HP Lovecraft, were he alive today, would be much like the geeks that populate the interwebs with their charmed fantasies. Even for his time, he was, in a manner of speaking, a geek. And he will, for the years to come, remain a favourite among those for whom life is elsewhere.

Lovecraft gave horror a gigantic, mythical dimension and fears that emanated not from the individual psyche but from a zeitgeist straining to break through into this realm. This graphic novel plays off the mundane with the fantastic with great ease, much like Lovecraft's own stories.

The Graphic Novel takes us on a journey through HP Lovecraft's influences, both factual (his grandfather) and fictional (the necronomicon). It opens with the beginnings of his father's madness and traces the fortunes of young Howard until the breakdown of his marriage. The foundation of this book rests on HP Lovecraft's mind, which constantly finds itself in the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusets. It's a wonderfully told story which applies fantasy to fact and leaves the reader feeling the confusion that Lovecraft may have felt when he encountered his monsters. A word of warning, though, if it is historical accuracy that you seek from this work, you're not likely to find it.

The art is quite busy without being intrusive and the colours blurred enough to carry off the interplay of fact and fantasy. This graphic novel is best enjoyed if the reader has a working knowledge of Lovecraft's life and works but it still makes for a great read even if one has a panache for a story well-told.

Publisher: Vertigo