Провиденс

Providence #1-12

by Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows (Illustrator)

Провиденс — родной город Г. Ф. Лавкрафта. Но в тексте графического романа актуальнее другое значение: "провидение".
"Провиденс" — невероятных масштабов исследование творчества Лавкрафта и его эпохи, с стихотворениями в прозе, интертекстуальными связями и рассказами в основе глав ("Холод", "Кошмар в Ред-Хуке", "Сны в Ведьмином доме" и другие).
Самостоятельное произведение и третья часть трилогии ("Двор" — "Неономикон" — "Провиденс").

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Lovecraftian, Weird Fiction

560 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the box set put out by Avatar, not this French version of the series.

Alan Moore revisits his Neonomicon with a massive prequel and sequel. This is an ambitious undertaking: the author's goals include both the repositioning of the Lovecraft mythos as the first genuinely American mythology of the U.S.A. (differing from the Native American/Indian mythology that came before) and the encapsulation and deconstruction of what constitutes the American Character. I thought he more than succeeded in reaching both goals. Personal Bonus: slowly reading and then even more slowly rereading this from the period of last Halloween through the election, then an eerily quiet and lonesome Christmas, and finally the insurrectionist invasion of the Capitol, all of course taking place during a crazy pandemic... kinda wild. Real life impacted my reading life in an unnervingly fitting way.

Despite there being so much going on in this story, including much that is completely horrific (Moore even manages to one-up his ghastly rape scene in Neonomicon with an even more disturbing rape in Providence), despite the incredible density of the narrative, and the surplus of references and easter eggs, and the brilliant, challlenging art... for much of the tale, the tone is disarmingly light. Moore's sense of humor is mercurial, at times quite broad and at other times so subtle, so dry. For such a work of horror, I smiled and laughed frequently at the wit on display. What never got old were the bland explanations delivered with a straight face by supporting characters, or even more often, thought up by the incredibly naive protagonist himself, to gloss over or explain away the extremely bizarre and horrific experiences going on around him at every turn.

My favorite comic bits: ostensibly homoerotic banter between Hector North (a proto Herbert West, the Re-Animator), Hector's lover, and Robert Black, the bisexual hero of Providence. On the surface, this is all talk about keeping gay love on the down-low, various romantic difficulties, appreciating the male body, and the surreptitious scheduling of a hook-up date. But what is actually happening is of course Hector trying to get some time alone with Robert so he can kill and then reanimate him. Hector wants that hot bod, but not exactly for the reasons Robert assumes. Endless LOL! Much of the book does the same trick: it tells an amusing story on its faux-naif surface, only slightly concealing the appalling horror beneath. And so despite the complexity of the storyline and the overarching goals and themes of Providence, much of it was charmingly sly and ironic. Which made the emotional punch of Robert Black's ultimate fate all the more painful and sad when it arrived.

It should be mentioned that the text is just as important as the comic. Many readers have complained about the long written sequences that end nearly every issue. It is important that readers exercise some patience and be okay with actually reading! These "Commonplace Book" entries are key to understanding the story and they add so much as well. They show Robert Black's true personality beneath the friendly, bookish veneer he maintains: he is actually a snobby, shallow chauvinist who is unbearably naive, diminishes nearly everyone he meets, and is a completely terrible judge of character. Some entries function as a parallel narrative that describe what is actually happening to the narrator. Different entries encapsulate the fraught diversity of the American character, how it is in actual opposition to different parts of itself. Plus there is a hilarious send-up of a biblical sermon, delivered by the murderous and upbeat fish-men of Innsmouth.

I loved the dream cycle within Providence: a terrible journey underground, a bizarre dream in Salem that is a gateway to Robert Black's subconscious and a series of clues about the mysteries that surround him, and especially the hallucinatory and often revolting visions brought on by a witch & her familiar during his stay in a pleasant bed & breakfast. Beyond those specific dream images, Moore also visits the dream-worlds of Lord Dunsany and Lovecraft's own Dunsanian visions that make up his Randolph Carter cycle (and both of whom are actual characters in this series, along with Lovecraft himself).

As far as the art by Jacen Burrows goes, I feel like I could have written this whole review on that alone. In a word, the art is INCREDIBLE. So much going on! Burrows has always impressed me, but this time he just blew me away with how at the top of his game he is on each page, in each panel. His use of the zoom-in is like nothing I've seen before. This is art that requires close inspection and contemplation. This is also art that genuinely scared me (in the sequence of a tower slowly and inexplicably traversing material space to visit Robert in his room - or was it vice versa?) and, eventually, boggled my mind with the mastery displayed in its penultimate chapter. Chapter 11 portrays poor Robert Black's easily predictable but still tragic end, and then shifts to telegrammatically provide an entire chronology of the life of H.P. Lovecraft and his circle, an ending to each of the stories started throughout Providence, and then smoothly moves to the world of this series' origin, Neonomicon. A reference guide is useful in fully understanding this ingenious chapter:

https://factsprovidence.wordpress.com...

Also, whoever created the Wikipedia entry for this series really killed it. So many references teased and some even explained (obliquely). Kudos to that anonymous wizard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provide...

Other favorite things about my experience with the collection: the eventual understanding that the world of Providence features a range of different supernatural factions and classes in competition with each other (fascinating stuff); the realization that what I thought was a postmodern meta narrative was actually - and sneakily - an Origin Story; the horrifying and hilarious supporting character of Captain Shadrach the cheerful immortal cannibal; the protagonist's bisexuality (it is clear that he veers homosexual, but there's enough evidence that he digs the female kind as well, at times) which for me was awesome on a personal level because I don't see many people like me in my reading; and most of all - and what is probably the series' biggest selling point - the incredible reinvention of nearly all of Lovecraft's key works of fiction, alongside others like Chambers & Dunsany.

Like so (and also, here's a synopsis of each of the three volumes):

Act I: in the Cool Air the King In Yellow shall Repair various Reputations through the use of rare books and secret caves and public suicide boxes. alas, the Horror At Red Hook is but a Shadow of what takes place at Innsmouth which in turn has nothing on the Horror occuring in Dunwich.

Act II: our hero has unpleasant Dreams In The Witch House, no doubt influenced by the radioactive Colour Out Of Space next door and only encouraged by a sweet young miss who may be some terrible sort of Thing On The Doorstep. fortunately, the sexy Herbert West: Re-Animator shall provide succor, and so shall the notable artist Pickman and his mouth-breathing Model.

Act III: the poor protagonist travels to and flees from setting to setting, his reality unraveling as interlopers From Beyond manipulate his goals. he shall hook up with a surprisingly fetching Charles Dexter Ward, but sadly such exercise shall only serve to inspire the Haunter of the Dark to come a'calling. all's well that end's well as our hero ends it all and our world ends as well, as Moore concludes his Neonomicon and the history of human life itself. Happy 1st Birthday, baby Cthulhu! 'Tis the dawning of the Age of Aquarius...



10/31/20 placeholder:
Stuck at home on Halloween with a toothache and loopy from pain meds, receiving strange texts every half hour demanding my vote on this or that for the upcoming apocalypse election, reading in the shade of my patio on a beautifully sunny day that promises to turn into a cold, foggy night filled with shouts from drunken revelers and drugged-out homeless, trying to ignore the strident, embittered whining from the elderly homebound woman next door, just as her silent caregivers seem to always do, the scent of grilled meat in the air, and of course living in America: what better setting to read about horrific Lovecraftian incursions? Let's do this!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I think it’s too late for me, anyway. I’ve entered into something I didn’t understand, and by God… I believe that it will swallow me.”

Welcome to Alan Moore’s take on H.P. Lovecraft. This is a deep, atmospheric, layered novel charting journalist Robert Black’s descent into madness as he researches the dark secrets of Lovecraftian New England.

On the whole I think this was a success, although at times the plot felt thin and only existed as a vehicle for Moore to shoehorn in more and more obscure Lovecraft references. The final chapter in particular was in danger of disappearing up its own arse.

Alongside the fantastic art I have to mention the less fantastic pages & pages of text which interrupted the story’s flow, and Moore’s usual weird and unsettling sex scenes.

Even so, this verges on brilliance.

It helps to read Neonomicon first. And https://factsprovidence.wordpress.com... was invaluable.

[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently working on a writing project heavily influenced by Lovecraft’s work, and I have been consuming Lovecraftiana very voraciously as a result. I had heard very good things about “Providence”, and since I am quite fond of Alan Moore’s work, it was a must on my research-reading list. The back summary sets-up a very high bar by describing it, in content and scope, as the “Watchmen” of horror comics, and you know what, I think that is an accurate assessment! I think that I may even have *gasp* liked it better than “Watchmen”! Bleeding Cool called it a ‘Unified Theory of Lovecraft Stories’ and that is the best summary I can imagine, but here goes my version and thoughts anyway.

The story, set in 1919, follows New York Herald journalist Robert Black as he conducts research for a book he is writing on the hidden side of American society, more precisely, the occult side, which he believes responsible for the death by suicide of his former lover. But Mr. Black quickly finds himself in way over his head as he follows increasingly bizarre leads through isolated parts of New England.

What Moore did here is what he is annoyingly good at, which is take a thing he loves (in this case, Lovecraft), break it and build it back in a way only someone who understands how the inner elements all fit together can do. He weaves elements of HP’s work, whether we are talking about locations, content of some stories, props, characters, so on and so forth, and rearranged them as if they were a part of American history, following in the footsteps of a common opinion that Lovecraft was the first inherently American writer (dixit S.T. Joshi). The result is a baroque and layered story of slow descent into madness that also offers a virulent critique of society (it is an Alan Moore book, after all, but more on that later), as well as an interesting perspective on how stories are built and the way they become an inextricable part of our lives.

The main character’s incredible naiveté serves as a fantastic vehicle for Moore’s rather odd (but generally delightful) sense of humor, as poor Mr. Black marches blindly into the weirdest situations without ever feeling like sinister things are afoot (PSA: if someone’s house smells like embalming fluid and they don’t have taxidermy all over the place, maybe don’t spend the night there), and then, well… crazy shit happens! I did really appreciate the character’s casual bisexuality (he prefers men, but still chases the occasional skirt when the mood strikes), something that’s not always common in fiction, and I am just pleased with the representation. That said, the sex scenes in this book are consistent with most of the sex depicted in Moore’s other work, i.e. they are off-putting as fuck, and not sexy.

(Permit me to say here, as an aside, that I am bothered with Moore’s fascination with rape, because I struggle to think of any of his major work where a female character isn’t sexually assaulted. It happens in “Watchmen”, it happens in “The Killing Joke”, it happens in “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, it happens here in “Providence”, it happens in “Neonomicon”, and “Lost Girls” features a lot of sexually abusive situations – I legitimately don’t remember if there’s a rape in “V for Vandetta”, but I feel like there probably is? As a plot device, it makes me cringe, even when it is coherent to the narrative, and yep, I’m aware of how common it is, and that rape culture is likely to get worse over the next few years, but god fucking damn it, I’m tired of seeing it used as a narrative device in graphic novels – or novels, period. I don’t think that Moore is a rape apologist, because those acts are always shown as horrific and traumatic, but it still feels weird to me when male writers use female suffering and violence against women for storytelling purposes when this is not something they can truly understand or sympathize with – even when it serves a specific purpose in the plot, I struggle to shake off the feeling of exploitation and voyeurism. I am not the only one who noticed this pattern, obviously, because a quick internet search turned out a ton of academic articles on this topic but thank you for listening to my rant.)

Moore is also really brilliant when it comes to structure: we have the traditional graphic novel chapters with beautifully arranged panels, intersected with the notes from Black’s commonplace book, which give the reader an alternate narrative, and a glimpse of what is actually going on behind his affable, extremely polite persona. This makes the panels the objective version of events as they unfold, and the notebook is the way Black rationalizes the weird and often frightening things he experiences, making the combination brilliantly metafictional. Some people might find those long pages of solid text annoying, but I always looked forward to them, because they really enrich the action seen in the previous pages and chronicle his downward spiral in a fascinating way.

I’ve had mixed experience with the way Moore’s graphic novels are illustrated, but I absolutely loved the art in “Providence”. Jacen Burrows has also worked with Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis, and he really understands what these weirdos with bleak imaginations and dark sensibilities are trying to convey. The lines are clear and crips, the colors chosen very carefully, and the incredible details made me get lost in the illustrations many times. I often actually wished I had a magnifying glass as I read, to take an even closer look, because every stroke of the pen here is deliberate and relevant to the story, even if only as an Easter egg for particularly maniacal Lovecraft fans.

In the chapters where our hapless Mr. Black meets the real-life Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the way he changes his mind about him when he realizes the prejudices the author holds is clever, and not really virtue-signaling (that doesn’t strike me as Moore’s style): it’s more of a way to illustrate the socio-historical context in which Lovecraft lived, and how easy it was back then to rationalize those horrible ideas (because ultimately, Lovecraft thought of himself as a realist and rational, scientifically-minded person). I read it as a comment about HPL’s legacy, and as a reminder that ascribing modern sensibilities to artists and the art they created long ago is tricky.

Which leads me to the following point. Moore reclaims Lovecraftian horror, even for those its creator did not care for. Having a gay Jewish man as a lead character is an obvious thumbing of his nose at HPL, but he doesn’t stop at that. The secret occult society of Stella Sapiente is composed of old white dudes who exploits those they deem inferior for their own ends, and they identify those people based on the old classics: skin tone, gender, sexual preferences, and perceived intelligence. The 12 issues that make up the ”Providence Compendium” were released between 2015 and 2017, and some of the socio-political commentary Moore weaved in there is even more relevant now than it was then: the rampant misogyny, racism and utterly fucked up ideas about sexuality seems to be more obvious than ever in our political landscape, and the abstract horrors controlled by a handful of old white dudes are very much part of reality, even if they are not tentacular.

I think that if you enjoy Lovecraftian horror, this is a must read, especially since the more you know about Lovecraft’s work, the more enjoyable this book is. But it would probably bore people who don’t gel with HPL’s style of ineffable and cosmic scaries. It’s just not everyone’s cup of tea. If you are a horror nerd, it’s a delight to go through this book and pick apart the many (and layered) references to all of Lovecraft’s major stories. It is also just a stunning work of meta-fiction that Moore fans should have on their shelves. For my part, I loved every page and will definitely be revisiting this one, probably often, given my project! It was a pleasure to read and an incredible source of inspiration.

I’m off to read “Neonomicon” now…

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this one was a long time coming as I have been looking forward to reading this story form some time - the only issue was that I was too late to the party and the early editions had gone out of print so you can imagine how fast I leapt on to the chance of reading this new compendium edition.

But why so eager to read this story - well I have always enjoyed reading stories from HPL Cthulhu Mythos as well as the creative put of Alan Moore so when the latter decided to create his tour-de-force of HPL then I had to see what it was all about. Ironically along the way reading a number of his other stories only to find that they key in to this larger piece of work.

But what of the story - well apart from trying to summarise what Alan Moore has created (no mean feat in its own right I can tell you) my self imposed rule of no spoilers means that there is little you can say without giving something away.

However what I will say is that you have a story that manages to weave may aspects that are the foundations of the Cthulhu Mythos and weaving them in to a a coherent (as much as you can do) story while at the same time creating something completely unique. I can say that the wait was certainly worth it.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalist Robert Black visits the forgotten corners of New England to research a book. What he finds may destroy his mind and his world...

I contributed to the kickstarter for this untold aeons ago. No idea why I let it languish for so long because it was fucking great.

Picking up where Neonomicon left off and threading through it, Alan Moore throws some big ideas around in this about the nature of reality and the nature of fiction, specifically the Cthulhu mythos. Moore reinterprets Lovecraft's works, weaving them into American history. Poor Robert Black, journalist turned scholar, turns over a lot of stones and finds wriggling horrors beneath each one, his grip on sanity gradually become loose.

I don't want to give away too many specifics. The more Lovecraftian fiction you've read, the more you'll get out of this. There are Easter eggs galore and the plot hinges on key Lovecraftian concepts. Alan Moore's writing was great, no surprise. He maintains an undercurrent of unease as Robert Black drives around, talking to people and gradually piecing together what the hell is going on.

Jacen Burrows art was underwhelming at first but it turned out to be very expressive. Burrows was exception at conveying subtle expressions. He can also draw the fuck out of cosmic monsters when the occasion calls for it.

The back cover calls this the Watchmen of horror comics. I don't completely agree with that but it's a damn fine horror comic. Five out of five stars.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alan Moore brings his tremendous powers and talents to bear on the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, giving it a hybrid treatment of his pastiche homage to DC Comics' Charlton superheroes in Watchmen and his attention to historical detail and putting-the-pieces-together speculation in From Hell.

But, okay, I have definite mixed feelings.

First up, I just don't get Lovecraftian horror with its nervous young men creeping about, starting at shadows possibly filled with tentacles if you look at them from the right angle. I've hardly read any, and this one requires either an extensive knowledge of the canon or frequent reference to the helpful notes located at factsprovidence.wordpress.com.

Second, I dislike graphic novels that have too much text, and this one has ten sections mostly around 14 pages each of cursive diary entries. Even worse, a good portion of each entry is given over to directly recounting the events one has just viewed in the preceding illustrated section. But as the story progresses, they become more fascinating as they provide increasingly meta commentary on the events of the book as well as criticism of horror fiction in general.

Most of the events take place in 1919, but in the closing chapters the decades rush by, through and beyond the events of the preceding series: The Courtyard and Neonomicon. While it is often a chore to get there, the ending is earned and worthwhile.

Many a time in the middle of those giant text pieces, I was tempted to give this two stars, but Jacen Burrows drew the hell out of it, and Alan Moore is the GOAT, so we'll settle on three stars and get this back to the library for the poor soul who has a hold on it after me.

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 5 out of 5]

One can argue whether Moore did a good job with his previous tributes to H.P. Lovecraft (Alan Moore's The Courtyard and Neonomicon) which were a bit weird, but hey, it's "Alan Moore writing a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft" we're talking about, so one should be ready for anything. Providence is both a prequel and sequel to said books and it's best read after them, in order they were published.
Moore has been researching for this for six months and the effort is there, in front of us. Each panel, each page is a reference, a love letter, a tribute. A legacy. It's an interwoven tapestry of fiction and non-fiction of the beginning of the weird fiction era and only those familiar with the authors mentioned in this comic book will appreciate it fully as they catch references scattered around.
Moore made a masterpiece, one of his best. It's eerie, creepy. Making you uneasy with each page, especially in the beginning. It certainly is the best non-Lovecraft work on Lovecraftian mythos. However, Burrows' drawing can be tedious, his characters are barely distinguished apart and that's the only flaw of this comic book.

[Neil Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forget what I (mostly) said about the earlier hardbacks: THIS is how Providence -- Alan Moore's dense, troubling, at-times disgusting last great work of art in the comics medium -- must be seen. Not in bite size chunks in single issues, or in the somewhat larger chunks in the form of the aforementioned limited-edition hardbacks. Maybe it seems like nitpicking (hell, maybe it IS), but something about seeing it all in one for once... it was like I'd instantly been seized to again brave the terrors within & read it again. Whether you have this exact feeling or not, I stand by what I said: this is how Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows' unforgettable account of a heartbroken young man walking, possibly out of no motive save for sheer pigheadedness, to his inevitable doom... this is how that account is meant to be experienced.

[shruti · Rating 2 out of 5]

i can't interact with another Robert ever again because of all the idiocy that spineless fictional yapper Robert Black engages in.

although i don't know what happened in this, i do know that i'd like my time and my $40 back. and that i don't want this in my house.

[Майя Ставитская · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Providence" took four years of writing, appearing for two years in separate issues. Describes the adventures and travels in 1919 of a young reporter of the New York Herald, Robert Blake, about whom you need to know that he: 1. dreams of becoming a real writer and becoming famous; 2. is gay and hides it for obvious reasons; 3.is a Jew, which also does not seek to advertise for equally clear reasons; 4. he is having a hard time with the suicide of his partner (who is called Lily and at first the reader is convinced that it is about a girl, a deep curtsey to the translator, in English grammar, unlike Russian, there is no declension in gender, but he manages to keep the intrigue literally until the finale - you kind of guess about the hero's belonging to the gay community, but all the time you doubt.)

So, the reason for Lily's suicide was presumably her breakup with Blake, but it is possible that the book "Sous le Monde"pushed him to it. I explain that the urban legend that developed in the days of the Internet before the video, after watching which you will go crazy or commit suicide, this legend goes back to the novel by Robert Chambers "The King in Yellow" (who loves King can not but know about this book, mentioning it is the leitmotif of his work).

The editorial task of finding out more about the mysterious book, combined with loneliness and guilt, pushes the hero to the decision to write a novel-an investigation, possibly an exposure with esoteric and conspiracy motives that the reading public loves so much. He has talent, ambition, some things put aside for a rainy day, and the tail of history that he has grasped promises the possibility of a bright writing career. Robert starts an investigation.

На все воля Провиденса
Нельзя без картинок, все любят картинки, а то иначе читать устанешь.
"Ужас в Ред-Хуке"
Потому что нельзя вот так просто взять и перестать читать Алана Мура. Это сейчас к тому, что графические романы настолько "не мое", насколько вообще возможно. Гейманов The Sandman на протяжении пары недель служил отличным снотворным, пока не бросила, едва одолев две трети. Blacksad, читаный по игровому квесту, очаровал дивной картинкой с кото-людьми и нуаром, но продолжить знакомство желания не возникло. Была еще манга про крестовый поход детей, занятная, однако монохромная эстетика вкупе с содержательной скудостью скорее утомила, чем понравилась.

Читая-слушая "Иерусалим", поняла что не могу ограничиться одной книгой писателя, и отчего не взглянуть параллельно на какой-то из его комиксов? Это же всего лишь картинки, много времени/внимания не потребует. Как я ошибалась. На четыре дня залипла в этой истории, которая, к слову сказать, оказалась довольно объемной, пятьсот двадцать страниц. Страницы графического романа считаются не так, как у текста: на каждой четыре-пять полноразмерных кадров, включающих действие, разговоры персонажей, которые нужно вычитывать из пузыря над головой, а поскольку "Провиденс" роман не только про ужасы и извращенный секс, но также и литературоведческий, то диалоги достаточно непростые.

И еще, отбивкой между дюжиной глав, объемные куски рукописного текста, дорожные заметки героя. Достаточно разборчивые, но в сравнении с привычным печатным текстом, ужасно некомфортные в чтении. А оторваться, не дочитав все двенадцать глав (и восхитительные комментарии переводчика Алексея Мальского) не было никакой человеческой возможности. Потому что оказалось безумно интересно. Эти четыре дня ощущала себя пушкинским скупым рыцарем: "Как молодой повеса ждет свиданья с какой-нибудь развратницей лукавой..."

"Провиденс" взял четыре года писательского труда, выходя на протяжении двух лет отдельными выпусками. Описывает приключения и путешествия в 1919-м году молодого репортера "Нью-Йорк Геральд" Роберта Блэйка, о котором нужно знать, что он: 1. мечтает стать настоящим писателем и прославиться; 2. гей и скрывает это по понятным причинам; 3. еврей чего тоже не стремится афишировать по не менее понятным; 4. тяжело переживает самоубийство своего партнера (которого зовет Лили и сначала читатель убежден, что речь о девушке, глубокий реверанс переводчику, в английском нет склонения по родам, но ему удается держать интригу буквально до финала - ты как-бы догадываешься о принадлежности героя к гей-сообществу, но все время сомневаешься.)

Так вот, причиной самоубийства Лили предположительно стал с разрыв с Блейком, но не исключено, что подтолкнула к нему книга "Sous le Monde". Объясняю, городская легенда, развившаяся во времена интернета до ролика, посмотрев который сойдешь с ума или совершишь суицид, эта легенда восходит к роману Роберта Чемберса "Король в желтом" (кто любит Кинга не может не знать об этой книге, упоминания о ней лейтмотив его творчества).

Редакционное задание разузнать побольше о загадочной книге в сочетании с одиночеством и чувством вины, подталкивает героя к решению написать роман-расследование, возможно разоблачение с эзотерическими и конспирологическими мотивами, которые так любит читающая публика. У него есть талант, амбиции, кое-что отложено на черный день, а хвост истории который он ухватил, обещает возможность яркой писательской карьеры. Роберт начинает расследование.

В ходе которого, в тех самые двенадцати эпизодах, ему придется столкнуться не только с развернутой лавкрафтианой, поданной так, что не оторваться - между нами говоря, Говард наш Лавкрафт смертельно ведь скучен, а кричащие на каждом углу о своей любви к создателю Ктулху адепты скорее знакомы с ним именно по муровскому переложению. У Алан Мура потрясающая, немыслимая способность сделать из замшелого материала мегатонную бомбу.

Лавкрафт невероятно крут как генератор идей, но между умением породить тему и облечь в удобочитаемую форму пропасть, которой он не одолел. "Провиденс" справляется с этим безупречно, у меня реально, пока читала, случался мороз по коже и рудиментарные волоски вдоль позвоночника вздыбливались (аналог "шерсти дыбом" наших отдаленных предков). И всякую свободную минуту сбегала к этой книге, право, как в детстве.

А читатель интеллектуал по достоинству оценит знакомство с творческим авангардом того места-времени, которое удастся свести посредством книги, где упоминаются и вводятся камео Эдгара По, Амброза Бирса, лорда Дансени, самого Лавкрафт и множество других значимых фигур культурного сеттинга, наряду с персонажами и сюжетами его книг, разгадывать которые отдельное немалое ментальное наслаждение (сама-то я только "Неведомого Кадата" да несколько рассказов осилила у основоположника, но в сновидческой главе приятно было узнать историю с белыми кошками, которые уносят на Луну, и да, салют, Горменгаст)

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comicsová velebichle, ve které se Moore podrobně věnuje Lovecraftovi a jejíž kostru tvoří příběh bývalého novináře a aspirujícího spisovatele, který cestuje mírně alternativními Spojenými státy 20. let 20. století a setkává se s jednotlivými aspekty Lovecraftova díla (jaký je vztah mezi nimi a Lovecraftem samotným rozvádět nebudu, to už by byl spoiler). Kniha plně navazuje na předchozí comicsy Neonomicon a The Courtyard a jejich znalost je nutná k pochopení poslední kapitoly, stejně tak se očekává široká znalost Lovecraftova díla a optimálně i jeho dobového literárního kontextu. Tahle hutnost může někdy působit až poněkud úmorně, zejména když pozorujeme události stíhající hlavního hrdinu nejprve vždy optikou comicsu, převážně konverzačního, a posléze pak ještě prostřednictvím jeho deníkových záznamů, přičemž čtenář v základech obeznámený s Lovecraftem ví, o co při jednotlivých bizarních setkáních šlo, i když to hrdina nepochopil - a může si odškrtávat, která Lovecraftova díla už se objevila a která ještě bude muset absolvovat.

I přes tohle urputné pokládání kamenných desek s dílem klasikovým na pomyslný stůl je Moorovi ke cti samozřejmě nutno přičíst, že taková pozvolná stavba díla je promyšlená a vlastně i tvoří součást rovin sklánějících se k pointě, a že přistupuje ke klasikovi zároveň s úctou a zároveň ho různými způsoby dekonstruuje a modernizuje. Není to nicméně dárek pro někoho, kdo "má rád horrory a comics", spíš košatý útvar, který je možno dlouho do hloubky rozebírat, ale který je trochu jako pozdně gotická katedrála - je to hodnotné, úctyhodné, zvláště propracované a obrovské, shrnuje to veškeré znalosti doby a chápe jejich metaroviny, ale nové moderní inspirace Lovecraftem možná už raší někde jinde.

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Moore x Lovecraft x Cthulhu Mythos = madness.

Providence is a big love letter to everything Lovecraft,  the series centres around Robert Black a writer who wants to write the great american novel,  and as he goes to New England, alot of familiar people and places make the rounds (if you know Lovecrafts work that is) this book has been previously been available as three hardcovers but i missed out on volume one because of a mistake made by bookdepository,  these books have been Laughing at me for quite some time,  but now the compendium got released i jumped right on it. O and the people who are trying to sell the hardcover for insane prices can suck a big fat cthulhu tentacle. Getting of topic here.. I am a pretty extreme fan of Alan Moore and a huge fan of H.P Lovecraft,  so this book was a must for me, i know Moore can be very difficult and just plain insane at times,  but here it really works. This has been the most comprehensive tale of Lovecraftian horror i have ever laid my eyes on besides Lovecrafs actual work. Its branded as the Watchmen of horror, not lightly, and its a full on deconstruction and metacommentary of the entirery body of work of Lovecraft,  we see the paranoia, the subtexts of racism, and gynophobia. There is so much research done here its mindblowing,  i just googled a name on a  gravestone in the comic and its of a actual person. There is also a complete annotation of the comic online to see all the damn references which go from every chapter title to just about every place and person in the book, hell even the man himself makes a apearance. It such a joy and a very meaty book to set yout teeth in, and you learn so much more of the entire Cthulhu Mythos,  its just too good to be true for a Lovecraft fan. This graphic and i do mean graphic novel has lots and lots of tekst, and first i was like wtf this is to much, but you just see the main writer slip and slip deeper into madness with every Chapter and foreboding and you just cant stop reading. This book is not full on horror thats just not Moore's style, but a slow burn that drags you deeper and deeper in, there are no jump scares, but you just see reality slip away, with a main character that cant be trusted.  You feel the helplessness and dread, and just a man who is going to lose it all. And all you can do is watch and not look away. This book is something very special, its twisted,  its weird, its very graphic and even vile at times,  i fucking dreamed about it, and i cant stop spiraling down with its story. This book is a must for any serious lovecraftian fan.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the unique aspects of this story, how graphic novel merged with prose novel to form an organic synthesis. That was quite an interesting experiment. When there was a story for some of the issues it held my interest to some degree. The art was wonderful throughout, particularly in the final (twelfth) issue.

The story was less cohesive and coherent than I would have liked. To a large extent the narrative seemed like a prop to give Moore chances to name drop, put his biographical knowledge of early weird writers on display, and just basically show off how cool he was to have lots of sexually explicit rape and homosexual sex scenes. There was not a consenting heterosexual to be found anywhere. The use of third person plural pronouns for third person singular characters is a phnomenon of the last few years and was not known in 1919. Moore no doubt knew this was an anachronism but cared more about establishishing his liberal street cred than being historically accurate. Every depiction of actual historical characters picked the lowest hanging fruit possible. This extended from Lovecraft's already well-known anti-Semitism, racism, and anti-gay boorishness to taking the basest swipe at Howard Wandrei's run-ins with the law. There is so much more interesting things to say about Howard Wandrei than just that. Another Howard, R. E., was of course depicted as a suicidal Mama's boy. Why not do some research and tell us something not everyone already knows, or thinks they know?

There are no doubt some plot points in this seemingly endless 480 pages I missed. The graphic novel illustrations portion wasn't able to adequately cover the plot points. So Moore gave us long, somewhat dully written, overly detailed accounts in the form of the protagonist's writer's journal. I eventually just skimmed these sections.

The plusses of the book--it's a "swell," well-illustrated re-creation of an intriguing time period in the fascinating world of the birth of weird pulp literature. The minuses--it was overly sensationalistic, not as biographically insightful, or culturally balanced/neutral as I would have liked. Nor was the story element and overall plot as coherent and cohesive as it could have been.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Collects Moore and Burrow's 12-issue series. A pretty much self contained story though it would be helpful to have read Moore's "The Courtyard" and "Neonomicon" before starting on this as it'll help you make more sense of the ending. Perhaps even a larger compendium which includes them both is needed - I'm assuming it doesn't already exist.
While overall I enjoyed it and at some point as with virtually all of Moore's work I'll reread it, I don't think it's his best - I'll go with From Hell for that, but of course that's just personal preference. Also I've never been a huge fan of Burrow's art which while perfectly serviceable and ultra-clean, always seems a bit stiff to me. I also have to admit I'm not a fan of reading pages of handwriting and the diary entries in the first ten issues I found a bit of a slog. Yes, they add depth to the story and Robert's character in a way the comic format couldn't, at least without making each issue very much longer, but at the same time I found myself not looking forward to the 10-15 pages of handwritten notes at the end of each issue.
Providence follows journalist and would be novelist Robert Black as he tries to track down a fabled and arcane book which is supposed to drive those that read it mad. Along the way he meets various Lovecraftian characters and even HPL himself.
It's a complicated, layered story and those who aren't familiar with Lovecraft will almost certainly miss out on the many references to stories and characters both real and imagined that are peppered throughout. As a warning, this is very much an adult story and contains themes and scenes some could find distressing and unpalatable. It's not particularly violent or gory (unlike Neonomicon for instance) and moves along at a fairly leisurely pace, moving the story forward through conversations between characters rather than action.
In the end I'm someone who thinks anything Alan Moore does is worth reading, however I do feel that if you're not a fan of HPL or his Mythos and know little or nothing about his life, then perhaps this might not be the book for you.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get a ton from this book if I'm being honest. I'm not overly familiar with HP Lovecraft outside of the most popular stories (and of course numerous works including this one that are based on his work).

Each comic chapter is followed by a diary entry. It's a bit of a slog to get through but does highlight reveal out narrator may be an unreliable one.

The fantasy/horror elements are honestly few and far between. Our main character slowly discovers a mythological world hidden right within ours just out of site. The story ends up going off the rails a bit and didn't have a satisfying conclusion for me. Certainly not of the same calibre as Moore's classics like Watchmen and From Hell.

I'm a bit iffy on Jacen Burrows. Some of it is nice, some of it just seems traced and lazy with poor perspective.

I may revisit this series in the future after I've read more Lovecraft! As of right now, it's a mid-tier Moore title, and a guy with so many classics its hard to recommend this to anyone but the already existing Moore fans.

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zero spoiler review for the three volumes comprising this compendium)
Not in the same league as the phenomenal horror masterpiece that is From Hell, but then again, nothing else is either, really. Still, the familiar affectations of the comics master are present and accounted for. And whilst a tad slow and ponderous in places, you can feel Mr. Moore ratcheting up the tension here and there. Laying the groundwork for something momentous and macabre somewhere down the line. It's currently good, with the potential for greatness in the future.
Jacen Burrows is an artist I've had mixed feelings about. His style appears somewhat simple, yet a closer examination would reveal the man is no doubt more talented than initial glances might indicate. All Avatar books colouring have always seemed a bit muddy and unappealing to me, which doesn't do the art any favours, but the book is about as visually appealing as Moore's writing is on this one. Both very good from the two parties concerned. Looking forward to seeing how things develop.

I mentioned ratcheting tension in my first review, and the hope that the uncomfortable sense of anxiety and the slowly lifting veil would continue into act two. I'm a little disappointed to say this hasn't exactly happened. It really feels like so much more wheel spinning going on in this one. The formula of 'find a new person, talk to them, uncover a little bit more' started to wear a little thin here. With Moore's occasional penchant for navel gazing dragging this one down slightly. There were some excellent moments sprinkled throughout that reengaged me. Reinvigorating my somewhat diminishing interest, but then it was more talking, and more talking, and more talking. And by the end of the issue, you don't feel a hell of a lot more apprised of anything then when you started. I get that is the point to some degree, and Moore's dialogue, although ponderous, is still executed far more commendably than most, but this really could have bene two issues, if I'm being honest. Even this finishes on a high, all this build up with little pay off certainly won't make me want to come back and re-read this. And I'm not even reading the journal entries which intersect each issue. I started out doing so, although upon realising they added little to the story itself, and really, REALLY messed with the pacing, I ditched them and stuck with the comic portion of the story. Maybe I'm missing something spectacular, but I don't think that I am. Re-read or not, I do hope this starts paying off pretty quickly. It would be such a shame if this peters out and ends in disappointment.

So, another Alan Moore story experienced, and the list of his titles I haven't read grows ever thinner. That said, for all the mastery of the craft Moore has at his disposal, this isn't one I'll list amongst his absolute best. And whilst this one did come through at a clutch and pull something commendable out in the end, before that point, the same old formula evidenced throughout each previous issue of new character, new location, dialogue info dump, move on had well and truly grown stale. Because it's Moore, and the man is an undoubted pro, even his lesser works still consume and defecate the vast majority of the competition, but heavy lies the crown, and Moore's crown is the heaviest out there. No, I still couldn't bring myself to read the dozens of pages of prose sprinkled between the comics. Perhaps I'll return to it one day, although given how ponderous the story proper could be, I can't see myself lining up for hours more of it. This slight tendency towards navel gazing is a little too prominent here, and takes a great six issue story, drags it out and waters it down a touch too much for my liking. Look at The Neoomicon as an example, even though that story follows a far more traditional narrative structure. Providence would have made for a better read had it leant closer to The Neonomicon. And whilst I couldn't claim to be head over heels with Burrows' art, Providence is absolutely the best I've seen from him, with the final issue really showing the man's undoubted talent. Still think the Avatar washed out, muddy colour style doesn't help him any, though.
It's (often) excruciatingly slow burn and unconventional style of horror won't be to everyone's liking, although as with all of Moore's works, should undoubtedly be experienced at some point, but definitely doesn't crack the top five and I really hoped it would. 3.75/5

OmniBen.

[Cami L. González · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This feels more dreamlike all the time. There's that acceptance, like everything happening is somehow normal. The world inside us... that's changing too. Maybe that's the only world that's changing."

Me encantó, aunque también me abrumó un poco. Hasta antes de empezar la novela gráfica, había leído poco de Lovecraft, así que en un momento tuve que detenerme para leer algunos relatos específicos que me ayudarían a disfrutarla más. Dicho eso, creo que se puede leer sin conocer antes el trasfondo o los relatos, sigue siendo una historia atrapante y entretenida. No obstante, conocer los relatos de antemano le da un toque más emocionante, como el peligro de cómo Alan Moore decidió tomar la historia y contarla.

La historia sigue al periodista Robert Black mientras realiza un viaje por Nueva Inglaterra investigando un libro que causó revuelo con la intención de escribir su propia historia. De esta forma, irá conociendo los secretos de los pueblos pequeños, las organizaciones secretas y qué es lo que se esconde bajo el suelo de Estados Unidos.

No soy la mayor conocedora de Lovecraft para poder hablar de todas las referencias y el significado, de hecho, tampoco me leí las otras novelas asociadas de Alan Moore. Creo que salvo el capítulo 12, el último, no eran necesarias como tal, en mi caso un amigo me contó lo que pasó cuando me prestó el libro así que pude entenderlo, quizá de manera superficial.

"My days and nights alike were spent in senseless labors, and there was no final meaning to be found in either, not yet any token of the absolute".

Por si les interesa, encontré esta guía de lectura, por desgracia, la encontré después de terminarlo en otras reseñas de GR. Es un trabajo colaborativo en el que distintas personas van comentando panel a panel las referencias y pequeños detalles de la obra. Al terminar vi unos videos y me di cuenta de decenas de referencias que me perdí, como a Mundodisco y otros autores, aunque sí que vi a Borges, solo lo reconocí porque era igual. A esto me refiero con que era abrumador, un poco como The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, salvo que en ese caso contaba con un conocimiento de literatura suficiente para entender gran parte de ellas. En resumen, leer a Alan Moore no es algo sencillo en todas las dimensiones posibles.

La novela gráfica consistía en una parte con viñetas, como podría esperarse, en la que veíamos a Robert llegando a los diferentes lugares y haciendo su investigación mientras cosas extrañas pasaban. Para luego, encontrarnos unas hojas escritas a mano por parte de él. Robert durante todo el viaje fue llevando un diario con sus pensamientos y lo que iba descubriendo, también anotaba ideas que se le ocurrían para su libro. Quizá al inicio no me interesó tanto, sobre todo porque la prosa de Alan Moore me cuesta un poco leerla y con el diseño manuscrito me tardaba mucho en avanzar estas partes. Sin embargo, no tardé en disfrutar estas hojas, en leer cómo la mente de Robert iba buscando explicaciones o como se iba engañando cuando vivía algo imposible.

"Truly, all the wisdom of the stars is mine, and here I speak it plainly to these who have ears to listen".

Como dije antes, puede leerse sin entender el trasfondo o las referencias. Leí una parte así, con un vago conocimiento de Lovecraft, pero luego decidí que quería una experiencia un poco más completa y ahí me fui a buscar los relatos. Básicamente son estos (al menos lo que me salió al buscar, no me los leí todos porque lo descubrí tarde): El horror de Red Hook, La sombra sobre Innsmouth, Aire frío, El horror de Dunwich, Los sueños en la casa de la bruja, La cosa en el umbral, El modelo Pickman, El testimonio de Randolph Carter, Del más allá, El morador de las tinieblas y La llamada de Cthulhu. Además, Providence es una especie de precuela y secuela del Neonomicon, en particular, el último capítulo es una continuación directa de este libro. Así que si quieren hacerlo bien (no como yo que sigo abrumada), deberían partir por ahí.

La historia es tan extraña y rebuscada como podrían esperar, un viaje en 1919 por Nueva Inglaterra y todos sus secretos. Está lleno de contenido sexual y violencia, es bastante gráfico todo, muy en el estilo de Alan Moore. Pero si no lo han leído antes, avisados quedan de que es crudo en cuanto a lo que sucede y a lo que muestra. A pesar de todo, es una historia muy entretenida en la que quieres seguir leyendo para saber qué va a pasar ahora y qué irá a suceder con Robert. No es una trama que te prometa un final espectacular o de la que esperes algo, pues la historia es el viaje de Robert, por lo que no esperas más que el desenlace de su viaje. Aun así me sorprendió el último capítulo porque obviamente no leí el Neonomicon.

"Sometimes I believe that this less material life is our truer life and that our vain presence in the terraqueous globe is itself the secondary, or merely virtual phenomenon".

Lo dije en otra de sus novelas y lo repito, creo que leer a Alan Moore (y en inglés además) es un reto por la cantidad de referencias de sus historias, que son complejas y muy ricas en detalles, por lo que a veces abruma el sentir que por más que lo intentes no vas a terminar de comprender todo. A esto se suma que tiene secciones narradas en prosa y su forma de escribir no es la más sencilla, para mí al menos. Me cuesta leerlo en inglés, se me hace pesado y confuso, muchas veces tengo que devolverme para releer algunas líneas. No es que no se entienda, se entiende, pero a veces cansa un poco. Por ese motivo, me mataba un poco la emoción leer la parte ilustrada que estaba tan entretenida y buena y luego llegaba el diario que me tomaba mucho más tiempo. Sí que lo aprecié y me gustó, pero de que me mataba el mood y la emoción un poco, sí que lo hacía.

Providence es la versión de Alan Moore del universo de Lovecraft, al menos su versión más completa y pulida que tiene sus compañeras (que creo que fueron previas). Una novela gráfica entretenida y atrapante, llena de detalles y referencias, el registro de un viaje demente por Nueva Inglaterra y todos los secretos que esconde.

"When faced with something which we know should not exist ard for which we have neither name nor concept, we do not concoct an ingenious opposing estrategy nor rally our defences. Rather, we go mad and kill ourselves. Although this is a bleak and pessimistic ending to a tale, it seems to me that in the realm of alien literary horrors that we are discussing, it is a far more believable and honest one. I somehow don't believe that the adventure mode of storytelling with its reassuring structures and cowentions (fearless heroes ultimately triumphing against some poorly-motivated adversary or other unlikely hazard) is appropriate to the variety of strange tale that I wish to tell".

[Bingus Boingus · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 idk I guess I just wasn’t in the mood

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of the Cthulhu mythos, but Providence was simply too much for me. It's one thing to read about a person spiraling into a mythological world beneath our own; it's quite another to experience that sensation yourself as the narrative unwinds into madness.

Sure, maybe that's what Alan Moore was going for here. But I want a story that tells a story, not a story that provides a feeling of confusion. The first half of Providence nicely achieves the story goals: a (secretly gay) reporter in 1920s New York hunts down a story about a mysterious book that causes readers to go insane. Turns out the book is real and a handful of secret societies very much believe in its powers. The reporter cheerfully follows this thread from one odd occurrence to another as part of research for a novel about the undercurrents of America.

It's good fun to watch the reporter interview fishmen and other unsettling sub-humans without batting an eye. It's not until the sixth issue or so that our hero is finally perturbed by what he's encountering. It's admittedly quite intriguing! But then, after everything collapses around him, he just...goes back to his research? The back half of Providence loses much of the first half's momentum. Eventually, yes, the reporter has an insane encounter with a fifth-dimension being, but by then I'd lost interest.

Another knock against Providence is that each issue ends with the reporter's journal entries about what's just occurred. At first, it's amusing to read the reporter's internal reactions to these unnerving phenomena - the way he tells himself it's all a dream, even as he admits that perhaps dreams have power, kept me reading the journal entries far longer than I should have. Turns out, they're pretty much just recaps and vague notions of potential novel plots. It's fluff.

I can see why Providence might be considered in the same breath as Alan Moore's true marvel, Watchmen. It's long and dense and exceedingly heady. But whereas Watchmen comes to a crisp, startling conclusion, Providence peters out into unfathomable nonsense. And no one seems concerned! Cthulhu is here and everything's fine.

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe 4.5 but fresh out from the end this is such an amazing and satisfying book. It felt incredibly rewarding having earlier this year familiarized myself with most of Lovecraft's work. Each issue is packed with secrets and references that justify their existence by working as build up and relevant pieces in the story itself. The way we learn more about this world is beautifully done and Robert Black is such a good lead to lead us through it. I thought all the queer stuff was a great touch and put emphasis on some more personal struggles to balance the whole of everything else.
I really saw some connections to Moore's other masterful work of art Promethea, particularly in how both that and this focus on writings and the magic held in and shared through literature. Also both have similar depictions on our relationship with dreams/imagination as another side of reality existing in a push and pull sort of way with the physical. Both culminating in an "apocalypse" that is in no way the end of the world but simply the end of the physical bias in our perspectives. While these are 100% ideas Alan Moore is personally very passionate about I don't think they go against the central theme and fit with the thinkings established in Lovecraft's stories.
Jacen Burrows art is better than ever here and I loved how all the mystical elements were depicted.
Naturally I feel like there's a good amount that I missed or didn't pick up on and I'm excited to think about the series as a whole and flip through it again later. But for now I'd like to thank Alan Moore for creating something as terrifyingly beautiful as this.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this graphic novel. It was recommended to me by a friend I work with and after finishing it, I am left with not only satisfaction from a narrative standpoint, but also with contemplation from everything else in the book. Alan Moore somehow took the fiction of Lovecraft's work, and made it into a fantastical reality that is interwoven with the human world and presents itself only when a specific time is nigh. Much like Watchmen, each chapter is divided with additional exposition written by the main character of the story. But at the same time, and what feels like a deliberate choice, our "main character" Robert Black, doesnt really feel like a main character, more of a vehicle that takes us through the narrative of Providence as strange occurrences unfold from the deep confines of Lovecraftian imagination. 

All that said, I thoroughly enjoyed this as I am a fan of Lovecraft's stories (not his personal views) and will be looking forward to revisiting this in the future when I get the chance. 

 Content Warnings
*a brief scene of rape, racist remarks, gore, and images of suicide.

[Richard Daigle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this one. Usually I love finishing a book that makes me spend 3 hours on reddit trying to find clues to understand the story, but this one makes me feel like I need to know so much about HP Lovecraft’s literature that it’s almost overwhelming to try to understand Providence. (Especially the last chapter)I really enjoyed Neonomicon(the prequel), because even though it had a lot of HPL lore, it did a great job with little TLDR moments in the story. With this one, not so much. Still really good and definitely plays with Lovecraft’s “fear of the unknown” and maybe I’m not meant to fully understand everything. For sur one of Moore’s creepiest.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book tackling the Lovecraftian mythos. Easily Moore's most occult work in comic form since Promethea (fans of Kenneth Grant and Michael Bertiaux will especially resonate with it). The book had a great payoff; however, I felt that Moore felt a bit longwinded with what he was trying to set up at many points of the story. This originally came out as a 12 issue series and probably would have been much better if it was only 8 or 9 chapters. Lots of really interesting ideas explored on how reality and imagination are intertwined and essentially one and the same. I would definitely recommend this book to others despite moments of slowness.

[Casey (ish-i-ness) · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first 10 installments I was on board. I would have loved a reworking of Lovecrafts stories into a commentary on the political situation of the time (unionization, prohibition), a nod towards the psychological strain of losing a loved one, a bit of an exploration into what it meant to be queer, and some discussion of a life committed to understanding literature or art. But those last two installments undid whatever progress was made on those ideas, so i cant really say i ended up liking it much. Disappointing really.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extra star for doing something genuinely innovative, but in practice I found it to be just an okay read. First off you have to have read a good bit of HP Lovecraft’s stories and also know a little about him as a person to even understand a modicum of what Moore is doing here. Thankfully I meet those criteria but just barely. It was a little disappointing to have read probably 30 or so Lovecraft yarns in my lifetime and still be lost at times here.

It’s apparent that Moore has done a commendable amount of research here but I’m still not fully sure what his intent was with this project. It vaguely gestures at Lovecraft’s work throughout but without any indication of what purpose this serves until we get to the end, and even still I wonder. For most of the story we see our protagonist meet many characters from HPL lore but nothing really culminates from this for a long time. The commonplace book entries have some brilliant nuggets as far as commentary on Lovecraft’s writing style, but for the most part they are summations of what you just read in comic form. Their inclusion is kind of genius but they can be so, so long and an absolute momentum killer. I suspect they are a bit of commentary in themselves regarding HPL’s overwrought prose, but that doesn’t make them any less arduous to get through. An unsuspecting comic book reader picking this up might dispense with it out of hand due to these sections. Or maybe this story just reads better in individual issues….

The end of the story is so bonkers and kind of does what I think Lovecraft successfully avoided throughout his work. Moore is fully aware of this purposeful avoidance in HPL’s writing (he mentions it multiple times in the commonplace book) so it seems he’s proactively jumped Lovecraft’s shark here to make a point about the writer’s legacy. Obviously the issue there is that it comes at the expense of severely dulling what made HPL’s work captivating to so many people.

Maybe Moore set out to take a severe shot at a writer who had pretty despicable views by accomplishing the above. Or I just didn’t get it. I don’t want to discount that possibility since Moore is a brilliant writer who does a lot of things that aren’t exactly for the masses. Regardless the book just seems coy in its intentions through most of its issues and was capped off with a jarring and questionable ending in my opinion.

EDIT: Apparently it is essential to read other related comics by Moore to have a clue who the characters at the end of the book are and how they make sense here. I’d like to read them some day perhaps but otherwise, not my problem.

[Marie Labrousse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une adaptation de Lovecraft en douze comics par Alan Moore en personne? On signe où?

En 1919, après un événement qui bouleverse sa vie, Robert Black démissionne de son poste de journaliste au Herald pour partir enquêter sur l’occultisme en Nouvelle-Angleterre, en vue d’écrire un roman – un voyage qui pourrait non seulement le conduire à la folie, mais aussi condamner à sa fin le monde tel que nous le connaissons.

Chaque épisode a pour particularité d’être divisé en deux : une partie comics qui relate l’étape du voyage, suivie d’un extrait du journal de Robert Black, qui donne sa propre version des événements. Ce procédé apporte un éclairage particulier à l’ensemble sans jamais être monotone, puisque le personnage peut s’étendre longuement sur des faits déroulés hors champ, ou au contraire glisser rapidement sur des événements cruciaux. Il est très intéressant de constater le décalage entre ce qui se produit dans les cases et ce que le personnage rapporte, et cela permet à Alan Moore de mettre en évidence l’un de ses thèmes favoris : la particularité du medium des comics et ce qu’il permet de faire ou non par rapport à d’autres modes de narration. Aussi, les réflexions épistolaires de Black sur l’écriture et le genre de l’horreur ont un aspect très méta que j’ai beaucoup aimé.

L’intrigue trouve des échos thématiques avec certains événements historiques comme l’instauration de la Prohibition ou la naissance du nazisme. Les aspects problématiques de H.P. Lovecraft ne sont pas gommés et sont même centraux à l’histoire d’une certaine façon (notamment de par certaines particularités du personnage principal), mais sans donner l’impression d’appuyer lourdement dessus.

L’histoire elle-même ne nécessite pas forcément d’être un expert de l’œuvre de Lovecraft pour en suivre les tenants et aboutissants, mais cela peut donner une impression frustrante de passer à côté de nombreuses références et de rater quelques niveaux de lecture – aussi, je préconiserais d’en connaître au moins un minimum avant de se lancer. Par ailleurs, la fin nécessite visiblement d’avoir lu une autre « lovecrafterie » d’Alan Moore, à savoir son Neonomicon en quatre comics (que je n’ai pas lu), sans quoi elle pourra paraître nébuleuse et gérer les ellipses narratives d’une manière assez… radicale.

Par ailleurs, j’ai beaucoup aimé le dessin de Jacen Burrows, un superbe équilibre entre simplicité et niveau de détail. Cela rend le tout très lisible sans sacrifier à la richesse des images.

[Dmitrijs Prigodics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Комикс копнул очень глубоко. Как это водится у Алана Мура (по крайней мере, так было в "Хранителях"), комикс всего лишь форма, графическая новелла, которая позволяет по-другому воспринимать произведение: не только смотреть или читать, но делать это одновременно, вроде как промежуточная стадия между литературой и кино, но нет, это собственный вид искусства повествования. Особенно примечательно читать после событий комикса - очередной главы - рукописный текст протагониста на несколько страниц, что весьма, кстати говоря, нелегко, хоть и увлекательно; рассматривать стилизации под детские рисунки, сектантские брошюры, газетные вырезки... Можно ли такое придумать в классической литературе или заставляющем бежать в своем ритме кино?..
И это не просто выпендреж крейторов, дневниковые записи реально раскрывают произведение с другой стороны: чем дальше героя забрасывает сюрреализм событий, тем интереснее сравнивать то, что ты увидел в кадрах комикса, и как он воспринял это, пытаясь объяснить себе увиденное.
Но не только это делает произведение замечательным: дойдя до конца, и читая комментарии к главам, становится ясно, что это не просто история по мотивам, а, в общем-то, исследование творчества Лавкрафта в такой интересной форме: и каждая глава - это отсылка к рассказам, при этом повествование цельно; и дн��вниковые размышления протагониста - словно анализ этих рассказов, так что все действо напоминает шекспироведчество Тома Стоппарда в форме "Розенкранц и Гильдерштерн мертвы"; а включение в роман непосредственно Лавкрафта - чем-то напомнило на появление Кинга в "Темной Башне" - позволило рассказать о самом авторе, его привычках и окружении.
В общем, за исключением того, что у пары страниц комикса должен был быть разворот, а не разные стороны - издание замечательное, и мне оно очень понравилось.

[Ondra Král · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novinář Robert Black se rozhodne sepsat knihu o skryté Americe a začne navštěvovat hrdiny Lovecraftových povídek. Prvních 5 sešitů jsem si zmateně říkal "co to má sakra být" a příliš jsem neviděl přidanou hodnotu. Jenže postupně to do sebe začíná vše zapadat, dílky skládají celkový obraz a z finálního aktu mi jde hlava kolem. Rozhodně jeden z nejzajímavějších komiksů za poslední dobu, cesta k závěru ale mohla být výrazně kratší.

Příliš mě nebavily deníkové zápisky. Chápu jejich důležitost v několika rovinách, ale dobrá třetina pasáží je prázdná sláma.

Providence určitě stojí za přečtení, ale nedá nic zadarmo. Musíte mít načtené alespoň ty nejznámější Lovecraftovy povídky, předchozí dva Mooreovy komiks (Courtyard a Neonomicon),celkově znát cthulhu mytos a zhruba vědět, že existoval nějaký Derleth nebo C. A. Smith.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story could not work better in any other medium, an amazing comic series. Really interesting and dreamy