Lovecraft comic book spotlight: Skull  #4

Skull was an underground comix horror anthology published by Last Gasp (San Francisco, CA) in the early 1970's. Issue number 4 was published in May of 1972 with a cover price of 0.75. The supervisor was Gary Arlington, and the issue was dedicated to August Derleth for his “encouragement to us in this special project, a tribute to Arkham House and the master of the macabre, H.P. Lovecraft.”

It starts off with an ominous cover drawn by Jack “Jaxon” Jackson based on the short story “The Hound” (the lead story in this issue) and includes an homage to EC Comics. It is followed by a frontispiece written and drawn by Simon Deitch which is an interpretation of a quote from one of Lovecraft’s most famous short stories. Dave Sheridan then illustrates the title page for the issue in which he warns of the “mind squishing evil” of the forbidden knowledge contained within the pages that follow.

The first story is an adaptation of “The Hound” first written in September 1922. Jack “Jaxon” Jackson expertly captures the macabre and unsavory tone as the protagonists attempt to add to their collection of the profane and grotesque. This is followed by another illustration by Simon Deitch, this time of a “Night Toad.”

Next up is “The Hairy Claw of Tolen,” a grisly original story, written and drawn by Charles Dallas, which appears to be a mash-up of “The Dunwich Horror” and “The Lurking Fear.” Following this is an adaptation of “Cool Air” written by Lovecraft in March 1926. Michael C. Smith's psychedelic artwork really captures the putrid climax of the story.

The final story of the issue is another adaptation, this time of “Pickman’s Model” originally written in 1926 and was adapted and drawn by Herb Arnold. It is atmospheric and creepy with H.P. Lovecraft pictorially rendered as the narrator of the story. Finally, there are two pin-ups, The first is called “The Spawn of Cthulhu” by Simon Deitch and then an untitled piece depicting a woman being sacrificed to the ghouls from “Pickman’s Model” painted by Larry S. Todd.

Overall, it is a strong anthology of mostly adaptations that captures the aesthetics of the underground comix art scene in San Francisco during the early 70's.

Last Gasp is still publishing books. Check them out at lastgasp.com.