Plot: An anthology of stories written in the Cthulhu Mythos, Cthulhu Tales introduces more tales of mankind’s struggle against the Elder Gods and their minions and the descent into madness. Some try to fight it, some try to understand it, while others choose to make deals with it.

Comments: With the success of Fall of Cthulhu, BOOM! Studios has started a new series dedicated to the ever threatening doom to all mankind. Cthulhu Tales brings new stories to the table, and while set outside of the Fall of Cthulhu comic, it offers new stories on different aspects of Cthulhu and the rest of the Mythos.

The first story, a cold noir piece entitled “The Hiding Place” is about an inspector’s last investigation into a suspected serial killer. The story is reminiscent of the Maltese Falcon and other old crime serials, and the shading and inkwork on this helps out a lot. The art is spectacular but the story itself is short, and leaves a reader feeling like they missed something important to the plot with it picking up at the end of the investigation.

The second story, titled "Katrina", is told from the perspective of an inmate working on the streets of New Orleans. While cleans he finds…a book! (If you know anything about Lovecraftian stories this won’t end well for anyone.) The book tells the story of a lone survivor of Hurricane Katrina, who encounters monsters after the storm. The better of the three stories, this one combines classic horror with a modern tragedy. The end of the story made me chuckle a bit, however, ending with a slightly appropriate piece of toilet humor. The fly reference was a bit much though.

The third and final story was an interesting approach to Lovecraft’s stories. Told from the perspective of two girls in college, it starts off like many other Cthulhu stories. One of the girls starts to hallucinate and is quoting Cthulhu’s catchy prayer, while the other at first seems to know what she can do to help. Where this story differs, however, is how it’s a story of betrayal, and of how rather than fighting the forces that live beyond our vision, some choose to sell out and embrace it. I enjoyed this story, as it kind of made me wonder about selling out my flat mates in order to avoid death. (Like they wouldn’t do it first.)

Final Word: This series is good but is really written with certain types of people in mind. If you are a hardcore Lovecraft fanatic, who has all the books and can recite the Cthulhu oath by heart, then these stories will appease you and make you long for the moon drenched shores of Ry’leh. If you are new to this series or have only a passing knowledge of the Mythos in general, then these stories might not be for you. Good art, imaginative stories, but I’m left wondering how long a series that shows people continuously losing against monsters will eventually last. All in all, I was entertained but was left wanting for more than just a couple of pages for each story.

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