Fall of Cthulhu #3 - Boom Studios (2007)

This book strikes the perfect balance between creepy and cool. The cover above by Vatche Mavlian gives you a good idea of what you're in for. There's another cover by Tyler Walpole which can be seen here. The story started out dark with the protagonist's beloved uncle committing suicide right in front of him and it's only gone further down the spiral from there.

Michael Alan Nelson is building the story at an appropriately slow pace but the action picked up seriously in the last few panels of this issue. Jean Dzialowski's art drives home each one of Nelson's words like a spike to the brain. His Dreamlands scenes are spectacular and his "real-world" scenes are oppressive and claustrophobic just like the protagonist's life.

The protagonist, Cy Morgan, is sliding further into despair and corruption as he tries to figure out why his uncle killed himself. Everything around him is falling apart and a lot of that is his fault for pursuing this mystery. It's kinda like Veronica Mars without so many cameos from the Home Improvement kids.

If you're into any combination of Lovecraft, creepy stories, great art or tight writing, check this out.

Fall of Cthulhu #0 - Boom Studios (2007)

I'm a big Lovecraft fan. I also like a lot of the Cthulhu Mythos writings by other authors over the years. This comic goes in my "like" list. It also goes in my hold box. Here's why:

First off, the art. A good Mythos tale is about atmosphere. Cthulhu stories aren't always scary, as such, but they should always be eldritch and creepy. Jean Dzialowski's art conveys the proper atmosphere. There were a couple of frames where it was difficult to figure out what was going on but nothing that ruined the story.

Dzialowski switches styles a couple of times to show that the action has literally moved into a different realm. The majority of the book has a painterly, stylized look to it which is enhanced by the dark, narrow palette. The art in the Dreamlands sequence is more traditionally comicky and reminds me of Watchmen-era Dave Gibbons.

One of the advantages of writing a Cthulhu story is that there are libraries full evocative, creepy lines from earlier stories in the Mythos. Michael Alan Nelson uses these previous writings to great effect. The story features Abdul Alhazred, the Mad Arab who wrote the Necronomicon. When your main character is the batshit-craziest dude who ever lived you've gotta try hard not to get a good story out of him.

Some knowledge of the Cthulhu Mythos is useful for full enjoyment of this sequential-art product but not essential. Nelson does a good job of filling in the blank spots and Dzialowski draws the hell out of it.

In a time where Cthulhu is the punchline of jokes made by people who have never actually read Lovecraft, it's nice to see someone bringing the creepy back to it.