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Providence #issue 8
Providence #8
Robert Black has seen the cracks in reality and felt the cold touch of the supernatural. Now as the horrors that lie below the surface of our mundane world start to flood into his consciousness his hold on the construct of sanity begins to slip from his grasp. Alan Moore and artist Jacen Burrows have created the most realized version of Moore’s Lovecraftian vision ever published. Fans and classical scholars have flocked to the pages of Providence to decipher the many layers of story being told in this masterpiece. Moore has written every cover detail, every single page, and every nuance of this work to create an unforgettable series. Fans of Moore’s immersive style and meticulous grasp of storytelling will be thrilled to add this essential piece of comics history to their collections!
Paperback
Published April 6, 2016
About the author
Alan Moore
1,643 books20.4k followersAlan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 14, 2022
Review at the end of the series :)
December 13, 2018
This has one of the most elaborate explanations of dream manipulation I've ever read. Kudos Alan Moore.
May 15, 2024
This was an excessively literary episode that appeared to be almost soporific with dialogues and allusions. Compared to the earlier chilling episodes, tgis one was a letdown. But, the art was fabulous again.
Overall, a good work.
Overall, a good work.
June 30, 2020
Finally.. The stars are right..
October 25, 2020
Protagonist Robert Black is in Randall Carver’s apartment where the writer of dreams relates how a real event sparked one of this own tales. As incense wafts to the ceiling, Black enquires about other dream related works, including a tale by an author named Lovecraft.
Carver then relates his journey into exploring his dreams and writing about them. In the process, Carver leads Black into a shared exploration, visiting several characters, creatures, and locales that will be well known among aficionados of the Rhode Island writer. The discussion the pair have as they make their way is fascinating reading that is turned end over end by the visuals. However, focusing only on the story, the pair exit the dream world and then go to listen to a reading by Lord Dunsany and Black encounters an author he’s fond of. This seems like a fairly straightforward tale, but every element adds a flavor to the story to make one wonder why each was included, such as the pair and throng on Page 10.
It’s rare to find a book in this medium to have a conversation be such riveting stuff, but Black and Carver’s discourse is wonderful. Alan Moore’s story is so enjoyable, even for those unfamiliar with Lovecraft and his works, but if one has a knowledge of some of Lovecraft’s material, every page and panel features something that will make one smile or gasp. And that last page holds so much promise!
The detail with which Jacen Burrows packs into this book will leave readers with their mouths agape. The first three panels of the book feature something that is the stuff of dreams and, evidently, fact. It is incredibly strange and foreshadows what’s soon to appear. The bottom panel is a terrific tease of this issue’s two leads, allowing their hands to shape the characters before they’re fully shown in the splash of the second page. Smoke has never looked as exotic in a book as it does here.
Two characters having a conversation at a table doesn’t sound as though it would be exciting to see, but Burrows moves the point of view around outstandingly on the first three pages, intercutting the remainder of their talk with scenes from side stories. This issue sees the addition of a cat, a black one naturally, and the camera focuses on the creature sometimes, providing further foreshadowing for a gloriously magical moment on Pages 13 and 14.
Several pages in this issue contain tall vertical panels that allow the characters to travel down into a dream and to show movement. Beginning on Page 23, previous characters have cameo appearances and my heart increased its beat due to the fear they created in the past and resume in the present. The final panel of the issue features Black looking longingly at someone in the distance. It’s wonderful.
This issue features the greatest number of varied settings and characters, so far, providing colourist Juan Rodriguez a wide tapestry to show his skills, and he does so famously. The book opens with fleshly luminescent colours that transition to the dark colouring's of a Victorian home. When the gentlemen’s talk begins to travel to other locations, the colours change drastically, to frosty white mountains, grey and orange coloured graveyards, and green jungle locales. The dream world is dark, but not so dim as to make the images disappear; instead, they seem to have more of a life under the light of a full moon. The cameos of former characters are the darkest of the book, and they evoke an incredible amount of dread because of their colouring.
Letterer Kurt Hathaway creates dialogue, the story’s title, a familiar creature’s speech (Page 9), and the incredible font for the last page. It’s this final font that puts a tremendous punch into the conclusion. Don’t peek, it will ruin the effect, but when come upon after reading the entire issue, it leaves the reader well beyond the confines of this book, as if in a dream.
The excerpts from Black’s journal provide backstory to him meeting Carvell before this story commences. He reveals thoughts about the author that are not revealed in the story and had me returning to the story to see if I could glean any of his written, hidden words in his speech. There’s also a considerable amount of natural focus given to his thoughts on dreams and his inability to be create as Carvell does. When Black retells his encounter with the famous individual that ends the book it left me incredibly anxious to read the next instalment of this series.
Carver then relates his journey into exploring his dreams and writing about them. In the process, Carver leads Black into a shared exploration, visiting several characters, creatures, and locales that will be well known among aficionados of the Rhode Island writer. The discussion the pair have as they make their way is fascinating reading that is turned end over end by the visuals. However, focusing only on the story, the pair exit the dream world and then go to listen to a reading by Lord Dunsany and Black encounters an author he’s fond of. This seems like a fairly straightforward tale, but every element adds a flavor to the story to make one wonder why each was included, such as the pair and throng on Page 10.
It’s rare to find a book in this medium to have a conversation be such riveting stuff, but Black and Carver’s discourse is wonderful. Alan Moore’s story is so enjoyable, even for those unfamiliar with Lovecraft and his works, but if one has a knowledge of some of Lovecraft’s material, every page and panel features something that will make one smile or gasp. And that last page holds so much promise!
The detail with which Jacen Burrows packs into this book will leave readers with their mouths agape. The first three panels of the book feature something that is the stuff of dreams and, evidently, fact. It is incredibly strange and foreshadows what’s soon to appear. The bottom panel is a terrific tease of this issue’s two leads, allowing their hands to shape the characters before they’re fully shown in the splash of the second page. Smoke has never looked as exotic in a book as it does here.
Two characters having a conversation at a table doesn’t sound as though it would be exciting to see, but Burrows moves the point of view around outstandingly on the first three pages, intercutting the remainder of their talk with scenes from side stories. This issue sees the addition of a cat, a black one naturally, and the camera focuses on the creature sometimes, providing further foreshadowing for a gloriously magical moment on Pages 13 and 14.
Several pages in this issue contain tall vertical panels that allow the characters to travel down into a dream and to show movement. Beginning on Page 23, previous characters have cameo appearances and my heart increased its beat due to the fear they created in the past and resume in the present. The final panel of the issue features Black looking longingly at someone in the distance. It’s wonderful.
This issue features the greatest number of varied settings and characters, so far, providing colourist Juan Rodriguez a wide tapestry to show his skills, and he does so famously. The book opens with fleshly luminescent colours that transition to the dark colouring's of a Victorian home. When the gentlemen’s talk begins to travel to other locations, the colours change drastically, to frosty white mountains, grey and orange coloured graveyards, and green jungle locales. The dream world is dark, but not so dim as to make the images disappear; instead, they seem to have more of a life under the light of a full moon. The cameos of former characters are the darkest of the book, and they evoke an incredible amount of dread because of their colouring.
Letterer Kurt Hathaway creates dialogue, the story’s title, a familiar creature’s speech (Page 9), and the incredible font for the last page. It’s this final font that puts a tremendous punch into the conclusion. Don’t peek, it will ruin the effect, but when come upon after reading the entire issue, it leaves the reader well beyond the confines of this book, as if in a dream.
The excerpts from Black’s journal provide backstory to him meeting Carvell before this story commences. He reveals thoughts about the author that are not revealed in the story and had me returning to the story to see if I could glean any of his written, hidden words in his speech. There’s also a considerable amount of natural focus given to his thoughts on dreams and his inability to be create as Carvell does. When Black retells his encounter with the famous individual that ends the book it left me incredibly anxious to read the next instalment of this series.
October 31, 2018
(Hodnotím sešity 5-8 najednou, takže ekvivalent Providence Act 2. Podobně jako u Neonomiconu to z nějakého důvodu (dosud) na kindlu nevyšlo v jednom svazku.)
Musím říct, že celý Act 2 je neustálým čekáním na "něco", co by mělo přijít. Je to sice kvalitní komiksové čtení, ale jaksi to nenaplňuje.
Nejsilnějším momentem je (v 6. sešitu) . Je to zamotané? Ano. Je to morbidní? Ano. Je to nápadité, neotřelé a originální? Ano.
Vůbec, aspekt sexu, stojí u téhle série za zmínku. Jak se sám Moore zmínil v nějaké rozhovoru, sex je v původní tvorbě H.P. Lovecrafta (samo)cenzurován, což vytváří jakési vacuum... které Moore ochotně vyplnil. Ale nečekejte nějaký nadbytek - Moore tím šetří, jako šafránem.
Špatná nebyla ani snová pasáž z následujícího 7. sešitu, která se ale pohybovala jenom v "bezpečných" snech - jakmile by mělo dojít na setkání s Cthulhu elementy, došlo k probuzení. Takže Moore navnadí, ale na poslední chvíli ucukne.
Jen doufám, že se to nějak zúročí v závěrečném Act 3. Už jsem z toho putování hlavní postavy, Roberta Blacka, unavený. No, je jasný, že to spěje do finále, když se těď setkal se samotným Lovecraftem. Tak snad bude konečně pořádné Cthulhu! 👾
------------
Recenze The Courtyard ★★★
Recenze Neonomicon ★★★★
Recenze Providence Act 1 ★★★
Musím říct, že celý Act 2 je neustálým čekáním na "něco", co by mělo přijít. Je to sice kvalitní komiksové čtení, ale jaksi to nenaplňuje.
Nejsilnějším momentem je (v 6. sešitu) . Je to zamotané? Ano. Je to morbidní? Ano. Je to nápadité, neotřelé a originální? Ano.
Vůbec, aspekt sexu, stojí u téhle série za zmínku. Jak se sám Moore zmínil v nějaké rozhovoru, sex je v původní tvorbě H.P. Lovecrafta (samo)cenzurován, což vytváří jakési vacuum... které Moore ochotně vyplnil. Ale nečekejte nějaký nadbytek - Moore tím šetří, jako šafránem.
Špatná nebyla ani snová pasáž z následujícího 7. sešitu, která se ale pohybovala jenom v "bezpečných" snech - jakmile by mělo dojít na setkání s Cthulhu elementy, došlo k probuzení. Takže Moore navnadí, ale na poslední chvíli ucukne.
Jen doufám, že se to nějak zúročí v závěrečném Act 3. Už jsem z toho putování hlavní postavy, Roberta Blacka, unavený. No, je jasný, že to spěje do finále, když se těď setkal se samotným Lovecraftem. Tak snad bude konečně pořádné Cthulhu! 👾
------------
Recenze The Courtyard ★★★
Recenze Neonomicon ★★★★
Recenze Providence Act 1 ★★★
September 13, 2021
⭐⭐⭐⭐½
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Robert Black, jornalista judeu e homossexual, ainda está em busca de mais informações sobre o estranho grupo conhecido como Stella Sapiente e sua ligação com o oculto e com o livro maldito, o Kitab.
Depois de alguns dias com Pitman, sua próxima jornada consiste em seguir as instruções do pintor e encontrar o escritor Randall Carver.
Quando Robert conhece Randall, ele não imagina o que está por vir: após alguns acontecimentos bizarros e experiências surreais, tudo será elevado à máxima potência na presença de Carver, que consegue, através do mundo dos sonhos, levar Black por um louco devaneio que culminará em um novo e fascinante universo totalmente desconhecido para o protagonista.
Essa atual fase das graphic novels de "Providence" me surpreendeu bastante, pois eu não estava preparada para ir além das referências aos mitos de Cthulhu e transcender até o Ciclo dos Sonhos criado por H. P. Lovecraft: nesses contos lovecraftianos, o protagonista Randolph Carter (aqui representado por Randall Carver) explora as Dreamlands (terras dos sonhos), buscando novos mundos, encontrando criaturas bizarras e navegando através de incontáveis pesadelos. Assim, muitas obras de Lovecraft são sugeridas nesse volume, como "Os Outros Deuses", "A Busca Onírica por Kadath", "O Que a Lua Traz Consigo", "O Inominável", "Os Gatos de Ulthar", "O Depoimento de Randolph Carter", entre outras.
É interessante acompanhar o desenvolvimento do protagonista Robert Black e ver a influência que o Kitab agora tem sobre ele - os momentos de loucura e de confusão são cada vez mais frequentes.
Se não bastasse isso, quem faz uma aparição aqui? Ele mesmo, o próprio H. P. Lovecraft!
A verdade é que estou amando esse novo capítulo dessa trama e de como ela tem tudo para se encaminhar para Providence, Rhode Island, alcançando o seu ápice nas talentosas mãos de Jacen Burrows e Alan Moore!
Mais resenhas no instagram literário @livre_em_livros e no canal do Youtube "Livre em Livros"!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Robert Black, jornalista judeu e homossexual, ainda está em busca de mais informações sobre o estranho grupo conhecido como Stella Sapiente e sua ligação com o oculto e com o livro maldito, o Kitab.
Depois de alguns dias com Pitman, sua próxima jornada consiste em seguir as instruções do pintor e encontrar o escritor Randall Carver.
Quando Robert conhece Randall, ele não imagina o que está por vir: após alguns acontecimentos bizarros e experiências surreais, tudo será elevado à máxima potência na presença de Carver, que consegue, através do mundo dos sonhos, levar Black por um louco devaneio que culminará em um novo e fascinante universo totalmente desconhecido para o protagonista.
Essa atual fase das graphic novels de "Providence" me surpreendeu bastante, pois eu não estava preparada para ir além das referências aos mitos de Cthulhu e transcender até o Ciclo dos Sonhos criado por H. P. Lovecraft: nesses contos lovecraftianos, o protagonista Randolph Carter (aqui representado por Randall Carver) explora as Dreamlands (terras dos sonhos), buscando novos mundos, encontrando criaturas bizarras e navegando através de incontáveis pesadelos. Assim, muitas obras de Lovecraft são sugeridas nesse volume, como "Os Outros Deuses", "A Busca Onírica por Kadath", "O Que a Lua Traz Consigo", "O Inominável", "Os Gatos de Ulthar", "O Depoimento de Randolph Carter", entre outras.
É interessante acompanhar o desenvolvimento do protagonista Robert Black e ver a influência que o Kitab agora tem sobre ele - os momentos de loucura e de confusão são cada vez mais frequentes.
Se não bastasse isso, quem faz uma aparição aqui? Ele mesmo, o próprio H. P. Lovecraft!
A verdade é que estou amando esse novo capítulo dessa trama e de como ela tem tudo para se encaminhar para Providence, Rhode Island, alcançando o seu ápice nas talentosas mãos de Jacen Burrows e Alan Moore!
Mais resenhas no instagram literário @livre_em_livros e no canal do Youtube "Livre em Livros"!
December 23, 2018
Okay, so we get Randall Carver's lucid-dreaming-technique (mentally imagining descending a staircase, and counting until you've gone down 700 stairs). Every time Carver mentioned leaving town, I expected him to disappear, a la the Silver Key, but that's not the key referenced in the title of this installment.
Instead, I.N. (intrepid narrator) goes to a Dunsany reading, and there meets one H.P. Lovecraft. I'm curious where this goes, as I'd been picturing I.N. as a sort of alternate Lovecraft who eventually turned his experiences into stories. Apparently not, or, if so, there will be some artifice or other (making the two one? body swap? * shrugs *).
Because this was a dream-focused installment, there was fairly random imagery situated throughout. In the conversation with Carver, the panels alternate between them sitting and talking in Carver's house to various scenes related to what they're discussing, with dialogue coming from whatever characters are convenient in that scene, though it's still I.N. and Carver talking. Not sure that the diorama at the end was about, other than I.N. free-associating after meeting Lovecraft.
Instead, I.N. (intrepid narrator) goes to a Dunsany reading, and there meets one H.P. Lovecraft. I'm curious where this goes, as I'd been picturing I.N. as a sort of alternate Lovecraft who eventually turned his experiences into stories. Apparently not, or, if so, there will be some artifice or other (making the two one? body swap? * shrugs *).
Because this was a dream-focused installment, there was fairly random imagery situated throughout. In the conversation with Carver, the panels alternate between them sitting and talking in Carver's house to various scenes related to what they're discussing, with dialogue coming from whatever characters are convenient in that scene, though it's still I.N. and Carver talking. Not sure that the diorama at the end was about, other than I.N. free-associating after meeting Lovecraft.
September 16, 2023
Queer in every sense of the word. Walk through HP Lovecraft's Providence and his walking tours through New England and New York. See the evolution of his fiction, his involvement with a huge body of correspondence. See the world originally through the eyes of a drunken and queer newspaper writer. See how HP Lovecraft affects both the past and the future. What is real? What is fiction? What is a dream and a dream world?
Incredible narrative and incredible graphic art work.
Highly recommended!
Incredible narrative and incredible graphic art work.
Highly recommended!
May 13, 2017
Written and drawn by people who obviously feel great love for both cats and Lovecraft. Really wonderful.
February 28, 2018
This is just an excellent series by a genius storyteller. The art adds to the story and the dense prose at the end is well worth the read, even if it takes a bit of time.
January 9, 2023
Troszkę lepiej niż poprzedni zeszyt, ale nadal nieco wieje nudą, a do tego pojawienie się pewnej postaci na L w ogóle mnie nie zachwyciło, a wręcz nieco rozbiło wiarygodność świata.
March 23, 2017
Really had put this aside for quite a while so it's hard to judge. I think I expected more happening by this point. I love Moore's thoroughness but I want something more by this point.
April 25, 2016
Plainly fascinating, as always. With the appearance of certain New England writer in the story, things seem to be pointing somewhere. Can't wait for #9.
May 17, 2016
Maybe this will work better when I re-read the finished series, but in its own, it's too slow of a burn.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews