狂気の山脈にてラヴクラフト傑作集

KYOUKI NO SANMYAKU NITE

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
4
RELEASE
November 10, 2017
CHAPTERS
25

DESCRIPTION

The story details the events of a disastrous expedition to the Antarctic continent in September 1930, and what was found there by a group of explorers led by the narrator, Dr. William Dyer of Miskatonic University. Throughout the story, Dyer details a series of previously untold events in the hope of deterring another group of explorers who wish to return to the continent.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Notes: Nominated to the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

CAST

Danforth
William Dyer
Lake
Frank Pabodie
Gedney

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

hxie
95/100
"At The Mountains Of Madness" grows into a fine adaptation in its second half, springing to life with visceral art
I came across a recommendation to this work from a surprising corner of Reddit. I felt a little unsure that I would like it, given that my only previous exposure to the Cthulu Mythos was via board games,

The art was fantastic from the outset in the first two volumes. Gou Tanabe strikes the eyes with intricate linework that dances out from pitch blackness. I wish I could draw like this man. However, I initially struggled with the fact that many of the characters, with the exception of Professor Dyer, were clean-shaven white men who looked all too similar (I'll opt to read too deeply into that and see that as a commentary on H.P. Lovecraft's racism) and stilted flashback exposition that is rained down after the story begins in-media res. The pacing felt clunky and the pages seemed to merely lurch from one beautiful panel to another absent of drama and tension (just Lake going insane and being a douche), until we get back to the point where Lake and his camp have been killed, and the cast gets pruned to the point where people are recognizable.

This momentum launched me into the last two volumes (collected into one beautiful omnibus edition, like the first two volumes). The last two volumes are just incredible, with the high point for me being Dyer's interpretation of the history of the Old Ones/Elder Things. Gou Tanabe's 2-page spreads crescendo into the mind-blowing visual definition cosmic horror. Dear lord, he was able to make the Cthulu Mythos spring to fleshy life like I've never seen. The creatures looked viscerally grotesque and alien, not humanoid whatsoever. At the same time, Tanabe's art was able to stir surprising feelings of empathy and sympathy for the Old Ones within me. Despite their writhing and non-humanoid appearance, I saw then as non-human persons, full beings with inner universes. I felt that Tanabe's portrayal of the Old Ones and their conflicts added additional depth and liveliness to Lovecraft's narrative. I started asking myself, what educational systems did the Old Ones have? What jokes did they tell?

This is the finest manga adaptation of a Western work of literature that I've read to date. It has a rocky start and the character designs could have been more distinct, but the art and narrative synthesize into a deliriously trippy experience in the final omnibus. My lack of knowledge of the Cthulu Mythos did not end up being a hindrance, and may have actually worked in my favor by making the setting that much more foreboding and mysterious.

Dark Horse gave this a beautiful paperback release with high quality paper. The colored pages are absolutely gorgeous. This is definitely worth a physical purchase, and with Dark Horse's smaller print runs, the release is probably worth getting sooner rather than later.

Edit: As an aside, I learned today that At The Mountains Of Madness was nominated for a 2020 Eisner award, so let that also push you towards reading this.
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KaijuKing13
80/100
A first journey into the world of “H.P. Lovecraft”…and the macabre CREATURES he creates
Many works of Fiction can and HAVE gotten made into either: Anime and/or Manga. And though some could easily say that those stories DON’T translated well into the NEW __“Medium”__, H.P. Lovecraft’s _“At the Mountains of Madness”_ does a FANTASTIC job at showing off the haunting world of a lone Study-Expedition to the Antarctic… and the __DREAD__ OF WHAT BECOMES OF THEM… AFTER their THIRST for Knowledge takes them, one-after-the-other, deeper and __DEEPER__ into the Snowy Mountains’ secrets.... __“Takali-Li! Takali-Li!”__ H.P. Lovecraft is of the MOST renowned _“Science-Fiction”_ Authors of the 20th Century. With his suspenseful stories and Mythos connected to (At least… __AT THE TIME__) weird and UNHOLY creatures, and the younger and brave people who we follow through the stories that ENCOUNTER these monsters… and how their encounters leave __LASTING IMPACTS__ on the characters’ psyches to live with from them on…! Mix that we the ___GORGOUSE___ art of _Gou Tanabe_, who usually has a talent for writing manga based on Lovecraft’s worlds and Lore and has the talent to create the most BEAUTIFUL artwork to bring to life the REALISTIC look-and-feel to the ___grittiness and dread___ of paranormal hauntings for Lovecraft’s characters to explore. “At the Mountains of Madness” is a story about a simple College Expedition in the early 1900s having sailed and landed at the Arctic to pay honor and expand on the findings and knowledge of other previous voyages before them to learn what further lays in the more CENTRAL parts of the “Icy Island”. We are __first__ to believe that our main character is the ambitious and willing youngster: Gedney. As the first few chapters focus on his venture to coming-aboard and sailing the seas with the rest of his crew to the island. (As we ALSO get a Narration of what the Crew is experiencing.) And the Crew docks and journeys through the Coast of Antarctica without problems! It even starts talking about Geological readings and how and where the more CENTRAL portions of the Continent are most-likely located, given their science and readings, but as a storm starts brewing-up and Gedney’s ambition gets the better of him… After a few days of studying and even getting a small party lead by the Scientist: Professor Lake, to venture with him from the Main-Group, the story starts to turn… __GRIZZLY__.... The story decides to center on the _“Captain”_ of the expedition, himself: William Dyer. As he grows naturally more worried about his Side-Team’s lack of response to how experimentation with Gedney’s theories are going, that he decides to take his group and go fly mobile-planes to where Gedney said he wanted his team to explore. From here, is where it “All” REALLY starts...
As all the planes land where they find Lake’s team’s plane, they find the camp that HIS team set-up, UNFORTUNETLY… IT’S DESTRYED. All the bodies are frozen-over and mangled-dead. Even the dogs aren’t saved from this unknown fate. While Dyer finds and reads one of the only few things to survive, Gedney’ Journal, we get an explanation to the FIRST mystery that would only BEGIN to unfold lies WITHIN THE SNOWY CENTRAL ICE LAND!
Gou’s artwork and style for recreating Lovecrafts suspense and horror in his novels are a MARVEL to experience in this manga. From beginning to end everything is detailed in grounded realism of how on would PROBABLY interpret _Early 1900’s England_. Even drawing-out how our “Main Character” had wanted to journey because of his interest in looking at the findings all whose OTHER teams from years past that had gotten as far as they, THEMSELVES, did! And it only takes about a chapter-or-two after the beginning to reach the continent, ITSELF! Although it isn’t WITHOUT __FAULT__. Just like other famous Lovecraft books, as there are creatures that appear and are described to have live longer than the Human Race, along with their community and architecture. Sometimes, as Lovecraft’s writing more so of his characters describing the “HORRORS” of the Past-Creatures’ bizarreness from human’s understanding and/or likeness. As the characters explain about seeing objects or drawings that there is “___NO WAY TO MAKE HUMANLY SENSE OF…!___” Unlike in a __NOVEL__ where having illustrations is _optional_, in Comics/Manga, illustrations are the __KEY-TRAIT__. And in this book, once the Main characters explore the mountain’s cave, not only do they see (Understandably) bizarre carvings and such, but some of the showings of the creatures’ history is SO complex and massive that it actually starts to CLUTTER the space shown on page! But I guess one could say: It’s more dependent on the TIMES it was written VS when the story was read. Lovecraft was an Author in the early “1900s” when __NOVELS were the BIGGEST form of ENTERTAINMENT.__ And no one had the technology (Or maybe even inspiration) to show-off anything more inhumanly interesting as the terrifying imaginary creatures that Lovecraft created…! FAST-FORWARD TO __2020’s__, AND NOW WE NOT ONLY HAVE BOTH TELEVISION AND THEATERS TO SEVERELY ENHANCE MASS AUDIENCES INTO PHYSICALLY-VIEWABLE WORLDS WITH DIRECTLY THREATENING CREATURES TO ONE’S OWN FACE…! Also, let’s not forget about the biggest format of any-and-all information in the world… __THE INTERNET__. Thus if audiences are too USED to being shown/given a certain type of creature or being to be exposed to for too long (ESPECIALLY if the person exposing us to said creature just wants to keep shoving it on us for an attempted “Quick-Buck”...) I think Dominic Noble: The Dom (“Lost in Adaptation” series - Ep. Dagon: 2:46) probably said it best: I think maybe it’s a combination of my generation being jaded by movies trying to scare us and overexposure to it.
Also, though it MAY still be in-style, the story begins with the first disaster already having HAPPEN, but then transitions to START the story with the Mystery Beginning “_Sometime Earlier..._”. Plus, how when Main Characters: Dyer and Danforth are exploring the cave, as Danforth realizes the danger of what may THREATEN THEIR LIVES moving forward, ALREADY having found their missing members, it is Dyer who seems mysteriously possessed to travel onwards until it’s too late not find the danger!
But then once the two travelers escape, DYER seems fine after having returned home and DANFORTH is affected by whatever in there!
- Side note: Once the traveler find the remains of their missing member: Gedney, reasonably, they notice that there is a SECOND sled to try and escape the horrors from, and it’s never found out who rode it!
This was a __VERY__ good suspense book to read and discover the weird and ___horror/macabre___ worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. And Darkhorse did a GREAT job at giving it a _Special Edition_ thick-cover WITH connected Bookmark Tassel. As this is the ONLY H.P. Lovecraft book I’ve read, MYSELF, I’d advise anyone of discovering his works, ESPECIALLY in Manga-form...! But I’d still also advise keeping note of what I said earlier about the "Horror Game" having evolved SO MUCH from his time, that you MAY find it a little LESS scary than when it was __originally__ published. Or maybe since it's illustrated in this Medium via. _"Black and White"_ it could entice more....
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