Quite peculiar, if truth be told – which is of course entirely fitting – the book features someone phoning Cthulhu up and giving him/it a right earful regarding all the main Lovecraft stories. The piece almost works as a surreal introduction to the world of Lovecraft, with that Book, that Egyptian, and that city pronounced "Really?!?!". Oh, and it's also in verse, allowing some kind of summary or response to each story, alongside colourful and quite well done artworks for each. The author of this has clearly done some research, and seems to have a love/hate response to his inspiration, which seems appropriate but might rankle with some. It just, while looking decent and actually doing what it wants quite well, never felt that it was an idea that demanded it come to fruition. This, then, is an inessential three and a half stars.

Whilst H.P. Lovecraft was an awful person (no, he wasn't a product of his times, he was extremely racist even then) the worlds and characters that he created have lived on long after him, and have inspired some truly fantastic works and creators. It's even easy to argue that he invented a whole new form of horror, cosmic horror, and that there are dozens, perhaps even hundreds of works of fiction and art that can draw a line back to him. Call to Cthulhu is a new entry in the ever expanding Cthulhu universe, and it might just be one of the most delightful ones that I've ever read.

Deep in the middle of the night, out in his remote, isolated home, the elder god Cthulhu receives a telephone call, from a person who wants to make it clear to the big guy just how much he thinks he sucks. Written in poetic verse, the book chronicles this call, as the human on the other end of the phone lays into the ancient being, telling him all of their problems with the entire mythos.

Thus begins a wonderful series of pages that touch upon a load of Lovecraft's stories, making nods towards tales such as 'Rats in the Wall', 'The Color Out of Space' and 'At the Mountains of Madness'. Each of these comes as part of a two page piece of art that's frankly, absolutely gorgeous. Every single page in this book could be framed and hung on the wall as a piece of artwork that any Lovecraft fan would love to show off.

The way that the artwork goes with the content of the rhymes works really well, and the fact that Konyu injects a lot of humour into the way that he describes the stories and the things in them had me chuckling multiple times. I found myself in this tough situation where I'd want to turn the page immediately so that I could find out which story or character would get the focus next, and what fun writing we'd get, yet also wanting to stay on the page so that I could soak in the art for even longer. This is absolutely a book that will have you returning to it multiple times just to revisit the images.

A Call to Cthulhu is designed to appeal to a wide range of readers, but its simplicity, its sense of fun, and the way that it's written in verse makes it ideal for younger readers. In some ways it reminds me of the work of Doctor Seuss, and as such I think that this is the kind of book that any parent with a bit of fun and a love for horror would be more than happy to read to their kids at bedtime.

The work of Lovecraft has gone beyond what it originally was, and has almost taken on a life of its own. It's influenced a lot of people over the years, and has given us some amazing new work, and A Call To Cthulhu feels like a light-hearted, playful celebration of those original stories and what made them great. It might not be a particularly long or challenging read, but it's a book that I'd say any fan of Lovecraft should pick up and read at least once.

‘’It’s like HP Lovecraft, Dr. Seuss, and some guy down the pub made a book together” back cover tagline.

My thanks to Titan Comics for a review copy via NetGalley of ‘A Call to Cthulhu’ by Norm Konyu.

Even Cosmic Gods fear an unknown caller. It’s the middle of the night Cthulhu, the Great Old One, receives a phone call. He is not at all prepared for the conversation that is about to take place.

This short graphic novel is a playful introduction to the classic cosmic horror stories of HP Lovecraft intended for younger readers aged 7-10. However, I feel that it is likely to appeal to admirers of Lovecraft’s work no matter their age.

I appreciated Norm Konyu’s artwork including his vivid use of colour and the dreamlike quality of the images. The use of rhyme in the accompanying text was very effective and in places had me laughing out loud.

Following the main text Norm Konyu writes a short introduction to the life and works of Lovecraft pointing out his influence on modern horror writers as well as his deeply problematic personal views. He writes: “Though his stance seems to have softened in later life, it’s a troubling aspect of the writer that should not be ignored.”

Rounding out the book is a Story and Illustration Key that pairs individual Lovecraft stories with Konyu’s matching images.

Overall, I found ‘A Call to Cthulhu’ excellent. I have published its hardback edition to add to my library.