The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

Culbard's Lovecraft

by I.N.J. Culbard (Adapter), H.P. Lovecraft

Alchemy and resurrection for H.P. Lovecraft fans

Providence, Rhode Island, 1928. A dangerous inmate disappears from a private hospital for the insane, his method of escape baffling the authorities. Only the patient’s final visitor, family physician Dr. Marinus Bicknell Willett—himself a piece of the puzzle—holds the key to unlocking The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. A macabre mixture of historical investigation, grave-robbing, and bone-chilling revelation, this newly reissued adaptation artfully lays bare one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most horrifying creations.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

I.N.J. Culbard is an artist and writer. In 2006, he surpassed thousands of other writers and had his work published in Dark Horse Comics’ New Recruits anthology. He has since appeared in the anthology series Dark Horse Presents, the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD.

Culbard is an acclaimed animation director with considerable experience in directing commercials, developing projects for television, and producing and directing short films. His collaborator at SelfMadeHero is writer Ian Edginton.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1927, Lovecraft’s longest work, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward occupies an important place in his canon. Featuring his signature--purple? Atmospheric? You choose—prose, it’s a horror/detective novel, adapted and illustrated here by I.N.J. Culbard, the second of four novels featured in his omnibus collection, Lovecraft. I decided to review each of them separately. This one differs from the first novel Culbard opens the book with, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, which is really just a meandering dream-logic fantasy, with appropriately dreamy artwork.

So, it’s the tale of Charles Ward, a bright young man who dropped out of med school to look into the case of one of his family’s ancestors, the alleged wizard and alchemist Joseph Curwen. We go as with Poe close to the edge of madness as we encounter the occult and things that go bump in the night. Ward appears to be in conversation with Poe’s occult detective story, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. It features Lovecraft’s Providence, RI, has some autobiographical references and because it is a detective story, Culbard pays more attention to the dialogue, though I am thankful he largely loses most of the overlong prose and replaces it with atmospheric images. What I want in horror comics adaptations is to have the chills you sometimes get in the original preserved and deepened through the illustrations, the images, and so Culbard does a pretty good job with that in this story, as I was entertained and creeped out a couple times.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good adaptation of the story, really carries the atmosphere well, which tends to be where most Lovecraft adaptations falter.

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The jury is still out on whether I will one day count myself among H.P. Lovecraft's legion of fans. I'm certainly intrigued with his whole ancient secrets and monsters rising from the dawn of time to devour the earth thing. I'm less sure that I'm on board with the whole "oh my god it's a giant lizard monster! the horror!!"

I've tried Lovecraft before on audio book and it was definitely fun. There's an overdramatic feel to his stories like you can almost hear him saying "isn't this scary!! ohhhhhh we're in a dark tunnel!!! ohhhh monsterrrrssss!" while you read. It's a little corny is I guess what I'm getting at, but there's something kind of fun in that. Like going through an old fashioned carnival haunted house.

But I can't help but be intrigued by his love of ancient, dark magic and evil beings from beyond the dawn of time, lost cities that were lost for a reason and never meant to be found, stories of men who meddle with deep, dark magic that doesn't just corrupt the soul, it takes it over. That's some dark stuff and the man does know how to set a mood when he wants to.

So this time around I went the graphic novel route after running across The Case of Charles Dexter Ward: A Graphic Novel randomly in the stacks one day. I figured maybe if I could more easily visualize what I was reading it might have more of an impact.

Well yes and no.

We are introduced to the titular Charles Dexter Ward through family friend and doctor, Dr. Willet, who has been called upon by Charles' parents to help deal with the strange mood that has befallen their son. He has lost all ambition and desire for anything in life except for a strange project that has to do with a ill reputed ancestor of dubious history who was rumored to deal in witchcraft and other nefarious things not of this world. Charles has become obsessed with the dead man's work and determined to discover his secrets.

Willet does his best but is unable to determine what is driving Charles to his increasingly strange behavior and he is increasingly troubled by a serious of strange letters Charles exchanges and the sudden appearance of a stranger who seems to have a particular hold of Charles.

Eventually Willet, who finally abandons practical investigation and embraces the darker secret world Charles has plunged into, is able to work out what is going on but will it be enough to free Charles in time?

Its a solid story built on a frightening and dark take of ancient, evil magic and mythology. Its kind of impossible not to get goosebumpts particularly when Willet stumbles into the secret laboratory where Charles has been conducting obscene, ungodly experiments.

The artwork isn't terrific which I'm sure contributes to the problems I was having. I get the sense that these "literary" graphic novels kind of get churned out en masse in an effort to "get teens to read books!" It does have its moments, particularly when Willet starts to stumble upon the dark deeds being committed in Charles' secret laboratory. The artist does a pretty good job of visualizing these very ancient magic spells and the creatures they produce. But there's a tendency for many of the characters to bear such a strikingly resemblence to each other that I spent more time working out who was who then I did understanding the plot. I'll admit that similarities in appearance are kind of the point here but there were points when enough was enough and I just needed to know who was talking!

The story itself meanders a bit. Again probably because we're dealing with a relatively large cast of players, some in flashback, so its hard to work out who's the real center of the story. It takes the supporting players a loooonnnnngggg time to work out what Charles is up to and I get it, this is supposed to be a mystery to some degree but its not so much a tension builder as it is boring filler till the climax finally arrives.

In terms of drama its worth noting this is an old story that doesn't hold up as well as some other books of its time. We're all a little jaded about the whole "creatures from the dawn of time" stuff and really the story is strongest when it alludes to the dark and forbidden magic that Charles and his friends dabble in. Lovecraft really nails the spell craft and the malevolence of the people using it.

All in all this was worth my time even if it didn't really get me any closer to deciding if I'm a Lovecraft fangirl.

[Corinna Bechko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice and spooky adaptation of the wonderful Lovecraft tale. Translating Lovecraft into images as well as words is no easy task, but I.N.J. Culbard does a stellar job allowing the art to carry what could become an overly wordy re-telling in less capable hands.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed reading H P Lovecraft although I will admit at times it can be a bit dry and a bit of a challenge. So when I stumbled across this graphic novel I jumped at it - plus thanks to Page45 in Nottingham I now have a signed copy of it.
Anyway the graphics are rather stylised - but to be honest considering the style of the writing (it does try to keep as faithful to the original text as possible) the artwork lends the right air to it.
The so what can i say - well its really the story in image format - ok I will explain - some graphic novels you can tell the story has been writing for the image - it maximises the impact of the events, it is very physical and it very obvious - however this was certainly not the case ( the story was 1927 which the graphic novel was 2012) so the images have been tailored around the text and it really shows what careful and considerate work has been put in to it.
The book to me is a compliment to the original story which although is not the most famous is certainly well known (the idea as well as the incantations have been used in the works of others such as those of Brian Lumley) and I feel if you enjoyed the original this just heightens the experience.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adapting a novel in comic book form is a hard task indeed. Adapting a Lovecraft novel is probably even more difficult. Especially "Dexter Ward" where talking heads would use half of the space available. Lovecraft's style is all about suggestion. Hard to show in full light what's hinted at in a terrified whisper...
Culbard's adaptation of "At the mountain of madness" was enjoyable if not as terrifying at it should have been. The vast antarctic landscapes were apparently more suited for his simple/clear style (that is not a negative critic) than New England, even if I think it rather missed the development of an ominous atmosphere. In "Dexter Ward" I don't even think he was at its best. Talking heads after talking heads, simplistic (here, that is negative) backgrounds and slow pacing just don't convey the threatening settings that should be at the very heart of any Lovecraft adaptation.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I mention in my review from last autumn of I. N. J. Culbard's adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's Shadow Out of Time , his interpretations of Lovecraft into comics are not my first ones, but I am willing to argue that his visual subtlety, which I find is exquisitely suited to the material, places him at the top of the line. This adaptation of Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (which is one of my favourite Lovecraft stories thus far) definitely serves as further proof of this.

I certainly hope to track down a copy of Culbard's adaptation of At the Mountain of Madness at some point in the future, because what I have seen up until now makes me really want to see his interpretation of that story.

[Baal Of · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atmospheric, with the usual coyness around the exact nature of events and beings, this story has some very nice touches, especially the creatures trapped in the underground cells, discovered by Willet. Has an early example of the standard horror trope of the protagonist losing his light source, in this case directly into the maw of one of the aforementioned creatures. This one is slow-moving at some points, but has a good creepiness factor. Downside is that it is marred by some noxiously racist sentiments in the first couple chapters.

[Averly Wilke · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book I’ve ever read of Lovecraft and only because it’s a graphic novel, otherwise he’s not my kind of interest.

That being said, this was as insane as I would have expected. However there is one huge plot hole and that is did they just leave the abominations to starve for decades more??! They completely left them!

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I wasn`t impressed by the style of this graphic novel because the chilling factor of the Lovecraft stories isn`t an easy thing to transmit and you need to have a peculiar style to succeed at it.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non è certamente questo il mio racconto lungo, o romanzo breve, preferito tra quelli di HPL. Resta comunque una buona storia che Culbard riesce a trasporre in fumetto con ottimi risultati, rimanendo fedele quanto possibile all'originale.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun graphic-novel version of one of the HPL stories I keep not getting around to. There were more than a few jarring anachronisms in the dialogue -- "alright" instead of "all right," "till" instead of "'til," no awareness of the subjunctive -- but otherwise the story was vintage HPL.

[J. Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of my favourite Lovecraft stories. A young man, Charles, with a love of history & mysteries. He was lured into the past failing in strength to put down what he called up.

Culbard’s art is adequate for the story & does help in some of the story telling.

[Igor Harb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artwork is good, but there is too much exposition, and this does not really work in a graphic novel, as most of the action is just people talking in rooms. The regular novel is better, even if reading it requires more effort.
On a related note: an excellent Slovenian translation by Jernej Županič is coming out in 2023.

[Brittni | semi-hiatus · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute adaptation of the original. not a huge fan of the art style but the tone was spot on and would be a great read for anyone looking for more approachable Lovecraft.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good n creepy! (Birthday present from Becca)

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per Adonai Eloim, Adonai Jehova,
Adonai Sabaoth, Metraton On Agla Mathon,
verbum pythonicum, mysterium salamandrae,
conventus sylvorum, antra gnomorum,
daemonia Coeli Gad, Almousin, Gibor, Jehosua,
Evam, Zariatnatmik, veni, veni, veni.

I recently listened to a clever BBC dramatization of this story by H.P. Lovecraft, so when I found this graphic novelization, I couldn't resist.

The story is classic Lovecraft. When Charles Dexter Ward disappears from a locked cell in a mental institution he family and doctor are question about his recent past and descent into madness. From their retelling of his life we find that he became obsessed with the occult and was performing strange rituals and incantations. Will the mystery of his disappearance be revealed?

It is great story and this adaptation is really well done. It conveys the horror and the increasing frantic ramblings of Charles Dexter Ward well. 5 stars from me!

[J.C. Pillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by my husband who, in general, reads more graphic novels than I do. It is a beautifully done adaptation of the Lovecraft story into graphic novel form. The tale has its twists and turns, and the ending certainly took me by surprise. I loved the way the artist chose to frame much of the story as flashes of memory and characters telling stories to each other. The result is that you never have all the pieces: each character knows different things, but rarely shares the information with others. Dr. Willett, the character who you follow through most of the story, is sympathetic and smart. I rather feel that he got the short end of the stick by being stuck in a mental institution at the end, but that's pretty typical for Lovecraft. All around a very enjoyable read.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid adaptation and the artwork was dark and enjoyable - this graphic novel accomplished what it set out to do. I just didn't find that there was anything that had me terrified or on the edge of my seat. The plot was very predictable, despite the little experience that I have had with HP Lovecraft. I will definitely turn to the regular book adaptions when I want a taste of HP Lovecraft again, as I just couldn't get excited over this graphic adaptation. I think the thing that surprised me the most was when the binding let go partway through the book and the cover fell off. I expected more from this edition with the thick paper and detailed printing.

[Octavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buena adaptación!

[J. Agombar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of I.N.J Culbard’s Lovecraft graphic novels I’ve read, and I’m intrigued to read more because I think they’re great. Saying that, this entry was slightly weaker than Mountains of Madness due to a few reasons. One reason is that Culbard’s stark, simplistic art style was much more suited to that story and its bleak setting. This is no slur as I personally enjoy Culbard’s style, but Dexter Ward is the type of story that gives very little scope for it as the narrative of the original text involves much dialogue and speculation and reading of documentation from the perspective of Dr. Willet, and Ward’s father who both try to understand his son’s strange affliction.

Saying that, some parts were utilised well, like the discovery in the lab, and from what I remember, it stays very close to the original version for which kudos is given. Despite the story dragging a little, it’s still enjoyable and holds up well considering the lack of action provided by the narrative. The suspicion and mystery hold the reader enough to want to know what Ward got himself into and branches off subtly into other stories in the mythos.

Overall, I’m giving this a 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 here, as this must have been a difficult adaptation to produce and the story still holds value with its old-fashioned style and even manages a reasonable twist with little wiggle room.
However, as a long term Lovecraft and Culbard fan, I’d recommend this work as I had some idea of what to expect. If you’re new to either, I’d seek some other works first before this one, as this particular tale may not scratch that itch.

[Damian Herde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Culbard’s adaptation of ‘The Case of Charles Dexter Ward’ is very true to Lovecraft’s excellent story of men cheating death.

The framing device is that of jail wardens interrogating the Ward family’s family doctor under suspicion that the doctor had helped Charles escape jail. We then get the story from the doctor’s perspective, how he knew the boy Charles his whole life, and his attempts to help him after he appeared to throw his life away on a quest to learn all about the long-dead, suspected wizard Curwin.

The boy had dug deep and found some of Curwin’s writings, which led to current followers of Curwin’s and his occult work into body snatching, resurrection and trading in the ashes of the dead for magical purposes.

The doctor’s investigations note that Charles is not mad, just on a foolish quest for knowledge of Curwin’s history. However, at some point Charles changes his entire persona, gains some suspicious friends, and shuts out his family.

This story is one of Lovecraft’s best, with some tense action, some excellent foreshadowing, and a trail of clues that pay off in the path to the conclusion.

Culbard’s adaptation does well with the material, though is obviously a condensed version.

[MechaComicReviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading history involves a lot of things directly inspired by Lovecraft like Hellboy and some other horror comics. However, I have only read one prose novel by Lovecraft and nothing else. I think the mythos are more interesting than the actual writing, but that’s neither here nor there. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward as adapted by I.N.J. Culbard is a thrilling ride and quite the page turner.

The graphic novel does an interesting thing by including fictional newspaper clippings, recountings of events, and various other methods to both provide and withhold information. Through this, we as the reader are constantly invested in the mystery and figuring out just what the hell is happening.

The character design by Culbard is also very good by creating distinctly different characters. However, sometimes the backgrounds are a little too simple, and there’s not enough visual flavor other than the color palette and the character design. Nevertheless, this is a fun read, and I’m interested in seeing Self Made Hero’s other Lovecraft adaptations.

[S.M.M. Lindström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opening at a mental hospital, we are presented an empty room full of strange blue liquid and a window ajar. The room's occupant, a young man by the name of Charles Dexter Ward, is missing. His last visitor - the family doctor - might know what happened to him, but doesn't seem to want to talk too much. As the doctor is being interrogated we, the readers, are treated to the true story of what happened to Charles Dexter Ward; a sad tale of obsession and dark magic.

Once more, I. N. J. Culbard let's the art do most of the talking, and that is great! I've always enjoyed the mystery of Charles Dexter Ward's story, and I feel the mystery and the characters' emotions about said mystery come across excellently with the added artwork. The only downside was that the binding of this book came apart after only one reading, which lost it one star.

[Raúl San Martín Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No sé en qué fecha se habrá escrito este cuento, pero sin duda tiene claras vinculaciones con el vampirismo y los zombis (un adelanto increíble de época). En todo caso, me recordó mucho a las Montañas de la Locura, especialmente por la vinculación que existe entre los portales que llevan a esos universos desconocidos y la locura de los protagonistas.
Ahora, tengo una duda: cuando Lovecraft se refiere a las esferas, lo hace emulando otros universos? Creo que sí.
Stephen King recoge todo esto en la torre oscura, en especialmente en el vacío (negro) que hay entre los mundos (universos) y que en IT puede llamarse fuegos fatuos, o bien, lo que “hay” en el extratransito; pero su creador, no fue otro que PHL.
Excelente.
Como anécdota, creo que el monstruo que aparece en la casa, sería el mismo que sigue al Ka Tet disuelto bajo el castillo del Rey Carmesí, dibujo que por lo demás está bien detallado en la ultima edición de la Torre Oscura VII.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3008853.html

I got this having hugely enjoyed Culbard's graphic novel version of At the Mountains of Madness a few years ago. I'm sorry to say that this didn't work for me so well; it's not as visual a story, and the central characters (Charles Dexter Ward, the narrator Willett and the ancient necromancer Curwen) are not especially interesting characters. It's interesting that Lovecraft himself thought this was not one of his best efforts, and the original story remained unpublished until 1941, several years after he had died.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Precisely as described on the tin. Culbard, as in the rest of the Lovecraft series, does a solid job illustrating while staying true (as far as I can remember) to the original. At the same time, there's nothing really special or outstanding about this one, nor are there any chapter breaks or big set-piece layout pages: the story just chugs along to its inevitable conclusion—though perhaps it counts as a twist to those who are not as thoroughly versed in the Mythos. So, good, solid, enjoyable (if you like this sort of thing), but neither brilliant nor particularly horrifying. Which, admittedly, is a high bar at present.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was yet another unknown Lovecraft's work to me.

I have to say that story itself was highly intriguing. While starting up as a story about a young man trying to find out more about his family history it very soon becomes a very Twilight-like tale with a rather strong twist. Ending was on par with the ending of Hitchock's Psycho, sad and disturbing at the same time.

Art is excellent (as it was case with all Lovecraft books prepared by I.N.J. Cullbard), flow of story, and overall visual presentation is so cinematic that it seems like it was created on a basis of movie scene-by-scene drawings. Truly wonderful.

Highly recommended.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

*rounded up from 3.5*

I struggle with Lovecraft - the prose is often dense and I find it sludge-like and impossible to read without missing details or finding it obtuse. These adapted versions are so much more accessible - they are also interesting in the choices they make to condense stories into visuals. Not as good as The King in Yellow (though I didn’t struggle with Chambers anywhere near as much as I do Lovecraft) possibly because I was less familiar with the source material.
I’m curious to see how the manga adaptations by GoTonube(sp.) match up with this (and the other Lovecraft adaptations in the series).
New interpretations of eldritch horror are always welcome.

[Carlos Joaquín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alchemy and resurrection for H.P. Lovecraft fans Providence, Rhode Island, 1928. A dangerous inmate disappears from a private hospital for the insane, his method of escape baffling the authorities. Only the patient’s final visitor, family physician Dr. Marinus Bicknell Willett—himself a piece of the puzzle—holds the key to unlocking The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. A macabre mixture of historical investigation, grave-robbing, and bone-chilling revelation, this newly reissued adaptation artfully lays bare one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most horrifying creations.