Thoughts about #1, #2, #3,#4, #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9.
The blurb for this issue states ”the end is near” which finally, it is. Hopefully before the end of 2016 too, but we got to the point last issue where Robert Black and Lovecraft finally met in Lovecraft’s hometown of Providence. This issue starts with the creeping sense of doom Alan Moore’s been building up over the last four or five issues since the last time something really awful happened to Black before showing us Lovecraft and Black talking about Edgar Allan Poe.
We then see that Lovecraft has read Black’s diary which has given him ideas, much to the amazement of Black himself.
After a strange meeting with Howard Charles who has suddenly matured beyond when they last met in the attic of a church last issue, Black and Lovecraft carry on their chat in which Lovecraft outs his homophobic nature to Black.
Lovecraft also throws in a bit of antisemitism and it’s here Moore finally throws in the more troubling aspects of Lovecraft as a man into the mix. To make things more troubling for Black, it seems he recognises Lovecraft’s father from his trip to Manchester.
Black then realises what’s possibly been going on around him in his travels which brings back that ominous sense of dread again.
Then bad things happen.
Providence has now placed Robert Black in the Very Bad Place it’s been threatening to place him in for more or less the entire run. Although there’s much exposition and explanation in this issue there’s enough still waiting to be answered, especially now Providence is starting to link in with Moore’s previous Lovecraft inspired work, Neonomicon.
It does look as if Black’s story is going to end very, very badly. We’ll hopefully get #11 sooner rather than later to find out…
My Little Underground 