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yaroslav_nazarenko's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
elwilsino's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
carlosferrero72's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Sexual content
Moderate: Genocide and Racism
Minor: Cannibalism and War
m43m43's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
An interesting start. I’m curious as to where it will go.
jmbz38's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
ridanwise's review against another edition
4.0
Providence has all we love and hate about Lovecraft: from the outspoken (although, here, underlined and subverted) xenophobia to the endless chain of contacts and names through which our main character climbs his way to an actual plot twist. No, I'm not being sarcastic... Well, I mean, I kinda am, but after reading Providence (and staring at that gorgeous artwork) you too will come to admire the little things; and remember that between the beginning and the climax, atmosphere was what pulled us into and kept us glued to cosmic horror. This work has it in spades.
lilybear3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
I'm going to start by saying that I had different expectations going into this book and I really struggled to get through it, despite only being 160 pages. It just wasn't for me. I think I was initially interested in the horror aspect. I'm sorry to those that love it and Alan Moore.
The back of the book describes it as "deconstructs
This is a compilation of the comic Providence #1-4. I love graphic novels, but this was so densely worded for me that it was hard to get through. There's a handwritten journal entries at the end of each chapter. I figured out later that it gives some details leading up to the what happens in that chapter and then it summarizes the chapter. Why should I read a summary of what happened when I just saw it illustrated? Secondly, the handwriting font is so hard to read because of it's size and style.
The end of chapter 2 was particularly long and there was an excerpt from the book Suydam gives to the main character. This reminded me of the section of 1984 that reads like a textbook. Beyond the text taking up the entire page for many pages, the content was so dense.
I stopped reading the handwritten journal entries at the end of chapters 3 and 4. I'm sure the information in these were important but I just stopped caring.
By chapter 4, I didn't even care about the story, it was just so confusing.
What this book really lacks is characterization. I didn't know anything about the characters and their motivations, except the main character who is writing this book on the occult.
I was expecting more horror. To me, that doesn't pick up until the 3rd chapter and even then, it's so mild. It's just this journalist who's interested in the occult and he goes around talking to different people. I know this is just #1-4 but I don't how the story could get interesting. It was a lot of people talking to each other about horror things and most of the time it was just about artifacts or about a book. I just wanted more horror.
The back of the book describes it as "deconstructs
This is a compilation of the comic Providence #1-4. I love graphic novels, but this was so densely worded for me that it was hard to get through. There's a handwritten journal entries at the end of each chapter. I figured out later that it gives some details leading up to the what happens in that chapter and then it summarizes the chapter. Why should I read a summary of what happened when I just saw it illustrated? Secondly, the handwriting font is so hard to read because of it's size and style.
The end of chapter 2 was particularly long and there was an excerpt from the book Suydam gives to the main character. This reminded me of the section of 1984 that reads like a textbook. Beyond the text taking up the entire page for many pages, the content was so dense.
I stopped reading the handwritten journal entries at the end of chapters 3 and 4. I'm sure the information in these were important but I just stopped caring.
By chapter 4, I didn't even care about the story, it was just so confusing.
What this book really lacks is characterization. I didn't know anything about the characters and their motivations, except the main character who is writing this book on the occult.
I was expecting more horror. To me, that doesn't pick up until the 3rd chapter and even then, it's so mild. It's just this journalist who's interested in the occult and he goes around talking to different people. I know this is just #1-4 but I don't how the story could get interesting. It was a lot of people talking to each other about horror things and most of the time it was just about artifacts or about a book. I just wanted more horror.
zare_i's review against another edition
4.0
This one is a mixed bag for me. I liked it, don't get me wrong but in general there are elements that are so common for artistic-oriented graphic novels that just .... annoy me personally.
So, to start with what I liked.
Main character, journalist Robert Black, starts investigation (because his newspaper needs fresh stories) into mysterious book "Sous le Monde" that drives everyone who reads it into madness and suicide.
While researching the subject Black (who is very strange character himself willing to accept all the weird things as "oh, right, it must be breakfast this morning that causes these sights of headless corpses") comes into contact with rather mysterious doctor who tells him of an even more mysterious book that might hold secret to eternal life.
Considering it ridiculous that such a book could ever exist, Black gets introduced into the world of strange small esoteric cults based on the very similar lore that migrated to America from Europe. This intrigues Black so much he decides to devote his talent and time to finding more about this awkward groups and write stories about them.
And so it starts. He finds himself traveling to many sites in pursuit of the book. Events that transpire would scare anyone but our good mister Black. To be honest, just witnessing some of the things would make me jump 8 feet high with high pitched shriek but our mister Black is very good at handling it - he just says to himself that people here are completely different and others are looking at them from high and that is the cause of all of the misunderstandings. I mean what the ... He enters the bus where he is basically only one looking remotely human and speaking in normal voice.... Just weird.
Scare here is always at subliminal level - what we as readers see might not be what Black sees from his perspective (which I guess would explain some of his behavior) - in the background you see some conversations in very small letters and weird things going on (shapes, visions, things people are moving from one point to other, their comments, ominous titles and behavior). It all builds the atmosphere very well and stage for act 2 gets set beautifully by the end.
Art is beautiful, very to the point and very cinematic.
In between issues there are excerpts from Black's journal where we can see both Black's view of things. Sometimes it matches what reader saw on panels, sometimes not. Very often journal pages contain a lot of Black's denial of what he did see bulked with Black scolding himself how he can so misinterpret things around him. Sometimes journal part is a little bit of radical-slow to the story pace but it has its value.
It feels like Black is walking through a dream - bloody scary dream though - and just like in a dream whatever he sees he takes as normal and does not get agitated much with rather scary element of the environment.
Now what I did not like.
Whenever I take artistic graphic novels like this I hope they wont do the things artistic graphic novels usually do. For some reason in artistic view ultimate fear is always shown as seeing people nude and horrific scenes including forced or kinky sex. Here same thing happens - everything comes down to some weird sex thing between humans and it (horror from beyond). I mean, imagine that you are millennia old creature wandering the starts and ruining civilizations and you come to Earth and your only idea is to make them crazy (so they worship you and eventually kill themselves out) and then have sex with them in every perverse way. I mean, come on. Lovecraft's stories were about what goes inside people's heads, question what is real and what is not and shere pressure of something unspeakable and explainable driving people mad - it was never about hedonistic space creatures going down on human populations like set of sex toys.
This could be limitations of the medium ... maybe. Written word relies on you to imagine situations while graphic novels need to show you the scene. But again why do the graphic novel authors decide to go this way when portraying horrendous things is beyond me. Just take Metabaron series - it is all about incest, in-breeding, cutting ones genitals and doing pervert things with it - in one of the stories Metabaron even controls his spacecraft with appendage coming from his loins after losing his genitals to treachery. I will never understand why authors of these types of novels decide to move in this way.
All in all Providence act #1 is slow, suspense building story.
Recommended to fans of horror and Lovecraft lore.
So, to start with what I liked.
Main character, journalist Robert Black, starts investigation (because his newspaper needs fresh stories) into mysterious book "Sous le Monde" that drives everyone who reads it into madness and suicide.
While researching the subject Black (who is very strange character himself willing to accept all the weird things as "oh, right, it must be breakfast this morning that causes these sights of headless corpses") comes into contact with rather mysterious doctor who tells him of an even more mysterious book that might hold secret to eternal life.
Considering it ridiculous that such a book could ever exist, Black gets introduced into the world of strange small esoteric cults based on the very similar lore that migrated to America from Europe. This intrigues Black so much he decides to devote his talent and time to finding more about this awkward groups and write stories about them.
And so it starts. He finds himself traveling to many sites in pursuit of the book. Events that transpire would scare anyone but our good mister Black. To be honest, just witnessing some of the things would make me jump 8 feet high with high pitched shriek but our mister Black is very good at handling it - he just says to himself that people here are completely different and others are looking at them from high and that is the cause of all of the misunderstandings. I mean what the ... He enters the bus where he is basically only one looking remotely human and speaking in normal voice.... Just weird.
Scare here is always at subliminal level - what we as readers see might not be what Black sees from his perspective (which I guess would explain some of his behavior) - in the background you see some conversations in very small letters and weird things going on (shapes, visions, things people are moving from one point to other, their comments, ominous titles and behavior). It all builds the atmosphere very well and stage for act 2 gets set beautifully by the end.
Art is beautiful, very to the point and very cinematic.
In between issues there are excerpts from Black's journal where we can see both Black's view of things. Sometimes it matches what reader saw on panels, sometimes not. Very often journal pages contain a lot of Black's denial of what he did see bulked with Black scolding himself how he can so misinterpret things around him. Sometimes journal part is a little bit of radical-slow to the story pace but it has its value.
It feels like Black is walking through a dream - bloody scary dream though - and just like in a dream whatever he sees he takes as normal and does not get agitated much with rather scary element of the environment.
Now what I did not like.
Whenever I take artistic graphic novels like this I hope they wont do the things artistic graphic novels usually do. For some reason in artistic view ultimate fear is always shown as seeing people nude and horrific scenes including forced or kinky sex. Here same thing happens - everything comes down to some weird sex thing between humans and it (horror from beyond). I mean, imagine that you are millennia old creature wandering the starts and ruining civilizations and you come to Earth and your only idea is to make them crazy (so they worship you and eventually kill themselves out) and then have sex with them in every perverse way. I mean, come on. Lovecraft's stories were about what goes inside people's heads, question what is real and what is not and shere pressure of something unspeakable and explainable driving people mad - it was never about hedonistic space creatures going down on human populations like set of sex toys.
This could be limitations of the medium ... maybe. Written word relies on you to imagine situations while graphic novels need to show you the scene. But again why do the graphic novel authors decide to go this way when portraying horrendous things is beyond me. Just take Metabaron series - it is all about incest, in-breeding, cutting ones genitals and doing pervert things with it - in one of the stories Metabaron even controls his spacecraft with appendage coming from his loins after losing his genitals to treachery. I will never understand why authors of these types of novels decide to move in this way.
All in all Providence act #1 is slow, suspense building story.
Recommended to fans of horror and Lovecraft lore.
professorfate's review against another edition
4.0
Giving it 4 because I can't give 3.5. Reading the journal pages really slows the pace, especially since most of it is a recap of the illustrated pages.