Alan Moore's The Courtyard
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''Alan Moore's The Courtyard'' is a two-issue comic book mini-series published in 2003 by Avatar Press. The comic was adapted by Antony Johnston with artwork by
Jacen Burrows Jacen Burrows (born September 11, 1972) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on various books from Avatar Press and Marvel Comics. Career Burrows graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 1996 with a degree in Seque ...
from a 1994 prose story by
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
(credited as "consulting editor").


Plot

Aldo Sax is an
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent using "anomaly theory", a method that correlates seemingly unrelated data into a cohesive whole, to investigate three seemingly unrelated ritual murders around the United States. His investigation leads him to a nightclub in Red Hook,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, where he hears of a
psychoactive drug A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system acti ...
called Aklo, peddled by a mysterious veiled man named Johnny Carcosa. Sax sets up a meet with Carcosa at the dealer's apartment building, where he is given a hallucinogenic white powder as a prelude to the Aklo. Carcosa speaks an unknown language to Sax, who experiences visions of spectral planes and hideous primordial creatures, while understanding the truth that Aklo is not a drug, but the language Carcosa spoke to him. The visions, given to him by Aklo, drive Sax to murder his neighbor using the same '' modus operandi'' as the killers he was investigating.


Publication history

The original 1994 prose story had first appeared in an anthology '' The Starry Wisdom: A Tribute to
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
'' (Creation Books, 1995, ). The comic book adaptation was planned to appear in '' Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths'', but it was published as a limited series by
Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
in January and February 2003.


Collected editions

The series was collected in a trade paperback in 2003, a second version (the Companion) was released in 2004, which contained annotations by
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
scholar N. G. Christakos and reprinted Moore's original short story. A limited edition hardcover set of the two volumes was also released in 2004. In 2009 a full color version was released separately, as well as in a collection with Moore's sequel series '' Neonomicon''. * ''Alan Moore's The Courtyard'' ( Avatar Press, softcover, 56 pages, 2004, ) * ''Alan Moore's The Courtyard Companion'' (Avatar Press, softcover, 72 pages, 2004, ) * ''Alan Moore's The Courtyard Deluxe Hardcover Set'' (Avatar Press, hardcover, 128 pages, 2004, ) * ''Alan Moore's The Courtyard (Color Edition)'' (Avatar Press, 56 pages, 11 March 2009, )


Sequel

Alan Moore has written a 4-part sequel to ''The Courtyard'' called '' Neonomicon,'' the final issue of which was released by Avatar on 23 March 2011. Moore's 2015–17 comic '' Providence'' is a further continuation in the series.


References


Sources

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External links


''The Courtyard'' page
at Avatar Press {{Cthulhu Mythos Comics based on fiction Comics set in New York City Comics by Alan Moore