The Mountains of Madness

 When one thinks of the phrase "Cosmic Horror" the first thing that comes to mind is Cthulu, the monstrous creation of H.P. Lovecraft. Even those such as myself that have never read any of his works, his name and monsters hold great meaning, showing influence in all sorts of media throughout the last century, horror or not. One of the features of his work that stands out is of course, the monsters and visual descriptions of unfathomable design. Reading a visual adaption of one of Lovecraft's work certainly created an interesting opportunity to see an artist's interpretation of his visual design. The Mountains of Madness reflects various factors clearly influencing future media, showing how ahead of it's time this book was. The theme of an arctic expedition resulting in alien catastrophe can be seen in the 1982 film, The Thing. A more modern parallel can be seen with the 2011 film Prometheus. A prequel of sorts to the cult classic Alien, one of the common themes between Prometheus and The Mountains of Madness is the setting. Scientists exploring on an expedition find more than they bargain for, and their thirst for further knowledge becomes their undoing. Lake is killed by the awoken creatures he uncovers, and the monsters mutate and kill the crew of the ship that rediscovered them. Humanity learns that they were created from an alien species, and ends with the acknowledgement that the knowledge and location of discovery must be avoided at all costs. Themes of intelligent extraterrestrial life beyond our comprehension is a theme I've admired, and would have never expected from the works as early as the 1930s. To me it shows Lovecraft's work is remembered for good reason, it was remarkably ahead of it's time and continues to influence media even today.

Horror in the East

 In study of J-Horror I read some of Seven Japanese Tales. In particular, the story that stood out the most to me was The Thief. Interestingly, the story provides an alternative perspective of horror; fear of isolation from society. The protagonist struggles to cope with his bad habit, resulting in severe anxiety of whatever could arise simply from others suspecting from him. In this day and age this fear is more relatable than ever, many suspects of crime facing a trial by media. News outlets tend to exaggerate and drain all focus to tragedies, such as the case with Casey Anthony. Even when the court found her innocent in her case, the majority had already viewed her as a guilty murderer, and continued to do so. Similar cases can be seen where people falsely accused of rape are found guilty and sentenced to years in prison, making a permanent mark of shame for the rest of their lives for crimes they didn't commit. Interestingly in The Thief, the protagonist views all the fears someone falsely suspected of a crime might have, despite being the actual culprit himself. He worries mostly about the relationship of his friends and society, fearing he will be shunned and disgraced by others for his "habit." He admits to his crimes when caught, not even trying to defend himself in front of the others. Is this because he knows his false defense won't be believed by others, or a final attempt to save his friendships?
  In keeping with the theme of social relations as the focus of the horror, the story emphasizes the idea that "a thief belongs to a different species." This is a not so subtle way of showing the protagonist's fears; that he will be considered a different species. An outcast from society with no proper place of his own, constantly being judged for his actions. Interestingly enough, the students seem to think the crime of theft is less severe than that of murder. Why is that? Does it have to do with a traditional sense of honor, that killing an enemy is less lowly than stealing possessions? In our society there's no question that murder is considered the more terrible of the two, but what difference do these students see that we do not?

Potions, brooms, and silver slippers.

   In study of the topic of witches, I read part of Black Maria and the short comic series Thessaly Witch for Hire.
  Aunt Maria interested me for it's interesting perspective on the old witch hag, as well as reflecting upon issues in family relations. Aunt Maria as a character can be seen as a sort of deconstruction to the stereotypical elder family member and the classical witch. In most media, the elderly are seen as frail and slow, but wise and gentle. Aunt Maria takes advantage of this perspective and constantly frames herself as being weaker than she actually is, using this to guilt her family to her bidding. This shows she is in fact the opposite of the stereotypical elder; selfish, physically capable, but still clever. This ties in to the perspective of some real world relations people have with their families. My family has always been taught to do what your elders tell you, particularly our grandparents. If they wanted something done, it was to be done without question. What Black Maria does so interestingly is that it shows three different reactions to this traditional behavior pushed too far. Chris out right speaks his mind, calling out Aunt Maria at nearly every opportunity. He says the things his family wants to but lack the courage to say. Mig shares mutual thoughts with Chris, however she vents her frustration by venting in her journal and speaking about it outside of Aunt Maria's presence. Their mother follows similar behavior to Mig, only seen venting to Mig one night before bed (from what I've read so far.)
  As for the stereotypes of the classical witch, Aunt Maria shares a few similar features. Both are elderly women with selfish motivations. Similar to the Witch from Hansel and Gretel, Aunt Maria uses deception to take advantage of others, over exaggerating her frailty and age to gather guilt. An interesting detail in the book however, is Aunt Maria's hatred for cats. The classical witch is often depicted with a black cat as their companion, riding along on their broomsticks or watching them brew potions. This motif is reverted, Aunt Maria showing surprising disdain for the cat that sneaks into her yard. One of the more amusing details about Aunt Maria the book has shown me so far.
  Thessaly Witch I hold in lesser regard however. The overall story has potential, and the character relations have a good foundation. However these promising traits are not taken advantage of, resulting in a rather uninteresting turn of events. One if it's biggest flaws being it's protagonist. Thessaly falls victim to the same flaws I see in Superman as a protagonistic character. She is a character so unfathomably powerful there is almost no motivation for the viewer to relate to her or her plight. The fact that the major antagonist, the Tharmic Null, is apparently the only thing in existence that can kill her. The Tharmic Null is only capable of this because "nothing can kill it." Not even the "gods and demons and angels of creations" could kill her. Her near invulnerability and far too passive and morally empty personality add up to a bland unrelatable character. The main interest this short series piqued in me all came from the narrator Fetch and the interesting places Thessaly visits in the third volume. Fetch is an extremely unlikable character. Being sarcastic, selfish and giving off some heavy rapist vibes in the first volume, I wasnt expecting him to be the most interesting character. Despite these problems the simple fact he has a personality makes him stand out against the protagonist in a good way. Thessaly Witch for Hire is overall a decent idea but with terrible execution.