a sociopathic FBI profiler finds a dark path and takes it. some time later, two more agents follow in his footsteps. murder, rape, rage, despair, racism, homophobia, a swinger party, a cult, hallucinatory freak-outs, nightmarish dreamscapes, Deep Ones, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, H.P. Lovecraft, and gruesome bloody slaughter are all delivered in a timely fashion.celebrated genius Alan Moore's graphic novel was, per the author's own admission, done for a paycheck and so that's that. it was also removed from a public library earlier this year due to its shuddery subject matter. here on Goodreads, reviews are mixed; many readers have reacted very negatively to all of the horrific nastiness on display.
so let's get that horrific nastiness out of the way first since it appears to be the central issue for some. spoilers ahead... in the last third of the novel there is a truly grotesque rape scene which also includes rape-by-monster. it is cruel, brutal, explicit, and goes on for a really extended period of time. now i have some serious problems with Neonomicon, but unlike many of my fellow reviewers, those problems have nothing to do with the rape. i actually think it is pretty well done, as such things go. it is not particularly exploitative (outside of the fact that it is depicted in the first place - which some could understandably argue is exploitative in and of itself); the pain & horror & ugliness are definitely not downplayed and the rape is not eroticized. the art is particularly interesting during this sequence, using the rape victim's blurry vision to startling effect. and the dialogue by the cheerful rapists is rather brilliant: banal, chatty, blasé, even friendly and supportive at times - all of that contributes powerfully to the pure horror of the situation.
my problems with Neonomicon are (1) the bizarre and pointless decision to make the heroine a sex addict (is this supposed to somehow make her better equipped to deal with her rape? ugh! NO, Alan Moore, NO!) and (2) with the dialogue that comes out of every single FBI agent's mouth besides our heroine. now it's one thing to have a sociopathic agent constantly shoot off comments that are not just misanthropic but pointedly racist and homophobic. fine, he's a sociopath and an asshole. but to have the same repulsive shit drop from the mouths of nearly every other agent? come on. obviously Moore himself is not a racist or homophobe (if you doubt me, just read his works), so clearly this must be how he envisions the FBI. i'm no apologist for the federal bureau of investigation - but give me a break! now that is just lazy, stupid, cheap writing and i expect a lot more from the author.
back to what's good... everything else! the art by Jacen Burrows is fantastic, particularly in the first part "The Courtyard" where almost every page is a double vertical panel. claustrophobia and murderous tunnel vision are aptly conveyed. and outside of the doltish dialogue from various agents, the writing is superb. Moore takes the Cthulhu mythos in a fascinating new direction (future is now!) and it is truly mind-boggling. i haven't had my mind boggled this way by anything lovecraftian in a long while - and that includes the superior Locke & Key graphic novels. so overall, Neonomicon is a flawed but absolutely worthy addition to the author's brilliant oeuvre.
