Alan Moore's Neonomicon (Avatar) [Illustrated] [Paperback]

This consists of the Courtyard (previously published as a graphic novel) and the four issues of Neonomicon series.

Probably best not to read the blurb on the back cover as it does give away the plot of the Courtyard.
This is definitely an adult comic and bits of it were disturbing. I thought at times maybe it was slightly too explicit.

To get the most out of it you might need some knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft. That will likely explain why the book is so explicit in certain areas.

This isn't Moore's best work but I still enjoyed it. The plot is much less straightforward than it seems at first and as usual it is impressive how it all ties together.

The artwork does a very good job. Maybe the faces could do with a bit more variety but I thought that Jacen Burrows did a very credible job, especially with some of the more unearthly characters.

"Neonomicon" follows up "Alan Moore's The Courtyard" which was a comic book written by Antony Johnston based upon a short story by Moore, and drawn by the incomparable Jacen Burrows. This time Moore takes over writing duties and Burrows returns to once again lend his enormous talent to the art.

Not that you need to purchase "The Courtyard" as it's included with "Neonomicon" picking up the strand where it ended ambiguously on the face of the protagonist who has looked into the strange world beyond this one. It turns out he went mad, killed a load of people and is now safely locked up in a prison for the criminally insane, speaking an incomprehensible language.

The Mulder and Scully combo that follow up his case get taken back to the setting of "The Courtyard" and into a strange underground society based around the work of HP Lovecraft - or is the world Lovecraft described actually real?

"Neonomicon" is the most entertaining Alan Moore book I've read in a while. He's finally come back from his weird Tom Strong trip and put together this bizarre Lovecraftian story that's pretty damn good.

While some of the dialogue was a bit unrealistic - Moore choosing to shoehorn esoteric references to early twentieth century black magic practitioners and obscure fantasy writers into casual conversation between two federal agents between scenes - it was a minor point that could be overlooked (thought kind of ironic as Moore has one of his characters say that Lovecraft wasn't much of a writer).

Jacen Burrows' artwork continues to be entrancing, he really made the book come to life. His designs of Lovecraft's world were flawless and the gallery at the end of the book just shows that someone who isn't publishing his work with Lovecraft's is missing a trick. His choice to draw the book in four horizontal length panels per page really paid off - it felt like watching a movie at times.

This is an excellent comic book of fantasy and horror that references the work of one of the best horror writers of all time, hopefully renewing Lovecraft's work for new readers curious to see where Moore drew his inspiration from.

I love the eldritch writings of H.P. Lovecraft & also love the imaginative redefining of established genres by Alan Moore. And I utterly adored Moore's reworking of Lovecraft's stories in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (particularly the encounter between an ancient evil & Jeeves & Wooster), so this was a must-buy!

By way of introduction, this volume contains The Courtyard & is followed by its longer sequel, Neonomicon. When several unconnected people suddenly become killers who mutilate their victims in an identical, ritualised way, the FBI naturally take an interest. What they find is, as Lovecraft would say, "indescribable!"

Many elements of Moore's recent works are in evidence - magickal awakenings reminiscent of Promethea & some sexually explicit material which brings to mind Lost Girls & 25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom. Add to that some downright nasty elements & you can appreciate that this one is very much for adults only.

If you're not familiar with Lovecraft's work, then what you'll probably get from this is a particularly dirty horror story, beautifully illustrated by Jacen Burrows but flawed in places (the police procedurals are inaccurately sloppy for the sake of the plot & one of Burrows' splash pages doesn't quite work for me). If you're a fan of Lovecraft, you'll get a unique & quite brilliant new perspective on stories nearly 80 years old, reinterpreted in an unexpected & exciting way, which totally fits with the source material. It left me with much to ponder & a burning desire to once again reread the originals - this time with new eyes.

You know when you encounter genius because what it tells you seems so apparent that in hindsight, you're amazed that you didn't think of it yourself sooner. By that measure, this deceptively straightforward story is certainly a work of genius, as long as you're familiar with the source material. If not, you'll probably wonder what all the fuss is about...