There have been quite a few: numerous short stories, graphic novels, and even ongoing series. It is this singularity of vision, tying story with visual presentation, that makes At the Mountains of Madness possibly the best adaptation of H.P. These explorers stand to represent the beginning of one age, one in which reason triumphs over superstition, but they discover just how small they are in the grand scheme of global history. The characters throughout the story must grapple with their place, both in a physical location and within the history of the world. Scale is key to Tanabe’s skill as a storyteller, both scale in the physical sense as well as within the dimension of time. It’s a perfectly executed introduction, setting the tone and introducing the themes of the story to come. First, they are seen from a human angle, gazing upwards then, we see them in their full terrible majesty, from above finally, the “camera” pulls out even farther to the rim of the world - showing us that even these peaks are dwarfed in the context of the whole Antarctic. Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris StrugatskyĪs the prologue to Gou Tanabe’s At the Mountains of Madness, the first part of which was translated to English by Zack Davisson and published by Dark Horse Comics, draws to a close, we get a series of double-page spreads showing the titular mountains. A roadside picnic, on some road in the cosmos.” Rags, burn out bulbs, and a monkey wrench left behind. Old spark plugs and old filters strewn around. And what do they see? Gas and oil spilled on the grass.

The animals, birds and insects that watched in horror through the long night creep out from their hiding places. They light fires, pitch tents, turn on the music. A car drives off the country road into the meadow, a group of young people get out of the car carrying bottles, baskets of food, transistor radios, and cameras. Picture a forest, a country road, a meadow. Features Come in from the Cold: Gou Tanabe’s At the Mountains of Madness and the Comics Adaptations of H.P.

At the mountains of madness manga