“The Call of Cthulhu” is one of H. P. Lovecraft’s most famous stories. After reading Gou Tanabe’s brilliant rendition of At the Mountains of Madness (you can read my review here), I decided to read Tanabe’s other artistic manga book.
“The Call of Cthulhu” is a cosmic horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in February 1928.
Lovecraft introduces an incredible, ancient, powerful being who has the ability to sway the minds of humans to serve it. This also sets the Mythos on a course where beings like Cthulhu are the vanguard of a horde of extraterrestrial creatures who will arrive on Earth to subjugate and overwhelm mankind.
Once again Gou Tanable’s brilliant artwork illuminate the story and add impact to an already classic horror short story. Don’t miss this wonderful version of Lovecraft fiction! GRADE: A
Have never read Lovecraft. Don’t know why. Are all the illustrations in black and white? I guess color would have cost a fortune.
Patti, there’s a few color panels in Gou Tanable’s books, but most of the artwork is black and white. Well worth a look! I’m sure your local library probably has Gou Tanabe’s books.
I think I might like the illustrations here more than the text…ever look at the WEIRD TALES issue, George? If Bok did the illos…wow. Shall check soon.
Todd, I’m not fond of Lovecraft’s writing style, but his creation of Cthulhu and the whole Mythos took a grip on my imagination from the first time I read his stories back in the Sixties!
Good try, I guess, but Lovecraft’s horrors are best realized in one’s own imagination. Fans made a pretty good, faithful, low-budget movie adaptation of “Call of Cthulhu” a few years ago, filmed in the style of a silent movie; it was screened at conventions and released on DVD.
Fred, thanks for the heads up! I’ll track down that low-budget movie adaptation of “Call of Cthulhu.” Creating a world where most people are oblivious to the menace of Lovecraft’s creations always pushed all my buttons! The John Wick movies also create a secret world of assassins which I find very appealing. I’m a sucker for secret Realities…
Not surprisingly, neither of my local libraries have anything by Gou Tanabe. I’m going to have to check out Interlibrary Loan.
Jerry, I bring candy to the Librarians–Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day…you get the idea–and when I ask them to order books, they do it for me 90% of the time. Just a thought…