Nerds That Geek Graphic Novel Review – ‘Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos’

Written by Joel T. Lewis

There are a lot of things that come to mind when the name Lovecraft enters conversation. Horror, doom, tentacles certainly, and the dread of humanity’s insignificance. But in my many dealings with Lovecraft’s twisted stories, there are two words that I’ve never heard in those conversations: funny and wholesome. Until recently that is, when I picked up the illustrated horror anthology, Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos.
 
The extraordinary effect of this second Wannabe Press anthology starring Lovecraft’s monsters is it showcases those telltale and tentacled horrors with a dark whimsy and at times a wholesome sweetness. There’s plenty of heebie jeebies for the more purist inclined Old God fans; Paul Jenkins and Tony Donley’s “Hideous Name” for example captures the particular dread and looming madness unique to Lovecraft’s world. 
 
To address any particular vignette too completely would rob you of the joy of reading them yourself, but of the diverse collection I particularly enjoyed “The Old Gods Ain’t What They Used to be” written by David Lucarrelli with illustrations by Henry Ponaciano which centers on a post-consumerism chibi-fied manifestation of Cthulu struggling to attract the attention of the smartphone generation.
 
Another of my favorites is Clare Leslie’s “Unseen,” a gorgeous wash of cosmic purples and robust romantic figures reminiscent of NBC’s Hannibal series (which anyone who knows me will tell you is a direct route to my good graces). Finally, “Father Figure” written and illustrated by the team of Paul J. Mendoza and Brandon T. Perlow is a uniquely poignant and heartbreaking story about compassion and unlikely fatherhood in the face of the Old God brand of the end of the world that was gorgeously told and extremely moving.
 
Often the advantage of reading a comic anthology is that you don’t have to slog through too much of any story you don’t particularly like, luckily Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos is one of those exceptional anthologies whose stories you savor and don’t want to end. 
 
Volume I of Cthulhu is Hard to Spell is available through Wannabe Press’s Website: https://www.wannabepress.com/shop and you can preorder The Terrible Twos on Kickstarter. The anthology is edited by: Russell Nohelty and Kristen Simon.

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