I really enjoyed this title, especially the surreal elements of it. The choice to have the artwork mostly in black and white except for the dream-like elements in beautiful colours made it especially special

For all people who love the absurd (and its grand masters like Gogol, Kafka, Beckett...) and Lovecraft. This is really a beautiful graphic novel with so much love for this class of literature. This might not mean a whole lot if you are not familiar with those worlds, but if you enjoy them you will just adore deep diving into this amazing work.
The play with madness sipping into the world is completely Lovecraftian and out of temporality, the overt criticism of corporate structures, the monstrous mixing with a fascination for dreams, all of it is there, without gore. In a way it reflects the time era when all those works were published, it's weird but clean. And It's fantastic that anything like this can still come out today. This is probably a good present for dads who love the authors I cited above.
This is also a beautifully illustrated book and an object you want to keep and display. You want the paper version so you can take the time to detail every illustration. there is so much to see and love in every picture.
I highly recommend to fans of Lovecraft but also the late gothic writers such as Edgar Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson and Kafka.

There have been few writers of the supernatural who have made such a lasting impression on how we view the world - or the world outside the reality we know it - as Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Other than Mike Mignola, it's hard to think of any writer/artist who would be adventurous enough and of sufficient ability to put that vision into images and truly do justice to it. Daria Schmitt however boldly places Lovecraft at the centre of this beautifully crafted 120-page graphic novel and finds a way of putting her own stamp on that vision. It might not be based on any real or biographical detail that we know about the writer from Providence, Rhode Island, but it finds a way to delve into the extraordinary mind of the writer who seems to have inhabited a far less tangible reality.

Providence is perhaps not quite as dark a journey into the esoteric, the hidden and the occult as Lovecraft's creations, but it's just as ambitious and imaginative in its attempt to find a lighter view of a troubled mind. Seen later in life, Lovecraft - or Providence as he is known here - has become the Caretaker of the a phantasmagorical park, a bestiary for the bizarre that welcomes visitors who arrive there perhaps in their dreams. Is the park a creation of his own mind or some kind of collective unconscious? Encouraged by his cat Maldoror he explores the park, feeling responsibility for it, curating it, wondering at the impact of unleashing it onto the public.

Inevitably, we have to look on Lovecraft now in the context of the modern day and in this 'reality' there is a Manager who feels they have a duty of responsibility to the general public or the consumer. She wants to modernise and make the park more accessible and pleasant but finds that it is not something that is easily controlled. She sees its Caretaker too preoccupied by his own obsessions, too caught up in his fascination with "frivolous, antiquated fantasies". Others in the park have noticed that that the Caretaker is if anything becoming even more detached from his job.

Those dangerous dark fantasies are becoming more pronounced since Providence discovered a mysterious blank book and a castle at the bottom of a pond. Ever since then his dreams are filled with extraordinary colours, huge tentacled creatures and giant floating carp. Although they only come out at night, some of these visions appear to be dangerous to the other workers in the park and perhaps even for visitors. For Providence the greater danger seems to come from the Mental Health Services pursuing him.

Some might find subjecting Lovecraft's visions to a more politically correct worldview where such ideas and imagery are seen as unhealthy and likely have trigger warnings applied as inappropriate, but that is perhaps the point being made. Daria Schmitt finds a way of acknowledging that this is the unfortunate reality we live in today, where imagination is stifled and where too many are forced to play safe. Rather, she shows that Lovecraft - and indeed the imagination - cannot or at least should not be tamed, that it will always find its own way of expression. Even Providence has his doubts about what he has unleashed, but has no option but to follow the path that he is drawn towards.

I had been hoping the interior art would do justice to the cover, but it turns out that the interior artwork is actually even more impressive. This has to be quite simply the most beautiful book of graphic art this year. The fine line black and white figures and characters reminded me somewhat of James A Owen's Starchild - a probably now obscure US indie comic from a few decades ago, so that reference might not be meaningful - but in a European comic-book context, the dark tone of surrealism and fantasy with the playfulness of use of colour is closer to some of the more adventurous experiments with the artform seen in Les Cités obscures by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters. Essentially however, Schmitt's art is fully capable of conveying the mood, the imagination of its main character, but also stunning in it own right.

I think the book left a disturbing feeling in me. The art was so detail but somehow Made my head hurts. Nah, not for me. Still giving more than 2 stars because the art was so detail, some people may love this kinda art style too

Thank you net galley for providing me with a free copy of the monstrous dreams of Mr. Providence in exchange for a honest review.


Honestly the only saving grace of this book is the gorgeous art style considering that the plot was executed poorly, the dialogues between the characters being extremely uninteresting while the characters themselves completely lacked of depth and humour. Overall a bad read would not recommend.

Barely sensical Lovecraftian comic based on an obscure Lovecraft story. The dream-like prose stories are among the worst of Lovecraft's as they're basically just someone who loves purple prose recounting their dreams, which is very dull to read unfortunately. The art is decent but the story isn't and I was very bored pretty much immediately from the start and it didn't get better.

For this graphic novel, I was attracted by the cover and the title which promised a fantastic world.
We find ourselves in a harmless-looking park. But its caretaker, Providence, also sees monsters there and watches over them to protect the visitors. One day, he finds a strange book in a lake that will cause trouble. From the beginning, it is explained to the readers that the author was greatly inspired by the work of HP Lovecraft. Personally, I have never read his work and this graphic novel confirms my idea that it would not be my style anyway. Indeed, I think this story will appeal to some but its mix of reality and dream will not touch everyone. On the other hand, the drawings are beautiful, I really liked Daria Schmitt's line.
I recommend it to those who like HP Lovecraft
2.5/5

I would recommend this for patrons who want a lovecraftian graphic novel but honestly this was absolutely not for my and the art style hurt my eyes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for this eARC. I requested this as I loved the art style on the cover, and the synopsis seemed super interesting. The art throughout the book was so so pretty and I loved the colour schemes.

Unfortunately, I found the book incredibly slow paced and lacking in substance. The story was just a bit dry, it had the potential to be so much more. Reading it started to become a chore and I just couldn’t keep my attention on the story. It also included a large section where it was just a copy and paste of a HP Lovecraft story. I also didn’t appreciate the demonisation of mental health services. It was completely unnecessary.

TWs/CWs - Gaslighting; Demonisation of mental illness & mental health services

This story it's a lot of things, but it has an incredible reading process. Among the pages, you're gonna to guess if Mr. Providence is nuts or not. Although we have a nice catch on mental health, the plot it's pretty dope. Beside the stumming art style in black and white and the pretty details in neon and straight colours, I really love the Easter eggs to H. P. Lovecraft.
10/10 would recommend!

The art of this graphic novel was gorgeous, and the black and white contrast with the colour elements was striking! However, I couldn't get as hooked in the story as I'd have liked.

What a gorgeous graphic novel. I want so entranced by the illustrations I couldn’t put this down.
Though I personally am not a H.P Lovecraft fan. I can appreciate the strange flair this style of writing gives to this type of graphic novel. I love the transition at the end into the book. It was a nice surprise.

The story was easy to follow and comprehend with the a smooth transition between illustrations. You can quickly smelt with the pages and be carried through this read with ease. Truly more then just a read but more of a work of art. Though for me I wasn’t a huge fan of the story but I generally don’t like anything with similarities to H.P Lovecraft. However that’s all personal preference.

In short:
Did I like it? The illustrations blew my mind.
Would I recommend it? Yes, especially to Lovecraft fans.

(I received an eARC of this from NetGalley and Europe Comics)

This comic was beautifully illustrated in black and white with added vibrant splashes of color that enhance the dreamlike elements of this story. I found the story confusing at first; and while it mostly all came together in the end, the few lingering questions are a bit annoying to me.

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft will want to check out this comic.

Mr. Providence is a caretaker in the city park. Something strange is going on in the park’s pond, and he is the only one who can see it. He wants to protect the visitors of the park.

Inside The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence, we can read H. P. Lovecraft’s short story, The Strange High House in the Mist, which complements the story. I like Lovecraft’s stories. They create a certain mood.

B&W illustrations combined with beautiful colored ones. Daria Schmitt has created a surreal world with nightmarish monsters in the style of H. P. Lovecraft.

Thanks to Europe Comics for the ARC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review, and all opinions are my own.

Edit: This graphic novel was initially a 4-star read for me. I understood the story in my way, and it was very good. After reading some other reviews, I noticed the name Zadok and researched some details. This part contains spoilers, so that is all I will write. I’m an optimist, so I really believe that this name is a coincidence, and there is no hidden anti-Semitism behind it. Because of this name and the possibility of an entirely different message, I lowered my rating and rated it 3 stars. In the next edition, I strongly recommend that the author changes this name because now I feel a bit uncomfortable about this.

I somehow missed that this was about H.P. Lovecraft. If I had seen that before I started it, I wouldn't have read it. But even besides that, I wasn't following anything that happened. I don't think I remember anything about it aside from knowing that there was a cat. This just wasn't for me at all.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Daria Schmitt for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The artwork is something wonderful, I loved it so much.
The problem is that I found the plot very difficult to understand and even the ending was not able to answer some questions that remained pending.
But, despite this, I found the graphics something truly unique, with images that alternated between colors and black and white.

I’m getting United States of Banana flashbacks with this book. I’m sure there’s something very profound and intelligent here, but… I just don’t get it. Sorry!

The art in this book was gorgeous, but the plot didn't really do anything for me. In retrospect, though, I probably should have seen that coming, since I'm not a big Lovecraft fan.

In this graphic novel, we follow the story of Mr. Providence who is a caretaker at a city park. The park is full of bizarre beings that wake at night, and Providence, despite the concerns of his business-minded new manager, is working to protect guests.

This novel is a homage to the H.P. Lovecraft short story "The Strange High House in the Mist", which is provided at the end of the book. I am not a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft's works but the artwork, atmosphere, and story do honor the legacy of the writer successfully.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing an ARC of this novel for reviewers.

**I was provided an electronic ARC via the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 3.5

Daria Schmitt presents an adult graphic novel inspired by HP Lovecraft's "The Strange House High in the Mist" with The Strange Dreams of Mr Providence. Readers follow Providence in his role as caretaker of a park as well as some other individuals that work and visit there.

Schmitt's art style is absolutely intricate and gorgeous. Her interpretation of where and when to use color, and the choices to use mostly secondary or tertiary colors rather than primary is simply superb. Likewise, the black and white "real life" of the book is so heavily laden with nuance and detail. It was the artwork that absolutely brought this work to life.

I did not mind Schmitt's interpretation of Lovecraft, and felt that she really did seem to understand the original text, likely far more than I did. I did think the overall pace of the story was slow and wandering despite the concerning things taking place, which limited my overall attachment to the story itself.

In all, I enjoyed my time with this graphic novel and would be happy to recommend it to Lovecraft fans or to fans of beautiful art in graphic novels.