story by Michael Moreci, art by Giuseppe Cafaro · MSRP: $3.99 · On sale April 19th
They’re barbarians. They loot, they plunder, they conquer. That’s what they do, and they do it alone…until NOW!
When an unstoppable force starts consuming one world after another, sorceress Morgan Le Fey uses her magic to assemble a team of skull-cracking warriors who must somehow work together to save all of existence. There’s the young trickster Anansi, Viking shield maiden Birka, the shape shifting Nanook, and their leader, heir to a fallen kingdom and mightiest of warriors, KULL!
Though their alliance is uneasy, they will do whatever it takes to cut the heart right out of their mutual enemy, leaving a path of ruin through everything and everyone that stands in their way!
Before The Avengers, The Justice League, The X-Men, before it all…stood The Mighty Barbarians!
ELLE(S) Vol. 2: THE ELLE-VERSE TP
story by Kid Touissant, art by Aveline Stokart · MSRP: $10.99 · 104 Pages · ISBN: 978-1-68497-128-2 · On sale April 12th
After a family tragedy and a startling discovery, Elle will be forced to face down her greatest enemy: herself. Elle, the high school student with as many personalities as she has hair colors, finds herself trapped in her subconscious mind following a double psychological shock. That leaves her to navigate the hidden worlds of her various personalities in search of an escape route, while Blue—a sociable version of herself with a tendency to lie, cheat, and steal—takes full control over Elle’s life in the real world. Her friends start to suspect something isn’t right… but can they find a way to free Elle from Blue’s bonds?
TRESE Vol. 6: HIGH TIDE AT MIDNIGHT TP
story by Budjette Tan, art by Kajo Baldisimo · MSRP: $16.99 · 152 Pages · ISBN: 978-1-68497-129-9 · On sale April 12th
Monsoon season has arrived in Manila. Predators that used to hunt sailors in the open sea have found their way into the flooded streets of the city. The unceasing rain muffles the screams of the victims being pulled down into the murky waters.
In places too high to be reached by the flood, the party continues for the privileged, who indulge in a new designer drug which grants them the supernatural abilities of enkanto and aswang.
These are the murders and mysteries Alexandra Trese needs to solve as the tide continue to rise at the stroke of midnight.
HEAVENLY DEMON REBORN! VOL 2 TP
story by O’Emperor , art by Gom-Guk · MSRP: $19.99 · 300 Pages · ISBN: 978-1-68497-138-1 · Advance solicit for May 17th on sale
Reborn as the lowliest member of the Heavenly Demon cult, Unseong embraces the ancient techniques and secrets they teach him to increase his abilities. Rising from the most likely to die in training to the leader of an elite squad, the members of the cult find that Unseong far surpasses anyone’s expectations, challenging even the cult’s leaders’ levels of power. And while he plans to use those powers to avenge his murdered master, Unseong may not be able to protect himself from the dangers of the demonic arts.
New April 2023 issues for continuing ABLAZE titles:
CHILDREN OF THE BLACK SUN #4
story by Dario Sicchio, art by Letizia Cadonici · MSRP: $3.99 · On sale April 12th
Is it fear or another impending black sun that has turned the town into a murderous mob? The children go into hiding with the hopes another dark dawn will come and save them, but the astrological event could spell doom for everyone.
LOVECRAFT: UNKNOWN KADATH #8
story by Florentino Flórez, H.P. Lovecraft, art by Guillermo Sanna & Jacques Salomon · MSRP: $3.99 · On sale April 26th
The Dreamer Randolph Carter’s quest comes to an epic conclusion when he meets one of the gods face to face. Will this encounter lead him to the place he has seen in his dreams, or back to the waking world? Will he live the rest of his days in a magical place beyond human comprehension, or lose it all back in his old life?
As a bonus, also includes the original prose story!
Prepare to descend into madness. Free League Publishing and Design Studio Press have revealed an illustrated edition of H.P. Lovecraft‘siconic storyAt the Mountains of Madness, by acclaimed artist François Baranger. The book is set to launch on November 24th and is now available for pre-order. All pre-orders will ship immediately.
Dreadful secrets lie beneath the ice, waiting to be discovered. Strange, cyclopean structures squat amidst the mountains towering in the distance, promising only madness to those who dare to explore their alien architecture.
Antarctica. A place of frozen wastes, desolation, and things best left forgotten. Explore the tale of William Dyer, a professor from Miskatonic University, and the leader of an ill-fated expedition to that remote and forlorn continent. Recorded in a series of letters, Dyers tells a scarcely believable tale full of anomalous and often horrific events. The expedition ventures further than any other before them, and ultimately pays the price for it.
H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness is one of the greatest classics of American horror literature. As the most ambitious story Lovecraft ever wrote, it has served as a source of inspirations for filmmakers and authors in the decades since his death.
The critically acclaimed artist François Baranger was fascinated early on by Lovecraft’s works that explore the darkest corners of human imagination. After dreaming about illustrated versions ofLovecraft’s works for years, Baranger finally began to create his own vision of the Lovecraftian horror. He has previously interpreted the classic The Call of Cthulhu which received international praise.
The book is the first volume of two and is a hardback book in the huge 262 x 350 mm folio format, bringing Lovecraft’s horror to life with lavish, full-spread images.
As we get closer to NecronomiCON this weekend I thought I would go over some of the films based on Lovecraft work.
First up we have Spring, now if you have not seen this movie you need to check it out it’s as much a Lovecraft film or homage as Alien is. (HR Giger the designer of the creature in Alien was a huge Lovecraft fan.) In this story a man goes to Europe after his mother’s death to escape some trouble and meets a woman who turns into an elder goddess smoking hot type monster at night. Very creepy movie. The blu-ray is loaded with bonus material like commentary with the directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, as well as creature make up effects and more.
Then we have he biggest film of all Re–Animator directed by Stuart Gordan and staring Jeffrey Combs, one of many many projects they would work on together. As well as From Beyond. Both are great films and also star Barbara Compton. Jeffrey Herbert West is what all mad scientist actors should strive for. It’s a great gory movie and filled with amazing practical effects. The dvd and blu-ray come with a 70 min documentary on the making of the movie. From Beyond is a weird and oddly amazing Sci fi movie involving he Resonator a man-made monster that taps into your inner thoughts and fucks with them. From Beyond recently got released from Scream Factory a year ago, and is loaded with their bonus material.
Dagonis a movie I got to watch with Stuart Gordan and his wife (who also appears in a lot of his films) at the last NecronomiCON and it was a blast. Never have I had a movie in such a long time give me nightmares. A man and his fiance and their friends go on a fishing trip and end up in Innsmouth on a deserted island where he cult of Dagon lives. If you like half-naked Sexy squid woman this is the movie for you.
Now TheDunwich Horror is a movie I have seen only once and I will be seeing it and Dan o Bannon’s 35mm cut of Ancestry at the NecronomiCON this weekend. Dean Stockwell stars in this with his creepiest role yet. Dan also wrote the original draft for Alien. His wife attends the cons in his honor to show people his original un cut work.
If you’re from Rhode Island, today marks the 125th Birthday of Lovecraft and their will be a candle light vigil at his grave in Providence RI.
Ript Apparel has three new designs today. Necronomicook, The Artoo Unit, and Groot Groot Revolution from saqman, AtomicRocket, and corinne.prudente will be for sale on April 29, 2015 only!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.
Grimm Tales of Terror is an unexpected hidden gem on the Zenescope brand. While the main stories of Grimm Fairy Tales have long since given up the format which made it so popular to begin with, this series harnesses a bit of what made that special and puts a bit of a twist on it. In place of Sela and Belinda is Keres, a far less sympathetic arbiter than even Belinda was. In place of fairy tales there are horror stories, usually not all that terrifying, but also somewhat on-point when it comes to their relevance to the story at hand.
In this particular story, a small girl is introduced, one that is afraid of the dark and the things that lurk there. As she grows up she is subjected to a variety of problems, she is orphaned and then bullied, and the headmaster at her orphanage seems to think it is ok to take advantage sexually of the underage girls, her roommate being one of his favorite targets. This being a horror story it does not end well for those that torment her, but it also wraps up well with a little bit of a morality tale thrown in for balance, making the lessons that she learned have a deeper meaning. The cover’s image indicates something more Lovecraftian in nature, and while the tentacles are missing within, there is definitely something to this as well, as it is more what remains unseen as opposed to what is visible.
It is not so much as a horror that this story succeeds, because the comic format is really not as well suited for the genre, but rather in the combination of horror with some other aspects where the story comes together. The previous issue was a bit more of a surprise in terms of its quality, and really the writing on it was better than what is seen here. Nonetheless, the story here does invoke some of the earlier days of this publisher and it is nice to see that the format still works, even when the story is not as much of a standout.
Story: Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco and Shane McKenzie Art: Claudia Balboni Story: 7.7 Art: 7.7 Overall: 7.7 Recommendation: Read
BOOM! Studios invites you to experience the apocalypse all over again with the collected edition of Fall of Cthulhu Omnibus from acclaimed horror writer Michael Alan Nelson. This 600-plus-page omnibus collects each of The Fall of Cthulhu volumes, including The Fugue, The Gathering, The Gray Man (which features the first appearance of Lucifer, star of Nelson’s new ongoing series Hexed), GodWar, Apocalypse, and Nemesis. Nelson, alongside artists Greg Scott, Mateus Santolouco, Mark Dos Santos, and more, created the first epic story for BOOM! Studios and is being reprinted in one grand collector’s edition for the first time. Nelson’s epic was hailed by Leverage creator John Rogers as “the definitive Cthulhu in graphic novel format.” Never before has H.P. Lovecraft’s world been presented in such an expansive and complex way. now by then.
Fall of Cthulhu Omnibus arrives from BOOM! Studios in comic shops on October 29th with a cover illustrated by Tyler Walpole and a cover price of $39.99 under Diamond Order Code AUG141165.
The advent of steampunk as a somewhat established genre has brought along a lot of friends from the past. Rooted most strongly in the works of Verne, the genre has also deviated a bit from Verne’s original works as it has evolved in the modern pop culture. Seemingly in the search for more steampunk material, fans of the genre have delved deeper into the past and found some other source material, namely steampunk horror. Although potentially typified by Poe or Shelley, the real resurgence in horror from this time has no doubt been H.P. Lovecraft. His horror stories are more popular today than probably at any other time (including when he was alive) and other mediums (including board games and video games) use his inspiration to create their own works.
The collected volume of Howard Lovecraft and the Three Kingdoms from Arcana Studios is not so different. It opens with a quote from Poe and quickly introduced us to a dying elder Lovecraft and his son. A part of Lovecraftian fiction was his own interaction with his work, in which he himself explored his own horrors through his pen and paper. In this case it would seem as though the elder were the one to really undertake the journey into this dark despair and to record the thoughts by way of the book. As a reading of this work this makes more sense, because although the younger Lovecraft is in fact the Lovecraft, it doesn’t exactly read like that. The father’s weeping is more consistent with the author’s works, not the dynamic nature of the youngster.
Before I get too far ahead of myself though, I would like to talk about Santa Claus. It is not because Santa Claus plays a very important role in this book, but rather because he shouldn’t play one at all. The idea of Santa Claus providing gifts to children is an idea that is purely 20th century, and as this book is based in 1894, it is a bit of an anachronism when little Howard gets his first Lovecraftian torture novel from jolly old Saint Nick. Am I being too picky on the anachronism? Not really, because it is the anachronism which actually makes this graphic novel work. For those more familiar with Lovecraft’s work, they will find among the author’s thoughts some subtle and not-so-subtle opinions on race and gender, neither of which would really fly in the modern world as opinions to be held outside of the far right of the spectrum. These opinions which exist in his work are also anachronisms, and if they are replaced by clearly misunderstood aspects of modern day Yuletide, then it is for the better. Out go the remnants of outdated thinking, in comes a tentacled creature named Spot (the name Spot for a pet being a bit of an anachronism as well.)
The end process of this selective process of finding the right balance between modern and past is something akin to a children’s book, which to be fair seems to be the point anyway. Dark and dangerous is replaced with cuddly and squishy, with the terrible Lovecraftian monsters being no scarier than the creatures in “Where the Wild Things Are.” The end result is basically a Lovecraftian tale aimed at children, and one which is successful in removing the scariest parts of the writer’s bag of tricks. Is it for adults? I would say equally yes, particularly those that do like a bit of dark Victorian to go with their daily lives. It is maybe not a groundbreaking work, but pays homage to the writer without taking itself too seriously and ends up being a fun read with matching artwork to complement the stories.
Story: Bruce Brown Art: Renzo Podesta and Thomas Boatwright
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read for Adult, Buy for Child
Arcana Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Golgothafollows the harrowing happenings of a few fun-loving junkies as they attempt to recover the stolen skull of Lovecraft – a totem that holds enough power and secrets to send Providence straight into the sea. Standing in their way are their enormous drug habits, belligerent punk rockers, Brazilian vampires, and the unspeakable horrors of Lovecraft’s fiction seeping into reality…
Written by Andrew Harrison and the manic illustration of Karl Slominski.
I went into this first issue a bit skeptical. The whole idea of a mash-up/crossover featuring the cast of Star Trek and Legion of Super-Heroes seemed silly. I dig the Trek, but haven’t been much of a Legion fan. So, I went into this expecting the worst. By the time I was done, I wanted to read the second issue.
Written by Chris Roberson, the comic’s first issue sees two stories that then merge into one. It’s not as straightforward as the Legion winds up in the Trek universe or vice-versa. There’s much more to it and it’s laid out in a better way. And for that well thought out plotting, the story really works.
The art is pretty decent, and I really dug the first few pages which I don’t want to spoil. The story itself also has a throwback feel to it. It’s not quite modern and gritty, this is a comic I might have picked up in the 70s or 80s (it’s not a bad thing).
The first issue is really all lead up. The two groups haven’t really met each other, and instead the focus is on the circumstances where they would. It very well could fall apart from here, but the first issue got me interested, and I went into this with a bad attitude. So for that achievement, I have to give the series some props.
Story: Chris Roberson Art: Jeffrey Moy Publisher: IDW Publishing
There’s two items here, a longer comic and then an illustrated story. There’s a lot out there based on the world of H.P. Lovecraft. The man is a godfather of modern horror. The stories also vary greatly in quality. This one follows an amateur group of ghost hunters who get together when one of theirs passes away.
The good is, I really dug the characters. Their interaction is very good. The bad is, the story itself is pretty forgettable. It blended into one of the numerous Lovecraft based stories I’ve read or even a general horror story. Nothing makes it stand out. It’s not bad in any way, it’s just not memorable. There’s a good chance this’ll read better as a trade or graphic novel once it’s completed.
The art for the comic as well as the “prose” part of it is very good. The second part especially, which I’d expect from menton3.
Overall, there’s nothing bad about this, just nothing where I can say it’s a must buy.
Story: Joe R. Lansdale and Robert Weinberg Art: Peter Bergting and menton3 Publisher: IDW Publishing
I’ve never read this series. I caught a bit of the movie, but really I know nada. That’s good, because going into this, I have no preconceived notions. There’s two parts to the story here, a battle that’s brewing between some vampire clans and also a woman who has a website that’s investigating whether vampires exist. The two stories together have an X-Files mashed up with Underworld feel about them. That’s a good thing because I really enjoy both of those pieces of pop culture.
Sam Kieth’s art just adds to it. I’ve loved his art work, it’s so unique that’s often imitated but rarely matched in it’s style and look. Here, it just fits. The art and story work so well together, I’m hoping this is a combo that’s here for quite a while.
Writer Steve Niles has done his job here, creating an entertaining first issue that’s good for both long time fans (there’s small items here and there I can tell they’d enjoy) and for new readers (like myself).
Story: Steve Niles Art: Sam Kieth Publisher: IDW Publishing
I like politics. I like noir. I like spy stories. Legend John Byrne has mashed all of those together in this new series that takes place during the Cold War featuring a British spy that’s part Bond and Bourne. The comic has that spy action movie cool about it, with the first ten pages being silent relying totally on the art to tell us what’s going on. And through those ten pages we get to learn a hell of a lot about the main character Michael Swann.
The story then focuses on a scientist that wants to defect. Swann is thrown undercover to figure out what’s going on. There’s a great mix of sex and action with an honest 50s/60s vibe that’s exuded by the classic Bond films. You can just here Sean Connery reading off Swann’s dialogue.
It’s just the first issue, but there’s a throwback feel to the series that reflects the time it’s set in. So cool and smooth, like it’s main character Michael Swann.
Story: John Byrne Art: John Byrne Publisher: IDW Publishing
Then we have he biggest film of all Re–Animator directed by Stuart Gordan and staring Jeffrey Combs, one of many many projects they would work on together. As well as From Beyond. Both are great films and also star Barbara Compton. Jeffrey Herbert West is what all mad scientist actors should strive for. It’s a great gory movie and filled with amazing practical effects. The dvd and blu-ray come with a 70 min documentary on the making of the movie. From Beyond is a weird and oddly amazing Sci fi movie involving he Resonator a man-made monster that taps into your inner thoughts and fucks with them. From Beyond recently got released from Scream Factory a year ago, and is loaded with their bonus material.
Now The Dunwich Horror is a movie I have seen only once and I will be seeing it and Dan o Bannon’s 35mm cut of Ancestry at the NecronomiCON this weekend. Dean Stockwell stars in this with his creepiest role yet. Dan also wrote the original draft for Alien. His wife attends the cons in his honor to show people his original un cut work.
