Warning: Contains Spoilers

There’s a prevalent school of thought that what happens to us as young children has a great deal of impact on the later adult we become. If that’s the case, what events in his young life might have warped the psyche of H.P. Lovecraft and created the delightfully twisted mind that spawned the Cthulu Mythos? Writer Bruce Brown and Artist Renzo Podesta use this idea as a springboard into their whimsical horror story featuring young Howard as the protagonist.

Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom hits the shelves this fall from Arcana. It is available for pre-orders in PREVIEW now (The Diamond Order Code is: OCT09 0688). As with any independent release, pre orders are important to assure the release of the book, so if you like what you see, be sure to place your order.

Continued here:

http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/reviews/hlfk_review

Howard Lovecraft & the Frozen Kingdom

Publisher: Arcana Studio
Author: Bruce Brown
Artist: Renzo Podesta

It is Christmas Eve and six year old Howard Lovecraft and his mother pay a visit to his father in a sanitarium. The father rambles and keeps telling Howard to destroy the book. What book is he talking about? Has he really gone insane or is there more to this dark picture?

I grew up on comic books—literally—and HP Lovecraft is one of my biggest influences as a writer. I’ve read pretty much everything he’s written and many pastiches of his Cthulhu Mythos. So to me, the idea of taking a six year old Howard Lovecraft and dropping him in the universe we’re used to reading about in his stories was a brilliant idea. What if HP Lovecraft actually experienced some of those worlds and dimensions he wrote about?

Howard Lovecraft & the Frozen Kingdom is nothing less than a breath of fresh air, a labor of love from a writer who obviously knows the source material. Brown pens a fast-paced, often funny, fairy-tale-like story that keeps you glued to the panels. Artist Renzo Podesta paints some amazing splash pages throughout and his panels almost feel like they’re about to leap from the pages. The artwork fit the story like a glove.

The story is almost magical in a Lovecraftian kind of way (if that makes any sense). Lovecraft aficionados will feel they are on familiar territory here with a brief glimpse of the origins of R’yleh, mentions of the Jinn, talk of waking the slumbering one, and even a few panels with Dagon. Author Bruce Brown writes a compelling tale rooted in reality yet very surreal and filled with fantasy. The young Howard is already ahead of his time at the tender age of six in the way he speaks; I guess it can be attributed to the fact that he might very well have been a child prodigy. He has a good sense of humor and is even cocky at times. Aided by his sidekick — Thu Thu Hmong who Lovecraft renames Spot because it’s easier to remember—young Howard embarks on a journey filled with danger to recover a lost book. Saying more would ruin the fun.

Howard Lovecraft & the Frozen Kingdom is a graphic novel for all ages. It’s the kind of story you read in one sitting and that you will most likely re-read many more times. Lovecraft enthusiasts will love the original yarn Bruce Brown has spun with this one. I’m not sure if mainstream readers with no knowledge of Lovecraft or the Cthulhu Mythos will enjoy it as much, but comic book readers will surely appreciate this fresh take on one of genre fiction’s most beloved writers. It’d be great to witness more adventures of young Howard to see what happened later on to turn him into a recluse because he’s everything but in this tale. Bring on book two, I say! This little gem of a book comes highly recommended!

Alan Draven,
Author of Bitternest and Vengeance Is Mine