch Cosmic Awareness, is rather chilling.

Edited January 19, 2009 by supervike

[ScottRadom]

I only 'discovered' Lovecraft for myself a few years back. Although, I knew what Cthulhu was, I had never really read anything.

So, I bought several paperbacks, and borrowed a few from the library.

Just the archiac language he uses makes the reading difficult at first, but a few trips to an online dictionary solved that. Plus, you really do get used to the style after a few stories.

His stories makes me think of simpler times. I think you have to keep that mindset when reading it too, as some of the complaints I hear about him is that he 'isn't all that scary'. I suppose decades of over the top horror movies have pretty much desensitized us as a society.

But that message, mankinds complete unimportance in the scope of Eldritch Cosmic Awareness, is rather chilling.

I LOVE this topic.

I am a profound hater of Lovecrafts actual writing. I love, love, love, his imagination and the mythology that he laid out in his better stories. His "at the mountains of madness" (??) is excellent but I really, really, really dislike his writing style. I just think it's the worst. Now having said that the web comic is great, and I go out and read as much Cthullu mythos stuff as possible that's not written by the guy and I have fallen in love with the series "Fall of Cthullu" by BOOM! studios. It's available in TPB format and I think they're set for the fourht volume to be released and I think it's excellent. It's in a modern setting, and I might've preferred it in a turn of the century style format but I think the Lovecraft Mythos works very well in a modern setting. In an era where so much that was unknown has been solved and humanity has done so many technological wonders the impact of meeting with the information that even now our wonders are insignificant and meaningless vs. the will of the old ones is pretty awesome.

Anyway, I challenge those who like the Cthullu stuff to look into the "Fall of Cthullu" stuff. It's everything I was hoping for (and didn't get) from the original works of Lovecraft.

And before there's any hate thrown my way, I just want to remind you guys that Lovecraft had the good guys get away from mighty Cthullu by driving a speed boat through his head. That's some poor saturday morning cartoon scooby-doo style stuff right there.

I LOVE this topic!

[Isoulle]

I must admit, I adore lovecraft and he has been a huge influence on me and my writing (I feel like I'm just parroting what others have said here. Hmmm....) While I do love his mythology I must admit his writing is what captures me. The way he uses words and phrases to express the terror and dread of the moment really inspires me. I've never read words that so properly capture the macabre so.

Most people won't find his stuff scary because the equate horror with shock and gore (A product of most horror movies these days). Things ambush people and then vivisect them in the most horrid ways and that's it. Lovecraft writes to express the mood of terror, the feeling of being mentally alone while your senses are being assaulted by things that don't belong in your worldview. Things whose very existence makes your entire life and indeed species an exercise in futility. To murder is one thing, to deconstruct your perception of reality and replace it with one of true horror is far more disturbing. That's at least the way I view it. The only thing I've ever seen do that is a videogame series called Silent Hill. Very good horror, surprising considering most videogame horror is B-movie quality.

Though ScottRadom, what do you dislike about his writing? I'm quite curious.

Edited January 19, 2009 by Isoulle

[ScottRadom]

Yes, I got a bite!

Well we had a bit of a debate some time ago over on CMoN but I will try to sum it up best I can.

I dislike almost everything about his horror writing. I mean it. Things I think he does well...

-Very descriptive and articulate on his settings. He can describe a moonlit graveyard and make me smell the decay and the freshly turned earth. I've never walked along a gloomy street in old New England (That's an oxymoron, right?) and I feel like I have. He does that incredibly well

-His mythology is incredible. I totally dig on his mythos.

After that... well.... to sum up how I feel I would have to use a word so old and anciently wierd that to use it hear would require a hardware upgrade, and would leave you quite insane.

Lovecraft delivers what I would call a roller coaster ride. Without any dips. Or climbs. No loop-de-loop for sure. I've never cared about his characters. At all. In order for me to get into his horror I have to care about the character being subjected to the horror. I'm always more curious about his demons, or other antagonist, then his characters. That might be said of a lot of classis horror but I think he's just the worst at that.

And then there's the shortcuts. If I turned in a short story to my 5th grade teacher that had "I would have put a really interesting ending here, but you're incapable if processing it without going insane" wouldn't have cut it. I won't take it from my literature either.

I've often asked people what makes Lovecraft work for them. The answers are usually similar. They enjoy his use of language, which I find horrible. They appreciate his isolationist tones, which don't tick for me. They usually have an appreciation for his "timing" in that he wrote these stories very early on in the days of horror (I think, that's what I'm told anyway). I just think that rather then read stuff that was good "Back in the day" I'd rather search for stuff that speaks to me now.

So with all that said I appreciate that he's been an inspiration to others. I'm often a bigger fan of the author who was inspired by the work then the original work, and I'd love to read anything of yours if you're so inclined.

I think I've also read every published Lovecraft work, so it's not a case of simply being exposed to a small cross section of his stuff.

Now, that's my opinion. I am not a slasher horror style reader, and I really enjoy Matheson's stuff (I am legend is awesome), but in general I find the horror genre lacking. Slasher movies do nothing for me. I am a butcher who spent a couple years in a slaughterhouse so to say I am de-sensitized to TV and film violence would be a gross (!?!?) understatement.

I went into Lovecraft loving what I knew of it (Mostly from game product and such) and wanting to fall in love with the orginator of the mythos. I got to reading and I tried, lord how I tried, but I just think he should've been an idea man, telling his stuff to someone else for them to write.

But I will say again, give the BOOM! Comic's a shot. It's got all the tone of the books with better characters that have conceivable roles and great use of Lovecrafts world.

Thanks for the talkin'.

I LOVE thus subject!

[Isoulle]

Well, I must admit that when it comes to all media forms I am quite different from most, even from most Lovecraft fans I've met. I mean, I think Neil Gaiman (I've only read a bit of his work, gotta read more before making a full judgment) and Terry Pratchett are very uninteresting writers. A statement that I believe is considered blasphemy amongst the geek community.

I can't argue that his characters are uninteresting, but I must admit it never bothered me. I very rarely like or care about characters and when I do they usually are the antagonist. Most media I find has very dull and cliche characters and even when it does not I must admit I often have trouble understanding why they do everything since in most situations it is the exact opposite of what I would do. But then I am of a peculiar sort.

As for his endings, what sort of ending would you like? I mean I don't see a problem with the crazy indescribable in comparison to anything else. I think I can count the media I've read/seen that had a good ending with just my fingers. Lovecraft's endings bother me no more then the "Happy ever after ending" or the "Bitter ending because I've read to many happy ending stories" or any number of cliches. And who cares what a 5th grad teacher says. They have a terrible lack of imagination...

I must admit I consider lovecraft better then the horror writers of today. If you can find a horror writer better then him in the modern era I would like to see it. Most horror I've read written in the past twenty years is dull and trite.

I must admit, it does appear as if we are quite opposite. For example most people I've seen use the Cthulhu mythos outside of Lovecraft I tend to havea distaste for. They have an annoying tendancy of attempting to normalize things. They try to explain things, propose solutions, and otherwise turn the cthulhu mythos into a bunch of regular old monsters. That and the character focus saddens me. Unless they focus on the character going mad in which case it's good times.

But to each their own. I'm sure there's plenty I don't like that you do. And I'll be sure to tear holes in it the moment you mention. I'll be waiting, watching, and then strike when the moment is right!

I mean, have a good day.

[Nathan Caroland]

Here is a graphic novel in the works - has a very lovecraftian feel to me and is an excellent work in progress.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=123734

[ScottRadom]

@Isoulle- Fair points! I like Gaiman. At least his first books that I encountered. Then every one of his I read there after followed his EXACT same formula. Also love Terry Pratchett. I stumbled upon Pratchett myself so i had no expectations and they were of course exceeded so I got lucky. I was unfortunate enough to encounter the legend of Lovecraft before getting to read his works firsthand. I certainly can see people make a cause for not loving those guys, for sure.

What endings would I like? Hmm. Hard to say. I guess I just feel dissatisfied with too many of his ending because they left me feeling like a conversation where somebody just hung up on me. Or there were the endings (Cthullu vs. speedboat) that just undermined his own work. Maybe that's why he gave up on endings? Have you seen the film "Dagon"? It's by the guy... forgetting his name... but he made the comedy Re-Animator movies. I really enjoyed it, and it had a nice conclusive ending. I don't need the "ride into the sunset" style endings but I do like resolution.

I really urge you to give the "Fall of Cthullu" a try. It had what I wanted from the books. The stories have endings, it's got believable characters (Harry Houdini? C'mon.....) and I think it treats the Myhtos with the proper respect. I don't have a link for you but most comics get scanned and uploaded instantly nowadays.

Still glad to here from the other side of the Lovecraft fence.

You asked me to name a good horror writer from the last twenty years. Good one! I thought about it but I just really can't. Not from any media source either. Maybe Guillermo del Toro does a decent job of it, and I'd really like to see him go balls out on a Lovecraft pic. I had heard rumors he was gearing up for a Lovecraft trilogy before he got nabbed for the Hobbit.

Ah well. you made many excellent points! I'm always pleased by the respect shown on painting boards towards each other. Thanks!

[Nathan Caroland]

Gaiman is ... different. Not casting aspersions or anything, and I really don't care mind you, but is the man gay by chance? That would explain some of the characters and sexual encounters in the books. There is one scene in the American Gods book that I could have completely done without and been reasonably pleased with the book instead of going 'gaaaaah'.

I've read or listened to pretty much everything he has done and have found it an enjoyable enough experience but nothing worth screaming from the mountains about either. I think the best one he did was supposed to be a childrens book, Grave something ... I think. Anyhow, about a kid who's family is murdered and the child goes to live in a graveyard with ghosts and is given the 'Freedom of the Grave', etc, etc. Supposed to be a childrens book which I don't think is myself, or I just have a very different feeling when it comes that I suppose, but anyhow, not a bad piece overall.

Butcher still tops my list of books I pick up and enjoy immediately.

[ScottRadom]

You're talkin' about the efreet aren't you? Or was it a djinn? Completely irrelevant, and I had the exact same experience. As you, not the efreet!

[Nathan Caroland]

Yeaah ... that efreet scene is something that is sadly burned into the mind now and no matter what, remains. I loaned it to a friend and even tagged the chapter and said, 'skip this, you'll thank me'. Of course he didn't and I had to hear about it for a month as well has his screaming from the cubical he was sitting in when he decided not to listen to me.

I'm not a fan of writers doing graphic sex scenes in books, straight, gay or anything in between, just not my thing. Main reason why I left the Anita Blake series.

[ScottRadom]

Yeaah ... that efreet scene is something that is sadly burned into the mind now and no matter what, remains. I loaned it to a friend and even tagged the chapter and said, 'skip this, you'll thank me'. Of course he didn't and I had to hear about it for a month as well has his screaming from the cubical he was sitting in when he decided not to listen to me.

I'm not a fan of writers doing graphic sex scenes in books, straight, gay or anything in between, just not my thing. Main reason why I left the Anita Blake series.

And that was so ridiculous. I've never encountered anything SOOOO contrived. It had nothing to do with the story. Homeboy just wanted to share something with us I guess. How did the editor say "Y'know, this is super relevant, let's let the kid work this one out."?

I don't know if he is gay or not. I think he's pretty talented, just think he's been writing in circles for his last little while.

Coraline - a kids story - was pretty good but followed his same formula.

[Peterdita]

I'm reading the Graveyard right now. I'm enjoying it so far.

I'm really looking forward to the Coraline movie that's coming out. I sort of know someone over at Laika studios and was sooooooo close to leaving this corporate desk job to paint puppets and build models for them. But I chickened out, and did the 'responsible' thing. I just couldn't risk questionable income after the project was done. I'll always wonder about that choice...(one of the times I really wish I was independently wealthy)

Should be a good movie though!

[redstripe]

Yes, I got a bite!

I've never cared about his characters. At all. In order for me to get into his horror I have to care about the character being subjected to the horror. I'm always more curious about his demons, or other antagonist, then his characters.

I'll be the first to admit that Lovecraft isn't for everyone. I think that's obvious, just as much as slasher flicks aren't for everyone. I can't get into those, either.

There's something that you've written here, though, that struck a chord with me. It seems these statements contain at least two contradictions.

One, the fiction is predominantly about the insignificance of man and his complete inability to effect change in the inconceivably vast universe. Men are not important. They are not significant. The universe does not care about them. The universe doesn't even notice them.

You don't care about the characters because the stories aren't about the characters. Stories can be, fundamentally, about different things. I don't know who developed the idea but according to one author, stories are primarily focused on one of four elements, an idea, its characters, its events, or its milieu. I would say that Lovecraft's writing is more about his idea of the universe or the universe itself. The character's in Lovecraft's tales are rarely significant to the plot. Anyone could have stumbled upon the realizations that Thurston did. It's these realizations about the universe that are the stars of the story.

Two, you'd like to become attached to the characters but you're most interested in the antagonists. The antagonists, such as Cthulhu, are characters we never learn anything substantial about. The primary characteristic of Cthulhu is our inability to comprehend him and the vast horror that is inspired by our attempts.

Derivative works (which you say you hold in better regard) seem to be less (in my reading) about Lovecraft's philosophy about the universe, and more about the monsters he let you glimpse. Sometimes (such is the case with the link Nathan provided) there is very little in common with Lovecraft's stories aside from the imagery. The tentacles, the enormous proportions, the blobs of gruesome flesh, geometry that defies Euclid, these are the elements that often make their way into "lovecraftian" stories.

I'm not saying these stories are bad. The focus on characters, in my mind, is what makes the Lord of the Rings readable while the Silmarillion is a chore. It's a different style, a different focus. You seem to like the lovecraftian imagery but not the focus of his writing.

Anyhow, Lovecraft is one of my favorite topics, too. It's cool to nerd-out a bit about him.

[Isoulle]

Redstripe really hits the point on the head. You did a much better job then myself in describing how I feel (An impressive feat. Perhaps you have infiltrated mine dreams like some unseen lurker, crawling across the edges of my psyche... I'm getting off topic I believe). He very much summarizes my point of view on both Lovecraft, and the works derived form him.

On a similar note, I must admit I have noticed that modern media is almost completely focused on characters. The other three elements seem to have taken a back seat. This is very much a reflection of how people think as well. Everyone I talk to about books or movies or etc talks about the characters and how they were good and bad and thus the story was bad. Has anyone noticed this trend towards characters over all else?

[supervike]

Er...I read American Gods sometime ago...are you referring to the first scene, where the vagina lady devours the john? That was some bizarre crap.

And, I have to agree with Nathan on the 'sex scenes' bit completely. Not only in books, but I hate it in movies as well. A good director/writer can elude to the scene, and let our imaginations do the rest.

But, getting back to Mr. Lovecraft...I'm no literary expert, being just barely literate myself, so it's hard for me to put down exactly why I like the tales.

One thing I like about many of his stories, is the use of first person narrative. It makes many of the story elements more personal. I've many the same feelings Redstripe and Isoulle, but both articulate better than me.

However, another thing that seems overlooked in this argument, is taking the historical perspective into account.

Lovecraft was basically writing comic book stories before such a thing existed. Pulp novels were largely formulaic, which I am assuming why many of his stories are such. He wrote to sell. They were not supposed to be high literature, but aimed directly at the same crowds that pined for 'fantastical horror and adventure'. His work, (and a very select few of his contemporaries) have stood the test of time.

In comparison to todays much more polished writers, I can see where you would dislike his style, but I think the comparision is an unfair one. How many of todays authors will be celebrated and enjoyed some 80 years after they've passed?

Several of his stories were just so damn good and it's his writing sytle that makes it so. The Dunwich Horror for instance. Had that been written by a modern writer, much of the 'mood' would have vanished. I'll make a comparision to Shakespeare here, which is only for effect. I've no illusion that Lovecraft was in the league of old Bill. Imagine a modern retelling of Shakespeare, but without the original language. While the themes and characters could still be prevalent, the feeling...the heart of the story, would be gone.

The theme of the ancient knowledge, some lost to mankind, some never even meant for man also appeals to me greatly. That cosmic insignifigance thing draws me to it. I'm reminded of it anytime I look up at the night sky and see millions of stars echoing those sentiments.

Anyhow, heres a link to THE DUNWICH HORROR, which you can read for free....i think I'll reread it too!

http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/library/stacks/literature/lovecraft/novellas/dunwich.htm

[ScottRadom]

Yeah, I could be spinning in circles a bit.

I NEED to care about characters in horror fiction. It's my draw to them, and how I get hooked in. I need something I can relate to, that is my anchor and my link to something that I can't hope to understand. If the author of anything wants to use crazy old demons, magic, the rest of it, I can follow him so long as he's giving me a gorunded perspective from which to go along. That's just me. I do embrace the character focused/driven fiction nowadays.

The thing about Lovecraft and his Mythos is that I didn't really care for the way he told his stories. Maybe I am just attracted to the wierd geometry and bulbous green tentacled heads. Could be, when you get right down to it.

I just plain old leave a Lovecraft story (usually, I will admit exceptions) just sort of feeling "Meh." about it all. My preferred reading lately has been either non fiction, or straight up Comic books. They're some suprisingly good reads out there, and since I am a character guy how could I not love super heroes.

So there it is. I may be branding my self a non intellectual there (maybe my sig didn't give it away) but I do like talking about this subject. I know there is enough there for people to appreciate Lovecraft for all the things I dislike (Similar to the way I strongly dislike NMM, while others will point at metalics and think how much better it would have been NMM) so it is what it is.

I'll tell you this, it's MUCH harder to attack Lovecraft then it is to defend! That dude has supporters dug in with plenty of literary ammo across the globe! I've also been in this debate a couple of times and I don't think ANYONE has every stood up and said "Man, y'know, that Scott dude makes some excellent points and I also dislike Lovecraft." so it would appear that once again I am in the strong minority.

Good talk!

Anyone else out there in paint land want to express their love/hate fore Lovecraft?

[Isoulle]

Really? No one dislike Lovecraft in your discussions? I find myself being the defender of Lovecraft against a storm of people. Where I come from I have to defend Lovecraft. Most people say he's slow and boring. Actually they say the same thing about Lord of the Rings. Most people I know don't like the classical writing style.

If you're branding yourself as a non-intellectual then I am branding myself as a pretentious arts student. I could never get into comic books in a serious way. Comedy ones I can read but I find the serious ones lack a degree of maturity. But perhaps that's just me being pretentious. I mean, the stack of books next to me contains a Lovecraft book, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" "Atlas Shrugged" and "Withering Heights." So yeah, I'm a strange one...

Oh yeah, and I like NMM.

[ScottRadom]

Dude, you don't know the HALF of it. This is from memory, maybe SuperVike can enlighten as he was involved as well....

A guy over on CMON posted a thread that was "What's the big deal with Lovecraft, I read some and didn't care for it." and I agreed with him, and stated why. Then a bunch of people came out of the woodwork and (With respect and politeness) expounded on the virtues of Lovecraft and that I must be missing something.

Not even the original poster stood up and said "No I don't like Lovecraft either" after I got bombarded! Now that's just one experience, and it WAS done with politeness and respect for both sides, which is always refreshing. It's just personal opinion is all. What I like about this debate, and the one previous on CMON is nobody played the "You'd like this if you were smarter" card which I often find with Tolkien and others. It's possible to understand and comprehend something and not like it!

But anyway, what i really appreciate is how differing opinion can be handled and discussed politely on painting boards. Try having one of these debates on a GW fan based board! I have, and while shouting matches are fun in real life, not near as entertaining on the internet. Wierdly, every debate about opinion on a gaming forum I have had has always devolved quickly into which person is more wealthy.... seriously!