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Necronomicon 1 (of 4)- Boom Studios

By Nathan Madison
September 30, 2008 - 19:19

  Necronomicon is Boom Studios' latest entry in its line of series inspired by the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, and continues in its predecessors' steps (titles such as Cthulhu Tales, and the Fall of Cthulhu) by both creating new tales of macabre horror and weird fiction, while staying true to the feelings induced by Lovecraft's unique mix of macabre horror and weird fiction that filled the pages of numerous pulp magazines in the 1920s and 30s. Necronomicon introduces us to a young man who is writing to his father concerning many of his experiences and encounters while studying at Arkham Massachusetts' Miskatonic University; the correspondence begins with situations that do not seem but so unorthodox, but as the writing continues, and the young student becomes involved in a  project dedicated to translating the dreaded and esoteric tome, the Necronomicon. The narrator recounts his introduction to, and horrifying encounter (the first of what is expected to be many) with some of the malevolent and mysterious creatures that inhabit Lovecraft's Arkham.

 

The writing of Boom's Necronomicon is superb, and will be welcomed by both new inductees to Lovecraft's style, as well as long-time Lovecraft Mythos followers. The writer, William Messner-Loebs, weaves a tale that performs two extraordinary feats. The writing both builds on the work of Lovecraft, creating new situations and characters to populate his early twentieth-century locales; these new additoins however, are written however, as to respect what came before, to craft a Lovecraftian tale that feels exactly that: Lovecraftian. Many authors, some of these being giants such as Stephen King and Robert Bloch, have written several homages and dedication pieces in the Lovecraft style; Boom's authors, however, as the work of Messner-Loebs displays, are able to not only tell a story in a Lovecraftian vein, but they are able to craft a story that feels like something that has always been a part of the world created by the Master of the Macabre himself.

 

The artwork is just as unique as the writing, and fits the book perfectly. Andrew Ritchie’s portrayal of human beings is a refreshing change from many of the more mainstream titles, and rightfully so, given the stories it is illustrating. His use of shadows in the work exemplifies the mysteriousness of many of the characters and situations, and any details, such as facial expressions or surroundings, are rendered in a particular style, unique to itself: somewhat simplistic, yet able to convey everything from delight to disgust to absolute horror in both a sympathetic and realistic manner. Out of all of the attempts over the last seventy-plus years to give the world of Lovecraft some sort of visual form, the work of Ritchie’s comes the closest to capturing that sense of foreboding and quiet terror.

Boom’s Necronomicon is a fantastic book that can serve both as an introduction to the world of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, as well as a welcome addition to the mythos he created over seventy years ago.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12