JACLR - Journal of Artistic Creation & Literary Research - Volume 1 Issue 1 (September 2013) - Article 1 - H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call Of Cthulhu: an Intermedial Analysis of its Graphic Adaptation

Oct 6, 2026

Research paper examining H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” and its adaptation into contemporary comics and graphic novels, especially the work by Michael Zigerlig. The study analyzes Lovecraft’s stylistic features and the defining traits of modern horror, then uses Freud’s “The Uncanny” and Todorov’s “The Fantastic” to connect psychological motivations with uncanny elements. It argues that confronting an illogical sublime reality undermines knowledge-seeking efforts, driving characters toward terror, horror, and mental collapse, and explains intermedial suspense through interactions of language and image.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

1. Introduction

Lovecraft’s life and literary context

Style and defining traits of modern horror

Theoretical framework: Freud and Todorov

Terror, horror, and the collapse of knowledge

Intermedial analysis of Zigerlig’s adaptation

Language-image interaction and suspense

Keywords and research focus

JACLR Journal of Artistic Creation & Literary Research JACLR: Journal of Artistic Creation and Literary Research is a bi-annual, peerreviewed, full-text, and open-access Graduate Student Journal of the Universidad Complutense Madrid that publishes interdisciplinary research on literary studies, critical theory, applied linguistics and semiotics, and educational issues . The journal also publishes original contributions in artistic creation in order to promote these works . Volume 1 Issue 1 (September 2013) Article 1 Carlos Corbacho Carrobles “H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call Of Cthulhu: an Intermedial Analysis of its Graphic Adaptation” Recommended Citation Corbacho Carrobles, Carlos . "H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call Of Cthulhu: an Intermedial Analysis of its Graphic Adaptation. " JACLR: Journal of Artistic Creation and Literary Research 1.1 (2013): 1-15 < [https://www.ucm.es/siim/journal-of-artistic-creation-and-literary-research](https://www.ucm.es/siim/journal-of-artistic-creation-and-literary-research)>©Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain This text has been blind peer reviewed by 2+1 experts in the field. Abstract: My research involves the most renowned tale by the master of modern horror H.P. Lovecraft, The call of Cthulhu, and its adaptations into contemporary comics and graphic novels, in particular the one by Swiss writer/artist Michael Zigerlig. The first part of this analysis focuses on Lovecraft’s style and the main characteristics of this tale, including some defining traits of this modern style of horror. From the methodological point of view, the paper uses Sigmund Freud’s The Uncanny (1919) as well as Tzve tan Todorov’s The fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre in order to explore the relationship between the characters’ psychological motivationsand those unheimlich or uncanny (unfamiliar) elements that they may discover within 1 Corbacho Carrobles, Carlos. "H.P . Lovecraft’s The Call Of Cthulhu: an Intermedial Analysis of its Graphic Adaptation . " JACLR: Journal of Artistic Creation and Literary Research 1.1 (2013): 1-15 <[https://www.ucm.es/siim/journal-of-artistic-creation-and-literary-research](https://www.ucm.es/siim/journal-of-artistic-creation-and-literary-research)>©Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain themselves or others (a strange grim, sound, etc.) . I shall explore if these abject feelings arise from the outside (i.e. the sudden realization that things are different from what they expected), or if it has to do with internal factors (i.e. old forgotten and unconscious memories, that in Freud “ought to have remained hidden and secret, and yet comes to light.”(Freud 1919: 5) The approach summarized above will allow me to unveil an essential point in lovecraftian horror, namely that absolute Truth is unattainable and that the illogical, the unnatural and the uncanny are all part of life and represent ancient chaotic forces within the universe, beyond the world that we perceive every day. Extraordinary and poltergeist elements are, for Lovecraft, a reaction against the‘true’ laws of the universe. His characters attempt to find knowledge and scientific explanations in a sort of Faustian spirit that eventually drives them to damnation and insanity. This collapse of the mind will be analyzed in the terms of terror and horror caused by the confrontation of a sublime version of reality, in the terms used by Burke in his book A philosophical enquiry on the ideas of the beautiful and the sublime (1757) . The essay will place Todorov’s work The Fantastic (1975) in relation to Freud’s idea of the uncanny. I will show how these works explain the duality present in Lovecraftian characters, who struggle for scientifically logical explanations and at the same time face traumatic events at the climax of the story when they realize that there is no possible explanation . Finally, in what concerns Michael Zigerlig’s adaptation of Lovecraft’s work, I will first focus

FAQs

What text and adaptations does the paper focus on?

The paper focuses on H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” and its adaptations into contemporary comics and graphic novels, with special attention to Michael Zigerlig’s adaptation.

Which theories are used to analyze the uncanny elements?

It uses Sigmund Freud’s “The Uncanny” (1919) and Tzvetan Todorov’s “The fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre” to explore links between psychological motivations and uncanny elements.

How does the paper connect language and images in the comic adaptation?

It analyzes intermedial aspects arising from semiotic negotiation between text and images, emphasizing how language and visual references interact to disturb the reader’s perceptual experience and create suspense and fear.

Oct 6, 2026

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