Graphic Novel Review: Innsmouth Volume 1 by Megan James

Posted on March 26, 2020 at 11:26 am by Gene Ambaum

Innsmouth Volume 1 by Megan James. ComicM!x, 2019. 9781939888730. Contains issues #1-#5. (Physical and digital copies available at https://www.meganjamesart.com/innsmouth which may be the best way to get one.)  also has a few.

This is another gem recommended to me by Chris at Seattle’s Comics Dungeon, a book James in her introduction calls “a modern day revisionist horror comedy featuring a diverse cast that would be accessible to newcomers and old fans alike.” It’s a beautiful, fun graphic novel that updates HP Lovecraft’s mythos to the masses. Go by the Comics Dungeon some weekend and ask Chris what you should be reading, he never lets me down.

Randolph Higgle from Innsmouth attends East Arkham High School. A Junior Acolyte for his church (or cult, depending on what you believe), he passes out pocket Necronomicons door to door. They’re not well received. He’s well intentioned but maybe a bit dim. His stepfather is a fishman. He wants to go to college but his mother wants him to stay close to home, worship the Deep Ones, and help bring about the end of the world (which isn’t far off). Randolph even (accidentally) becomes the Chosen One to keep the little Shoggoth (the multi-eyed creature on the cover) safe until it’s needed to end the world. He goes to the library at Miskatonic University to find out about banishing it, and there he meets Fatima Alhazred, eldrich-anthropologist-in-training. And then they’re off on an adventure that lasts until the end of the book.

There are “horrifying” creatures, a bit of fairly cartoony violence (and blood and bones and stuff), a lot of laughs, and my favorite reanimators for hire ever, Herbert and West. It’s worth a read whether any of this sounds familiar or not. (But if you’re read any pulps and spent your childhood watching horror videos on VHS like me, some of this is probably ringing a bell.) The first issue is available to read free on James’ website.