A park-keeper who both is and isn't Lovecraft* has to deal with a brash, buzzword-happy manager bent on modernisation, monsters only he knows lurk in the park, and worst of all, the general public, who will insist on activities which risk waking said monsters and, even if they didn't, would ruin the peace of the park. Oh, and he's assisted by a talking cat called Maldoror. The same premise with a different art style could easily have been a Viz strip, but the look here is more Chris Riddell on his less comic stuff, maybe a hint of Charles Vess – gorgeous, eerie without being horrific, wry without quite being funny. As for the writing, well, like a lot of Europe Comics stuff I found it seesawed between unnecessarily opaque, and far too eager to show its working ("It may sound strange to you, but I feel a lot like one of these old pieces of junk. Like them I'm waiting for something, and the longer I wait, the older and dustier I become..."). But then it's not as if the scripts of US and UK comics don't have their funny little ways, so this may just be a case of it not being a storytelling grammar I grew up with. I'm not altogether convinced by the way it incorporates the full text of The Strange High House In The Mist within itself - there is a thematic overlap, but I don't know that the angles quite cohere. Still, you could say that was appropriately non-Euclidean, and there too the illustrations are gorgeous.

*My second of those this week, an' all, after Cast A Deadly Spell. Private eye, park-keeper – what other professions beginning with P could have a maybe-Lovecraft? Please not proctologist.

(Netgalley ARC)

This book was unlike any graphic novel I’ve read before. For one thing, the art is incredibly detailed. The artist did not skimp on a single panel. Really, every page could have been wall art. The use of color was also amazing and really contributed to the story telling.

Second, this graphic novel includes the full text of a short story by H.P. Lovecraft near the end. I was not expecting that, but I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve never read Lovecraft before, so this was a beautifully illustrated introduction to his work.

Overall, I would recommend this to fans of H.P. Lovecraft, and to anyone who admires intricately illustrated graphic novels.

Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Fascinating and utterly fantastically written and illustrated. Unmissable for anyone with interest in H.P. Lovecraft's stories.

Wonderfully and beautifully absurd. This graphic novel takes you into the world of the eccentric Mr. Providence, caretaker of a park that is seemingly ordinary by day but at night falls into a world of oddity filled with alarming creatures.
What really worked for me in this graphic novel was the use of color. The illustration style could be busy and overwhelming at times (Which I should note, feels completely intentional. The author wanted me to be overwhelmed and I appreciate that they succeeded) but the use of color really eased my eyes in contrast with the black and white pages and helped lead me through those pages better.

The story itself is comedic and dark and just twisty enough to give me that pleasant spooky tingle. Overall a spectacular love letter written to H.P Lovecraft in the form of illustration.

(Netgalley is saying this ISBN is not found on goodreads.)

This is an idiosyncratic, graphic prologue to the H.P. Lovecraft short story "The Strange High House in the Mist", the full text of which is presented toward the end of the book. Lots of Lovecraft's work is printed in modern editions that are preceded by prologues, forwards, and introductions of varying degrees of interest and insight. A hundred pages of startling illustration and storytelling, though, is a rather remarkable way to introduce Lovecraft's story. The two, in combination, make for a real treat for a Lovecraft admirer, especially because the short story is less on the horror side and rather reflects a tone that approaches "playful", or at least as playful as Lovecraft could ever get. An exceptionally interesting, (and technically very accomplished), find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Europe Comics keep coming up with the goods. This is a really effective black comedy take on the mind and imagination of a certain well-known writer of deeply disturbing stories ,who in Schmitt's world, is the caretaker of an absurd, "theme park"experiencing hallucinations and weird goings on revolving around a mysterious book with blank pages and featuring a cast of deeply unusual characters such as the men from th Mental Health Service, a park manager obsessed with horses and others. Sarah Schmidt's art is amazing and certain pages are so detailed and engaging that you can imagine that this is a peek directly into the writer's brain. I loved it. Thanks to Europe Comics and Netgalley for the chance to read this. Very highly recommended especially for people who know why Mr Providence is so-called.