Waid, BB & Lovecraft (?) on H.P. Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep
by Mark Waid
Date: 30 September 2008 Time: 01:36 PM ET
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Waid, BB & Lovecraft on Nyarlathotep CREDIT: |
H.P. Lovecraft is a world-renowned pulp-era writer best known for his Cthulhu mythos, the otherworldy mythology used as a backdrop in his short stories, poems, and novellas. BOOM! Studios is no stranger to Lovecraft, having published a string of successful Cthulhu-related series, most notably Fall of Cthulhu and Cthulhu Tales. This November, BOOM! will be releasing an adaptation of Lovecraft’s epic poem Nyarlathotep with illustrations by Eisner Award-winner Chuck BB.
Newsrama was recently leaked a transcript of a séance between Chuck BB and BOOM! Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid as they attempted to speak to H.P. Lovecraft in the beyond. And no, this is not a new low. We’ve been much lower than this. Chuck BB: Hey, Mark! How’s it going?[silence]
Waid: Michael Alan Nelson says he channels Lovecraft all the time. I think I took him too literally. Chuck: (In his best Dr. Doom voice) You were fooled by Michael Alan Nelson. (In his best Chuck BB voice) We didn’t need to have a séance to channel Lovecraft, and you definitely didn’t need to dress in purple robes. Waid: These aren’t for the séance. Chuck: Anyway, I get what Nelson is talking about. For Nyarlathotep, I definitely had to channel Lovecraft. For the book, I took his prose poem and put it to illustrations. I had to take these indescribable cosmic ideas and translate them onto the page using what I thought was Lovecraft’s intent with feel and design, and then illustrate in my own style. That was a giant challenge, but once I put myself in Lovecraft’s mindset, I was able to channel his creativity through my work. Waid: Cool. Were you a fan of his work before this? Chuck: A Fan? These are my bed time stories! Waid: These are really beautiful illustrations. Great hardcover package. Well worth the $14.99 price tag. Chuck: It’s a shame we didn’t get to actually talk to Lovecraft. Waid: You can wear the robes. Chuck: Pass. BOOM! Studios’ H.P. Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep will be a 32 page exquisite hardcover edition with illustrations by Eisner Award-winner Chuck BB. Priced at $14.99 it has a Diamond item order code of SEP083817.