Providence Review

~ my review of the comic Providence (2015-2017) by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows. Spoiler-free.

Synopsis: The series is set in 1919 and centres on Robert Black, a homosexual Jewish writer, initially working as a reporter for the New York Herald. Black takes a leave of absence from his journalism career, with the intention of writing a Great American Novel using “the “Outsiders”, perhaps “occult Outsiders”—whom he is on the trail of across New England—as a metaphor for social outsiders.

Excerpt: Paths to the old knowledge only goes one way. Once you’re there, you can’t come home no more.

Story

The ultimate Lovecraftian odyssey. Providence is the story of the fictional writer Robert Black; by way of its adeptly winding narrative, it also becomes a totalizing exploration of the real H.P. Lovecraft, as a man and writer of weird cosmic horror. New York journalist, Black, travels New England for research on a planned novel. Black attains easy access to key locales and persons of interest due to his affable demeanor and erudite quest. What starts as a refreshing break from the doldrums of his reporting career and an escape from recent trauma becomes a harrowing odyssey into the depths of a darkly imaginative, and evolving, mythos of the macabre and unspeakable. Through Black’s countryside steps, his words, and the mindscape of his own burgeoning creative process, we tap into occult folklore. The narrative is one that passes between worlds, of the real and imaginary, betwixt the placid public and the secret societies that exercise physical {and metaphysical} control over culture. The recursive inter-relationship between these poles, fiction and reality, becomes a major conceit of Moore’s tale. Composed of alien lore, ominous mysteries, and dark deeds, the comic is segmented with each issue representing a new locale where a different extraordinary encounter / short story plays out, all building to a coalescing resolution that can hardly be foreseen. The writer Black meets all kinds of people (and entities) in his travels, each intimately involved with the secret histories of “Lovecraft Country,” or the semi-fictitious regions of New England that Lovecraft liked to utilize in his stories. Altogether, this comic serves as a kind of creation myth into occult Americana writ large. The whole of Providence becomes an exploration of not only Lovecraft’s imaginings, but his life, his personality, and his interwoven role with Robert Black in the coming of a fearless future, each of them campaigning as the ultimate Lovecraft protagonist.

Excerpt: Buried and forgotten, ominous philosophies await their day with hideous patience.

Writing x Illustration

Crisp, efficient, and impactful. One thing to love about Alan Moore’s writing is its flow. Not easy per se, often quite complex. But Moore’s brilliance is in conveying the odd and the wondrous in language both befitting the chosen character and our cogent reception. Robert Black and his colleagues are intelligent (and often at least a little mad), which leads to satisfying converse and enlightening revelations. Sometimes humorous, often unnerving, always full of wit. Burrows’ art style is crisp and colorful; he manages to build out scenes of architectural brilliance and monumental detail. This comic requires imagination and will, and Jacen Burrows delivers images that ply both faculties. The story moves fast and the comic becomes a page-turner; at the same time, a good bulk of the narrative takes place inside of Black’s commonplace book, or journal of collected experiences. Written cursive prose on hand drawn parchment, about 10 pages every chapter. Here, we get to see Black’s interiority and chronology of findings and reactions. As with the classic Lovecraftian protag, we get a first-person seat to the descent, told in their own sometimes garbling words. Moore is also not afraid to leave pages alone, to let the sequencing of Burrows’ sublime panels tell their parallel stories. Providence often deals with mature themes and is not afraid to depict horrifying acts of gory violence and disturbing sexual conduct (including SA). It is chillingly realistic at times and yet hard to look away, no matter how disquieting. Throughout, in images and words, one can see a grave trajectory. As the otherworldly incidents ratchet up in intensity, dooming realizations accumulate, and Black’s words and actions reciprocate across the pages to unveil his tarnished fate.

Excerpt: The occult is that which is hidden. Through our science, we hope to reveal it.

Pathos

Metatextual Masterpiece. Moore and Burrow craft a wonderful achievement in metatextual storytelling with Providence. The comic blends true history, real Lovecraft stories about fake people, places, and *things* (to say the least)…with Moore’s own madcap conception of a “theory of everything” concerning the Cthulhu Mythos. The comic is bold in its characterizations of Lovecraft’s own frightful xenophobia and the general homophobia of early 20th century America, and how marginalized figures like Black must mask their true nature to get by. Lovecraft’s inner fears were creative in that his unconscious was perhaps absorbing the consensus Anglo sentiment of his age and transmuting it into a cosmic context transferable across time, space, and language. Through weird tales of interdimensional horror, strange immigrants and queer cultures became transmogrified as intriguingly daemonic, a threat to order and sanity, even sourcing from under the seas or across the stars. Perhaps these beings come to destroy us, perhaps they are here to evolve us. Sequences of true horror illuminate the inhumanity of how “outsiders” from other worlds may interfere with human bodies (and souls). Time and space are duly interrogated, along with the evolutionary eschatology of the human being. Can we be greater? Can we handle true knowledge? Can we escape our dark fate? Sexual magic and the psychic power of the human imaginary, manifesting through language and art and story, are explored in-depth ~ all in the context of the comic itself performing such a duty for the reader’s rogue education on these topics. Black’s aforementioned commonplace book adds another layer from a singular primary source. Emotional complexities, namely unfathomable dread and fear but also wonder and inspiration and elements of romance, all arrive via Black’s private accountings of his escapades. Black eventually shares this book with our future legend and darkling inspirations manifest. The heraldic writer’s arc (and Moore’s story) comes to a head when he meets H.P. Lovecraft in Providence, Rhode Island, consummating his New England expedition and his fateful journey into the heart of the region’s multiform occult enterprise. Just as there is nothing else like the literary developments of Lovecraft’s still-living mythopoeia, I reckon there will never be another comic quite like Providence, which so deftly investigates the icy Cthulhu Mythos — and *concludes* its eschatology with sublime ardor. In my honest opinion, it is none other than a masterpiece of storytelling.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 / 5 stars