The Road to Providence

Bobby Derie

So while we're waiting for Alan Moore and Jacen Burrow's Providence to drop later this month, Joe Linton and I have been collaborating on annotations for their previous Lovecraftian story Neonomicon. This includes a survey of Moore's Lovecraftian efforts to date, a bibliography, images and annotations to all the covers, and just today an essay on the use of rape in Neonomicon. So definitely for mature readers, but if you're interested and/or want to talk about it here, I thought I'd put it out there.

Dizzy D

Neonomicon, I read the name wrong when it first came out and had a completely different idea on what it would be about: I thought it was Neoconicon and would be a mixture of Lovecraftian horrors and Bush jr.-era neo-conservatives. When it turned out something else, I was disappointed, but I should reread it and give it a fair shot.

Bobby Derie

For anyone following Alan Moore and Jacen Burrow's comic, issue #2 was released just yesterday, and we already have annotations up for Providence #1 and Providence #2.

Bobby Derie

For anyone following, we have annotations up for Providence issues 3, 4, and 5.

Five issues in - and at a cover price of $4.99 an issue, that's a $25.00 investment - I've been hearing some rumblings from fans on this series. It is a very slow pace compared to most of Alan Moore's comics work, and I would even go so far as to say that it is less welcoming to the average comics reader than most. It is very clever, and shows a terrific amount of work by both Moore and Burrows, but it's not horrific in the usual sense of horror comics, very much subdued most of the time. In all honesty, this is a series that would probably do much better in trade - particularly if packaged in some sort of super edition with The Courtyard and Neonomicon - but if you're able to catch a lot of the references, there's a tremendous sense of anticipation for where Moore might yet take things.

Bobby Derie

For anyone following Providence, we're up to issue 6 now, and in light of some of the hubbub we posted a new article: Obscenity: Alan Moore and the Miller Test.

Bobby Derie

The gap between Providence issues is increasing, and in the meantime we've just posted an essay: Pickman's Apprentice: An Appreciation of Jacen Burrows.

Bobby Derie

Still at this, amazingly, as we wait for Providence #10 to drop. It's been an interesting series so far, but if anyone is curious as to how sales are doing, we crunched a few numbers for you: https://factsprovidence.wordpress.com/moore-lovecraft-comics-annotation-index/innsmouth-gold-providence-sales-data/

Bobby Derie

Two more issues.

https://factsprovidence.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/gilt-by-association-more-providence-sales-numbers/

Bobby Derie

...and issue 12 hit the shelves today. Initial annotations are up, and will be expanded over the coming days as we sort out the timeline and whatnot. Without spoilers, if you're familiar with Moore's previous apocalypses, this one is very similar.

Golden Yak

Wait, what?! I thought this ended with 10! 10 was horrifying! Alright, gotta read the rest. Then re-read the series again.

Martini_Philosopher

Well, I guess I feel better after reading through the annotations. The ending left me feeling as if there was more story to go. Such as what happens to these witnesses now that the world has changed. But having read through, that disappointment I felt was something I was supposed to feel.

Bobby Derie

Moore seems to specialize in that.

Linespider5

Bobby Derie wrote: »

Moore seems to specialize in that.

Not to diverge too strongly, but

I hated, Hated, HATED that the movie failed to include that scene. Those three panels are like the crowning thesis to Watchmen.

Bobby Derie

And a wrap-up post (spoilers!) https://factsprovidence.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/providence-at-last/