HP Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories
By Gou Tanabe
Dark Horse Comics
To be Released on July 25, 2017
Reviewed by Brian James Lewis

 WOW! This is an incredible adaptation of three HP Lovecraft tales into graphic novella form by a very talented artist! I pretty much trashed my whole day so I could read this cover to cover! And you know what? I have a pretty strong feeling that a lot of other Horror fans are going to be doing the very same thing when Dark Horse releases this amazing work by Gou Tanabe on July 25^th!

While I cannot claim to be an expert on Howard Phillips Lovecraft, I have studied him and read his stories in the wee hours of the morning during a full moon (for real!). Besides the issues that people may have with Lovecraft, the truth is that he was a damn good storyteller! His stories endure because of the way they engage the reader’s mind. They set the stage with “Valuable metals not of this earth,” and things so horrible that the narrator will only take a stab at describing. This kind of writing opens the floodgates of our imaginations wide for all the Demons to come out and play. Gou Tanabe has soaked in all the madness, dark shadows, and creepy details of each story and put them on paper for us to enjoy. I will readily admit that I am fairly critical of other people’s interpretations of what I read, but these stories have been done a high level of justice.

The Temple begins with amazingly intricate artwork. We’re aboard a Nazi U-boat that is out doing the business of war. This boat seems to be a successful one that has just downed a British ship. However, a problem remains. There is a dead soldier clinging to the U-boat’s railing. The ship’s lieutenant and a few crewmen go pry him loose, only to find a rare artifact on him. The lieutenant sees the monetary value of the thing and slips it into his pocket, thereby sealing the fate of everyone aboard the ship. Soon the men are sick, the ship’s engine blows up, and there is an attempt at mutiny. As a last hope for salvation, some of the crew members petition the lieutenant to get rid of the ancient stone idol. They are killed for their efforts. Eventually only the Captain and Lieutenant remain alone aboard a drifting sub with only battery power. Then it’s just the captain who finds his U-boat deep at the bottom of the sea in the lost city of Atlantis. As the ship runs out of power, the captain sends his diary to the surface in a sealed jar and enters a vast temple full of light and music. But how is that possible?

Ever consider robbing graves for fun and profit? The Hound illustrates why this is one very bad idea. As the young man telling the story says-

“God…May Heaven forgive the folly and morbidity which led us both to so monstrous a fate” Two young guys have been robbing graves and collecting rare items from the dead that might give them the powers of darkness if they keep studying The Necronomicon and abiding by the teachings of Abdul Alhazred. They entertain themselves this way for a while, until they make their really big score, a magic amulet taken from the neck of a grave robber in Holland who has been dead over 500 years. It is a jade idol of a winged hound, the legend of which the boys chuckle over as quaint. The Hound is enormous and very real. Many will die for their mistake.

Last, but definitely not least is The Nameless City which is about a man travelling through the desert in search of a lost city so horrible that it does not even have a name. A city of ancient powerful beings that were here on earth long before Christ and definitely before man. Our traveler sees how amazingly rich they were, yet their appearances under glass is horrifying. Why do they look so well-preserved? Is it because they aren’t really dead? Even the moaning wind betrays the truth of the temple and its inner world. Lovecraft often complained of horrible, frightening dreams that left him feeling weak and ill. Tanabe’s illustrations pound home the scary creatures that lived in those nightmares. This isn’t just a little noise under the bed or a tree tapping on the window. No funny monsters who want to be your pal like in a Pixar flick, either!

Should you purchase HP Lovecraft’s The Hound and Other Stories? Yes, you should! Then be ready to call in sick the next day. You won’t be getting any sleep!

A Place of Skulls and other Tales
David Ludford
Parallel Universe Publications
Released 10/4/2016
Reviewed by Brian James Lewis

This interesting collection of twelve speculative fiction shorts by David Ludford have all been previously published in SCHLOCK! Magazine, so they are tried and true tales. Well, perhaps the author and magazine stay constant, but the stories do not. This a wide variety of tales that make for pretty good reading. Most of them are short enough to zip through in 15-30 minutes, which is handy for multi-taskers like…well, pretty much everybody in the world these days! Although the cover refers to these stories as Terror, that’s up for interpretation. I lean towards Strange and Uncanny, which gives this volume a much wider audience. There are a few swears in here, but nothing extreme or over the top. Since these stories are very English, you might be puzzled by a few terms or scenarios such as “the mobile,” which means cell phone and everyone has a garden.

Let’s get on to some of the stories:

Killing Clowns is definitely a creepy piece full of twists and turns. When the circus comes to each small European town it visits, the members take full advantage of the residents. They get free lodging, the best food, fine booze, and the freedom to shag any woman they desire. If the residents comply, they are allowed to live until next time the circus comes around. However, if they don’t, mayhem ensues. When the clowns are questioned about their rude behavior and then challenged, they kill. A few brave villagers stand up to the circus and suffer the comeuppance for doing so.

Dummies has costume shop mannequins escaping from the window they’re kept in and killing people for no apparent reason. The police don’t get very far on the case, so a newspaper reporter decides to take things on himself. He is scoffed at for his explanation that something supernatural is responsible for the seemingly random deaths. Even the Chief of police is murdered by these crazed dummies! More certain than ever, the reporter attempts to forge an allegiance with the chief’s successor. Alas, another sort of partnership has already been formed and our reporter friend is in the wrong place at the right time. The story doesn’t end. Instead it leaves us with the feeling that a LOT more bad things are in the future.

The Box –An eccentric fellow worships a small television set that he’s placed on an altar of sorts. It appears to be broken with its cracked screen and assorted damage, yet the fellow gets his instructions from it. The box tells him what to do and how to do it. When the man is no longer needed, the box gets rid of him. This story could be looked at as an actual happening or perhaps a person’s battle with extreme mental illness. It makes you think about all the crazy shooters in public places as of late and where their guidance comes from.

Sleepwalker is a cool story that takes a couple read-throughs to completely get everything in its proper place. Well, maybe it just took me that long to put everything together! Either way, you have a young woman in a nightgown meeting a dangerous creature in the middle of the night and interacting with it. Then we meet a couple of people who are in the midst of building a romance. It is all very cute until the young man comes to pick up his girlfriend for a date and finds a horror story instead. Lots going on in this one and I don’t want to be a spoiler!

A Place of Skulls and other tales is a good read with a wide variety to it. Definitely unsettling, but in a good way! Scary but not over the top with the blood and gore. Give it a try, I think you’ll like it!