Generations were brought up on the work of HP Lovecraft. His works have also inspired many artists. We got numerous movies, series and games. The time has come for us to analyze Michele Penco's latest comic, Nightmares .
Four stories
Nightmares is a notebook of four different stories. These are Self-Portrait , City by the Ocean , Model, and Dream Character , respectively . Their plots are not linked. Each tells a completely different story. However, they are all very dark, a bit surreal and disturbing. The first tells about the painter and his latest painting. The second shows an extraordinary adventure taking place in a certain port town. The next one is a short story about an art studio. Finally, the mystery of the man’s disappearance remains. Will his diary help to discover the truth?
Enjoy yourself
The creator of both the script and the drawings for Nightmaresis Michele Penco. His work is about 80 pages long and reads them very quickly, because the creator focuses on the visual side, not dialogues. So there is little text here. The stories are short and look more like introductions to longer stories. But there is nothing wrong with all of this, and the author knew exactly what he was doing. As for the length of each scenario, do you know when you will wake up and the dream will end? Of course not. In addition, Penco leaves us in suspense and gives us a chance to show off our imaginations. We are not sure what happened next in the lives of the main characters. Did their adventures even take place in the real world? Or maybe everything was only the work of some nightmare? We have to answer these questions ourselves. In addition, the proposed endings make the anxiety that accompanies us while reading even more pronounced. While reading, shivers run down our spines, and we are not able to break free from the nightmare until we reach its finale. And yet, even after seeing the last page, emotions will remain with us for a long time. So it is exactly like during a bad dream – we cannot break out of it, even if we want to, and after waking up we still remember it. Sometimes we think back to it also during the day. So it is exactly like during a bad dream – we cannot break out of it, even if we want to, and after waking up we still remember it. Sometimes we think back to it also during the day. So it is exactly like during a bad dream – we cannot break out of it, even if we want to, and after waking up we still remember it. Sometimes we think back to it also during the day.
To draw us even more into Nightmares , the author reveals a surreal world to us. And it is a real masterpiece. The graphic design of the notebook is a real work of art. Penco used only black and white and several shades of gray. Everything was done with a pencil and pen, and the artist took care of the smallest titles. Most of the frames are suitable for enlargement, framing and hanging on the wall. And I am convinced that such an image would attract the eyes of anyone who would only visit you. By the way, thanks to the fabulous technique, the title really pulls us in. Reading, for example, The City by the Ocean, I felt as if I personally walked the streets of the port town. I found out what the hero of that story must have felt.
Get to know the unknown
The publisher of the Polish version of Nightmares is Mandioca. You can associate the company with such titles as Żywa Stal , Collective Imaginarium or Labirynt . I personally had the pleasure to review Skazanieca 666and now I also eagerly reached for one of their newest titles. Once again I was not disappointed. The comic was released in a hardback and contains an introduction written by Patricio Valladares, a Chilean director and screenwriter, who introduces us to the world created inside and introduces us to the author a little closer. In addition, together with the notebook, we get a bookmark in the atmosphere of Penco’s work. Everything looks very nice at first glance, which makes it difficult to pass by the title indifferently. On the occasion of Mandioka, applause is due. Publishers again reach for less known authors, but they choose a title next to which both Lovecraft and comic book fans cannot pass by indifferently.
Lovecraft wouldn’t complain
Nightmares is a comic book that absorbs. You read it in almost the same breath, then come back to it to admire once again the beautiful pictures made by Penco. Even after putting the album on the shelf, it stays with us for a long time. The author’s dark and surreal visions, which HP Lovecraft himself would certainly not be ashamed of, force us to think about the ending of each story. The atmosphere and the plot are also thrilling, and they immediately bring to mind the works of the Loner of Providence. We can only be glad that Mandioca decided to publish this notebook in our country and it found our way!
