I scored a less expensive used copy of this 2004 publication from
Vertigo (list was $24.95 but I got a used hardcover for < $8, in
excellent condition except for those annoyingly sticky price stickers
on the back).  I guess Lovecraft was originally a screenplay by
Rodionoff who perhaps had his dreams of Oscar glory dashed and decided
to turn it into a graphic novel instead.

Although I usually can't abide stories where HPL is the protagonist or
his fiction is rpesented as the truth, I suspended that bias for this
book.  The author takes pieces of HPL's life such as his father's
illness, his wearing girl's clothing, the Kalem club, his meeting
Sonia Green etc and weaves them into the story.  Young Howard actually
has a copy of the Necronomicon and the monsters are all real, trying
to use him as a means of opening the gate.  Encounters with these
terrible creatures caused all the major events of his life and also
inspired all of his choices in writing.

Mostly I enjoyed this effort; don't expect it to rise above the level
of a comic book.  It is not a masterpiece for the ages, but it is a
very well done graphic novel.  I liked the art for the most part but
the pictures of HPL, particularly as a child, never seemed to rise
above the level of a caricature.

In the pantheon of Cthulhu mythos comics I give Lovecraft by Rodionoff
a favorable rating.  For adaptations of HPL's stories I rate the
series Haunt of Horror the highest.  Worlds of HP Lovecraft are OK and
the Graphic Classics Lovecraft issue was pretty weak.  For original
comic book stories, I liked Fall of Cthulhu better, at least until the
last year or so worth of issues, where that story sort of petered out.
I tend to enjoy one or two stories in each issue of Cthulhu Tales,
although some of that series is pretty weak.  Yuggoth Creatures from
Avatar Press was quite good, as was Arkham Woods, a very readable
manga.  Only the End of the World Again has a great story by Neil
Gaiman but weak art.  The Miskatonic Project is a click lower.
Necronomicon and Nyarlathotep from Boom Studios aren't as successful.
For me, the very best Cthulhu mythos associated comic was Alan Moore's
The Courtyard.  I particularly like the color edition.

Matt