After visiting his father in Arkham Sanitarium, young Howard Lovecraft ignores his father's warning and uses the legendary Necronomicon to open a portal to a strange, frozen world filled with horrifying creatures and grave danger. Alone and scared, Howard befriends a hideous creature he names Spot who takes him to the castle of the king where he is captured and sentenced to death.
Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The latest in the fertile field of Lovecraft spinoffs follows a young Howard, aka H.P., Lovecraft through an adventure in a dangerous netherworld. The plot takes elements of Lovecraft's actual childhood, including his father's nervous breakdown, and uses them to introduce readers to tropes in Lovecraft's work. The young Howard goes through a portal to another universe, where a mysterious book holds the key to freeing a society of children from an evil power that has encased them in a frozen, hostile world. Howard takes on the quest with the help a giant squid, facing danger and finding many of his assumptions are false. A chilly watercolor palate links the artwork of the various artists—each chapter has a different one—and the emotions on Howard's face become more complex as the story grows darker. Although marketed for all ages, the book, will likely appeal more to younger readers, who should find the plot's twists and turns and the young protagonist appealing. Older readers and hardcore Lovecraft fans may be put off by the juvenile dialogue and some of the panels that play up the cuteness, rather than the horror, of the story. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
This graphic novel opens on Christmas Eve, 1894, with young Howard Lovecraft being led into a sanitarium to visit his hospitalized father. A few embellishments notwithstanding, it's a true story—until his father begins ranting about a book that Howard must destroy: “It's evil! Eeeeeeeeeeevil! Hahahahaha!” That same night, of course, Howard's mother hands him that very book and soon he is reading aloud the kind of unpronounceable nonsense Lovecraft fans adore: “Nr'fga' ra'nazen flugn.” Like that, he is whisked away to the icy kingdom of R'yleh, where he befriends a tentacle-tusked beast whom Howard dubs “Spot.” Before their adventure is over—fans, breathe a sigh of relief—the names of both Dagon and Cthulhu will be invoked. Though sometimes his action can be disorienting, Podesta succeeds at giving his young protagonists the look of haunted dolls and his settings a Caligari cant. Grumps miffed by the current trend to infantilize Lovecraftian mythos will not be comforted by the modern plot arc and the constant quipping, but even they will appreciate the upsetting twist ending and the haunting final panel. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Art Turner
Format:Paperback
This slender graphic novel interested me for a couple of different reasons: (1) I'm an avid H.P. Lovecraft and comics fan thats always on the lookout for adaptions of the former's work and milieu into the latter form; (2) I'm the father of a 6-year-old girl who's starting to get into comics and graphic novels a bit and who has a fondness for fantasy-themed stories and fantastic creatures.
My verdict: I think this would make for entertaining reading for older pre-teens and for open-minded HPL fans. Younger kids might find it a little TOO scary (and will probably find the vocabulary a bit too advanced as well); dogmatic Cthulhu Mythos enthusiasts will probably suffer a brain aneurysm due to all the "incorrect" Mythos references. I myself found it charming and was pleasantly surprised by the rather dark ending. I probably won't be purchasing a copy for my lovable little monster, but it may be just perfect for yours.
My verdict: I think this would make for entertaining reading for older pre-teens and for open-minded HPL fans. Younger kids might find it a little TOO scary (and will probably find the vocabulary a bit too advanced as well); dogmatic Cthulhu Mythos enthusiasts will probably suffer a brain aneurysm due to all the "incorrect" Mythos references. I myself found it charming and was pleasantly surprised by the rather dark ending. I probably won't be purchasing a copy for my lovable little monster, but it may be just perfect for yours.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When you mention the name "Lovecraft", many things come to mind, most of them dealing with homages, pastiches, "reinventions" or even the subtle influence of "Lovecraftian" themes in a work. Regardless, it serves as a reminder that while H. P. Lovecraft may not have achieved widespread fame while he lived, his work has endured and influenced countless of writers after him. Anyone decently read in horror or dark fiction knows his name and possesses at least a passing knowledge of his legacy, one that has inspired short stories, novels, poems, role playing games, movies...even an episode of The Real Ghostbusters.
Seriously.
In any case, the world has become saturated with Lovecraft, so when a "new" Lovecraftian creation comes along, it's hard-pressed to stand out from all the rest. Howard Lovecraft & The Frozen Kingdom, written by Bruce Brown, does just that. Serious and tongue-in-cheek at the same time, this new graphic novel published by Arcana introduces us to a young Howard Lovecraft and his misadventures after receiving an early Christmas present from his deranged father - the legendary Necromonicon itself.
Brought to vivid life by Renzo Podesta, this four-chapter graphic novel regales perhaps the first of many adventures wrought by the dread Necromonicon. When young Howard Lovecraft accidentally opens a portal to the frozen kingdom of R'yleh, he's sucked into a world born of an "unholy marriage of fairy tales and nightmares". He's sent on a quest to recover a lost holy book from the awful demon responsible for R'yleh's fate, accompanied by a cheeky - though perhaps untrustworthy - being named Thu Thu Hmong. Howard survives his adventure, and though his asylum-bound father pleads with him to destroy the Necromonicon, he keeps it to himself, reveling in the wonders it may hold in store.
Perhaps The Frozen Kingdom's greatest strength is its willingness to wink at readers regarding Lovecraft's classic aura of doom and hopelessness. While Lovecraft die-hards may be put-off by its light tone, it shows us a NEW vision of Howard Lovecraft: precocious, whimsical, witty - maybe even a bit snotty - and hopeful, relatively untainted by the inevitable burden of "awful, unknowable things".
Seriously.
In any case, the world has become saturated with Lovecraft, so when a "new" Lovecraftian creation comes along, it's hard-pressed to stand out from all the rest. Howard Lovecraft & The Frozen Kingdom, written by Bruce Brown, does just that. Serious and tongue-in-cheek at the same time, this new graphic novel published by Arcana introduces us to a young Howard Lovecraft and his misadventures after receiving an early Christmas present from his deranged father - the legendary Necromonicon itself.
Brought to vivid life by Renzo Podesta, this four-chapter graphic novel regales perhaps the first of many adventures wrought by the dread Necromonicon. When young Howard Lovecraft accidentally opens a portal to the frozen kingdom of R'yleh, he's sucked into a world born of an "unholy marriage of fairy tales and nightmares". He's sent on a quest to recover a lost holy book from the awful demon responsible for R'yleh's fate, accompanied by a cheeky - though perhaps untrustworthy - being named Thu Thu Hmong. Howard survives his adventure, and though his asylum-bound father pleads with him to destroy the Necromonicon, he keeps it to himself, reveling in the wonders it may hold in store.
Perhaps The Frozen Kingdom's greatest strength is its willingness to wink at readers regarding Lovecraft's classic aura of doom and hopelessness. While Lovecraft die-hards may be put-off by its light tone, it shows us a NEW vision of Howard Lovecraft: precocious, whimsical, witty - maybe even a bit snotty - and hopeful, relatively untainted by the inevitable burden of "awful, unknowable things".
By Fritz0id
Format:Paperback
First of all: this comic does NOT intend to adhere to any form of Lovecraft or mythos canon. The author takes iconic characters, motifs and themes from Lovecraft & Co, and re-assembles them into a work that is entirely his own. It's a romping adventure and a childhood thriller. It can be compared it to Neil Gaiman's "Graveyard Book" in both tone and the fun it has with playing with Lovecraftian tropes. It does not share Gaiman's ambition or humanity, and had this been a book I'd only given the story three stars. But with comics, as with adventure movies, the visual execution can make all the difference. The art-work can only be described as luscious! (Or possibly an early warning sign of synaesthesia. Consuming the panels of the Frozen Kingdom gave me sensory thrills I usually associate with good food. I may possibly need to see a doctor about this). It is not often I pace myself reading a comic, but with this one I broke it down into thee sittings, as I felt it was inappropriate to consume all at once.
As a Lovecraft fan, I enjoyed it immensely once I understood that I had to see it through the same eyes you'd see "cast a deadly spell". It's good fun with familiar tropes.
I'd also recommend it to my partner, who is not a lovecraft fan. The adventurous fun and the yummy art do not require any prior knowledge; as far as I could see everything was properly introduced and explained as the story progressed. Possibly only the ending may lack some of its drama if you have really no idea who is Cthulhu.
As a Lovecraft fan, I enjoyed it immensely once I understood that I had to see it through the same eyes you'd see "cast a deadly spell". It's good fun with familiar tropes.
I'd also recommend it to my partner, who is not a lovecraft fan. The adventurous fun and the yummy art do not require any prior knowledge; as far as I could see everything was properly introduced and explained as the story progressed. Possibly only the ending may lack some of its drama if you have really no idea who is Cthulhu.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frozen Kingdom, Warm Story
Howard Lovecraft And The Frozen Kingdom is an original graphic novel, the brainchild of Bruce Brown. Read more
Published 15 months ago
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fabulous reimagining of what Lovecraft's childhood might have been
I read a lot of Lovecraft way back, and always wondered how he came to have such bizarre and nightmarish ideas. Read more
Published on May 5, 2011 by krm
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite what I was hoping for...
Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom is a production of Arcana, just released in 2010. It is a graphic novel, has ~ 94 pages and lists for $12.95. Read more
Published on March 19, 2010 by Matthew T. Carpenter
