Neonomicon

Moore's Cthulhu Mythos

by Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows (Artist)

Химерний світ лавкрафтіанських потворних істот, таємних мов прадавніх богів, сповнений наркотиками, хтивістю та кривавими мерзотними ритуалами… Все це і навіть більше в коміксах Алана Мура та Джейсена Барровза “Неономікон” та “Подвір’я”.

Культова лавкрафтіанська трилогія від автора “Вартових” та “Із Пекла” Алана Мура розпочинається із звичайного розслідування детектива поліції, але кожного разу кидає героїв у наступні рівні пекельного жаху.

Дане колекційне видання містить перші дві частини трилогії – “Подвір’я” та “Неономікон”, купу додаткових обкладинок і передмову відомого сценариста Ґарта Енніса.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Lovecraftian, Comic Book

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

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

[Imogen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this is a book about a woman who struggles with sex addiction being locked in a room and sexually assaulted by a monster over the course of a week, which solves all her problems. If that sounds nice to you, you do not sound nice to me.

I think mostly I'm pissed because this is on so many "best horror comics" lists I've read, and not a single one of them mentions the fact that it's just. about. a woman. being raped. by a monster. For a week. Which is presented as not even a big deal to her! She's an FBI agent and after the monster lets her out (spoiler, once it has knocked her up, which she does not really seem to mind) she just, like, goes back to the room where she was held, to investigate the crime scene. No big deal, right? Sure she wouldn't mind going right back in there, immediately. Why would that be complicated for her.

On top of the fact that I'm mad at Alan Moore about this misogynist nonsense is the fact that the ending, and what it adds to the Chthulu mythos, *is* kind of cool. (Spoiler, although who cares because don't read this: What if "R'lyeh under the waters" didn't mean under the literal ocean but instead inside a uterus.) It just... didn't require all the detention and rape? You could have gotten there in ways that were so much more interesting and less predictably, boringly, tropily misogynist. Ugh. So bummed about this.

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

a sociopathic FBI profiler finds a dark path and takes it. some time later, two more agents follow in his footsteps. murder, rape, rage, despair, racism, homophobia, a swinger party, a cult, hallucinatory freak-outs, nightmarish dreamscapes, Deep Ones, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, H.P. Lovecraft, and gruesome bloody slaughter are all delivered in a timely fashion.

celebrated genius Alan Moore's graphic novel was, per the author's own admission, done for a paycheck and so that's that. it was also removed from a public library earlier this year due to its shuddery subject matter. here on Goodreads, reviews are mixed; many readers have reacted very negatively to all of the horrific nastiness on display.

so let's get that horrific nastiness out of the way first since it appears to be the central issue for some. spoilers ahead... in the last third of the novel there is a truly grotesque rape scene which also includes rape-by-monster. it is cruel, brutal, explicit, and goes on for a really extended period of time. now i have some serious problems with Neonomicon, but unlike many of my fellow reviewers, those problems have nothing to do with the rape. i actually think it is pretty well done, as such things go. it is not particularly exploitative (outside of the fact that it is depicted in the first place - which some could understandably argue is exploitative in and of itself); the pain & horror & ugliness are definitely not downplayed and the rape is not eroticized. the art is particularly interesting during this sequence, using the rape victim's blurry vision to startling effect. and the dialogue by the cheerful rapists is rather brilliant: banal, chatty, blasé, even friendly and supportive at times - all of that contributes powerfully to the pure horror of the situation.

my problems with Neonomicon are (1) the bizarre and pointless decision to make the heroine a sex addict (is this supposed to somehow make her better equipped to deal with her rape? ugh! NO, Alan Moore, NO!) and (2) with the dialogue that comes out of every single FBI agent's mouth besides our heroine. now it's one thing to have a sociopathic agent constantly shoot off comments that are not just misanthropic but pointedly racist and homophobic. fine, he's a sociopath and an asshole. but to have the same repulsive shit drop from the mouths of nearly every other agent? come on. obviously Moore himself is not a racist or homophobe (if you doubt me, just read his works), so clearly this must be how he envisions the FBI. i'm no apologist for the federal bureau of investigation - but give me a break! now that is just lazy, stupid, cheap writing and i expect a lot more from the author.

back to what's good... everything else! the art by Jacen Burrows is fantastic, particularly in the first part "The Courtyard" where almost every page is a double vertical panel. claustrophobia and murderous tunnel vision are aptly conveyed. and outside of the doltish dialogue from various agents, the writing is superb. Moore takes the Cthulhu mythos in a fascinating new direction (future is now!) and it is truly mind-boggling. i haven't had my mind boggled this way by anything lovecraftian in a long while - and that includes the superior Locke & Key graphic novels. so overall, Neonomicon is a flawed but absolutely worthy addition to the author's brilliant oeuvre.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Courtyard: When federal agent Aldo Sax goes deep undercover to find a mysterious drug called Aklo, he gets snared in net of Lovecraftian craziness with Johnny Carcosa at the center.

Aside from being peppered with racial slurs, I thought this was a pretty good tale. Aldo Sax encounters cosmic horrors and flips his shit. Moore seeded the text with plenty of Lovecraftian references, like The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Horror at Red Hook, Zothique (actually a Clark Ashton Smith), and Randolph Carter.

I like the direction Moore is going with this one.

The Neonomicon: After visiting Aldo Sax at the sanitarium, Agents Lamper and Brears pick up where he left off and head to Salem.

There was some sick shit in this, much more extreme than Lovecraft but still true to the spirit of the mythos. I had a feeling things would go the way they did with Brears. This one was definitely not for the squeamish.

Moore's take on the Cthulhu mythos in Neonomicon makes me anxious to read his next Lovecraftian offering, Providence. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Moore… only him!


This TPB edition collects “Neonomicon” #1-4, but also includes “The Courtyard” #1-2, which both are parts of the same story.


Creative Team:

Writer: Alan Moore

Illustrator: Jacen Burrows


THE EGG OR THE CHICKEN?

Maybe some of you remember by review about Providence, if not, it’s relevant to say that the stories collected here, The Courtyard and Neonomicon are linked to Providence, which it serves as prequel AND sequel to the first two mentioned stories.

So, what to read first?

I have to admit that when I read Providence, I didn’t get all the scope of the story and I guessed then that it was because I hadn’t read this TPB at hand, but…

…now that I read this one…

…I wonder if I’d be able to enjoy so much this two stories if I hadn’t read Providence first.

It’s clear that Neonomicon, the main story, and The Courtyard, its introductory tale, both are quite straight in their narrative and quite easy to follow the storyline, but…

…I have to admit that it was so clear, since I had read Providence first and I wasn’t any clueless at all this time.

Providence was published later of Neonomicon and The Courtyard, so the logic thing would be to read this TPB at hand first and then Providence after that, even for those readers that they got the books once published, it wasn’t much of an option but do it in that order.

But…

…is it the only way?

Alan Moore is the first of telling you that each time that you’d read his stories, especially if a fair quantity of time has passed between readings, that you’ll get the stories in a different way, in a new light, in a better understanding…

…so, what I can tell you is that, not matter the order that you’d read this linked stories, if you read one of them, please read then all of three, since certainly, it’s the only way of appreciating it as a whole.

And of course, if you haven’t still read H.P. Lovecraft’s work (like in my case, but I plan to remedy that soon), which is the foundation of this whole narrative, definitely, you should read that too…

…not matter if you do it, before of after this.


THE FBI & THE PARANORMAL

Alan Moore doesn’t hesitate to point out that Neonomicon and The Courtyard got certain inspiration from The Silence of the Lambs for some scenes and I guess that hadn’t mention The X-Files was intentional, since it would too obvious.

But what’s clear is that FBI and the Paranormal are a great storytelling combination which works as good as bread and butter!

Along both stories, you have three FBI Special Agents: Aldo Sax, Gordon Lamper and Merril Brears. And they will be your guides leading you through a strange case about gruesome ritual murders made by different people, not related between each other, but they seemed to be inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, which it shouldn’t be so odd, taking in account the fame of his horror stories, but…

…the strange of all this, it’s that they seemed to begin in the 1920’s, when H.P. Lovecraft was barely starting his work, and due that, he wasn’t so known and popular then.

Once again, the egg or the chicken? But as this popular enigma, don’t answer it so soon, since the beauty of this mystery is that both answers have problems to defend it.

A warning! Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows didn’t hesitate to deliver a bold tale, so this isn’t for faint of heart and definitely it’s a “R” rated story, so you’ll deal with all the darkness…

…that human beings can inflict to other human beings.

Oh! And I can assure you is that those three FBI Special Agents won’t be the same after these two tales.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really more like 2.5 stars, but we'll round up because Alan Moore is generally, if nothing else, exceedingly interesting. If you're into graphic monster/human sex (moreso than I am, anyway) and H.P. Lovecraft, you may dig this. Otherwise, you probably want to read pretty much anything else Moore has written instead. Including his grocery list.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neonomicon is the sequel to Antony Johnston and Jacen Burrows’ graphic adaptation of Alan Moore’s The Courtyard, a short story by Moore from the ‘90s. If you missed it, don’t worry because The Courtyard is included in this book. This time around Burrows returns with Moore scripting the comic.

Aldo Sax, the main character of The Courtyard, is in an insane asylum speaking Lovecraftian gibberish after he was arrested for murdering his neighbour. Two FBI agents, Gordon Lamper and Merril Brears, are assigned to a case of copycat killings in the style Sax committed who, in turn, was mimicking someone else. Everything goes back to the creepy nightclub and Johnny Carcosa - but what does it all mean?

I first read this when it came out in 2011 but, re-reading it this weekend, I’m not sure why I liked it so much back then - it’s pretty terrible! Like most of Moore’s recent comics, Neonomicon is him cramming in as many literary references as he can around a weak plot. He does this a lot in his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics but in Neonomicon the references are exclusively horror-based, most of them on HP Lovecraft’s work.

Sax looks like Lovecraft, Carcosa, Aklo, the weird tree in the courtyard, the language, right down to the horror at the end of the tunnel and the chapter subtitles riffing on Lovecraft’s stories - everything is Lovecraft-centric. It’s also mentioned how little dialogue there was in his stories because he was so bad at writing it (Lovecraft was basically bad at writing full stop!), which makes me wonder if Moore aped his style here.

Because the dialogue in this book is horrendous - far too many “yeah”s punctuate the conversations as well as info dumps on Lovecraft and other pieces of horror esoterica make for very unrealistic-sounding speech. Moore’s characters’ dialogue in other comics never stood out as particularly amateurish so I’m going to assume he went especially bad in homage to old HP.

The non-stop references are either something you’ll like in a sort of Where’s Wally? sense (in America it’s Where’s Waldo? - not sure why the name was changed) or it’s just going to bore you like it did me.

Speaking of amateurish, the FBI in this book are the most incompetent I’ve ever seen depicted in pop culture. They cover all the exits of the creepy nightclub but when they hear banging underneath them in a secret passage, they assume it’s “just maintenance” rather than follow it up! Then later while Lamper and Brears go undercover, they decide it’s best if they sit in a basement miles away rather than provide any amount of proactive backup. I don’t know why Moore wrote them this brain-dead but they were thoroughly unconvincing “professionals”.

If the tedious investigation that takes up most of the book, along with the dreadful dialogue and idiotic characters didn’t make me dislike the comic, the repeated rape of one of the characters and the excessive full frontal nudity did it. It is extremely graphic and the naked cultists are not hot either so gear up if you’re going to read this! And all that monster sex/rape… ugh. If I wanted to see Japanese porn, I’d go watch it online rather than go looking for it in an Alan Moore comic!

Moore does manage to score a few points in the end with his own interpretation on Lovecraft’s stories but they don’t make reading the preceding comic feel worth it. Jacen Burrows’ art is as fantastic as always, it’s just… all that gross nudity and rape. Dude. It’s rough. You can tell it’s an Avatar comic though, those guys are always publishing messed up shit!

The Courtyard was presented in vertical panels, mostly two to a page, while Neonomicon is almost entirely presented in horizontal panels, mostly four to a page. Not sure what that’s supposed to mean - if it’s a Lovecraft reference, it went over my head - though maybe the wider panels reflect the wider story begun in the first book and expanded in the second? The Courtyard was one character - Aldo Sax - while Neonomicon is two characters - Brears and Lamper - so we get double the panels, two in the first, four in the second? Who knows - maybe it’s purely an aesthetic choice?

If you want to read LXG: The Horror Edition, give Neonomicon a whirl - I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of ticking off which references you got. I wouldn’t recommend the book though; besides being ploddingly paced, overly long and dull to read, it leaves an unpleasant taste behind once you’ve read it, akin to walking into a bathroom after someone’s taken an epic shit and getting the smell full on.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning to my friends reading this review: I did "like" this as I thought it was well executed, but... this is an ultra-graphic H.P. Lovecraft horror story with plenty here to offend and frighten and disturb everyone.... so I can't imagine many people reading this and actually "enjoying." I did, actually, which probably says something about me, so watch out. I read this because I am making it through the Alan Moore corpus, slowly, dabbling in it, at least, and wanted to see what he does with Real Scary and Graphic Horror, and for what it sets out to do, to shock and offend and scare, it works, that's what horror is supposed to do, okay... but it is not Poe, which feels more sanitized than this because the language is less...graphic... Poe frightens without the contemporary potty mouth and by leaving more of the gruesomeness to the imagination, he's not about Chainsaw Massacre bloodshed, and this tale, and Lovecraft tales in general (I am thinking of Joe Hill's work, too, in Locke and Key, with Gabriel Rodriguez's visually scary artwork)... So this is not scarier than Poe, but it is grittier, more graphic, more explicit, more contemporary urban....More shocking on a number of levels...

I also read this to see what Moore and Jacen Burrows do with a Chthulu tale... In "The Call of Cthulhu", Lovecraft describes Cthulhu as "A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind." Lovecraft would probably smile (malevolently) at Moore's and Burrow's execution (well, multiple executions, as it turns out, no surprise...), maybe especially the appropriately proficiently icky artwork from clearly talented Burrows...

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay… many, many trigger warnings. But… I need to know what happens next.

[Nicholas Kaufmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

What starts out as an interesting supernatural procedural in a world where Lovecraft's mythos is real is all but undone by Moore's nearly adolescent preoccupation with sex. It wouldn't be an issue if the sex were portrayed as healthy and positive -- I could get behind that -- but here the sex is entirely non-consensual. A female character is raped during an orgy of cultists and then raped again, repeatedly, by an inhuman monster with an insatiable sexual appetite. But it's okay, Moore assures us, because in the end it cures her of her sex addiction. Um, what? Monster rape takes up pretty much the latter half of this graphic novel, replacing everything else that was interesting about the story, to the point where entire plot lines and characters are all but forgotten. It's too bad. There was something good here, until Moore decided he was more interested in rape scenes and monster sex than in following through with the story's far more compelling setup.

[James DeSantis · Rating 1 out of 5]

What's start off decent enough, murder mystery, mixed with cult behavior, just becomes one big long rape scene.

If it's not bad enough a bunch of people will rape you over and over again, a fish like creature comes from the water and begins to do it too. Over and over again for a week this detective gets raped pretty brutally until the point she barely can take it anymore and offers the fish creature a handjob to satisfy his needs for a minute. Then he drinks her pee. Then he frees her. Then...well does it even matter anymore?

0 out of 5.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first graphic novel and it was an excellent one to start with! The illustrations were absolutely stunning and the story itself was incredibly weird and at times disturbing, but in a good way! I felt like I was a part of the story, puzzling it out along with the characters. I really couldn't have enjoyed this graphic novel more, it was strange and captivating and has started what I'm sure will become an obsession with graphic novels!

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y’know I usually don’t give warnings for reviews, but please stay away from anything regarding this review or book if sexual assault, rape, or any sex crimes, in general, upset you in any way. This was not an easy read and could be really upsetting and tough for some. I will be going into depth about what this was about, and the last thing I want to do is upset anyone. I’m just gonna tell you what the book’s about, how Moore uses the act of rape in it, and what I got from it. After that, maybe you can make the choice to either read it or make sure you never lay hands on this. Cool? Cool, let’s get into this.

This book was certainly Alan Moore: quite brilliant in some aspects, while a bit much in others. The story follows two FBI Agents, Brears & Lamper in a slightly futuristic alternate timeline as they visit Aldo Sax, the FBI agent from “The Courtyard” who is still in prison after the events of that book. They question him but he doesn’t answer as he speaks in an almost alien-like language, until Brears brings up the club Zothique from The Courtyard. Sax’s silence to this being mentioned sets Brears & Lamper down a horrible road that will eventually lead them to the unspeakable horrors in Innsmouth.

It’s impressive how Neonomicon continued the Lovecraftian mythos canon in an almost perfect, and nearly meta way, reinterpreting the original works into a modern context while remaining true to the spirit of Lovecraft’s original stories. I have read a fuckload of Lovecraft, but I think the most impressive fact about it is how Alan Moore illustrates the framework that forms the Lovecraft cosmology. The mind-melting effect that the Alko language seems it would have upon the human consciousness has precedent in Lovecraftian work. It is considered the "magic" of this mythos as compared to alien physics that mankind can only begin to grasp through superstition & pseudo-religious devotion. Moore presents the language as a multidimensional construct just as the Old ones themselves are, and uses it to guess what effect this would have upon a human and those around them. It’s genuinely impressive how Neonomicon connected various of the mythos’ story themes well, while also masterfully explaining concepts left vague in the original writings without losing the horrific mood. Explaining usually kills horror, so the fact Moore manages to keep it all is unbelievably impressive.

But see, the conceit of this book was basically to comment on and show the most understated parts of Lovecraft's original work: the rape & impregnation of women at the hands of these old gods. Women in Lovecraft’s fiction are never suggested to have been raped unless the act results in a child. Lovecraft, at most, would go “And the lady saw the horror before her, and sometime later, she was found pregnant.” He would never show or describe sexual acts, and if it ever did appear in the story, it was for the sole purpose of breeding hybrids and not just for the fuck of it. It was a situation that really only cropped up twice as far as I know, once in “The Curse of Yig,” when Audrey Davis kills a nest of four snakes and is forced to bear four snake-human hybrids in return. The second is in “The Horror at Red Hook,” where four women who were being held prisoner are discovered after a police raid. In both cases, the act of rape occurs off the page, and in both cases, the results of that forced sexual activity are hybrid children.

Not in this though. While no graphic penetration is shown, this book shows most of the act in a stark depiction. Brears is also given the trait of a sex addict, which I know pissed off some, but there was a deliberate reason why Moore did this: Moore wanted to show the sexual assault not only doing physical damage to Brears, but the mental damage it does as it feeds into her own addiction. Instead of being a person who gets to make the effort to battle her negative self-image and change her inability to control her behavior, she is thrown into a situation where she is nothing but a sexual object, and all choice has been brutally taken from her. It’s truly horrifying. The nudity and sex acts are not supposed to be “hot” or something a 40-year-old man-child can whack off to. This is supposed to be a horror show through and through, and Moore never downplays or ignores the horror of rape.

Spoilers follow for the next paragraph, just skip to end if you want to avoid any:

The ending itself is even more horrifying, with the Deep One freeing Brears from her captivity after realizing she is pregnant. Brears is seen months later writing on sexuality in Lovecraft’s works while taking leave from the FBI. She then decides to visit Sax, knowing he is the only one who will understand what she is about to tell him. This leads to a stunning realization in the climax when the two are discussing the concept of time where it’s revealed this child she is bearing is revealed to be the old god Cthulhu itself, which has insane potential ramifications for the sequel, Providence. I know it bothers some that Brears seems to be almost cocky here, but I read it as she has accepted that Ctuluhu would end the world, and she thinks the humans deserve it, especially after everything has been done to her.

Overall, I hate that I love this book as much as I do and I honestly have nothing else to say other than read it yourself and make your own judgment call. I’ll leave you with a quote from Brian K. Vaughan that sums up my thoughts perfectly: “Neonomicon is probably the darkest story Alan Moore has ever written, and definitely the best artwork of Jacen Burrows’ already stellar career. I don’t think it’s morally acceptable to love something so horrific, but I just cannot stop thinking about this book.” Neither can I Brian. Neither can I.

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Творчість Говарда Філіпса Лавкрафта для мене є не новою. Не скажу, що достатньо багато прочитав його повістей і оповідань, щоби плавати в його міфології, як Даґон у глибинах морів. Але прочитав «Повне зібрання прозових творів. Том І» цього письменника, яку видало «Видавництво Жупанського», і разом із достатньою кількістю прочитаних поодиноких творів, дає певне розуміння в цьому питанні.

Якщо розглядати такий вид мистецтва, яка маль��вані історії чи комікси, то мацаки Ктулху вже зустрічав у коміксі «Дослідження в Смарагді» («A study in Emerald») Ніла Ґеймана, де автор поєднав Шерлока Голмса та лафкрафтіанські мотиви. У світі «Чорного Молота» («Black Hammer») Джеффа Леміра, де був такий ваншотний комікс, як «Чорний Молот: Кту Луїза» («Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise») та навіть «Шерлок Франкенштейн і Легіон Зла» («Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil»), де побіжно автор торкається творчості Лавкрафта. І найголовніше, на мою скромну думку, всесвіт Геллбоя, який створив Майк Міньйола. Тому українське видання коміксу «Неономікон» («The Neonomicon») Алана Мура, особливо, цікаве, адже цей мальопис — данина творчості Говарда Філіпса Лавкрафта повною мірою.

Це видання є збіркою, що складається з двох частин, «Подвір’я» («The Courtyard») і її пізніший сиквел із чотирьох частин «Неономікон» («The Neonomicon»).

Сценарієм обидвох цих коміксів займався Алан Мур, а намалював Джейсен Барровз.
У коміксі «Подвір’я» таємний федеральний агент Алдо Сакс розслідує, здавалося б, не пов’язану, але ідентичну серію вбивств, які ведуть до певної субкультурної організації, одержимої Лавкрафтом. Ця робота під прикриттям приводить його до таємничого наркотику під назвою Акло, від якого люди починають верзти нісенітниці незрозумілою мітичною мовою. Чи узагалі не мовою. У результаті він потрапляє в пастку лавкрафтівського божевілля та зустрічається із невимовними жахами, які перевертають усе в ньому.

«Неономікон» же продовжує події, які трапилися в коміксі «Подвір’я», де головними героями є агенти Лампер і Брірз. Після того, як вони відвідали Алдо Сакса в психіатричній лікарні, федерали розпочинають власне розслідування з місця, де він зупинився Алдо Сакс. І воно призводить до таких відкриттів, що уява людини не може це змалювати голові. Усе, як у творах Лавкрафта, тільки тут нам допомагає геніальний Джейсен Берровз, який до жахливих дрібниць все чемно візуалізовує для нас. Відверто, тут присутньо ще більше екстремально-жахливого лайна, аніж у історії про
федерала Алдо Сакса. І це лякає.

Будь-хто, хто знайомий із творчістю Алана Мура, знає, що він — божевільний геній із гострим відчуттям того, як його роботу сприйматимуть. Тому не боїться робити й показувати те, що вважає за потрібне. Це гарно підкреслюють слова Ґарта Енніса з передмови: «Цього чоловіка не зупинити». Скажу, прочитавши комікс «Подвір’я», мені хотілося ще, більше історії про Алдо Сакса. Але закидати якісь претензії Муру марно, адже він легко спіймав на гачок, розклав усе лаконічно й чітко, щоби взагалі не виникало ніяких запитань.

У цих історіях Алан Мур виходить за рамки написаного Лавкрафтом, щоби більше розкрити світ, який він уявляв. Твори Лавкрафта часто бувають расистські й асексуальні. Жінки майже ніколи не з’являються там, і секс ніколи не згадується. Але багато історій розповідають про нелюдське народження людей і різноманітних створінь пов’язаних із цим. Більшість сучасних письменників чи сценаристів ухиляються від сексу та расизму, коли віддають данину Лавкрафту. Натомість Мур вирішив помістити це в центр історії «Неономікону».

Світ, який тут малює автор, — це наш світ, у яком Говард Лавкрафт публікував свої роботи, і не був оцінений у свій час. Тому зараз користується сучасним відродженням популярності та поваги. Проте Алан Мур дрібка за дрібкою доносить до нас, нібито, Лавкрафт ґрунтував свої історії на реальних подіях. Це відбувається напрочуд майстерно й затягує в атмосферу коміксу з головою.

Чи потрібно, важливо знати лавкрафтіанську міфологію? Якщо коротко, ці знання дадуть розуміння багатьох аспектів у коміксі. І це я не тільки про омажі на різні твори, як «Морок над Інсмутом», «Коти Ултара», «Жах у Ред-Гуку», «Поклик Ктулху», «Даґон» та ін., що розкидані по цих двох комікси. А сприйняття всього прочитаного й побаченого через призму міфів Ктулху, які сформують більш глибокі взаємозв’язки між роботами Лавкрафта та Мура. Але це зовсім не означає, що ці комікси не можна читати людям, які взагалі не знайомі із творчістю Говарда Філіпса Лавкрафта. Скажу, що вам навпаки потрібно читати, тому що навіть у такому випадку отримаєте потужну містичну, детективнну, горорну історію, яка змусить відчувати невимовний жах досить часто.

Щось майже нічого не написав толкове про малюнок Джейсена Барровза. Але і й так зрозуміло, що він крутий. Тому купуйте, читайте, насолоджуйтеся, лякайтеся, гидіться… Адже нам ще «Провіденс» потрібний українською мовою.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest, the only reason I picked this up to read is on principle. My local public library director pulled this from the shelves after a parental complaint, not even following the policies the library has for contested items. It was properly shelved with other graphic novels and not in the childrens' section, but a parent didn't like that her daughter had gotten her hands on something with this content. The graphic novel remains censored at that library a year later, but the academic library I work for ordered a copy so that people in the area could make their own decisions (25% of our interlibrary loan requests come from the county library.) You can read more about the censorship case on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website.

While "graphic novel" does not always mean the content is violent or sexual and refers to the content being graphical, in this case, the content includes drugs, sex, violence, violent sex, violent drugs, mythical beings causing some of these elements, it's all in there. The art doesn't shy away from the subject matter except for when one character is blissfully without her contact lenses (and some of the frames are blurry); this is not for the faint of heart and this is not a case of good winning over evil, where you may feel the violence is justified. The art is vivid, and the first part of the story is all in long narrow frames that lend a late-at-night, don't-look-under-the-bed feeling to the story.

I'm not a huge Lovecraft fan, but I've read more of it since joining up with the SFF Audio guys. I'm not sure I will read it, ever again, because I'm not sure I'll be able to without thinking of this graphic novel. If you enjoy those tales of unspeakable horror, you might enjoy this graphic novel, but in this story the unspeakable is revealed. Personally, I'd rather leave the story with someone disappearing into a swampy grave.

Still, censorship is bad, and information should be free. I made my own decision, and so should everyone else. And parents should be aware of what their children are reading, whether it is at the library or on the internet. /end soap box

[Mirnes Alispahić · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if Lovecraft would approve of this kind of Cthulhu mythos story where gore and sex are aplenty, but this has to be one of the best Cthulhu mythos stories nonetheless. A sequel to the Alan Moore's The Courtyard, the story follows two FBI agents who try to discover what happened to Aldo Sax that turned him into a vicious killer. Not only him but dozens of others across the state. Little did they know of what awaited them. Also, the part where Brears used to be a sex addict... Not sure how much that was needed as it doesn't add anything to the character and it's only briefly brushed as a hate toward herself. Maybe if Moore put some effort into it, it would make more sense. This way, not really. Unfortunately, Jacen's drawings again look like a childish doodle on some pages, and the coloring is plain bad. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

[Amy (Other Amy) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Courtyard" is almost good, and definitely better than Neonomicon. Neonomicon, in turn, is much better than Providence. I could almost call it a worthwhile read. Unfortunately, there's a kind of uncanny valley with men writing women, where instead of a badass woman, you get what a man thinks a badass woman would be, if women could be badass. That's what you get here. Enjoy the on-screen rape of the nymphomaniac, I guess. Excuse me while I quietly file Alan Moore in the 'overrated' section.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get past Alan Moore’s adolescent obsession with sex and sexual violence, which personally I find a bit creepy (in a bad way) and predictable, you’ll discover that his take on Lovecraft is clever, amusing and well drawn.

[Bracken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Irredeemably gross and misogynistically rapey. I am officially DONE with Alan Moore.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Update: This is basically a better version of the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QFwo5...

Now, the idea of Alan Moore writing a Lovecraft comic sounds *amazing*, doesn't it? :D At the mention of such a concept, visions of a Lovecraft tale on the scale of "Watchmen" or "From Hell" or "V for Vendetta" fill one's mind. And GODDAMN if that wouldn't be amazing.

Yeeeeeah...that's not what we get here. At four issues, "Neonomicon" is quite brief, and given its quality, that might be a good thing. Issue 1 is tremendously awful--it's literally so bad that I almost didn't bother with the rest. Moore gives us two protagonists: a black cop with no real personality to speak of, and his recovering-nymphomaniac partner, whose nymphomania appears to be the only noteworthy personality trait, so *obviously* it's what the characters have to talk about in regards to her all the time. The lackluster characters might be intentional--a comment, perhaps on Lovecraft's own tendencies to make his human protagonists lackluster--but that doesn't make them any less dull to follow. Lovecraft made up for his dull protagonists by giving them a gripping, intelligent voice and by pitting them against incredible, unstoppable monsters like Cthulhu.

Too bad Cthulhu never shows up here.

"WHAT?" you scream. "No Cthulhu? But HOW CAN YOU HAVE LOVECRAFT WITHOUT CTHULHU?"

Ask Alan Moore. Rather than having unbeatable tentacly gods who see us as ants or even mind-bending visual monstrosities like shoggoths--

"WHAT?" you interrupt. "NO SHOGGOTHS EITHER? HOW CAN YOU HAVE LOVECRAFT WITHOUT SHOGGOTHS? If there's no Cthulhu and no Shoggoths, do ANY Lovecraftian monsters show up in this?"

--Well, he *does* give us a Deep One. Just one. And Issue 4 shows the Dreamlands. And there's a creepy dude with a veil over his mouth, who is hinted to be the human guise of one of the Elder Gods. Issue 1 also shows a dead humanoid monsterous-thingy with a REALLY big vagina. But it's all very, *very* small scale. Shit, even that Aquaman vs. Cthulhu one-shot in "The Brave and the Bold" had more scale than this! So put all your visions of an epic Moore Ctulhu story out of your mind.

That said, let's try and look at "Neonomicon" on its own merits--let's try taking it for what's there. (...Because it's Alan Moore. -__- )

Issue 1 goes on to show our unlikable cop protagonists infiltrate a punk show, where the cultists have mohawks. Wish I was making this up. It's embarrassingly cliche to pit the young outcasts as evil cultists, and is part of why I found Issue 1 so unlikable. Besides, it's *metal* that usually has Lovecraft themed lyrics, not punk--look at Cradle of Filth's "Cthulhu Dawn" or Septic Flesh's "Lovecraft's Death."

Another thing I saw as immediately problematic was that Moore decided to set "Neonomicon" in our world, where Lovecraft's works exist (presumably because he was trying to warn the world of the elder gods and such). As a result, the cops must read Lovecraft to understand the cultists' motives. I'm not precisely sure why, but the execution of this concept just didn't gel. It came across as cheesy fourth-wall-breaking, when Lovecraft is meant to be *scary.*

Issue 2 was, however, an improvement, as Black Cop and Nympho infiltrate a creepy orgy-cultist group. The initial setup doesn't quite work since the characters don't, but once they start their infiltration...things get nasty. Really, really nasty. Very quickly. Unattractive middle aged people get naked and there's basically a lot of sex, and some of this sex isn't entirely consensual...or human. The issue ends with a big cliffhanger, and Issue 3 picks up where it left off. These two strong, disturbing middle issues are why I gave this disappointing series 3 stars. However, they also won't be for everyone, and those who can't handle their content will probably find this book complete trash.

So your opinion of this book will boil down to this: do you want to see a Deep One getting a handjob?

...I didn't either.

Stick to Hans Rodionoff's "Lovecraft," Cyriak's "Something," or the short film Late Bloomer for some far superior Eldritch creepiness.

[Ross Byrne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, here we go: if you love Lovecraft like I do, and you are a fan of Alan Moore, like I am, then stay as far away from Neonomicon as is humanly possible, because it's an insult to both. Moore has described the book as 'the most unpleasant thing I've ever written.' and on those terms at least, it lives up to its premise. A sequel to his geniunely chilling and enjoyable short story The Courtyard, inspired by a poem in Lovecraft's Fungi From Yuggoth cycle, Neonomicon takes the worst excesses of something like the New French Extremity movement in French cinema, where outrageous or disturbing subject matter is plastered indiscriminately across the narrative from beginning to end under the guise of moralistic grandstanding, and applies this to the comics medium, resulting in a work that's miserable to look at, miserable to read.

While the idea of uncovering the sexual aspects left unexplored by H.P.L., and acknowledging his admitted racist leanings has merit, what's unfolded on the pages of Neonomicon is a flat, glowering squib of a non-story, where any spark of character, plot, or dialogue is submerged in the relentless grimness of what the writer felt we should be appalled by, as if this information was previously unknown to the reading public.

Lovecraft's work succeeds and has endured despite the period prejudices evident in the author's personality, Moore is a writer whose work normally rates and resonates on a number of levels; this misguided effort (written primarily, we're told, to pay off a tax-bill)isn't going to do anything to rectify the problematic nature of rape and racism in genre fiction, and only leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

[Mesoscope · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I am not a big Alan Moore fan, I was beguiled into giving Neonomicon a try by its fabulous premise - a modern-day, Lovecraftian tale of mystery and madness.

Moore apparently believes that the best way to build upon Lovecraft's legacy is to add long episodes of truly horrific sadism and sexual violence. In general, I'm deeply put-off by Moore's fascination with such material, and his tendency to dwell at length on wicked characters doing really monstrous things.

I do not object to such portrayals in fiction if it's done to some purpose, but Moore gives the impression that he simply enjoys it; or rather, that he is obsessed with it, and can't stop himself from returning to the scene of the crime, to stare repeatedly at some great wound in the human heart.

Readers looking for the epic postmodern architectonics of Watchmen will find a work of much more modest scope - it contains enough plot for a short story of about eight pages in length. There are some strong ideas in it, but on the whole I found the experience of reading it stomach-turning and entirely without joy.

I was also not impressed by the undistinguished, cartoonish artwork, which did little to convey the shocking intensity of Lovecraft's creations.

[Miles Reid-lobatto · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a hard one to review. I think Alan Moore is a brilliant writer and his work in the comic industry is well deserved of praise (V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Saga of the Swamp Thing) and critical acclaim. But the two interconnected stories here, The Courtyard and Neonomicon show Alan at his good and his bad and also shows off a rather disturbing trend in his work.

The Courtyard is the best story of the two, throwing the Lovecraftian Mythos into the seedy world of back street drug dealings, Lovecraft meets 'The Wire' as it were. It's not a Alan penned comic, it's an adaptation of one of his short stories. It really doesn't show off the fantastic flair of his comic-book work. It's a neat little tale and is a neat approach to the Cthulhlu Mythos, taking it away from the usual trappings that more pedestrian Mythos tales can spin in the Universe.


Neonomicon is a much more grotesque and graphic tale. It has much in the way of disturbing imagery and would have amassed a whole lot more controversy if it had been a film or had come from the hands of a different writer. Indeed, I think that Alan Moore's well deserved praise as a writer also goes hand in hand that we become a lot more willing to let a lot of things in his work go simply because he is THE Alan Moore. Here, following up from The Courtyard, two FBI Agents (one of them a former Sex Addict, something that is brought up again and again but yet I find little to no reason for it to be there, it feels like a simple one-line description of a character, no depth, no 3rd dimension, that's all she ever is) find themselves investigating a Lovecraft-Inspired Sex Cult... and it's here that the story simply decides to go off the rails and most of the second chapter is dedicated to a rapacious orgy. And most of the third chapter is occupied with Fish-Monster/FBI Agent rape (plus a hand job), which honestly feels gratuitous and seems to be that the story itself is obsessed with the squeamish approach to sexuality in Lovecraft's work. Moore himself in interviews has mentioned that is intent with the story was to write a Lovecraftian story that did not hide behind the attitudes of the 1930s censorship standards and morality. In one way, this is a perfectly valid concern and approach, the rascist and sexual attitudes of Lovecraft tend to be glossed over by modern readers and simply shrugged off as 'oh, that's how it was at the time', as a lot of people do with Robert E. Howard and Conan. But what results is a story that becomes all about rape with the subtext of 'Gosh, Lovecraft himself was afraid of sex', not even a subtext, a good deal of Lovecraft as a person is discussed in terms of his distaste of sex as an act. A liteary critique of both the artist and his work which comes off more like school-yard bullying than anything else.

Of course, this is not the first time that Alan Moore has used rape as a story-telling device. But given that Alan Moore is now free from editorial concerns or very simply, the comics code, he can throw it there on the page for us to see, but now it honestly feels pornographic, shocking but no longer horrific. Abby's reactions to the realisation that her Uncle Arcane is inhabiting the body of her husband in 'Swamp Thing' back in the 80s is a lot stronger and horrific. After reading Neonomicon, I began to look back on all the Alan Moore I've read and how much rape as plot device or rape as threat to female character is used. It honestly does not feel shocking any more, rape is an obscene act and to use it as liteary short-hand is almost just as bad as not talking about it. When rape is used in a lot of fiction, it is either for some form of titilation of as a cheap plot device. Alan Moore is just as guilty of using rape in these ways, it does not address the issue, it does not allow us to find a way to approach rape or even talk about it. To use it for shock and very rarely address ramifications is demeaning, it takes away the shock and the power of the act that we need to address in our society and just makes it a cheap plot device. Neonomicon feels like cheap pornography which does much to affect my opinion of a fantastic author and my opinions of his greater works.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Moore pays tribute to H.P. Lovecraft. Really, what more do you need to know? Anyone familiar with Moore's work has already stopped reading and is rushing to the nearest bookshop or library to read this themselves. The rest of you would be advised to do likewise. Still reading? Very well ... So the FBI is investigating a series of murders. Although they all show similar characteristics, they were definitely committed by different, unrelated people. The attempts to find a connection lead them to an underground club in New York. There are references to Lovecraft and Chambers and Clark Ashton Smith and other writers. One unusual aspect of the story is that the characters actually notice these references and this figures into the story. They're not simply inside jokes for informed readers to feel smug about spotting. The squeamish should know that there are a few graphic scenes of sex and violence. They aren't gratuitous--I'm not sure Moore is capable of writing gratuitous scenes--and it's a testament to Jacen Burrows' art that these are presented very matter-of-factly, not leered at. This is an excellent book, and fans of Moore and/or Lovecraft should definitely check it out.

[Roman Buhaichuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Як людина, що не пізнала геніальності Алана Мура, я скептично ставлюся до його загравань з підтекстами. Тут автор намагається досліджувати сексуальність Лавкрафта та його творів у доволі огидний і провокаційний спосіб. Головна героїня (спойлер) пізнає сутність підводного міста Рл'єху після того, як її тиждень ґвалтувала риба з пенісом. І не надто помітно, щоб жінка (чи будь-хто інший) якось переймалася цим фактом опісля. А ще головна героїня — німфоманка, яка довго лікувалася від сексуальної залежності. Мабуть, Алан Мур вирішив, що колишня німфоманка має краще впоратися з численними зґвалтування (ні).

Усі персонажі якщо не расисти, то гомофоби, або і те, і те. Вочевидь, так Мур хотів «оживити» Лавкрафта у своїх персонажах, але зробив це надто нав'язливо. Читати це сьогодні й комусь рекомендувати якось незручно, бо ж треба буде пояснювати глибинні контексти автора і те, чому всі всіх називають під*рами.

Утім, загалом це цікаве трактування Лавкрафта, я збрешу, якщо скажу, що мені було не цікаво дістатися до кінця історії. Але шляхи, якими мене весь цей час вів Мур, надзвичайно суперечливі.

[Iryna K · Rating 5 out of 5]

У збірці два комікси - Courtyard та власне Неономікон.
Перший має нуарний вайб - розповідь неприятного, але геніального агент фбр про розслідування серії дивних вбивств, що привели його у світ (навколо)Лавкрафтових міфів.
Другий - продовження цього розслідування, яке ведуть наступні фбрівці, де ще більше лавкрафтівщини, оргії та спроби описати не-людське сприйняття часопростору, сконцентроване у фразі з Провіденсу "Now is before" (думала, як гарно перекласти українською, не придумала).
Не знаю, як би ці коміккси приймалися у відриві від Провіденса (який надає їм глибини), але у такому порядку, як я їх читала, чи просто частина великої історії. Я була б рада, якби у персонажів було більше часу розкритися, але поза цим історія (жахлива, моторошна, сповнена хтонічних кошмарів, насильства і апокаліптичного передвісництва) прекрасна, тому мене все устроїло)

[Erik Erickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to say this but this book is not very good. I love Lovecraft, and most of Alan Moore's work, but this is mediocre at best, childish and revolting at its worst.

It's got some overall ideas that are clever, but once the FBI agent is shot, everything becomes way too silly. The way the female agent acted and talked during the horrifying acts she was subjected to was goofy enough to take me totally out of it. Being a sex addict does not suffice to explain that kind of a reaction.

Unfortunately I don't enjoy everything Alan Moore writes and this is one I strongly recommend avoiding unless you're a die-hard completist.

[Kirsty Cabot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edit: taken down a star to 2 stars. On reflection, it's just too rapey to be good. I liked all the stuff that wasn't rapey or crazily sexually deviant.

Not really sure how to rate this. It was seriously fucked up. Like. Probably one of the most fucked up stories I've read. Complete with pictures. But the artwork was good.

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually explicit and disturbing, I bought this solely because it has Alan Moore as the author. What I got is more than what I have asked for. Jacen Burrows is indeed a talented artist. He is able to keep the intensity of the scenes, be it the mystery, the sensuality and the gore. Oh the gore. I wasn't ready for it, yet loved every bit (of flesh) of detail. Neonomicon is a graphic material which is definitely not for children.

If you are of the conservative type or easily grossed out with sick mature themes of gore, sex and violence, skip this book. For many parts I thought that perhaps the graphic detail are way too much. Neonomicon gives it all, it gives it all fast and hard.

But more than that is an underlying HP Lovecraft theme that is both salty and putrid that you can almost smell it in the book. Alan Moore certainly handles this theme with care, without giving all of the details. It seems that he is always hiding something from us (for a sequel maybe?) and that suspended thought lingers and haunts you for a while.

Neonomicon is not for all. But yes, I enjoyed it very much.

[Baal Of · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have really mixed feelings about this graphic novel. It is Alan Moore, and it's the Lovecraft world, which ought to be a great combination. When the story revolves around the weird aspects of the world, it works, but the departure into sex and rape is really uncomfortable. One the one hand, it's true that real life cults have done some pretty horrible sexual things to their members, and to unrelated victims, so in that regard, the actions of the Dagon cultists are not actually unbelievable. However, the way the agents just walk into the situation seems to contrived. As others have noted, the characterizations are not very strong, which is disappointing for an Alan Moore story. If this tale had been more hallucinogenic like his work on Promethea or Swamp Thing, it could have been much better.

[David Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

*WARNING* This review contains a significant spoiler. I have posted a heads up at the appropriate moment, so it is possible to skip the section I’ve marked. However, it is difficult to offer a considered opinion on this book without covering this specific issue.

Alan Moore’s Neonomicon is a follow up to his earlier work, The Courtyard, which is included in this trade edition. The earlier story focuses on Agent Sax, and follows his investigation into a series of horrific murders connected to the new street drug Aklo.

Once The Courtyard story concludes we jump forward a couple of years and on to Neonomicon, where we meet Agents Brears and Lamper who are in the process of interrogating the now insane Sax.

Agent Brears is the first to make a connection between their current case and the world/works of H.P. Lovecraft, and even for those with just a passing knowledge on the subject, there are clues and references aplenty.

Fairly early on it becomes apparent that Agent Brears is the brains of the duo, she is also recovering a sex addict. I did wonder what the point was for the character having a ‘sex addiction’, but it ties in to events later in the story following a brutal and grotesque rape scene that involves not only gang-rape, but also rape by a Lovecraftian monster – I say scene, but actually these are events that are played out in graphic detail throughout a huge swathe of the book.

It goes without saying that Lovecraft was a racist and likely a misogynist, too. At the very least his writing shows neither an understanding of, nor desire to engage with the feminine sex, and the only hinted worth for the female form seems to have been as (unwilling?) participants in secret rituals that resulted in inhuman spawn birthed from eldritch creatures.

Given my words in the previous paragraph, it is possible that Neonomicon sits as the most apt of Lovecraftian tales for the modern age. Every nasty act and intention that ol’ H.P. could only hint at due to the shackles of his time, it is splashed across the pages here in inglorious detail. Make no mistake, considered on the story alone, Neonomicon scores highly as a fine story among the Mythos canon. However, it is also gruesome and nasty, and there are many who will be repulsed by the scenes depicted within.