To The Last Page

Japanese artist Gou Tanabe continues his graphic manga adaptations of the dark horror of H.P Lovecraft with At The Mountains of Madness , an extended tale that delves into the origins of his some of his most famous creations spoken of in the Necronomicon; the Old Ones, the Cthulu and the fearsome Shoggoth. The story of their arrival on our planet, their enforced 'hibernation' in the Antarctic and their terrifying re-awakening. It's a story to inspire the most imaginative of visual presentations and Gou Tanabe does that impressively across two volumes. In1930, the Miskatonic University expedition led by Professor Dyer delves deeper into this frozen and inhospitable continent than anyone has been before. They soon discover some fossils of great interest, of a kind never seen before, and excitedly one of the scientists, Lake has commandeered some planes and a team to explore further inland. Despite an incoming storm, they discover a hitherto unknown range of dark jagged mounta...

The dark imaginative worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, his created mythology and monsters, are among the most influential works in the horror genre, and yet the visualisation of those worlds are as difficult to pin down as it is to measure the increments of rising fear they inspire. Lovecraft had a way to tapping into those deep primal fears, leaving much to the imagination, making them feel like part of a mythology based on another reality that is within reach - which, if you consider it as fear, is exactly what it is. When it comes to visual depictions of his work, it must similarly be a case of capturing that sense of inner fear rather than seek to make it concrete in images. And yet, there is always something fascinating about seeing how others visualise those tales. The Japanese artist and writer Gou Tanabe works not in the typical manga style, although it is certainly comparable to the more refined artwork of latter day Junji Ito, but closer to the style of Bernie Wrightson's elabora...