The Cardinal Blasphemies of Modern Mythos

I recently purchased an anthology of modern mythos tales under the name of The Book of Cthulhu. Having read through it, I noticed a few things that ran through a disturbing amount of works, things that I feel go against the spirit of Lovecraft. Sort of like sins, but more eldritch. These are:

The Cardinal Blasphemies of Modern Mythos

1. Adding Sex

For reasons I'll never truly understand, writers seem compelled to add sex to the Cthulhu Mythos. Whether it's making the main character a rapist (The Doom that Came to Innsmouth), or making the story about prostitutes, sex is a disturbingly prevalent element. Why is this bad? Well, in Lovecraft's works, sex was never explicitly mentioned, though there were times it was heavily implied (i.e. Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Dunwich Horror), but that doesn't necessarily mean it's blasphemous to have it be a focus in a modern mythos story. The problem with it is that too many times, writers use that for shock value, with the intent of "Look! Lovecraft never talked about sex and now here it is! How shocking!" when in reality, it ends up ruining the tone of the story. If sex is one of the main elements, it makes the story too base, too human, ruining the chance at pure cosmic horror.

Known Blasphemers: Neonomicon by Alan Moore, The Doom That Came to Innsmouth by Brian McNaughton, Fat Face by Michael Shea, The Infernal History of the Ivybridge Twins by Molly Tanzer, more than I care to count.

2. Making the Bizarre Common

In certain stories, writers take the principle elements of Cthulhu Mythos, such as magic, secret ancient documents, and horrible incomprehensible creatures, and make them common within the context of the story. For example, in Shoggoths in Bloom by Elizabeth Bear, it mentions "the common varieties of Shoggoth." This, once again, goes against the cosmic horror nature of the Cthulhu Mythos. The point of magic or creatures like the shoggoth is that they are not only rare, but nearly maddening to behold. They were meant to not be seen by humanity at large, and those that have seen them attempt to keep them secret. Lovecraft himself wrote in The Call of Cthulhu, that if humanity connected their collective knowledge, they would flee from the light into the safety of a new dark age. In these works, it seems more like humanity saw them, and just sort of kept doing the same things. These are supposed to be world-shattering, not the type of things you see in your back yard.

Known Blasphemers: Shoggoths in Bloom by Elizabeth Bear, The Unthinkable by Bruce Sterling.

3. Adding Lovecraft

Many writers like to mention or make H.P. Lovecraft a character in their writings, perhaps to establish a more substantial connection to the mythos proper, or maybe as a shout-out to the man that started it all. However, this is almost never a good idea. First of all, it really brings one out of the story when suddenly the name of the author you've been reading pops up in-universe. It reminds you that it's fiction and makes it seem more artificial. Second of all, putting Lovecraft in the Lovecraftian universe leads to some unsavory implications. It implies that Lovecraft was not nearly as creative as he actually is, it just leads you to the conclusion that he wrote about a bunch of stuff he saw. Lovecraft was not an archaeologic explorer, he was a traveler, reader, and writer. Lovecraft and his correspondents created the Mythos universe, which is an achievement that should not be understated. When writers go ahead and imply that Lovecraft was merely a resident in this universe, instead of its creator, that really undermines Lovecraft's real talent.

That's not to say I mind a Lovecraft stand-in like Randolph Carter, a horror writer can make a good Lovecraftian protagonist. As long as they don't name-check Lovecraft himself.

Known Blasphemers: Neonomicon by Alan Moore, Black Man With a Horn by T.E.D. Klein, Lost Stars by Ann K. Schwader.

NYCC 2012: Superior Spider-Man Preview

Yes! What you've been waiting for! I attended the panel entitled: Marvel NOW!: Amazing Spider-Man and Beyond. What's Beyond you ask? Well, it's the Superior Spider-Man.

Yes, after Amazing Spider-Man #700 and the cataclysmic events within, the Amazing Spider-Man series will be cancelled, to be replaced by Superior Spider-Man next January. Oh, and the kicker, this Superior Spider-Man is not Peter Parker.

When I first heard this, I was livid! How could they kill off another Spider-Man?! Not another Death of Spider-Man! I couldn't take that. But, you know, after the panel, I think my fears are somewhat assuaged.

First of all, Dan Slott and Steve Wacker made it clear that Peter not being Spider-Man does NOT mean he is dying. What it does mean is still up in the air, but I think I can say with confidence that Peter Parker will still be with us in this Superior series.

Dan Slott also assured the people that this new Spider-Man will not be some random asshole (CoughMilesMoralescough) but instead someone with "Spider-Man pedigree." That alone makes me less apprehensive about the storyline.

See, with that, it can still be about continuing Peter's story, especially if the new Spider-Man is still connected to Peter. In Ultimate, Peter's story was simply aborted, ended without a solid conclusion, to be replaced by someone we've never seen before.

One criticism that seems common about Superior Spider-Man is that people seem to think it will be "grim and gritty" while in the press release, people like Slott said it would be "dark and weird". I can understand the jumping to conclusions, but in explaining what they meant by "dark and weird" they cited stories like The Death of Gwen Stacy, and Kraven's Last Hunt, which are quintessential Spidey stories.

All that, combined with the fact that I could tell that Dan Slott still really loves Spider-Man, puts me more at ease about this project. I'm eager to see what they're doing, and I only hope Dan Slott doesn't pull another New Ways to Die and make me sad.

In other news, Venom is moving to San Franc-- I mean, Philadelphia! Yes, home of the Liberty Bell and some other stuff I guess. I don't mind him moving from New York, but I really thought the Venom series would involve a lot more exciting locales, like Yopilistan or whatever. I'll have to see how the new writer, Cullen Bunn, does.

A new Morbius: The Living Vampire series is starting, as an exploration of the more occult or supernatural horror aspects of the Marvel Universe. I can get behind that, and Morbius seems like a good enough character to follow.

Oh, and SPECULATION TIME: At one point during the Q&A of the panel, one kid asked why they don't make Spider-Man 2099 stories anymore. Steve Wacker and Dan Slott answered in a strange way, "Oh, you like Miguel O'Hara? You think he's a good Spider-Man?" Yeah, see, I think Superior Spider-Man might be some version of Miguel O'Hara. For example, look at the cover, above. See his hands on the wall? They're more smashed in, like he's using claws to climb instead of sticky fingers. I mean, it's purely speculation at this point, but that's half the fun. Some people think it might be Kaine, but since the Scarlet Spider series will continue after ASM #700, I can safely say that's not a reasonable expectation. But who knows, maybe it's Alpha! Oh god, I hope not. Until next time, this is the W Defender!

New York Comic Con Day 1

It's time for W Defender's Comic Con Coverage! Yes, I am at New York Comic Con this year, and things are looking pretty hopping. Today wasn't that busy for me, but I'll just go over what I've seen.

A Look Inside The Batmobile:

This was the premier of a documentary on the Batmobile, all variations of it, which will be on the special Blu-ray of the Dark Knight Rises. It was pretty interesting, to see the design ethos' at work behind each new edition of the Batmobile, from the Adam West version to the Tumbler. Good stuff.

Marvel And DC:

I stopped by the Marvel and DC booths, rather than check out any of the panels they had. At DC they mostly showcased their new fighting game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. It looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. They had a green screen where you could put yourself on a Justice League or DC Supervillains comic cover, and you got a print. I think mine turned out pretty well.

At Marvel, they mostly focused on their Marvel NOW series, particularly Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men. They had their usual Break Into Comics: The Marvel Way panel, which I went to because Mark Bagley and Dan Slott were going to be there.

Tomorrow is a panel on Marvel NOW, specifically the new series, Superior Spider-Man, and that's what I'm really interested in. I'm a bit afraid of what's going to happen with that, but more on that after the panel.

Also, Dan Slott recognized me by my T-shirt and the fact that I was tweeting #DanSlottProblems during the summer. It was fun.

Next time: More NYCC coverage! Hopefully more substantial.

UPDATE: Turns out the Spider-Man panel is on Sunday. Nothing happened on Saturday, we're ignoring that. Check back next time for almost definite bitching about Spider-Man. THIS IS THE W DEFENDER.

An Open Letter to Alan Moore

Dear Alan Moore,

Hey, how are you? So, just saw the announcement that you're writing another Lovecraft comic. I must say, I didn't expect another one of those to happen. See, I know you wrote the first one to pay off some bills so I can almost understand you making it.

Well, actually, no I cannot. See, Neonomicon was one the worst things I've ever read. It took the setting of cosmic horror invented by H.P. Lovecraft and perverted it into the most depraved forms of disgust I've seen. It has a ten page rape scene, for God's sake. That's not Lovecraft. That's not Lovecraftian. That's not even close.

Lovecraftian horror is about what lurks beyond human perception, it's about being unable to escape your heritage, it's about the things that lurk in the deepest oceans and the farthest reaches of space. It is not about watching a woman get raped by a bunch of depraved people and then a Deep One. Neonomicon was not enjoyable to read. It is not enjoyable to think about. It is not enjoyable to remember that such a thing exists in this world.

And now you're writing a new story set in the world of Lovecraft, starring the man himself. Apparently you're going to explore "Lovecraft's sympathies with Adolf Hitler." I wish you wouldn't do this. Like all people, Lovecraft was a man with flaws, and nobody who is familiar with Lovecraft is ignorant of this fact. He was an incredibly creative and talented writer, but that does not change the fact that he was a racist. You know this, and I know this. Is there any need to fictionalize any facet of that, to paint a little picture to show the world? It's possible it could be a cathartic experience, to see it confronted, but I know your works. I know Neonomicon. If you take the Deep Ones and create 10 of the most brutal pages of art I have ever seen, I know nothing good can come of it if you take Lovecraft's racism.

I know it's too late now to implore you not to write this. Contracts have been signed, you've likely written it already, and production is in order. I likely couldn't convince you not to, even if I had written this earlier. All I can say is, I wish you hadn't written it.

Signed,

A Concerned Lovecraft Fan