REVIEW: Alan Moore's Neonomicon

I'm a big fan of Lovecraft's writing and tend to enjoy Moore as well, so when I came across this book I figured it would be an entertaining one.

Although it takes place in contemporary times, Moore manages to craft a Lovecraft style story that is original while also being a good homage to it's origins.  There was also some clever usage of Lovecraft's character names and places throughout the second story.  Some of it's blatantly obvious while some is a bit more obscure hardcore Lovecraft fans will enjoy.

At it's heart the two stories are Lovecraftian in theme and style.  The use of FBI agents fits in well with Lovecraft's more intellectual/investigation style of protagonists.  Yet, Moore isn't a copy cat and he defintely spices things up with plenty of blood/gore and unlike the asexual writing of Lovecraft, there's some very graphic sex and sodomy here. However, Moore uses this not as a juvenille excuse to get his rocks off, but instead it plays on the background/fears/issues of Merril which any good writer of horror would do.  I like the fact that Moore doesn't play nice with either of his main protagonists.

If you're conservative or easily offended you want to skip this book.

The artwork in the book is fantastic as is the gallery section.  I felt the artwork was a bit stronger in the second story.  The layout of the pages in both books made for an easy read while remaining interesting visually.

I think that Lovecraft fans will get the most out of this, but only if they do not have hang ups about bizarre sex.  I think certain sexual scenes could be the make or break point for a lot of people.  I give Moore kudos for having the courage to do this sort of thing since horror should be exactly that - horror - and human sexuality has long been a part of horror.

Although it is a lot shorter then his other works, Moore still manages to develop his main protagonist very well by the end of the book.  Again at the end Moore manages to put an unique spin on the old mythos.  I found the ending to be great - in a disturbing manner.

I'd recommend this to Lovecraft fans that are open minded enough to except new ideas and twists on Lovecraft and his mythos.  Although Moore's tales may be unconventinal when compared to Lovecrafts, they still stay true to their origins.