If you’re a fan of comics there are certain names that are familiar, from the elder gods of Kirby and Lee to the modern titans like Ennis and King. And there’s one name that we all know, as much for his fantastic stories as for his weird lifestyle and sometimes controversial opinions: Alan Moore. From seminal runs on Swamp Thing to the modern classic League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, this is a man who lets his imagination run wild. 

Moore is also no stranger to the occult or oddness in general. Many comics he’s worked on or created have explored the paranormal and unreal worlds. The four-issue Neonomicon is one of those books. The story is a mix of Moore and Lovecraft. It involves FBI agents who have been investigating a series of gruesome murders that seem to be connected. Though the state of the victims is almost identical each time, the bodies are found in different locations and multiple murderers have been apprehended. The problem is details of the murders weren’t made public, so the agents can’t figure out how everything looks the same with so many different suspects.

And that’s where the elder gods come in. Much like Lovecraft, there’s a degree of confusion in what’s actually going on, who’s telling the truth about the “real” world and who’s actually sane. But unlike Lovecraft, Moore eventually dives right into the mythos and shows what’s beyond the veil of our reality. In that regard, there is some fantastic art by Jacen Burrows – the type of images you actually need to look at for a while because there’s just so much going on.

While Neonomicon is an enjoyable enough read if the elder gods are your thing, there’s not much original that’s added to the mythos. There’s an obvious progression to the story and the end isn’t exactly surprising. Plus, it gets very adult, which I suppose is to be expected with Moore when he has free reign.