Arkham Horror: The Terror at the End of Time #1 (written by Cullen Bunn, with art by Andrea Mutti and colors by Valerio Alloro) brings the Arkham Horror games and books to life. Set in the Jazz Age of the 1920s, this premier issue introduces us to wealthy socialite Jenny Barnes, who always has a priceless necklace and two pistols as part of her wardrobe, and Private Investigator Joe Diamond, who’s also much more than he seems.
The first half of the book feels like a classic Mickey Spillane mystery, with a wealthy damsel-in-distress desperate to find her missing sister. There’s a scene in a diner where Jenny and Joe have a conversation, gauging each other while not wanting to open up to the other person, and I could easily see this scene playing out in a classic Bogart/Bacall film like The Big Sleep. The dialogue’s as sparse and efficient as a Spillane potboiler, with an added level of menace with mentions of an ancient cult lurking in the background and the overall feeling of dread that looms over the city of Arkham.
The second half of the book is pure horror and 100% Lovecraft, with a search in an abandoned chapel, extra-dimensional portals and twisted malevolent creatures wandering in the midnight mists. This is my favorite part of the book, with some zippy dialogue and an oppressive atmosphere throughout that’ll genuinely give you some chills, especially at the climax of the issue.
Despite some detestable things that have come up about H. P. Lovecraft’s life and philosophy, there’s no denying he’s the king of cosmic horror, the type of horror that makes you terrified about what you can’t see, or what you can only see out of the corner of your eye. Lovecraft’s Earth is filled with impossibly ancient gods who haunt the land and sea in an infinite number of twisted shapes, descending from other dimensions to seize control of humanity.
This issue begins tapping into that mythos and if you’re a fan of the game, especially the card game, the issue feels like playing the early rounds of it, switching up assets and conducting investigations, unable to predict what’s going to happen next.
Andrea Mutti’s art fills every scene with menace. Every panel has a hint of shadow and darkness, as if in this world daytime doesn’t exist, this Earth is continually locked in sunset.
If you’re a fan of H. P. Lovecraft or a good mystery story with horror overtones, pick this up – it’s the beginning of what promises to be a very haunting story.
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