Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Avatar Press Tp (2011), Paperback, 176 pages
Description
"Brears and Lamper, two young and cocky FBI agents, investigate a fresh series of ritual murders somehow tied to the final undercover assignment of Aldo Sax-- the once golden boy of the Bureau, now a convicted killer and inmate of a maximum security prison. From their interrogation of Sax (where he spoke exclusively in inhuman tongues) to a related drug raid on a seedy rock club rife with arcane symbols and otherworldly lyrics, they suspect that they are on the trail of something awful-- but nothing can prepare them for the creeping insanity and unspeakable terrors they will face in the small harbor town of Innsmouth"--Page 4 of cover.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Widsith
Very dark and quite extreme – so much so that I felt a little nauseous at a couple of points. But interesting – I was thinking about it for a fair while afterwards. I'm not generally a huge fan of the modern cult of Lovecraft, but Alan Moore certainly goes to some strange places with it – and
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what I like about Moore is that he is prepared to see his ideas through all the way, even if it takes you somewhere very unsavoury. There is a nice sense of brooding fear in the opening and closing sections, but some of the middle parts are a full-on kind of sexual weird-horror which I haven't seen done quite like this anywhere else. Strange, interesting, creepy. Show Less
LibraryThing member josh314
There are two very distinct parts to this volume, "The Courtyard" and its sequel "Neonomicon." I thought The Courtyard was just great and a fitting homage to Lovecraft. On the other hand Neonomicon, after a strong start, ends up being just too much, almost literally torture porn, although the
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ending is good. Show Less
LibraryThing member JJbooklvr
A twisted tale from the mind of Alan Moore for Lovecraft fans. Loved the artwork of Jacen Burrows too. Not for the squeamish with the sex and gore.
LibraryThing member Lenny85
First of, I just started with serious comics/ graphic novels. I read Watchmen, liked it - a lot - and tried to find something equally good. So I thought, hey it's Alan Moore, and you read most of Lovecraft's work, try Neonomicon.
What a disappointment. The first chapter consists of mostly 2 art
Let's face it, this comic has one thing and one thing only: *mild spoiler ahead*
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grotesque alien rape of "our earth women"
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If that's your thing, and I surely wouldn't condemn you for it, you might enjoy it. But other than this part in the mid-section the comic fails on too many levels to be called good by any standard.
The Cover and the art on the back are the most lovecraftian thing about it. But don't let that fool you into expecting FBI agents fighting for their sanity in the face of great Cthulhu. I still can't believe this was written by the same guy as Watchmen ...
What a disappointment. The first chapter consists of mostly 2 art
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boxes per page, mostly with the same content. The story is no lovecraftian one at all, his name just gets dropped all the time and adds as much plot as reading his wikipedia entry. The characters are exchangable to say the least. Whether it's a FBI-Agent or a drug dealer you can only tell by their appearances.Let's face it, this comic has one thing and one thing only: *mild spoiler ahead*
-----------
grotesque alien rape of "our earth women"
----------
If that's your thing, and I surely wouldn't condemn you for it, you might enjoy it. But other than this part in the mid-section the comic fails on too many levels to be called good by any standard.
The Cover and the art on the back are the most lovecraftian thing about it. But don't let that fool you into expecting FBI agents fighting for their sanity in the face of great Cthulhu. I still can't believe this was written by the same guy as Watchmen ...
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LibraryThing member macha
3 and a half stars. full disclosure: i'm not a big Lovecraft fan. but Alan has some fun with this, and Jacen Burroughs' artwork is excellent. consists of two stories: The Courtyard, and its sequel Neonomicon (so basically all Alan's neoLovecraftian works). i have an earlier edition of The Courtyard
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from Avatar, but that one's black and white (and the colourist here is very good), plus as it turned out it was so badly bound it's falling apart. so this is the one to get. the female character in Neonomicon is also pretty interesting, and the sea creature/god is as poignant in his own way as the Swamp Thing. lots and lots of Lovecraft lore and language, but Alan happily also throws Chambers' King in Yellow into the mix, not to mention Crowley and even Wilhelm Reich. all of which makes for a fairly tight, fun read (but warning: lots of frontal nudity and graphic sex stuff in this story) but i'd personally (YMMD) classify it as unimportant work. although hey, comes the apocalypse that assessment may look pretty darn foolish. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mithril
Very dark.
LibraryThing member scronline
For anyone considering reading this book and looking at reviews to base their opinions on whether to buy or not, this is one of the most graphic graphic novels I have read. Now, as I am kind of a fan of these twisted, and sort of demented kind of stories, I thought it was really great. I however
The story was a classic Allan Moore tale. Well researched and incedibly clever, I just can't wait for the H.P. Lovecraft collection I ordered to get here now. It would appear however, that opposed to previous conception, this book is not a typical Cthulhu Mythos addition, as it seems to be grabbing bits and peices from a number of Lovecraft stories making it more of just a Lovecraftian horror genre esque read.
With all the beautifully painted pictures, it wasn't hard to be drawn into the story which was a real mind bender at time. I felt at points it reminded me of Promethia, of how it would vear of into this off beat hypothetical phylosophy (Hard to describe). This might have been a five star for me, but when it all ended, I felt very cheated. There was nothing in the least bit conclusive about the plot. Nothing was solved nor was there any sort of resolve. The end felt like an end, a great end by the way, but on a quick reflection I found that any semblance of a storyline had merely been abandoned in the last quarter. Instead it based it conclusion on some minor, yet interestingly astounding, points that you may or may not have thought of at the time that really didn't have anything to do with the plot. I am unfufilled.
To conclude, I did enjoy this book. I just wish Mr.Moore had remembered about what he was writing and decided to finish it.
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warn the squeamish or faint of heart to heed this as a warning.The story was a classic Allan Moore tale. Well researched and incedibly clever, I just can't wait for the H.P. Lovecraft collection I ordered to get here now. It would appear however, that opposed to previous conception, this book is not a typical Cthulhu Mythos addition, as it seems to be grabbing bits and peices from a number of Lovecraft stories making it more of just a Lovecraftian horror genre esque read.
With all the beautifully painted pictures, it wasn't hard to be drawn into the story which was a real mind bender at time. I felt at points it reminded me of Promethia, of how it would vear of into this off beat hypothetical phylosophy (Hard to describe). This might have been a five star for me, but when it all ended, I felt very cheated. There was nothing in the least bit conclusive about the plot. Nothing was solved nor was there any sort of resolve. The end felt like an end, a great end by the way, but on a quick reflection I found that any semblance of a storyline had merely been abandoned in the last quarter. Instead it based it conclusion on some minor, yet interestingly astounding, points that you may or may not have thought of at the time that really didn't have anything to do with the plot. I am unfufilled.
To conclude, I did enjoy this book. I just wish Mr.Moore had remembered about what he was writing and decided to finish it.
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LibraryThing member oybon
Essentially 2 works, The Courtyard and its continuation Neonomicon. Though both well presented and at times thoughtfully drawn, I can't help but feel there is a massive hole lurking beneath the thin crust the story is presented upon.
The Courtyard is arguably the stronger piece, presenting a
Neonomicon is not the more interesting body story you would have hoped for. Essentially we have Moulder and Skully sent into investigate the events of The Courtyard, except Skully is a reformed nymphomaniac, and Moulder is token black. Within the first few pages you quickly realise what you have is the authors X rated sex fantasy dressed up in a 3rd rate xfiles plot. By the end you are proven correct except it may possibly warrant upgrading to 2nd rate xfiles plot.
The Courtyard is arguably the stronger piece, presenting a
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claustrophobic environment around pulp'ish investigation story gone insane. Most likely making more sense in its original context, it unfortunately reads like a prologue to something more interesting when consumed in isolation.Neonomicon is not the more interesting body story you would have hoped for. Essentially we have Moulder and Skully sent into investigate the events of The Courtyard, except Skully is a reformed nymphomaniac, and Moulder is token black. Within the first few pages you quickly realise what you have is the authors X rated sex fantasy dressed up in a 3rd rate xfiles plot. By the end you are proven correct except it may possibly warrant upgrading to 2nd rate xfiles plot.
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LibraryThing member Drakhir
Excellent modern evocation of the Cthulhu mythos, using meta-fiction and Moore's trademark deep knowledge of the occult to give it real weight. I am so hoping this is the beginning of a new series, or at least that Moore will write further Lovecraftian tales.
After reading some other reviews though,
Also, if you only read Lovecraft for the horror, you're going to miss the point here also. This is occult, folks, and if you do not have at least a passing knowledge of the Qabalah, you're only going to see a fraction of the story on offer. It is short, but there is much to be found, for the true seeker ;-)
After reading some other reviews though,
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I think a lot of people have missed the point. All those who reckon they know and love Alan Moore's works - have you read Promethea? I find that to be his best work, and some of the knowledge in that shines through here. Sometimes there is more information in artwork in a single pane than there is in all the dialogue on a double page.Also, if you only read Lovecraft for the horror, you're going to miss the point here also. This is occult, folks, and if you do not have at least a passing knowledge of the Qabalah, you're only going to see a fraction of the story on offer. It is short, but there is much to be found, for the true seeker ;-)
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LibraryThing member amobogio
The best horror comic I have ever read. Powerful story, told well; as good as a graphic novel can get. An original, modern Cthulhu mythos story.
LibraryThing member jbrubacher
A murder investigation becomes the discovery of a creepy cult and its sexual depravities beneath an ugly grey city, all inspired by Lovecraft. It's difficult to tell if the story needed to exist or if it was just a vehicle for the sex, but at least I was entertained throughout. Read at your own
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risk. Show Less
LibraryThing member irregularreader
Begins creepily enough, plenty of Lovecraft references for the geek in you. could have done without the comic-length rape scene though.
LibraryThing member TobinElliott
There's a whole lotta good in this, but there's also a shitload of bad here too. In other words, standard Alan Moore fare, a writer I have a distinct love/hate relationship with.
From Moore himself: "I had a tax bill coming up, and I needed some money quickly. So I happened to be talking to William
Whatever, Moore. You still did it for the cash.
Anyway, let's get the bad out of the way first...
- as a lot of others have mentioned, really, you needed to give Merrill a recovering sex addict (and bring it up a bunch of times in casual conversation)? It literally added nothing but a slim attempt at titillation.
- the interaction between the characters. It's like Moore's never really seen two people talk in real life, and is faking it. I mean, good god, he's got two partners, one about to be married, sharing a hotel room, and the female stripping almost naked while they carry on a basic conversation. But it's okay, because the fiance back home actually likes Merrill, so hey, it's all good that her future husband is sharing a room with a naked former sex addict, right?
- while there was a lot of research that obviously went into this from a Lovecraft/Machen/Smith/Crowley/Howard/Chambers standpoint, there were times where it felt like Moore felt it necessary to simply drop references as easter eggs, instead of them having a solid point to the story.
- seemed to be a few instances of apologizing or rationalizing Lovecraft's weird world views.
- and the rape of Merrill by the Dagon. Yeah, not a big fan of that, but I do get it as a plot point. I guess my question is, why her? Why was she the one? And why oh why oh why does she have to basically have a "moment" with her rapist?
The good?
- it's just an really interesting take on the entire Lovecraftian mythos, and also incorporates other's views, such as Clark Ashton Smith and Robert W. Chambers in some fun ways, while also digging back to some original Lovecraft stories.
- the art, the art, the art. Jacen Burrows has never done finer work that he's done here. He's taken an often lackluster Moore script and made it look beautiful.
So, as I said, a bit of a mixed bag. Let's see what the three-part Providence story holds, shall we?
From Moore himself: "I had a tax bill coming up, and I needed some money quickly. So I happened to be talking to William
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from Avatar Press, and he suggested that he could provide some if I was up for doing a four-part series, so I did. So although I took it to pay off the tax bill, I’m always going to make sure I try and make it the best possible story I can."Whatever, Moore. You still did it for the cash.
Anyway, let's get the bad out of the way first...
- as a lot of others have mentioned, really, you needed to give Merrill a recovering sex addict (and bring it up a bunch of times in casual conversation)? It literally added nothing but a slim attempt at titillation.
- the interaction between the characters. It's like Moore's never really seen two people talk in real life, and is faking it. I mean, good god, he's got two partners, one about to be married, sharing a hotel room, and the female stripping almost naked while they carry on a basic conversation. But it's okay, because the fiance back home actually likes Merrill, so hey, it's all good that her future husband is sharing a room with a naked former sex addict, right?
- while there was a lot of research that obviously went into this from a Lovecraft/Machen/Smith/Crowley/Howard/Chambers standpoint, there were times where it felt like Moore felt it necessary to simply drop references as easter eggs, instead of them having a solid point to the story.
- seemed to be a few instances of apologizing or rationalizing Lovecraft's weird world views.
- and the rape of Merrill by the Dagon. Yeah, not a big fan of that, but I do get it as a plot point. I guess my question is, why her? Why was she the one? And why oh why oh why does she have to basically have a "moment" with her rapist?
The good?
- it's just an really interesting take on the entire Lovecraftian mythos, and also incorporates other's views, such as Clark Ashton Smith and Robert W. Chambers in some fun ways, while also digging back to some original Lovecraft stories.
- the art, the art, the art. Jacen Burrows has never done finer work that he's done here. He's taken an often lackluster Moore script and made it look beautiful.
So, as I said, a bit of a mixed bag. Let's see what the three-part Providence story holds, shall we?
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
I could have done without so much graphic sex (I'm no Lovecraft, but it seemed to take up too much space in this limited series). Still liked this a lot. Some great art and I loved all the mythos references and revelations.
Fun, dark, crazy stuff. Not for the faint of heart.
Fun, dark, crazy stuff. Not for the faint of heart.
LibraryThing member amsee
Shortest review ever:
Alan Moore may say this book was an attempt to look at a world where H.P. Lovecraft's stories were true, but it was actually an excuse to draw a fish-man raping a girl.
That is all.
Alan Moore may say this book was an attempt to look at a world where H.P. Lovecraft's stories were true, but it was actually an excuse to draw a fish-man raping a girl.
That is all.
LibraryThing member bdgamer
Nowhere near as good as The Courtyard, but not too bad either.
LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan
Well, this was an interesting read. This graphic novel starts out as a murder mystery that is very bloody and very gory. It gets into occultism and then moves further along the case, as the original investigator becomes a murderer. Then to the new investigators becoming hostages in a sex cult, that
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all links into HP Lovecraft. I have found Lovecraft stories to be very interesting and this take on them is quite a bit disturbing. I find it disturbing both for the monsters, the sex, the blood, the gore all of it. I can’t say that I liked and/or enjoyed this book but I did find it interesting. While I do like a lot of Alan Moore’s understand why this was published indie instead of with DC or some other mainstream publisher. My final thoughts are basically “what the f… did I just read?” Show Less
LibraryThing member Ghost_Boy
Read this because the last issues of Providence really confused me. Now having read more Lovecraft stories and reading this volume, I understand he plot better. They should put this all together in one big book sometime, but I recommended getting all 4 books to understand the full story. I think
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Providence was better though. Show Less
LibraryThing member thisisstephenbetts
Rapey Lovecraftian horror. This felt really rushed - the dialogue showed Moore at his most leaden, exposition-laden worst. The truly unpleasant elements may have worked better in a better Alan Moore story, but were gratuitous here. The plot felt flimsy and arbitrary. An awkward mess. Lovecraft
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deserves better. Show Less
LibraryThing member mrgan
Moore gets a bit too stuck in his new habit of trying really really hard to tie together the loose ends of dozens of already shaky works of fiction, but this is still pretty good and undeserving of the scorn it gets from folks unaccustomed to horror writing. The Courtyard is a tighter and more
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intriguing story, and what follows is a bit heavy on the Wikipedia-style education about H.P. Lovecraft's works. Show Less
LibraryThing member Zare
So this collection is a weird one. Story "The Courtyard" is pretty much what you be expecting from the Lovecraft story. There is horror element, bizarre people uttering incomprehensible words and a detective hunting down mysterious murderers that seem completely unconnected, independent from each
Story is full of tension, you do not see much of actual bloodshed - everything is right there but somewhere in the periphery of your vision. As I said very Lovecraftian.
Then we get to "Neonomicon" story arc. It is basically continuation of Courtyard but now detective from that story is arrested and committed to mental institution after events in "The Courtyard". Nobody knows what happened to the man - he speaks same gibberish language as those he initially hunted himself - but everything points to the same location where he sought the murderers. Two agents (male and female, where female has certain sexual addiction problems) are sent to investigate and then situation escalates rather quickly - very soon horrendous creatures start popping out. It ends on a rather strange (and rather depressing) note for the humanity itself because in the end everything hints to birth (and thus invasion or awakening) of ancient monsters bent on destroying humanity. Are we but a dream of a monster or do we all exist on separate astral planes and monsters are thinning the borders between the planes thus endangering us? Is what we see the past or the future - are the monsters yet to be born in the first place? Are Lovecraft's works basis for the strange cults or are they inspired by true stories buried down by authorities? Again, very interesting and very Lovecraftian.
And then we get to most conflicting part of this story - monster raping above mentioned female agent. Is it disturbing, oh believe me it is. Following contains spoilers so proceed at your own risk.Captured by the cult and offered to the unspeakable monstrosity of the deep as a sex toy agent barely survives and at the end is even offered help by that very same monster because it sensed something in her that makes her very special for its kind. After police rescues her and kills the monster in the process, strange language and images become more regular and soon she finds out that she is actually a portal for this horrendous creatures into our own reality. When she meets the detective from "The Courtyard" and starts talking the strange language she gets the confirmation that she is living portal that will enable monsters takeover of the planet and rise of their civilization. Crazed detective calls her a Chosen and even raises her to the level of deity - all of this just shows how dangerous she is to human civilization. That aside in regard to the topic of monster rape... As I said this is very disturbing scene and as far as I can see it is main reason why people don't like this collection. Again very understandable. With all of that keep in mind that sexual attack was always present in Lovecraft stories - never the detailed act itself but in hints and general neurosis and madness of the events. Also do note that in art first step for shock is always through sex and nudity. It must be something in us that drives us that way but I am yet to see representation of decadent society that does not include some sexual perversion or other (just look at Metabarons and latest [and even rather good [but using same approach]] Elric of Melninbone series of graphic novels).
In many aspects this story seems very much like Warhammer40k story - especially time warping and establishment of monster portals through living beings. But again W40K has many common elements with unspeakable terrors from Lovecraft.
So to sum it up - pretty much what you would expect from Lovecraft is present here: depression, madness, hints of horrors and no happy ending.
This is not for underage readers due to rather traumatic part of the story - it is prolonged sequence, that indirectly shows all the horror, fear and despair (there are no explicit scenes in here) and maybe this is what makes it more horrifying. If you cannot stomach it then I would not advise you to go through this comic collection.
Recommended to all fans of Lovecraft and horror stories.
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other but commencing gruesome murders in a same way. And then detective makes the mistake. Story is full of tension, you do not see much of actual bloodshed - everything is right there but somewhere in the periphery of your vision. As I said very Lovecraftian.
Then we get to "Neonomicon" story arc. It is basically continuation of Courtyard but now detective from that story is arrested and committed to mental institution after events in "The Courtyard". Nobody knows what happened to the man - he speaks same gibberish language as those he initially hunted himself - but everything points to the same location where he sought the murderers. Two agents (male and female, where female has certain sexual addiction problems) are sent to investigate and then situation escalates rather quickly - very soon horrendous creatures start popping out. It ends on a rather strange (and rather depressing) note for the humanity itself because in the end everything hints to birth (and thus invasion or awakening) of ancient monsters bent on destroying humanity. Are we but a dream of a monster or do we all exist on separate astral planes and monsters are thinning the borders between the planes thus endangering us? Is what we see the past or the future - are the monsters yet to be born in the first place? Are Lovecraft's works basis for the strange cults or are they inspired by true stories buried down by authorities? Again, very interesting and very Lovecraftian.
And then we get to most conflicting part of this story - monster raping above mentioned female agent. Is it disturbing, oh believe me it is. Following contains spoilers so proceed at your own risk.
In many aspects this story seems very much like Warhammer40k story - especially time warping and establishment of monster portals through living beings. But again W40K has many common elements with unspeakable terrors from Lovecraft.
So to sum it up - pretty much what you would expect from Lovecraft is present here: depression, madness, hints of horrors and no happy ending.
This is not for underage readers due to rather traumatic part of the story - it is prolonged sequence, that indirectly shows all the horror, fear and despair (there are no explicit scenes in here) and maybe this is what makes it more horrifying. If you cannot stomach it then I would not advise you to go through this comic collection.
Recommended to all fans of Lovecraft and horror stories.
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Awards
Bram Stoker Award (Nominee — Graphic Novel — 2011)
British Fantasy Award (Nominee — Graphic Novel — 2011)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011
Physical description
176 p.; 25.6 cm
ISBN
1592911307 / 9781592911301
Local notes
Omslag: Jacen Burrows
Omslaget viser et par fbi-agenter ved en smedejernsport i en solid mur. I baggrunden ses en mand og ovenfor dem alle en skrigende vanvittig mand
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Alan Moores Neonomicon
Omslaget viser et par fbi-agenter ved en smedejernsport i en solid mur. I baggrunden ses en mand og ovenfor dem alle en skrigende vanvittig mand
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Alan Moores Neonomicon
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Pages
176
DDC/MDS
| 741.5942 |