Acclaimed horror manga creator Gou Tanabe presents a new adaptation of a classic work from H.P. Lovecraft – The Shadow Over Innsmouth. In the winter of 1927-28, the isolated coastal settlement of Innsmouth, Massachusetts was assaulted by U.S. government agents – its waterfront burned and dynamited, its people taken away to internment camps. Yet that was neither the beginning nor the end of the horror uncovered by a young antiquarian who travelled to Innsmouth in search of rumours from the town’s dead past, only to find them still very much alive… and find truths lying under water deeper and colder than any earthly grave!
The only one of his works to be published in his lifetime, The Shadow Over Innsmouth is one of Lovecraft’s most iconic works and helped build the foundation Cthulhu Mythos that made up a large body of his work. His classic gothic horror stories have found a new audience amongst manga readers thank to manga creator Gou Tanabe who became a fan of Lovecraft’s work upon discovering it in 2005. He has since produced several acclaimed adaptations of Lovecraft’s classic stories which has brought him acclaim from the likes of legendary horror manga creator Junji Ito and earned him an Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize.
Tanabe’s latest adaptation hits all the notes you’d expect. He does a tremendous job of depicting the time period with the clothes and architecture all looking right in place; and his character work remains strong. But it is the detail of his panels where his strengths as an artist truly come out. Whether it be a shadowy figure moving along a dark corridor or ornate jewellery depicting demonic imagery, his illustrations are always packed with detail that go a long way in building the horror and suspense. The outcasts living in Innsmouth with their almost froglike appearances also make for an unsettling presence. Particular praise has to be given though to the aquatic creatures the narrator encounters which are exactly the sort of nightmare material people think of from Lovecraft’s work.
Tanabe continues to be a deft hand when it comes to interpreting Lovecraft’s work and is a true master of his craft. The Shadow Over Innsmouth has a rightful place on any horror manga fan’s bookshelf.
H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Manga) is out now from Dark Horse (9781506736037, p/b, £26.99)
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