Neonomicon #1 ©Avatar Press

“In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”
-H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

This is Jacen Burrows’ wrap cover for Neonomicon #1. Written by Alan Moore and published by Avatar Press, this tale of modern Lovecraftian horror is the sequel to Moore’s earlier series The Courtyard. I think this book came out today, but I haven’t been getting out the comic shop as regularly as usual these days, so I could be wrong. Despite the amazing Cthulhu-licious cover, I didn’t pick it up today because I had a crap load of back issues waiting for me in my subscription folder. I’ll keep my eye out for the trade paperback compilation of the series, however.

Avatar Press is an independent American comics company that was, for many years, best known for publishing so-called “Bad Girl” comics. However, they’ve currently expanded their scope to include creator-owned titles by some of the biggest names in the field: Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Frank Miller, and, of course, Alan Moore. Find out more at AvatarPress.com.

Seriously, Alan Moore and Cthulhu..what else could you ask for in a comic?

Now for something completely different…

Also sighted today at Chapel Hill Comics, this giant plush octopus! I didn’t see a price or manufacturer on it, but it was at least two feet across and ridiculously soft. I’d like to imagine that Alan Moore snuggles up to one just like it when he’s writing his squelchy tales of cosmic horror.

UPDATE: reader CrisA identified the plush octopus! It is the Big Squishable Octopus, $44 from Squishable.com.

R’lyeh is for lovers!, originally uploaded by jvsquare.

Here’s a close up of the R’lyeh “Other World” space on the core Arkham Horror game board. The heart is an Arkham stamina token. The Cthulhu figurine is from a different game—Unspeakable Words by Playroom Entertainment.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

Rising from the non-Euclidian halls of sunken R’lyeh comes a week dedicated to our favorite cosmic squid god. The green, sticky spawn of the stars. The being so freaking eldrich that they named an entire Mythos after him. The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n Rolla. The Dread Cthuhlu.

Cthulhu (typically pronounced kə-THOO-loo) was created by H.P. Lovecraft and first appeared in the short story “The Call of Cthulhu,” originally published in 1928 in the pulp magazine Weird Tales. Cthulhu is a member of a race of extraterrestrial beings of immense size and power called the Great Old Ones, who are worshiped as deities by various human cults. The Cult of Cthulhu waits for the day when their terrible god will awaken from his slumber beneath the sea and rise to consume the world. He likes long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, and devouring your immortal soul.

Learn more about Cthulhu on Wikipedia

“That is not dead that can eternal lie.

And with strange aeons even death may die.”

-Abdul Alhazred, the Necronomicon