The Mistress of the Dark has met monsters, demons, Dracula himself, and even the one and only Vincent Price! But ELVIRA's latest crossover is one horror fans are going to love, as she comes face to face with the infamous H.P. Lovecraft. Fan-favorite writer David Avallone is serving up a complex look at the massively influential horror icon's works and character, in addition to a fun story of course! We have the full first issue to read, plus a message from David, and more ahead of FOC!
| Special Message From David Avallone | | |  Hey, Comics Retailers!
I hope 2024 is treating you and yours well.
Dynamite asked me to reach out and let you know what Elvira and I have got coming next, and that’s ELVIRA MEETS HP LOVECRAFT. First issue drops right after Valentine’s Day, because what could be more romantic than a spooky showgirl and the ghost of a dead author going on a cosmic horror quest together?
I kid, of course.
This is my sixth Elvira series, following ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK, THE SHAPE OF ELVIRA, ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE, ELVIRA IN HORRORLAND and ELVIRA IN MONSTERLAND. Those have all found an audience, and I have a feeling that this next series will attract even more readers.
In all the time I’ve been writing Elvira – since 2018 – she has met Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Faust,  Satan, Vlad the Impaler, Vincent Price, and the characters from dozens of horror movies (in parody form, of course.) But… I have intentionally avoided Lovecraft. You can probably guess why. Howard Phillip Lovecraft was not a nice man. (Neither was Poe, by the way, but people are less mad at Poe for various reasons.) Never has a creator been more hated, but his creations more beloved. I thought Lovecraft’s whole legacy was more than I wanted to handle in something like a single issue encounter.
Well, after MONSTERLAND wrapped up, I was wondering where to go next with the Mistress of the Dark. I decided that Elvira and I could handle HP if we had five issues to do it in. So in this series, we do come to bury Lovecraft not to praise him, like the man said. The series honors his incredible contribution to horror fiction: his Cthulhu mythos and its kaleidoscopic menagerie of gods and monsters and creatures beyond imagining… but we will also be clear that the man was a bigot, and a pain in the ass, afraid of anything new or different. The man whose nightmares have terrified the whole world, teams up with the thing that frightens him the most: a woman who speaks her mind and takes no crap from him. Strangest “Odd Couple” reboot ever, maybe, but they  make a very funny duo.
The creepy ghost author has to enlist Elvira in a quest to save the world from extra-dimensional cosmic destruction… and who can say no to that? The last true copy of the Necronomicon – the cursed book that unlocks the secrets of the Great Old Ones – is about to fall into the wrong hands, and the very universe is at stake. Oh, did I say hands? Tentacles, really, if we’re being honest.
So the unlikely team of Howie and Elvira hit the road to find the book before something scaly and cosmic uses it to open up a gate and let all the evil come flooding back to our vulnerable little planet. Their trip takes them across the country, from Hollywood to Arkham, MA… and then even further, to realms where mere mortals dare not tread. Down the 700 steps, through the Gates of Deeper Slumber, to the icy wastes where the Great Old Ones dream… but now I’ve said too much. Did someone say “Unknown Kadath?” Wasn’t me. But there might be some Mountains of Madness waiting for the attentive comics reader…
 All this will come wrapped in some fantastic, eye-catching covers. Dave Acosta is back, Robert Hack brings some pulp-flavored goodness, and interior artist Kewber Baal continues his excellent work from MONSTERLAND. Kewber’s amazing interior work is complimented by Elvira mainstays Taylor Esposito on letters, and Walter Pereyra on colors, back once again to bring their consummate artistry to the comic. And for those fans who can’t get enough of the real thing, each issue, as always, will have a photo cover.
Worth noting: while EMHPL connects to Elvira’s saga from our previous series… this is a great jumping in point for new readers. No knowledge of the prior arcs is required to start reading this comic, and I think it will be a delightful introduction for new readers to Elvira and her world… particularly for fans of the Cthulhu Mythos who’ve never encountered the Mistress of the Dark in comics before. For those fans, the series is chock full of fun Easter Eggs, connecting to the stories and characters they’ve loved for years. Each issue pays tribute to, and parodies, a classic Lovecraft tale. The premiere issue is, of course, “The Collect Call of Cthulhu.” Will you accept the charges?
All the best...
David Avallone
Hollywood, CA
January 25, 2024 |
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