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Book Review: H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories, adaptation and art by Gou Tanabe, translated by Zach Davisson

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories, adaptation and art by Gou Tanabe, translated by Zach Davisson

Dark Horse, 2017

ISBN: 9781506703121

Available: print

Gou Tanabe, known in Japan for using manga to adapt literary works, has adapted three tales of the macabre in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories. This volume includes “The Temple,” “The Hound,” and “The Nameless City.” Each of the tales includes information regarding when the story was written and published. Dark Horse hopes to publish further volumes of Tanabe’s Lovecraft adaptations in the future.

In “The Temple”, a German submarine crew is driven to madness by a mysterious influence. The captain eventually discovers an underwater temple. Will he, too, fall prey to the madness? Two decadent young men are obsessed with the practice of grave robbing in “The Hound”. Their midnight escapades lead to a deadly discovery. An explorer in the Arabian desert discovers an ancient city when he passes through a mysterious doorway into “The Nameless City.” What he sees on the other side is pure nightmare fuel.

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories is the first manga I have read by Tanabe, and I need to pick up more of his work. This is a must for Lovecraft fans. The dialogue is minimal, leaving Tanabe’s artistic work do much of the communicating. The artwork is all in black and white which lends to the oppressive and macabre atmosphere of the source material. Recommended.

Contains: images of the macabre

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on October 20, 2017 by , Reply

Help a Reader Out: Are Myths Fiction or Nonfiction?

Interestingly, this question popped up in keyword searches a number of times, so I’m going to briefly address it.

“Are myths fiction or nonfiction?”

The answer probably depends on who you ask and why. I imagine that if you ask an atheist, you’ll get the answer “fiction”. But in the wonderful world of the Dewey Decimal System, books (and other media) on mythology are in the 200s, the category for philosophy and religion. So for straight mythology or books about mythology, it’s considered nonfiction. Poetry (like Homer’s Odyssey will generally end up in the 800s, with other books of poetry. Yes, poetry is considered nonfiction.

Novels and stories inspired by mythology usually end up getting pulled from the 800s and end up shelved with fiction, though. So if you’re asking because you want to know where Rick Riordan’s books fall on the shelf, you’ll find those in fiction. And if you are asking about a graphic novel, it kind of depends on the library. Some libraries will shelve all graphic novels under 741.5, the number for that format, and some pull the graphic novels into a separate section and shelve them by either subject (my daughter’s elementary) or author (my son’s middle school).

So the answer is that, especially in the library, it’s complicated. And sometimes it is kind of hard to figure out. If you’ve encountered Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods”, it probably falls in nonfiction, even though it is written in the annoying contemporary voice of a fictional character(that’s just my personal opinion, my kids love it) and “updated” versions of many myths. But the novels will end up shelved in fiction. Ultimately, though, the myths of a culture are stories of their gods, and their religion, and as long as people believe in gods, mythology is nonfiction.

It occurs to me that, given that this site focuses on horror fiction, someone reading this might think “Well, what about the Cthulu mythos? That’s a mythology, right? Why isn’t Lovecraft in the 200s?” As it was originally the invention of one person recognized as a writer of fiction, and how that person felt about religion is publicly known, I don’t see why it would be anywhere except in fiction. If you do know a person who worships the Elder Gods, please encourage them to seek help.

Posted on October 19, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: High Moon, Volume 1: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks by David Gallaher, art by Steve Ellis

High Moon Volume 1: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks by David Gallaher, art by Steve Ellis

Super Genius, 2017

ISBN: 9781629918419

Available: print

High Moon, the horror adventure webcomic from Zudacomics.com, full of werewolves, hoodoo, and supernatural mystery, is now in graphic novel form. In the first chapter, set in the Old West, bounty hunter Matthew Macgregor investigates the strange occurrences in Blest, Texas. Plagued by drought, famine, and hardship, Blest’s townspeople are suspicious of newcomers, especially when they are acting as the hand of the law. However, Matthew’s unwanted presence is the least of the town’s worries. Matthew discovers unnatural creatures stalk to town in the dark of night. Not one to cower from a fight, he pushes to bring light to the darkness, and chase the monsters out, while he tries to bury his own supernaturally driven past.

The second chapter centers on outlaw Eddie Conroy, who happens to be under the curse of the werewolf. The story opens with a train robbery in Ragged Rock, Oklahoma that yields mysterious cargo. A series of grisly murders follows in its wake. Things get even weirder when Tristan Macgregor, Matthew’s brother, arrives in town, with a mechanical arm, and hid face obscured by goggles and a mask. What does this mysterious figure want in this town? Another key part of the story is a violent love triangle between brothers, August and Frederick Kittel, and the beautiful Vivian. Conroy, while attempting to make amends for his past, discovers a dark secret about the strained relationship in the small town of Ragged Rock.

I am not normally a fan of Westerns, or of werewolf tales, but this is a great combination of the two genres. Ellis’ artwork provides the perfect atmosphere and tone for Gallaher’s well-crafted story of the supernatural in the Old West. If you want to read another amazing title by this team, pick up The Only Living Boy, the survival story of 12-year old Erik Farrell, who finds himself in an unknown, dangerous world where nothing is as it seems.

 

 

Contains: some blood, violence in the Old West

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Highly recommended

Posted on September 7, 2017 by , Reply
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