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Post by lemming13 on Jun 6, 2011 8:27:46 GMT
 I saw glowing reviews of this collection on Amazon and thought - why not? I have had some excellent graphic versions of Cthulhu Mythos stories (I sincerely recommend John Coulthard's magnificent versions, and the collection The Starry Wisdom) - but this isn't. The art is average, on the whole, and a bit poor in some, and the stories have been badly edited. I can understand the need for a bit of cutting to make Lovecraft's stories a bit punchier, but in this case they haven't even bothered to make sure the cuts leave the story consistent. In The Haunter of the Dark, for instance, they cut out all references to the missing reporter Lillibridge until Blake finds his body in the church, then carry on under the assumption that you (and Blake) already have all the information they sliced out about who this dead man is. And why cut out the FBI raid from Shadow Over Innsmouth? Beats me. I certainly wish I hadn't wasted my money on this, anyway. |
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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 6, 2011 9:04:20 GMT
The idea of someone having the audacity to cut Lovecraft's stories like this astounds me. That would definitely place this anthology beyond the pale for me. And make me think twice before buying anything edited by this person.
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Jun 6, 2011 9:48:01 GMT
Dan, if you're out there, please tell us it was desperation for the rent money, someone made you do it at gunpoint or it was a mistake at the publishers.
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Post by andydecker on Jun 6, 2011 17:23:29 GMT
They edited the stories?  Thats unbelievable. I would never buy such a thing if I knew it beforehand. And avoid such a publisher on principle. |
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Post by killercrab on Jun 7, 2011 3:14:47 GMT
Comics adaptions sometimes need edits to work in the form. It's no biggie - don't lose sleep over it.
KC
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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 7, 2011 7:07:09 GMT
From the original comments, though, the edits seem to have taken out some important plot issues and continuity, which is still appalling whatever format it's in. Films are bad enough - actually, you couldn't possibly get any worse! - but this does look pretty bad from the review. A timely warning.
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 7, 2011 8:22:39 GMT
That was my problem, David; it wasn't editing, it was butchery. As I say, I've got a number of graphic works in my library which feature versions of existing stories (not all by HPL), and this is the first time I've found such clumsy and unacceptable chopping. The Ligotti collections, Nightmare Factory 1 and 2, have cut down the stories, but the continuity was maintained and the important elements retained. In this case, major parts of the stories have been cut to where it doesn't make sense any more. I knew why because I was familiar with the originals, but readers new to Lovecraft might actually think his stories were this disjointed and badly crafted, and that upsets me. It is unfair to any writer to hack their work like this.
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Post by killercrab on Jun 7, 2011 9:03:44 GMT
Again films , books and comics ARE different mediums and I wish people would accept this but they don't. The biggest problem for any creator adapting Lovecraft is his LACK OF DIALOGUE. He needs reformatting for comics , fuck he needs rewriting and I'm sorry if that offends. Best stick with the books if all you want is that with pretty pictures attached. I think Self Made's book is a step in the right direction and I wish 'em luck.
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Post by David A. Riley on Jun 7, 2011 10:05:49 GMT
I must admit I'm no longer a big fan of comics. I used to be years ago, but I would find it a chore to read one now. I know. I've tried.
Lovecraft's primacy is in the written word. Any other adaptation just lessens his creation, in my view at least.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jun 7, 2011 11:19:57 GMT
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Post by andydecker on Jun 7, 2011 13:32:46 GMT
That´s sad. On the other hand it is a blessing in disguise. Even if Del Toro manages to make good movies whithout succumbing to the Hollywood school of explosions and heavy-handedness, the thought of seeing this as an action thriller is not a good one. And with the involvement of Cruise ... ugh. The problem here of course is that the story has no great movie-plot. They discover some alien corpses, they discover a city, there is the mother of all flashbacks, they see a monster and flee. End of story. Not exactly material for a vapid summer movie. One dreads to think what inane back-stories and of course new plots would have to be introduced here to make it work. You know the drill, Dyer now has a phobia of snow but still leads the expedition while fighting with his ex about the visitiation rights of his daugther which is now a member of the expedition. And is in love with Danforth. And the waking Elder Ones will conquer the world while impersonating the members of the expedition ... okay, wrong movie  I must admit I'm no longer a big fan of comics. Any other adaptation just lessens his creation, in my view at least. Okay, just to be on the safe side. What exactly are we talking about? I understood this book as a reprint of the prose stories illustrated with new drawings. Not just another new comics adaption. Which would make the cuts in the story understandable as such adaptions are seldom 1 on 1. |
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Post by killercrab on Jun 8, 2011 10:46:16 GMT
Okay, just to be on the safe side. What exactly are we talking about? I understood this book as a reprint of the prose stories illustrated with new drawings. Not just another new comics adaption. Which would make the cuts in the story understandable as such adaptions are seldom 1 on 1.
It's all comic strips adapting various stories. In fact a copy just arrived and it's fresh and fuckin' lovely to look at - no wonder it's introducing new fans to the wonder of HPL sauce!
KC
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 8, 2011 15:59:44 GMT
Sorry, KC, got to disagree with you there - the artwork is good on one or two, but mostly no better than average, and the cuts aren't well done. Like I said before (twice) as a graphic story enthusiast I understand the need to edit and reformat stories for a new medium, but I don't see the need to make a botch job of it and make it look as though the original author didn't know how to write. Word for word reproduction isn't necessary, but keeping the sense and continuity of the story is only fair to the author. If you really want a good graphic intro to Lovecraft, like I said, I'd go for the John Coulthard stuff; the artwork there is uniformly superb and the stories very well adapted to the medium. The Starry Wisdom has a few items that don't really work for me, and isn't all illustrated, but the Alan Moore story The Courtyard is excellent.
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Post by killercrab on Jun 8, 2011 17:01:12 GMT
Only read The Dunwich Horror so far - can't see how anyone could knock this combo of story and pictures...
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 9, 2011 12:14:26 GMT
Oh, that explains it - that's one of the best for art and editing both. Try The Colour Out of Space - that's been sloppily edited, and to be honest I thought the art work wasn't well thought out (the family affected by the colour start out looking like deformed idiots, which really does detract from the impact of their decay under the influence of the alien intrusion).
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Thats unbelievable. I would never buy such a thing if I knew it beforehand. And avoid such a publisher on principle.
