By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
We’ve talked about good Lovecraftian gift items for Christmas in the past two editions of Found on Net, including toys and fashion. This time, we turn to books and graphic novels.
First off, illustrator Ian Culbard’s graphic adaptation of At The Mountains of Madness is a very cute, and very timely, item, what with the snow and all. The style, which reminds me of Hergel’s Tintin, makes it a perfect gift for one of the younger Lovecraft aficionados in the family, if you don’t want them to wade through a thick tome.
I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, is the two-volume, non-fiction follow-up to S.T. Joshi’s H.P. Lovecraft: A Life. Joshi is, of course, the authority on Lovecraft and this is an exhaustive, thorough look at the man behind the Mythos.
A pricier (it sells for $300 on Amazon.com) item is H.P. Lovecraft: Masters of the Weird Tale. This Centipede Press book includes illustrations by Virgil Finlay, Lee Brown Coye and others. Centipede Press makes collector’s items, hence the hefty price, but you should know that the quality of their books is great and the Lovecraft lover in your house would be very interested in this one, if you can cough up the dough.
What to Do When You Meet Cthulhu: A Guide to Surviving the Cthulhu Mythos is an easy, entertaining new guide to all things Elder Gods and will serve as a reasonably priced introduction to the beings in the Mythos universe for your friends who have not experienced them full-on, yet. It’s not the only guide of this type on the market, as you could also purchase Cthulhu 101.
Lovecraft Unbound is a very tasty anthology assembled by Ellen Datlow. I own this little baby and it’s one of the best Lovecraftian anthos I’ve read. At $20, it’s also affordable.
There are literally dozens of Lovecraftian books you could purchase. This is a quick guide and I was looking at recent releases (as in, the past few months) which would fit the bill. Feel free to suggest other books in the comments section.