Gou TanabeRezensionen

Beautiful adaptation of the Lovecraft's famous novel "Mountains of Madness". Lovecraft's stories are rather tricky for visual media like comic (as several books I read before proved) because a lot of things takes place in the mind of the reader.

Mr Tanabe manages to give beautiful visuals to the story without losing both clarity (even when depicting the otherworldly horrors) and that creeping feeling of dread as we follow our protagonists enter deeper and deeper into maddening world of the Elder Ones.

Story in itself is adaptation of the novel - ambitious expedition to Antarctica will soon find itself in great peril as their archaeological and zoological research pushes them more and more towards the mysterious mountain chain deep in Antarctica.

Art is just gorgeous with some of the two-page art that is of poster quality. Author proves that black and white comic art can be very expressive when done by a true master.

Highly recommended to all fans of H.P. Lovecraft's stories and beautiful visual art.

Conclusion of the story - after witnessing the horror of the zoological research party camp, leader of the Miskatonic University expedition and his assistant go to search for only missing member of the decimated camp. This will bring them into the very mysterious city behind the Antarctica's black massif from where they will come back drastically changed.

Everything I said for the volume #1 is true for this one too - gorgeous art and excellent graphical adaptation of Lovecraft's famous novel.

Recommended to all fans of Lovecraft stories and beautiful visual art.

This is shorter volume containing adaptations of three short stories by Lovecraft. Unlike "Mountains of Madness" these short stories are a little bit slower, although this can be attributed to the general Lovercraft's style (and general style of horror stories of the time).

Art is again pure joy to look at, author truly manages to portray the horror of the moment and despair in our protagonists as they encounter horrific creatures from beyond the veil. I truly like his work, especially two-page panoramas from the story Temple.

Excellent graphic novel, highly recommended to all fans of Lovecraft and beautiful art.

Wow, what a fantastic adaptation of the classic Lovecraft story. Essential reading for any fan of Lovecraft's eldritch tales.

The first volume is a creepy setup for this second volume where things really come off the rails! Gou's artwork of the haunted Antarctic landscape and landscapes of unknown shapes is stunning. His black and white fine line work really portrays the haunted landscape to maximum effect. Also, his interpretations of the slithering Elder Ones is fantastic and terrifying.

My only complaint is why is this two volumes? They are separated logically but I really don't see a reason for it. Put it all together in one volume as one complete story.

A great read and highly recommended.

This first volume is an excellent setup for the madness to come in the second volume!

Hauntingly delicious manga adaptations of three Lovecraft stories, "The Temple," " The Hound," and "The Nameless City." Tanabe's art really sets a creepy and haunted mood throughout this collection. Highly recommended for any Lovecraft fan. (No tentacles, though....)

A stunning new interpretation on Lovecraft's classic Antarctic horror. The story zips along and the artwork is point perfect for depicting the landscape and the terrors. A fine addition to the great man's influence.

Manga en deux tomes dont je fais ici la critique globale.

La première chose à aborder, ce sont les dessins : au prime abord, on a l'impression d'avoir affaire à des ébauches, des études. Les traits ont l'air mal assurés et brouillons. Mais passé les premières pages, on devine une technique particulière, je ne suis pas connaisseur en la matière mais on a l'impression que les traits sont très rectilignes. Comme si ces dessins sont au trait ce que le pointillisme est au point (l'antithèse de la linéographie). S'il y a une impression de fait à la va-vite, la mise en scène est soignée, les visages expressifs, très moderne je dirais : j'ai l'impression de voir un cadrage en gros plan avec focale courte comme on le voit de plus en plus au ciné ou à la TV. Ca a comme résultat de donner une ambiance bien particulière à ce manga, particulièrement malsaine, je dirais.

Et ça tombe bien puisque c'est l'idée du récit. Bon, je ne vais pas vous spoiler : c'est l'histoire d'un jeune japonais du XVII (ou XVIIIème siècle me rappelle plus) qui rentre au service d'une ravissante musicienne quadragénaire (je ne vais pas vous assommer avec les termes techniques de shamisen et tout le tintouin) qui lui propose donc d'habiter chez lui et devenir son homme à tout faire. Le souci, c'est que cette dame a un lourd passif et que le jeune homme est particulièrement influençable. Alors que la relation professionnelle tourne au vinaigre, le récit plonge dans l'irrationnel et le fantasmagorique. Je m'arrête là.

Ca marche. D'autant plus que la nouvelle est brève, deux tomes. Un petit aller-retour sur Wikipedia nous apprendra que c'est une adaptation libre d'un conte japonais bien sordide et je remercie l'auteur de nous avoir fait sortir de l'habituelle mythologie de type "miyazakienne". C'était beau, malsain, fascinant, je recommande.