Le bestiaire du crépuscule

by Daria Schmitt

Pour les enfants du quartier, le parc est un inoffensif jardin public. Mais pour son gardien, c'est un nid de sombres créatures qu'il est le seul à voir : asocial et atteint d'un solide trouble de la rêverie compulsive, Providence s'est donné pour mission de protéger les promeneurs malgré eux. Sa tâche se complique lorsqu'un livre étrange sorti des eaux troubles du lac libère un bestiaire terrifiant et attire l'attention des très louches services psycho-sanitaires... Talonné par une nouvelle directrice bien plus versée dans le jargon du management que dans l'occulte et déterminée à gérer le parc comme une véritable start-up, le gardien lutte contre l'appel d'un autre monde : noyé dans les brumes du lac, le reflet d'une étrange maison où il serait enfin en paix l'attire irrésistiblement... Une sublime variation sur l'univers et le personnage de Lovecraft, rendant hommage à l'imaginaire sous toutes ses formes. Après Acqua Alta, L'Arbre aux pies et Ornithomaniacs, Daria Schmitt propose le plus abouti de ses albums, porté par un dessin splendidement fouillé au service d'une intrigue aux multiples rebondissements et références.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Fantasy, Comics, Sequential Art, Horror, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2022

About the author

Daria Schmitt is a French illustrator and comic author, based in Paris.
Schmitt studying history and architecture in university. She worked as a visual artist for various entertainment companies and as an art teacher, before becoming a full time cartoonist. Among her books: Ornithomaniacs (2018), a black and white comic that received the Artémisia Prize for Drawing; Le Bestiaire du crépuscule (2022), an homage to HP Lovecraft and fantasy literature; La Tête de mort venue de Suède (2025), a comic with René Descartes' skull as protagonist.

Reviews

[mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Providence is a caretaker in the city park. Something strange is going on in the park’s pond, and he is the only one who can see it. He wants to protect the visitors of the park.

Inside The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence, we can read H. P. Lovecraft’s short story, The Strange High House in the Mist, which complements the story. I like Lovecraft’s stories. They create a certain mood.

B&W illustrations combined with beautiful colored ones. Daria Schmitt has created a surreal world with nightmarish monsters in the style of H. P. Lovecraft.

Thanks to Europe Comics for the ARC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review, and all opinions are my own.

Edit: This graphic novel was initially a 4-star read for me. I understood the story in my way, and it was very good. After reading some other reviews, I noticed the name Zadok and researched some details. This part contains spoilers, so that is all I will write. I’m an optimist, so I really believe that this name is a coincidence, and there is no hidden anti-Semitism behind it. Because of this name and the possibility of an entirely different message, I lowered my rating and rated it 3 stars. In the next edition, I strongly recommend that the author changes this name because now I feel a bit uncomfortable about this.

[Emily Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

No. Just no. Problematic. What… what did I just read? I have thoughts.

Firstly let’s start with the only thing I liked, the artwork; the artwork is so damn breathtaking. Some seriously bloody beautiful pieces and an interwoven pop of colour that adds so much depth to the lands.

I get the intention of the storyline but there’s some major issues and things we need to talk about here. One being; does the author know all sides of H.P. Lovecraft?

I ask this because H.P. Lovecraft, whilst a brilliant writer was also incredibly racist with many antisemitic tropes woven into his works. Ones one would stereotypically wish to avoid or correct. Or at least acknowledge. What worries me is this author somehow leaned into their love of Lovecraft so much that this work is (perhaps accidentally) HUGELY problematic. And not only that… their chosen story is also mimicking huge issues.

So what are they? First of all let’s talk about the plot (we will have some vague spoilers here so skip if you don’t want to read them)

1) The plot follows H.P. Lovecraft who is deemed to be mentally ill by the ‘mental health services’ for his ‘beliefs and delusions’ of a world in which his stories come to life.’ They believe the book he wrote is spreading some kind of issue amongst their worlds and that he is insane, so they try to take him in, and also we have the plot of people prying the literature from his hands and stealing his written works to stop the ‘spread’.

Now, the struggles to protect this literature and his beliefs are the main theme. Rather reminiscent of the holocaust, with literature being deemed ‘perverted’ and stolen.

I thought maybe I was jumping to conclusions or inferring this dramatically. But then… then we had the mental health services themselves. A man named Zadok who wishes to stop H.P.’s corrupt behaviour. Zadok is a Hebrew name meaning ‘just’ or ‘righteous.’ This is a serious issue. The one person we are introduced to in this book as having a Hebrew name is a morally corrupt ‘mental health’ officer trying to capture a man for having different views and basically imprison him. The reversed victim antisemitic take was really something. (He is described as being draconian and zoophobic, and portrayed as a villain.)


It left a sour taste in my mouth that seriously ruined the art. The art is gorgeous, captivating and so true to H.P. Lovecraft. I just wish the literature proportion and storyline had been either researched with caution to his views or plotted out in a way that wasn’t so truly cringey to read. I mean, I’m not sure why this hasn’t been pointed out in other reviews but I can see how it may be missed if you weren’t aware of his problematic issues and also of the origin of the name Zadok (Zadoc alternate spelling.)

I’m just unsure how this made it through sensitivity reads without being brought up.

Also there’s an awful lot of ableism in there, and I get it’s meant to be a theme but it only made it lean more so into being reminiscent of the holocaust with the attack on disabled people.

I just… I’m a little let down this hasn’t been considered prior. Especially as an homage to Lovecraft of sorts. I was looking forward to this but I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable as all those plot points (intentionally or not.)

Maybe I’m inferring it incorrectly, but I couldn’t help but feel very stilled by the parallels.


TW’s//

Scenes depicting almost drowning, ableism, ableist slurs, racism, antisemitism, plot reminiscent of the holocaust but centring a non Jewish man who himself was antisemitic & racist.

[Melanie Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Großartige Bilder und wunderschöne fließende Übergänge der "Wunder".

Jedoch bin ich noch bisschen ratlos, wie ich es bewerten soll, weil mir teilweise die Fäden zu offen sind, nicht zuende geführt wurden - ich mag offene Enden, wenn sie gut gemacht sind, hier habe ich das Gefühl, dass etwas fehlt.

Auch interessant ist der Wechsel zu einer echten Kurzgeschichte von Lovecraft, zum Glück einer ohne Rassismen, auf der dieses Werk sich unter anderem stützt.

Die Gedanken werde ich noch etwas ordnen, dann kommt auch eine Bewertung und eine Rezension auf Youtube.

[Renee Godding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off this review by saying: I am by no means a “graphic-novel-connoisseur”. I’ve always wanted to enjoy this genre, as I love illustrated art, but as a way of story-telling I’ve never been able to get into it. I can count on one hand the amount of graphic novels I’ve finished and enjoyed, which makes it even more of a compliment to Daria Schmitt’s debut that it is one of them.

The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence is a Lovecraftian inspired story, following the titular caretaker of a seemingly ordinary city park. However, at night, the Eldridge entities that make the park its home immerge; entities that only Mr. Providence seems to be able to see. It’s up to him, with the help of his companion-cats, to protect the unsuspecting parks visitors from what lurks beneath.
The characters and story didn’t quite do it for me, but the stunning artwork and dreamlike surreal quality of the setting were enough to give this book at least 4 stars. Schmitts art style and her use of contrast and colour is completely up my alley, and many individual panels were beautiful enough that I’d hang a framed print of it on my wall.

I will probably never become an actual graphic-novel reader and that’s okay. Not every genre is going to be for everybody, and this one isn’t for me. That being said, I really enjoyed this little side-step outside my comfort zone and will for sure be checking out Daria Schmitts (other) art in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review, as wel as G from Bookroast for creating the Magical Readathon and “forcing me” to read outside my usual genres.

[Zeynep T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this graphic novel, we follow the story of Mr. Providence who is a caretaker at a city park. The park is full of bizarre beings that wake at night, and Providence, despite the concerns of his business-minded new manager, is working to protect guests.

This novel is a homage to the H.P. Lovecraft short story "The Strange High House in the Mist", which is provided at the end of the book. I am not a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft's works but the artwork, atmosphere, and story do honor the legacy of the writer successfully.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing an ARC of this novel for reviewers.

[Marie Labrousse · Rating 3 out of 5]

BD lovecraftienne au scénario un peu confus mais aux illustrations magnifiques qui mélangent noir et blanc et couleur

[Danai · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you net galley for providing me with a free copy of the monstrous dreams of Mr. Providence in exchange for a honest review.


Honestly the only saving grace of this book is the gorgeous art style considering that the plot was executed poorly, the dialogues between the characters being extremely uninteresting while the characters themselves completely lacked of depth and humour. Overall a bad read would not recommend.

[Audrey Approved · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the incorporation of color with the black and white art was visually stunning, overall I found this storyline was very confusing and hard to engage with. Maybe if I had an appreciation of H.P. Lovecraft, I might like it more? It also felt weird that the “bad” guys were from mental health services… unsure what the commentary here was.

I regretted asking to review this book, but thanks to Netgalley and Europe Comics for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sully Holt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ça faisait quelques mois qu'il était dans ma liste de souhait et que je lorgnais sa couverture avec envie. J'ignorais quasiment tout de l'histoire et je me suis plongée dedans en toute "innocence", fascinée à l'avance par les références à Lovecraft et à son oeuvre.

Providence est le gardien d'un jardin public. Accompagné de son chat, il erre chaque jour dans les allées en observant les métamorphoses inquiétantes qui s'emparent des lieux et en ramassant des objets perdus, convaincu qu'un grand événement est sur le point de se produire.

Hommage à Lovecraft, à son bestiaire noir et à son imaginaire fertile, hommage à la rêverie et à l'écriture aussi, cet album se démarque par la beauté de ses planches où l'alternance noir et blanc / couleurs permet de faire ressortir les éléments les plus sensationnels du récit. On évolue dans une histoire déroutante inspirée de "L'étrange maison haute dans la brume" pleine d'éléments lugubres et absurdes et de métaphores oniriques. Le parc est rempli de personnages lunaires, de merveilles et d'horreurs sans vraiment qu'on sache si les créatures observées par Providence sont réelles ou imaginaires; si les lieux sont le produit de sa démence ou d'une vision éclairée des évènements qui s'enchaînent.

C'est dense, rempli de détails, parfois un peu confus, mais visuellement très beau.

L'expérience est assez particulière et je ne sais pas si elle plaira à tous les amateurs de fantastique. Personnellement, je l'ai trouvée un peu longue et un peu plate, pas aussi excitante que ce que le sujet me promettait. Mais je salue le talent de l'artiste pour être parvenue à faire revivre les mythes et l'esprit lovecraftien.

L'album contient également l'intégralité du texte "L'étrange maison haute dans la brume", un petit plus non négligeable, joliment illustré.

[Prospero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fictio...

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art work is imaginative and gorgeous - it conjures up an entire universe. Unfortunately the plot is too convoluted and meandering to make for a captivating read.

[Florence Mullot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un véritable OVNI. Je ne suis pas très au fait des œuvres de HP Lovecraft, je ne peux donc pas vraiment faire le parallèle avec Le bestiaire du crépuscule de Daria Schmitt, mais c’est clairement l’ambiance que l’auteur américain m’inspire.

J’avais d’abord cru que Le bestiaire du crépuscule serait accès plus jeunesse, mais il n’en est rien. Nous plongeons dans un voyage fantastique où notre héros, Providence, gardien d’un parc, est bien décidé à protéger les visiteurs des monstres invisibles qui peuplent son lieu de travail. Mais une trouvaille va le dévier de sa mission et devenir une obsession.

On remarque tout de suite le style graphique de Daria Schmitt. Dense et fin à la fois, il prend plus de place que le texte et nous met tout de suite dans l’ambiance. Un mélange de folie, d’oppression et de fantaisie. Il y a une richesse incroyable dans les illustrations et j’adore encore plus les rares moments où la couleur entre en jeu. C’est un basculement entre la réalité et l’onirique saisissant. Les dessins à la fin de l’ouvrage sont une pure merveille.

Un peu à la Alice au pays des merveilles, Providence est un homme à part, un brin excentrique qui parle à son chat Maldoror. Un duo que l’on adore rapidement, entre le côté borné du gardien et le sarcasme du chat. Il y a aussi ce non-sens et cet humour noir qui ajoutent un peu plus de ressemblance avec l’œuvre de Lewis Carroll. La directrice qui ne veut pas d’excentricité, mais qui est toujours sur son cheval même pendant les réunions, c’est de l’humour comme je l’aime.

Sans connaître l’œuvre de HP Lovecraft, je pense que je suis passée à côté de pas mal de choses. Mais, j’ai tout de même apprécié cette lecture assez étrange où l’on n’arrive pas vraiment à savoir où la frontière entre la réalité et le rêve se trouve. Pour moi, le gardien est HP Lovecraft et l’on y voit un homme et son imagination débordante qui parfois le déconnecte de la réalité. Il y a un côté inquiétant, mais la dérision ambiante adoucit clairement l’ensemble.

La fin du Bestiaire du crépuscule contient une nouvelle « L’étrange maison haute dans la brume » de HP Lovecraft. Une nouvelle qui est en parallèle avec la bande dessinée, sans en être l’adaptation. Le fait d’avoir combiné les deux œuvres est clairement une bonne idée, et ouvre ainsi plus de compréhension.

Une lecture qui sort de l’ordinaire. Je ne m’attendais pas du tout à cela, et parfois c’est une bonne chose d’être surprise, surtout en littérature.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars based on the art.

The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence immerses readers in a surreal, fantastical story where eldritch terrors collide with elitist ideals of recreation and humor aimed at oblivious people who fail to perceive the world as it is. The beautifully detailed artwork starts in black and white as Mr. Providence attempts to protect park visitors from lurking horror while avoiding the officious new manager who dashes around on horseback, barking orders about modernizing the park in corporate jargon. After he retrieves a blank-paged book in the pond, teal and pink swirl through the panels in the form of gigantic koi, smoke that turns into an octopus, and a horde of furry, one-eyed creatures with sharp teeth. At the heart of the mystery lies The Strange High House in the Mist of Lovecraft’s short story.

I didn’t expect to understand every plot point and reference, but I was disappointed to see reviews explaining antisemitic elements. How does someone—backed by a publisher—spend 3 years writing and illustrating a story inspired by Lovecraft without removing hateful concepts from a writer infamous for racism and antisemitism? An egregious error in 2022.

Thank you to Europe Comics and Netgalley for providing a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex Sarll]

A park-keeper who both is and isn't Lovecraft* has to deal with a brash, buzzword-happy manager bent on modernisation, monsters only he knows lurk in the park, and worst of all, the general public, who will insist on activities which risk waking said monsters and, even if they didn't, would ruin the peace of the park. Oh, and he's assisted by a talking cat called Maldoror. The same premise with a different art style could easily have been a Viz strip, but the look here is more Chris Riddell on his less comic stuff, maybe a hint of Charles Vess – gorgeous, eerie without being horrific, wry without quite being funny. As for the writing, well, like a lot of Europe Comics stuff I found it seesawed between unnecessarily opaque, and far too eager to show its working ("It may sound strange to you, but I feel a lot like one of these old pieces of junk. Like them I'm waiting for something, and the longer I wait, the older and dustier I become..."). But then it's not as if the scripts of US and UK comics don't have their funny little ways, so this may just be a case of it not being a storytelling grammar I grew up with. I'm not altogether convinced by the way it incorporates the full text of The Strange High House In The Mist within itself - there is a thematic overlap, but I don't know that the angles quite cohere. Still, you could say that was appropriately non-Euclidean, and there too the illustrations are gorgeous.

*My second of those this week, an' all, after Cast A Deadly Spell. Private eye, park-keeper – what other professions beginning with P could have a maybe-Lovecraft? Please not proctologist.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Laure · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tout d'abord merci à Netgalley et aux éditions Dupuis qui m'ont permis de découvrir cet ouvrage.

J'ai eu un véritable coup de coeur pour les illustrations, le coup de crayon est absolument somptueux. J'ai aimé le parallèle entre le monde " réel" et le monde imaginaire avec des couleurs très bien choisies. c'était un régal pour les yeux. Les planches sont très détaillées et les animaux parfaitement dessinés. C'est d'ailleurs le plus gros point fort de cet ouvrage.

Le personnage principal est assez attachant et cela fait une bonne introduction à l'univers de HP Lovecraft. Cela peut d'ailleurs amener à se plonger plus dans l'univers de ce romancier.

C'est une lecture marquante à la fois visuellement mais aussi par l'univers dépeint dans les dialogues.

[the_nerd_cafephile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Netgalley, Europe Comics and the author, for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mr. Providence is the caretaker of a park that house monstrous creatures at night. When the new manager of the park does not believe in any of the monsters and want to make the park more 'people friendly'inspite of all of his warnings, Mr. Providence sets out to make sure all the mostrocities within the park stays exactly where they are.

The art style of this book was hauntingly beautiful. The way the almost all of the comic was in black and white and then slowly turquoise seeps into the art was just brilliant and beautiful. It took me some time to actually get the hang of the story and its definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une œuvre singulière et magnétique, parfaite pour les amateurs de fantastique, de créatures énigmatiques et de récits où la beauté dialogue avec l’obscurité. Un livre à ouvrir à la tombée du jour… quand le monde devient incertain et que les monstres se réveillent.

[Davide Saladino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trama molto soft. Niente di particolare. Un viaggio nella mente del protagonista (Providence), a metà tra il mondo reale e quello del sogno.
Disegni eccelsi!

[dilelem]

After a while, i've stopped reading and only enjoyed the artwork. Artwork's good, story's bad. sorry.

[Erika Sarutobi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am confusion.

I didn't read the H.P Lovecraft the author put in the book yet tho cuz I dont have the mental capacity to read that at 6:30am.

RTC

[Floresia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dibujos preciosos magníficos chulísimos!!🥺🥺🥺🥺 me ha encantado

[bookwormnici · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this book.
Let me start off with how gorgeous the graphics were! absolutely stunning. But other than that, the book was fast paced and too confusing for me. I didn't see the point of this book.
We follow basically Mr. Providence, who is a caretaker of the park. He starts to see creatures, that other can't see and they believe he is nuts.

[Booksheep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vraiment pas emballée par l'histoire :(

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every once in a while I come across a book that completely subverts expectation in just about every way possible, and that's exactly what happened today when reading The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence by Daria Schmitt, a new graphic novel published by Europe Comics. At first I thought this was just a gothic fantasy story, somewhat akin to Sandman or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but I had a HUGE realization later on that this was in fact a back-door biographical story based on a VERY prominent author. My interest in the book grew exponentially as I started to try to make sense of the symbolism and mystery involved in the story.

The artwork in this graphic novel is absolutely stunning. Some pages are in color, while the majority is in black and white, and rendered in a complex pen and ink art style. The art is highly detailed and hardly any space on any given page is left untouched. These are broad comparisons, but I was somewhat reminded of the manga artist Junji Ito, who wields a similar style in terms of backgrounds and splash pages mixed with the sensibilities of Neil Gaiman's writing and character designs, notably with something like The Sandman. Add a huge bucket of H.P Lovecraft (which I will soon elaborate on), and that's generally the tone of this book. I have no real idea as to whom Daria Schmitt is actually inspired by, but those names kept coming to me.

Speaking of H.P. Lovecraft, people familiar with his works will get a far better appreciation for this story than others, and honestly without knowing a bit about him, the finer points of this may fly right over their heads. One of the main storyline points in this book revolves around Mr. Providence trying to protect a mysterious book with blank pages hiding a great evil from the "Mental Health Services". Considering that Providence looks exactly like H.P. Lovecraft, and Providence, Rhode Island is where Lovecraft lived, one can easily see that this was not a story about a fantasy character named Mr. Providence, but H.P. Lovecraft himself. At one point we even see the mysterious book he has been guarding is an actual Lovecraft story called The Strange High House in The Mist, printed in full within the pages of this graphic novel. One can surmise that the actual plot if this book was something akin to a magical world Lovecraft escapes to in his own mind.

In regards to his battles with psychologists, I'm sure the book was making a point with this in regards to mental health treatment being adverse to creativity or something, but this portion was kind of weird. I know Lovecraft largely died because he HATED doctors and basically withered away from cancer, so perhaps this is what they were going for? It would take a far more knowledgeable person to see any symbolism I may have missed.

One's enjoyment of this book is directly proportional to how much somebody likes or knows about H.P. Lovecraft. While I personally am not the biggest fan of Lovecraftian literature, I know about him and appreciate what the author was doing here as these sorts of meta storylines based on a famous person's life can be somewhat weird at times. The artwork in this is absolutely amazing, and easily stands out as some of the best comic artwork I've seen all year so far. If you enjoy off-the-wall fantasy stories or are a huge Lovecraft fan I'd recommend this in a heartbeat as you really can't go wrong with some a well-done book that takes chances like this.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know where to begin. I have never rewritten a review so many times. I thought this book would be a quick read, but it took me half a month to finish, though it's a relatively fast-paced graphic novel. My relationship with this book is a mix of emotions - like, dislike, confusion, and interest. (Well, it's mostly the confusion.) I got lost in the text so many times and had to go back to reread some parts a few times. But I still don't know how to describe this book...

Mr Providence has always seemed weird. He's taking care of the park and keeps items he finds in hopes to return them back to their rightful owners one day. One of these items is a book that seems to have blank pages but what hides inside this book is some dark and mysterious power. And this sinister power is slowly transforming the park. Interestingly enough, only those who have "touched" the book seem to see these monsters and changes. And since Mr Providence doesn't want anyone to take his book, basically everyone thinks Mr Providence is not right in the head.

An interesting aspect is a strange house he sees within the park pond. Because that's a story on its own. It's actually the story The Strange High House in The Mist by H.P. Lovecraft. So it seems that The Monstrous Dreams of Mr Providence might be some kind of a prequel to The Stange High House in The Mist??...

As I said, this book was very confusing, and I didn't really like it that much. But I'm sure there is a deeper meaning. And the reason for this thought is the hidden story of The Strange High House in The Mist by H.P. Lovecraft. I just couldn't find that deeper meaning. I'm not a fan of Lovecraft, but I'm sure fans will enjoy this book.

On the other hand, one thing I absolutely love about this book is the art. It is exquisite, especially in the black and white combination. And when the creatures appear, colours are added to the art! So these creatures are instantly more vivid. The attention to detail is stunning.

Thank you Netgalley and Europe Comics for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Peter Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a singular piece of graphic fiction, with fine pen art aping Victorian book etchings, though dark, a dank and thoroughly befitting this riff on Lovecraftian lore. Its a little odd in fact that the brief but dense tale of a mysterious park does indeed end up being a prequel to an actual Lovecraft tale (The Strange High House In the Mist), as if comparisons were impossible to dodge, or were already baked in. It is certainly one where certain panel and splash pages are made to be poured over, if not for detail but for the wash of eyes and tentacles and goo (it is firmly black and which until the supernatural comes in when a sort of colour out of space intrudes).

Mr Providence is the caretaker of a park, who lives with his cat and sees the supernatural in many turns. old, cantankerous and somewhat erratic in his work, he has drawn the wrath of his new business buzzword spouting manager, and doesn't seem all that popular with park users or co-workers. During the course of this day he takes a dip in the pond, finds a magical book and encounters a lot of - well tentacles and eyes. The strangeness continues until the book reaches its odd end - with the Lovecraft tale.

Its an interesting piece of work, particularly if you like this kind of art style (I can't say I am a huge fan of the plain B&W renderings, though once it starts getting trippy I am more interesting). But the story itself does end up just being prologue, and Mr Providence is a pretty passive observer of the weirdness around him. The manager character is a very one dimensional joke on management culture, and whilst by the end there is a little more nuance to her, it all feels to nothing. What's more the actual connective tissue between this and the Lovecraft tale is slim. Its probably worth it most for the illustration, and certainly just excerpting the illustrated Lovecraft really gets to the heart of his obsessions. But as a piece on its own it wasn't really my thing.

[caught_in_fairytales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zeichnungen
Die Zeichnungen Schmitts, in der Realität schwarz/weiß und in Traumsequenzen und denen des Übernatürlichen in Farbe, sind traumhaft verspielt und einfach nur wunderschön anzusehen; ich war wahrlich begeistert! 😍 Auch die enthaltene Kurzgeschichte von Lovecraft, »Das merkwürdige hochgelegene Haus im Nebel«, ist wunderschön illustriert. Die äußerliche Ähnlichkeit des Protagonisten zum damaligen Meisterautor des Horrors bringt jedoch die ein oder andere Schwierigkeit mit sich, die ich im Fazit erläutern werde.

Fazit
Wer sich mit H.P. Lovecraft nicht beschäftigt hat, so wie ich vor der Lektüre des Comics, wird diesen uneingeschränkt genießen können. Er ist kreativ und besticht mit unvergleichlichen Illustrationen, lässt uns abtauchen in eine Welt, in der die Grenzen zwischen Realität und Traum verwischen.

Wer jedoch ein paar Artikel zu Lovecraft, seinem Leben und seinen Einstellungen kennt, wird hier ein Problem entdecken. Der Protagonist soll den damaligen Autor selbst darstellen, erkennbar u. a. an seinem Äußeren und seinem Namen - denn Lovecraft wohnte seinerzeit in Providence, auf der Insel Rhode Island. Problem ist nun aber die Namenswahl einer Figur, die den Antagonisten verkörpert (mehr erzähle ich nicht, um nicht zu spoilern). Dieser ist nämlich hebräisch. Wer nun weiß, dass Lovecraft seinerzeit ein großer Antisemit und Rassist war, merkt also schnell, dass es keine gute Wahl war, den Antagonisten des Protas aka Lovecrafts so zu nennen; ich hoffe sehr, dass es unbewusst war. Dies hinterlässt einen arg faden Beigeschmack; hätte der Comic doch eine großartige Möglichkeit dargestellt, kritisch mit seinen Ansichten umzugehen. Schade, da die Zeichnungen wirklich toll sind.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book details a particularly strange series of events as witnessed by the caretaker of a park, named Mr. Providence. Mr. Providence, who is by all means, H.P. Lovecraft, see's things others cannot. Strange creatures, haunted faraway houses, and mists that cover everything. Everyone accepts that he is a bit - eccentric, until the department of mental health deems him - well... unhealthy.

Daria Schmitt's love for Lovecraft definitely shines through in this book. You can tell she is well read in his books and general lore. And while that is a good thing to have for a book who's protagonist is the author himself, it actually - in my opinion - made this book very hard to decipher. It's strangeness, while a strength of a sort, is actually its biggest weakness. The plot is all over the place, its message unclear, and the general writing seems unfocused and obscure. Add to that the fact that the man himself in real life, wasn't that nice of a guy, and the slight allusions to that (intended or not) and you got yourself a book that was kind of hard to read.

However, I will say the art is pretty amazing. The detail and care in each of the pages is more than enough to give this book a second look. It really gave me the feeling of reading an old fairy tale book, as the art looks like something out of the original Alice in Wonderland novel. The style of art matched really well with the story and it complemented both the darker aspects of the plot, as well as the lighter and normal things.

Overall, having known a bit about Lovecraft in general, this book was a hard pill to swallow plot wise (in more ways than one) but I did enjoy the art quite a bit.

[Anne-Chat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Providence est le gardien d'un parc bien étrange. De sombres créatures le peuplent et semblent n'être visibles que par lui, si bien qu'il a été affublé d'une maladie au doux nom : trouble de la rêverie compulsive.

Accompagné de Maldoror, un chat plutôt bavard, Providence tente de chasser ces monstres de son parc pour protéger les promeneurs, mais tout est chamboulé lorsqu'il découvre un mystérieux livre aux pages blanches, sorti des eaux troubles du lac. Depuis lors, les créatures se font de plus en plus nombreuses et semblent vouloir récupérer cet étrange ouvrage...

Il est difficile de mettre en images les récits du maître de l'horreur, tant les choses auxquelles ses personnages sont confrontés resident dans l'indicible et l'indescriptible. Cependant, quelques auteurs réussissent à merveille cet exercice comme daria schmitt avec son Bestiaire du Crépuscule.

J'ai adoré cette lecture et j'ai dévoré des yeux les dessins aux lignes oniriques, sans parler des couleurs douces et vives à la fois, qui viennent s'incruster dans le récit lorsque les créatures imaginaires débarquent dans la triste réalité.

Et quel bonheur de redécouvrir une nouvelle de Lovecraft au beau milieu du récit, mise en image de façon merveilleuse, tant est si bien que l'horreur de mondes inconnus contés par l'écrivain devient un incroyable rêve coloré sous les traits de la talentueuse dessinatrice.

💟Je ne peux que vous recommander chaudement cet ouvrage incroyable💟

[AAAAAAAAAA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Europe Comics for granting me access to an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall rating(My original rating was 4 stars but after reading the review from Emily Sarah I changed it):
Art: 5/5 stars
Story: 3/5 stars
Characters: 3/5 stars

TLDR; Acceptable/decent story with amazing art and a short story from H.P Lovecraft at the end, I'd say it's worth a read.

The first thing that captured my interest in this graphic novel was the art, and it did not disappoint. Starting off with the art, the linework is beautifully done and you can tell the amount of effort the artist put in each panel. The graphic novel is mostly illustrated in black & white, but colored panels appear and I love how they use it to distinguish the dream world from the real world. The art style chosen for this graphic novel was perfect. I often found myself looking at the panels for a while just to admire the detail work that I'd forget to read the dialogue.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the story, I found myself reading more for the art than the story. The storyline and ending was slightly confusing to me, and I started skimming through the book at one point. The characters weren't that loveable nor interesting. I definitely did not expect a short story at the end. Nevertheless, I think it's worth it to give this graphic novel a shot.