Bargain -Bin Books #2 - H.P. Lovecraft's 'Re-Animator'

(Published by Adventure Comics 1991)

"Of Herbert West, who was my friend in college and in after life, I can speak only with extreme terror."

So begins Herbert West- Reanimator, the serialised gruesome tale by H.P. Lovecraft. First published between February and July in 1922, it has gone on to be among the most well-known Lovecraft stories, but definitely not the most loved. 

The story follows the adventures of the un-named narrator and his involvement with West's experiments in reviving the dead over the course of several decades, and at various points, several continents. Each segment of the story concludes with a cliffhanger, something unusual for Lovecraft stories, and is much more ghoulish than his regular works. The 6 different 'chapters' are; 'From the Dark', 'Six Shots at Midnight', 'The Horror from the Shadows', 'The Plague-Daemon', 'The Tomb Legions' and 'The Scream of the Dead'. The fact that it was written purely for cash and the more gory nature of the story leads many fans of literature to dismiss it as trash, but I think it is good, solid fun and it never takes itself too seriously. I've read it several times over the years, and had it in multiple Lovecraft collections, but I like little odd copies of stories that can pop up, like this one. 

This edition was released as a cash-in for the film, which by this point was doing huge business, with a sequel just after being released. The cover is great, with Jeffrey Combs' likeness doing the job nicely. It has an intro by Steven Jones, and scattered between the chapters are some great black-and-white illustrations, that makes the whole thing a nice little piece for fans of the story, or the film. I picked it up in a comic book store that used to be in Temple Bar, Dublin, but I think it's closed down now. It was about ten years ago, and around the same time I was given a copy of the same story being read by Jeffrey Combs on audio! That is also worth checking out if you are a hardcore fan of the material, no doubt it is easy enough to find.

For those that haven't read it and are only familiar with Stuart Gordon's genre classic, it is worth reading at some point. It is relatively short, and it's always nice to see what snippets of ideas were used in the translation to the big screen. Just don't expect a typed Barbara Crampton getting eaten out by a severed head...